Chief mission to prove worth

Jamie Nutbrown says he was "gutted" when the Crusaders didn't want him. Ross Land / Getty Images

Jamie Nutbrown will be aiming to repay the first part of the Chiefs' investment in him against the Cats in Johannesburg tomorrow morning.

The Chiefs - through their franchise member Bay of Plenty - picked up the 24-year-old halfback when the Crusaders gave him the shove shortly before naming their Super 14 squad last October.

Nutbrown, a born and bred Cantabrian, played 15 Super 12 games for the Crusaders and had been a Canterbury NPC squad member since 2003. So when the Crusaders moved to sign Chiefs and Bay of Plenty No 9 Kevin Senio, and plump for New Zealand Colt Andy Ellis ahead of him, Nutbrown took it hard.

"It was a bit gutting having grown up here and played all my rugby here and to find I wasn't wanted," Nutbrown said at the time. "I certainly wasn't expecting it."

So the Bay, peeved at the Crusaders pinching Senio, did a tit for tat. They signed Nutbrown, who now gets his first chance for the Chiefs in a starting role, replacing All Black Byron Kelleher tomorrow.

Nutbrown got a few minutes at the end of the 30-21 loss to the Sharks last weekend.

"I'm very impressed with Jamie," Chiefs coach Ian Foster said from Cape Town yesterday. "He's trained well, looks in good shape and it was always our strategy in the first three games to use the resources we had."

Nutbrown is one of four changes to the starting XV. Mark Ranby, who came on for the injured Niva Ta'auso midway through the first half in Durban, keeps the centre spot; Kristian Ormsby replaces Sean Hohneck at lock, Hohneck troubled by a niggling knee strain; and Deacon Manu starts at tighthead prop, Ben Castle dropping to the bench.

Regular captain Jono Gibbes makes his return from a lengthy injury layoff from the reserves bench.

Nutbrown caught the eye from the time he started with the Crusaders, as a pacy, perky halfback. In 1999, he was a national secondary schools representative and made the New Zealand under 21 team two years later.

He learnt the ropes at top level as understudy to Justin Marshall in Christchurch.

He'll have an equally difficult job ousting Kelleher for much of this Super 14 too. But a strong display against the Cats will put a bit of extra heat on the All Black, who was a late returner to Super 14 squad duty.

"He brings enthusiasm and freshness. Physically there's been a big improvement in the last month or so. What he needs now is quality time on the pitch," Foster added.

And he'll also be highly motivated to prove Crusaders coach Robbie Deans was wrong last October, although the Chiefs hope not to the extent where he loses sight of the job at hand.

"Certainly he's determined to prove a point," Foster said. "He went through a bit of frustration at the decision from down south. But he's at peace with that now and sometimes a new challenge is just what a player needs."