Full time in Christchurch and Canterbury have convincingly beaten Taranaki by 30 points to six. Canterbury had control of the game from the first minute to last and Taranaki never posed any threat. Thanks for following on Ultimate Rugby, be sure to follow the rest of the ITM cup with us.
Try Canterbury. They get the bonus point. Brilliant hands from the back line and Whitelock goes over in the corner, conversion is good so the score is 30-6 with 20 minutes remaining.
Try Canterbury. Canterbury get their 3rd try thanks to a fantastic cross field kick from Bleyendaal which found Katene and he went over in the corner. The conversion is wide so the score is 20-6.
Halftime and Canterbury lead Taranaki 15-6. Canterbury dominated all of the possession early on but Taranaki have had 2 penalties which keep them in the game. Stay tuned for 2nd half updates.
Try Canterbury. Matt Todd goes over for his sides second try after he taps and goes quickly to barge over the line. The conversion hits the post so the score is now 15-3 to Canterbury. 5 minutes till half time.
Taranaki get there first points of the game thanks to the boot of Andre Taylor. 10-3 to Canterbury.
Try Canterbury. The pressure has finally told as Patrick Osbourne goes over for the games first try. The winger breaks through 2 or 3 tackles to score. The conversion is good so the score stands at 10-0 to Canterbury after 25 minutes.
First points go to Canterbury in this game after Bleyendaal kicks his first attempt over. 3-0 Canterbury after 15 minutes.
Canterbury applying all the pressure in this opening 8 minutes. Have starved Taranaki of the ball.
Hello and welcome to this ITM Cup match between Canterbury and Taranaki. Both sides will be looking to start their campaigns with a win and with both sides missing a few stars the game is there for the taking. Stay with us for live updates throughout.