Bason to make Chiefs debut
Scrum-half David Bason will make his first start for the Chiefs in Friday's Super 14 match against the Hurricanes at Westpac Stadium.
Scrum-half David Bason will make his first start for the Chiefs in Friday's Super 14 match against the Hurricanes at Westpac Stadium.
Bason's promotion was confirmed by coach Ian Foster after his first choice number nine Brendon Leonard was ruled out of the match due to a haematoma in his left thigh.
Matt France, a Taranaki representative, a former New Zealand Colt and a member of the Crusaders wider training group, has been brought in to provide cover on the bench for Bason.
Foster has been some interesting changes in his backline, shifting regular full-back Mils Muliaina to centre and moving wing Sitiveni Sivivatu to number fifteen.
Regular midfielder Richard Kahui was not considered for selection because of an ankle injury sustained last week against the Waratahs.
Foster has named an unchanged forward pack and is relishing the New Zealand head-to-head this weekend.
Though memories of the Chiefs' opening 15-32 derby loss against the Blues is still “fresh in the player's minds”, Foster is looking forward to the big battle ahead.
“Taking on the Hurricanes at Westpac Stadium will be a massive challenge,” said Foster.
“We still have fresh in our minds the lessons we learned from our first New Zealand team clash in the opening round. So we are keen to take those learnings into this week's game.”
“It has been a short preparation week for us and with a couple of injury clouds around it has been harder than normal to get organised. But the guys have continued to train well this week and have come through the week well.
“We've obviously enjoyed our first win last week, but are also realistic about the areas we need to improve in.”
Chiefs: 15 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 14 Lelia Masaga, 13 Mils Muliaina, 12 Dwayne Sweeney, 11 Viliame Waqaseduadua, 10 Stephen Donald, 9 David Bason, 8 Sione Lauaki, 7 Tanerau Latimer, 6 Liam Messam, 5 Kevin O'Neill, 4 Jono Gibbes (c), 3 Ben Castle, 2 Tom Willis, 1 Simms Davison.
Replacements: 16 Aled de Malmanche, 17 Ben May, 18 Toby Lynn, 19 Faifili Levave, 20 Matt France, 21 Callum Bruce, 22 Sosene Anesi.
Date: Friday, February 29
Venue: Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Kick-off: 19:35 (07:35 GMT)
Referee: Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
Touch judges: Lyndon Bray (New Zealand), Garratt Williamson (New Zealand)
Television match official: Chris Rooney (New Zealand)
Assessor: Alan Riley (New Zealand)