Chiefs

Chiefs inject Kaleb Trask at No 10 for Hurricanes clash

Fit-again playmaker Kaleb Trask has been handed the keys, and plenty of responsibility, at No 10 for the dance of the desperates (both 0-2) at Sky Stadium, with Bryn Gatland dropping out of the 23 altogether, despite having impressed his coaches in his two outings so far.

Trask, 22, has nine caps to his name after debuting last season, but had been sidelined at the start of this year with a knee injury.

Crusaders crush Chiefs with second-half blitz

After an uncharacteristically slow start, the Crusaders hit their straps in the second half after leading 11-10 at the break.

Last year's champions scored four second-half tries, dominating possession and restricting the Chiefs to a consolation 72nd minute try to winger Etene Nanai-Seturo.

The Chiefs had started well, Damian McKenzie's try coming after just three minutes on the back of a strong run after the Chiefs moved the ball wide with purpose and precision.

Chiefs to get several hundred spectators

The Hamilton franchise will split the stadium into separate viewing zones each with their own dedicated entry and exit points.

700 tickets were released to season ticket holders and stakeholders last night on a first-in first-served basis and the allocation sold out in under three minutes.

Contact tracing will be conducted through the Chiefs' ticketing system while the scanning of COVID-19 QR codes along with physical distancing will be mandatory for all attendees.

Former Chiefs winger James Lowe returns for Ireland for Six Nations debut against Wales

Lowe made a try-scoring debut against Wales in November after the New Zealander qualified for Ireland on a three-year residency. The former Chiefs winger struggled more in the loss to England the following week then injured his groin in training and hasn’t played since.

He was selected on Friday (Saturday NZ time) ahead of Jordan Larmour, who was in the reserves after missing the autumn tests with a dislocated shoulder.

“James is a great player who is right for this game,” Ireland coach Andy Farrell said. “He has been in great form in training.”

Clayton McMillan to stay with Chiefs as assistant coach through to 2023

McMillan, the Māori All Blacks and Bay of Plenty head coach, was appointed interim Chiefs coach in February 2020 for this year’s Super Rugby campaign, while Warren Gatland leads the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa.

The Covid-19 pandemic has created major uncertainty over whether the Lions’ tour will be able to go ahead raising questions about Gatland's involvement with the Chiefs in 2021.

Chiefs chief executive Michael Collins was delighted to have McMillan signed with the club for a further two years.

Aaron Cruden says sayonara to NZ rugby

The 31-year-old first-five is heading to Japan to join the Kobe club.

He returned to the Hamilton-based side this season after a couple of years in France, and while he's loved being back, the Chiefs are winless in Super Rugby Aotearoa and have just one match left to send Cruden off on the right note.

Aaron Cruden of Ngāti Tūwharetoa played his 100th game for the Chiefs last weekend in Hamilton and his teammates marked the milestone with an emotional haka.

But the former All Black and New Zealand Māori rep never thought he would make it this far.

Pita Gus Sowakula: Baller turned Chiefs No.8

The Chiefs are winless in seven games and will need a big performance if they're to beat the Hurricanes in Wellington on Saturday night.

Fiji born and raised Sowakula came into rugby less directly than many of his peers, and he was in New Zealand chasing another sporting dream long before he became a Chief.

Pita Gus Sowakula has made the back of the Chiefs scrum his own, showing off his prowess against the Crusaders in Hamilton last weekend, and assistant coach Neil Barnes is excited about his prospects.

Highlanders snatch win over Chiefs

Tomkinson's 82nd-minute try levelled the scores at 31-31 before Mitchell Hunt slammed over the match-winning conversion to consign the Chiefs to a record-equalling sixth successive loss.

The home team had lost their last five games across both Super Rugby and the domestic competition and were desperate to avoid matching a losing record the team had across the 2008 and 2009 seasons.

Warren Gatland's side raced out to a 24-0 lead inside the first 22 minutes with tries to loose forward Lachlan Boshier, centre Anton Lienert-Brown and hooker Bradley Slater.

Chiefs get their Chief back

Coach Warren Gatland has made several changes to the Chiefs forward pack with Cane, lock Mitchell Brown and hooker Bradley Slater coming into the starting 15.

Samisoni Taukei'aho shifts to the bench with Brown returning from a neck injury to combine with Naitoa Ah Kuoi in the second row.

Lachlan Boshier shifts back to the blindside, with Cane returning on the openside.

Halfback Brad Weber will run out for his 80th game for the Chiefs jersey and will be joined by a near unchanged backline.

Excitement builds for first post-lockdown Crusaders home game

Lockdown and the cancellation of the regular Super Rugby season meant Christchurch had only been able to host two games so far this year.

Crusaders boss Colin Mansbridge said 13,000 seats had already been sold at the 17,000 capacity stadium and was confident the remainder would be snapped up by their rugby-starved fans.