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All Blacks props return to action as Chiefs eye up former bogey-team Reds
The Chiefs are finally starting to get back some of their forward artillery as they enter the final month of their 2021 campaign.
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The team has been besotted with injuries this season with the likes of experienced operators Sam Cane, Atu Moli, Angus Ta’avao, Reuben O’Neill, Mitch Brown, Quinn Tupaea and Naitoa Ah Kuoi all spending countless games on the sidelines.
Even the youngsters haven’t been immune to the usual injury curse, with Kaylum Boshier, Laghlan McWhannell and Simon Parker having their seasons permanently cut short.
With just three regular-season rounds left in Super Rugby Trans-Tasman, coach Clayton McMillan must be confident that he has the cattle at his disposal to make the most of the final, especially with a few of the above players returning in recent weeks.
The trio of Ta’avao, Brown, Tupaea and O’Neill are all set to return to action against the Reds this weekend, with the former two named to start in Saturday’s match.
Ta’avao will take over from Sione Mafileo at tighthead prop while Brown will slot into the second row ahead of rookie Josh Lord.
There are two other changes to the forwards with Bradley Slater handed the No 2 jersey for just the second time this season and Pita Gus Sowakula swapping back into the starting side for 182-cap Chiefs legend Liam Messam.
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In the backs, Damian McKenzie will once again line up at first five-eighth but it’s 22-year-old Kaleb Trask who will play at fullback, with Chase Tiatia shifting to the left wing for Jonah Lowe, who is sidelined with a hamstring strain.
2018 All Blacks tourist O’Neill, who has been sidelined due to concussion, joins the bench at the expense of youngster Ollie Norris.
All Blacks prop Atu Moli made a successful return to Super Rugby last week but illness kept him off the training field this week and has prevented him from notching up a second straight match. Instead, he’ll play club rugby back in New Zealand.
The other significant return on the bench is midfielder Tupaea who was expected to be absent for the rest of the season after suffering an MCL injury earlier in the year.
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While the Chiefs have won their last five encounters with the Reds, there was a period during the early 2010s where the Queenslanders won four matches on the trot. Having been put to the sword by the Crusaders in Brisbane last weekend, the Super Rugby AU champions will be full of motivation for this Saturday’s match.
The game kicks off at 7:45pm AEST from Townsville.
Chiefs: Kaleb Trask, Bailyn Sullivan, Anton Lienert-Brown, Alex Nankivell, Chase Tiatia, Damian McKenzie, Brad Weber, Luke Jacobson, Lachlan Boshier, Pita Gus Sowakula, Tupou Vaa’i, Mitchell Brown, Angus Ta’avao, Bradley Slater, Aidan Ross. Reserves: Samisoni Taukei’aho, Reuben O’Neill, Sione Mafileo, Zane Kapeli, Liam Messam, Xavier Roe, Quinn Tupaea, Shaun Stevenson.
Comments on RugbyPass
Je suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn 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.
11 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!😭😭😭 !!!
25 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
25 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.
25 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.
25 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?
11 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.
11 Go to comments