All Black scrumhalf back to lead Chiefs
TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Chiefs head coach Clayton McMillan has named his team to face the Waratahs in Sydney at Brookvale Oval for their final round-robin Super Rugby Trans-Tasman clash.
A raft of changes have been made to the Chiefs’ matchday 23.
McMillan has made three changes to the starting forward pack; loosehead prop Aidan Ross returns to start, shifting Reuben O’Neill to the bench. Bradley Slater and Samisoni Taukei’aho will once again change places with Slater getting the nod to start.
Zane Kapeli will combine at lock with Tupou Vaa’i, with Viliami Taulani covering on the bench. Tom Florence has been brought into the named 23 and will also provide cover on the bench.
In the backline a further three changes have been made; Brad Weber will start at scrumhalf with Xavier Roe covering the Chiefs captain on the bench. Quinn Tupaea and Alex Nankivell will combine in the midfield, while Anton Lienert-Brown will shift to the bench named in jersey 22. Māori All Blacks wing Sean Wainui returns from injury to start on the left wing to complete the changes in the matchday 23.
McMillan said: “While we came away with the win, we were frustrated with our performance last weekend against the Melbourne Rebels. We are better than that and want to produce a performance we are proud of for our fans back home.
“We have a solid starting XV and plenty of firepower on the bench. Viliami and Tom have been putting in some hard yards back at home, so this is a great opportunity for them to get a run on the field this weekend.”
Chiefs: 15 Kaleb Trask, 14 Shaun Stevenson, 13 Alex Nankivell, 12 Quinn Tupaea, 11 Sean Wainui, 10 Bryn Gatland, 9 Brad Weber (captain), 8 Luke Jacobson, 7 Lachlan Boshier, 6 Pita Gus Sowakula, 5 Tupou Vaa’i, 4 Zane Kapeli, 3 Angus Ta’avao, 2 Bradley Slater, 1 Aidan Ross.
Replacements: 16 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17 Ollie Norris, 18 Reuben O’Neill, 19 Viliami Taulani, 20 Tom Florence, 21 Xavier Roe, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Chase Tiatia.
Date: Saturday, June 12
Venue: Brookvale Oval, Sydney
Kick-off: 19.45 (21.45 NZST; 09.45 GMT)
Referee: Jordan way
Assistant referees: Damon Murphy, Reuben Keane
TMO: Brett Cronan
