As it happened: Hurricanes v Chiefs

Beauden Barrett needs to tie his shoelaces. Photo / Getty

All the action from the Kiwi Super Rugby derby between the Hurricanes and the Chiefs.

Six of the last seven games between the Hurricanes and Chiefs have been decided by a margin of eight points or fewer.

Chiefs hooker Nathan Harris doesn't buy in to the theory of momentum. For him, his side's string of five straight Super Rugby wins doesn't carry any weight ahead of their match against the Hurricanes tonight.

Both sides hold 5-1 records to start the season, and both have won five in a row. If Harris believed in momentum, the comparison in recent results would likely cancel out whatever driving force the sides were bringing into the contest.

Harris does trust the process though, with his weekly regime doing more to help the team than relying on momentum.

"It comes down to the process of making sure you're doing everything right during the week — your recovery, getting the clarity, getting some contact — ticking off all those boxes and making sure you're doing whatever is necessary for that week so you can go out knowing you can put your best foot forward," Harris said.

The Chiefs travel to Wellington to meet the Hurricanes tonight in a battle for top spot in the New Zealand conference.

"We won't be doing anything too special in terms of how we're playing, because obviously it's going quite well."

With the winner guaranteed to end the round at the top of the conference, both sides have made changes.

For the Hurricanes, star first-five Beauden Barrett returns from a minor leg injury, prop Toby Smith slots back at prop after missing the past five games due to concussion, Vaea Fifita replaces Michael Fatialofa, who returns to a bench role, while Vince Aso moves to the wing in place of Julian Savea, with Matt Proctor starting at centre.

On the bench, James O'Reilly replaces Asafo Aumua, who has suffered a hand injury.

TJ Perenara is also out injured, with Jamie Booth getting the start in to No9 jersey.