Niggling injury a pain for Gibbes

Jono Gibbes

Chiefs captain Jono Gibbes remains optimistic he will be fit for the start of the Super 12 despite a minor setback to his recovery from a calf injury.

Gibbes will be among a number of frontline Chiefs missing from Friday night's opening trial against the Hurricanes at Pukekohe.

Gibbes' Northern Hemisphere tour with the All Blacks was rubbed out before it began after he tore the calf muscle during scrum training before the test against Italy in Rome.

He was a spectator at yesterday's training run at Waikato Stadium, where the Chiefs' fit All Blacks rejoined their colleagues after the summer break.

Gibbes said he would err on the side of caution but was still hopeful of playing in the following trial matches against the Brumbies and the Highlanders.

"I loaded it up again during a scrum session ... there was a recurrence of the calf problem when I put the full workload on," said Gibbes.

"Certainly it's frustrating. I felt that over summer I'd done what I needed to get it right and I'm just itching to get back into it.

"It's not significantly bad but it's put me back a couple of weeks from where I'd like to be.

"I'm optimistic it will be right for round one but I'd really like to have a hit-out before then.

"But there is no point trying to grit through it at this point. It's best to rest now and be right for the competition."

Should the problem persist, it will put particular pressure on the Chiefs' locking resources, with their high-workrate test forward Keith Robinson scheduled for a return only in early April, when hooker Tom Willis and wing Sitiveni Sivivatu are also due back.

Gibbes seems set to play a dual lock/loose forward role and has no positional preference, although he is keen to bring his test experience in the No 6 jersey back to the Super 12.

He will lead a Chiefs team that should have more inner confidence about their ability than in previous seasons, although they are eager to downplay last year's first-ever semifinals appearance.

"I think Fossie [coach Ian Foster] hit it on the head ... making the semifinal once in nine years is nothing to be cocky about," said Gibbes.

"But I feel a lot of the guys have got the monkey off their back.

"The competition is so harsh, there really isn't much difference between first and last.

"You've got to be constantly improving and it's the teams that learn from week to week that succeed."

Test halfback Byron Kelleher will also be rested on Friday night, and a hamstring injury has forced out wing Sailosi Tagicakibau, the former Counties Manukau speedster.

With Sivivatu out, the Chiefs are down to one specialist wing - Sosene Anesi.

But Foster was reasonably optimistic that, at this stage, only Robinson, Willis and Sivivatu would be missing from consideration in the opening round against the Waratahs in Sydney on February 25.

Prop Michael Collins, centres Mark Ranby and Keith Lowen, plus utility back Loki Crichton could all be fit to face the Brumbies next week.

Meanwhile, Hurricanes coach Colin Cooper plans to give all of his All Blacks a run on Friday night and is relishing the hot weather.

"We start the Super 12 in Australia and South Africa so the hotter the better."