Cautious Chiefs safeguard Cane
The Chiefs are taking a cautious approach to training ahead of Saturday’s Super Rugby semifinal against the Crusaders in Hamilton.
The defending champions gave loose forwards Sam Cane and Tanerau Latimer an early break from what was an eventful training session on Tuesday.
With the Chiefs having lost centre Tim Nanai-Williams to injury and sweating over the fitness of forwards Brodie Retallick, Ben Afeaki, Ben Tameifuna and Hika Elliot, coach Dave Rennie isn’t taking any chances.
Speaking to Newstalk ZB, Rennie said of Cane: "It's not from a concussion point of view. He's just a little bit sore, and we'll keep him out of contact."
The training session also saw New Zealand Rugby Union general manager of professional rugby Neil Sorenson present the New Zealand Conference trophy to Chiefs co-captains Craig Clarke and Liam Messam.
Sorenson apologised that the handover wasn’t done after the Chiefs’ 26-16 win over the Blues in their final regular season match at Eden Park on July 13.
''This is probably a trophy you should have been given a couple of weeks ago in Auckland and that was a mistake on our behalf, so I apologise for that…I know getting something like this four days before a massive game is not something high on your priority list, but that's just the way it goes,” said Sorenson.
Sources: Newstalk ZB & Fairfax NZ News
