Chiefs line up for historic Jaguares clash

BIG-HEARTED: Bay of Plenty's Johan Bardoul will start at lock for the Chiefs against the Jaguares in Buenos Aries tomorrow morning. PHOTO/GETTY IMAGES

The Gallagher Chiefs will help make history tomorrow morning when they play the Jaguares in the first Investec Super Rugby game to be played in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The match against the side stacked with Pumas will be a stern test for the Chiefs. Head coach Dave Rennie has made several changes to the team that secured a seven-try bonus point 58-24 victory over the Southern Kings in Port Elizabeth last Saturday.

Japan international tight-head specialist Hiroshi Yamashita and veteran hooker Hika Elliot return to the starting XV to pack down alongside Mitchell Graham who retains his place at loose head. Bay of Plenty rake Nathan Harris is still recovering from a head knock received at training in Port Elizabeth.

Michael Allardice and Bay of Plenty's Johan Bardoul continue their locking partnership, with Tom Sanders returning to the fold to start at blind-side flanker alongside co-captain Sam Cane and No8 Michael Leitch.

"[Johan] is not the biggest lock in world rugby ... but he has a lot of heart and he will run all day and chase. He has a massive work ethic," Rennie said. "We have Brodie [Retallick] and Don Bird out injured so Teleni [Sua] would be the ideal one to put in there but Johan will give us more at scrum time.

"We brought [Hiroshi] in because of his experience as I thought that was important and we have Siate [Tokolahi] to back that up. Hika Elliot is our most experienced hooker and it was good to see him back out on the field last week. He has brought a fair bit of heart and is prepared to wag his finger and challenge and so on, so it has been good having him back in the mix.

"We brought Tom Sanders back in at flanker with Teleni covering our second row, so we want to keep him fresh for that. Backs-wise it was a tight call between the nines. I thought Brad Webber was sharp last week but they have big ball-carrying loose forwards and we think Tawera's defensive game will be really important this week.

"Anton Lienert-Brown deserves a crack and he gets it in a big game. I think his work rate's going to be massive. They have an impressive backline and are pretty dangerous from broken field play ...

"Sam McNichol gets the nod on the wing.

"We were keen to start him round one but he was injured so we are keen to see what he can do."