Damian McKenzie will miss the Chiefs' season opener against the Blues. Photo / Photosport
Damian McKenzie will miss the Chiefs' season opener against the Blues. Photo / Photosport
Damian McKenzie has been ruled out of the Chiefs season opener against the Blues on Friday night due to a tight adductor.
McKenzie was named in the starting XV on Wednesday at fullback, but suffered an injury in training and won't be risked so early in the season.
McKenzie hasn'tfeatured in the regular season since suffering an ACL tear in a match against the Blues last April. Shaun Stevenson, who was not selected in the initial match-day 23, will take his place in the backline.
The Chiefs will begin the season with two players on debut in their starting XV and five All Blacks on the bench.
In his first team as Chiefs coach, Warren Gatland has made some surprising selections with Waikato Mitre 10 Cup star Quinn Tupaea given the start at centre while Kaleb Trask gets the nod in the No 10 jersey for Friday's clash against the Blues in Auckland.
The 21-year-old Trask gets the first shot in the vacant No 10 role after an impressive Mitre 10 Cup campaign with Bay of Plenty. Armed with a strong kicking game and the ability to read the game and make plays accordingly, Trask will be thrust straight into the deep end to see how he handles the step up in competition.
In the pack, Sam Cane will move to No 8, with Mitchell Karpik on the openside. Atu Moli, Angus Ta'avao, Brad Weber, Anton Lienert-Brown and Aaron Cruden will all start the year from the bench, while Mitchell Brown joins Tylor Ardon at lock and Aidan Ross gets the nod at loose head prop.
"We have an exciting squad and we believe the team we have chosen reflects this," Gatland said of his squad.
"It is a great opportunity for our rookies to pull on the Chiefs jersey for the first time in what is expected to be a great competitive derby between two rival sides. We know the Blues will be a good sturdy challenge first up but one the boys and fans are excited about."
Kaleb Trask will start at first five-eighth for the Chiefs against the Blues. Photo / Getty Images
Lachlan McWhannell, Luke Jacobson, Michael Allardice, Nathan Harris, Reuben O'Neill and Tumua Manu were all unavailable for selection.
As well as naming the squad for their opening match, the Chiefs confirmed hooker Nathan Harris would miss the entire 2020 season to recover from a shoulder injury.
As reported by the Herald earlier this month, Harris underwent shoulder surgery to repair his rotator cuff, which followed on from an ankle fracture suffered during last year's Mitre 10 Cup campaign.
He will be out of the Super Rugby season, but is expected to return in time for the Mitre 10 Cup. Harris has been replaced in the Chiefs squad by Counties Manukau hooker Donald Maka.
Chiefs team to face Blues: Shaun Stevenson, Sean Wainui, Quinn Tupaea, Alex Nankivell, Solomon Alaimalo, Kaleb Trask, Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, Sam Cane (c), Mitchell Karpik, Lachlan Boshier, Mitchell Brown, Tyler Ardron, Nepo Laulala, Samisoni Taukei'aho, Aidan Ross.
