Sam Cane will make his return for the Chiefs in a highly-anticipated Super Rugby quarter-final against the Hurricanes in Wellington on Friday.
The team is boosted with the return of key players. In the forwards, Karl Tu’inukuafe and Nathan Harris are back in the front-row, and notably Cane will start at openside flanker.
In the backs, Damian McKenzie comes back in at fly-half, with Charlie Ngatai starting at 12 and Sean Wainui slotting back on to the right wing.
Head coach Colin Cooper is pleased with the consistency throughout the team selected for Friday’s clash.
Cooper emphasised the importance of this game now the team have entered the play-offs and how the team will be giving their all.
“It’s do or die at this point in the season, the winner takes all and we’ve talked about the importance of giving the best you can and your all for the jersey,” he said.
“We’ve put out a consistent team. Damian coming back brings a lot of X Factor into our game. We’re excited to see the combinations Damian, Charlie and Anton will bring as well as the leadership Sam Cane displays every time he takes the field.”
Cooper is aware of the quality the Hurricanes will bring at home and knows the team will have to be aware of their threats all over the field.
“The Hurricanes are going to bring a lot of intelligent skills to the contest. I expect them to use a lot of variety and they have a very good backline so there’ll be lots of threats around the park.”
Chiefs: 15 Solomon Alaimalo, 14 Sean Wainui, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Charlie Ngatai, 11 Shaun Stevenson, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 Brad Weber, 8 Liam Messam, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Lachlan Boshier, 5 Michael Allardice, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Angus Ta’avao, 2 Nathan Harris, 1 Karl Tu’inukuafe
Replacements: 16 Liam Polwart, 17 Sam Prattley, 18 Jeff Thwaites, 19 Jesse Parete, 20 Mitch Karpik, 21 Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, 22 Marty McKenzie, 23 Alex Nankivell
Date: Friday, July 20
Venue: Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Kick-off: 19:35 local (08:35 BST, 07:35 GMT)
Referee: Glen Jackson
Assistant Referees: Nick Briant, Paul Williams
TMO: Glenn Newman