A crammed roster means ones of the Chiefs' best performers could be on the market for a new team
The Chiefs have employed 46 different players throughout their 2021 campaign to date, from experienced All Blacks such as Anton Lienert-Brown to 20-year-old debutants like Josh Lord. With only 38 spots on the roster for next year, however, not everyone will have the opportunity to represent the Chiefs next year.
One man who’s made a significant impact since joining the side is Tonga representative Zane Kapeli, who was formally called into the squad ahead of the Chiefs’ match with the Blues in the final round of the Super Rugby Aotearoa season.
The openside flanker was one of the best performers in the match and made one particularly bone-rattling tackle on Blues pivot Otere Black, but the 28-year-old has been employed primarily as a second-rower in the matches since, with the Chiefs suffering their traditional injury woes in the forward pack.
Laghlan McWhannell was ruled out for a second year in a row before the season even began while Tupou Vaa’i, Josh Lord, Naitoa Ah Kuoi and Mitch Brown have all spent time on the sidelines in 2021.
Brodie Retallick, meanwhile, is on sabbatical for the season – although he’s touched back down in New Zealand after a campaign in Japan’s Top League and will be available for New Zealand’s July tests.
Of the players contracted at the beginning of the campaign, Vaa’i is currently the only one fit to play in the Chiefs’ final game of the year against the Waratahs, which has again opened the door for Kapeli to get some valuable minutes.
“He’s just made every post a winner since he’s been in the team,” head coach Clayton McMillan said of the utility forward. “He’s a great character, I’ve got to know him pretty well over at Bay of Plenty and last year he ended up pretty much effectively filling the same role at lock for us.
“He keeps telling me he’s an international level 7. I told him he’s a great hybrid.”
Sadly for Kapeli, even a standout performance against the bottom-placed Waratahs likely won’t be enough to cement him a spot in the squad for next year.
“Unfortunately, we’re pretty full in our forwards space. He’s well aware of that,” McMillan said. “I’ve had a lot of discussions with Zane around, unfortunately – I’m not sure if ‘unfortunately’ is the word – but a lot of forward contracting is done in advance of the season and with a little bit of time up our sleeves, Zane might have been able to push his way in there. He’s been a really solid performer for us.
“I’ve had the benefit of working with him for a few years so always known that he’s been capable and he’s demonstrated that over the last three or four weeks where he’s just taken all those challenges around playing multiple positions and having to learn multiple roles and just gone on about his business and performed really well.
“And he’s also really well-liked in the environment. He’s got a bit of character about him so if we aren’t able to pick him up one way or another, hopefully his performances have raised the attention of other people.”
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With Retallick set to return in 2022, the Chiefs should be well-stocked in the second row. Vaa’i, like Retallick, is also on the books until the next World Cup while Ah Kuoi will certainly be retained after some excellent performances earlier in the season.
Lord is another who’s prospered with more game time than he might have anticipated this season and Brown is always an option to slot in at lock, which makes Kapeli’s retention exceptionally difficult – but he may find luck elsewhere around New Zealand.
Assuming Moana Pasifika are officially given the green light in the coming weeks, the new team would be a natural fit for Kapeli – who’s notched up 10 appearances for the ‘Ikale Tahi since he debuted in 2018.
Otherwise, Kapeli was contracted with the Highlanders last season but didn’t feature in any gameday squads and was also practising with the Hurricanes during this year’s pre-season.
This weekend poses one last opportunity in Super Rugby for the Tongan utility to force selectors around the country to take notice.
The Chiefs’ match with the Waratahs kicks off at 7:45pm AEST (9:45pm NZT) on Saturday night.
Comments on RugbyPass
An on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
10 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
24 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
24 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
24 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
24 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
10 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
10 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to comments