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Forgotten All Blacks hooker set for long-awaited return from injury via Chiefs development side

By Alex McLeod
Nathan Harris. (Photo by Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images/Getty Images)

Chiefs hooker Nathan Harris will continue his long-awaited return from injury on Saturday after being named on the bench for the franchise’s development side to face the Blues Development in Hamilton.

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The match, which acts as a curtain-raiser to the Super Rugby Aotearoa clash between the Chiefs and Blues and FMG Stadium Waikato, will give Harris valuable game time as he looks to bounce back from a horror run of injuries that has prevented him from playing for almost 18 months.

The 29-year-old has been sidelined since September 2019 after fracturing his ankle while playing for Bay of Plenty in the Mitre 10 Cup, and was subsequently ruled out of the 2020 Super Rugby season after he was advised to undergo surgery to repair his rotator cuff.

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Highlanders co-captain Ash Dixon speaks to media ahead of Hurricanes clash

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Highlanders co-captain Ash Dixon speaks to media ahead of Hurricanes clash

At the time, Harris was expected to be available for last year’s provincial campaign, but the 20-test All Black never featured for Bay of Plenty as they succumbed to a semi-final defeat in the Mitre 10 Cup Premiership.

It wasn’t until this year’s Super Rugby pre-season when Harris finally took to the field again as he started from the bench in both of the Chiefs’ clashes against the Blues and Crusaders in a game-of-three-halves fixture in Cambridge last month.

While he is yet to take to the field for the club’s senior team this season, Harris’ inclusion in the Chiefs Development’s bench is an indication that he may not be too far off from Super Rugby Aotearoa action.

Harris is one of seven members of the full Chiefs squad who have been named to play in the development team’s match against their Blues counterparts this weekend.

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Young No 8 Kaylum Boshier will pack down at the back of the scrum, while the backline features the likes of halfback Xavier Roe, first-five Bryn Gatland, midfielder Rameka Poihipi, wing Jonah Lowe and fullback Rivez Reihana.

Other notable names in the match day side include capped Tongan flanker Zane Kapeli, former Blues prop Ezekiel Lindenmuth, recent Chiefs debutant Joe Apikatoa, ex-Chiefs halfback Lisati Milo-Harris and Manu Samoa loose forward Alamanda Motuga.

Kick-off between the one-off fixture is scheduled for 4:25pm on Saturday NZT.

Chiefs Development to face Blues Development

1. Ezekiel Lindenmuth
2. Sekope Lopeti Moli
3. Joe Apikatoa
4. Stan van den Hoven
5. Hamilton Burr
6. Viliami Taulani
7. Zane Kapeli
8. Kaylum Boshier
9. Xavier Roe
10. Bryn Gatland
11. Mathew Skipwith-Garland
12. Rameka Poihipi
13. Gideon Wrampling
14. Jonah Lowe
15. Rivez Reihana

Reserves:

16. Nathan Harris
17. Benet Kumeroa
18. George Dyer
19. Sam Slade
20. Alamanda Motuga
21. Lisati Milo-Harris
22. Amanaki Sevieti
23. Taniela Filimone

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Bull Shark 1 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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