Ioane carries into the 22, accidental obstruction, scrum Southland near their own 22

Stolen by Auckland who have possession back

Elkington into the line up to the 22, turnover ball for Southland they move it wide

Aso hits it up in midfield, Luatua has a carry

Southland get a maul going, ball not coming out, use it or lose it, scrum Auckland

Hickey gets the match underway

The teams are out on the field, kick off is just moments away

Southland hosts Auckland in round 3 of the Mitre 10 Cup.
Southland are yet to win from their opening two matches, going down 40-17 to Otago and 34-31 to Manawatu. They will be desperate to register their first victory in the tournament.
Auckland was convincingly beaten by Canterbury 43-3 in week 1, but bounced back to beat Northland 37-15 in their last fixture. They will look to build on that performance and make it two wins in a row.
Head to head it stands 42 wins for Auckland and 8 wins for Southland with 3 draws.
The last encounter back in 2015 ended 23-23 in Invercargill.