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Home / Sport / Rugby / Super Rugby

Rugby: Chiefs enjoy rare stability ahead of Brumbies clash

By Steve Deane
NZ Herald·
1 Apr, 2008 04:00 PM2 mins to read

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Jono Gibbes. Photo / Sarah Ivey

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KEY POINTS:

Their team announcement may have come on April Fools Day but it was no stitch-up - the Chiefs really are going to field an unchanged line-up for the first time this season, against the Brumbies in Canberra on Friday night.

Having rediscovered their attacking flair over the past
fortnight, the Chiefs are set to add a rare dose of stability as they look to continue their push towards the play-offs.

The return of back-up halfback Jamie Nutbrown from a first-round knee injury is the only change to the 22 that crushed the Highlanders in Hamilton on Saturday.

Captain Jono Gibbes and wing Soseni Anesi were the only active squad members not available for selection.

Gibbes (hamstring) is back in training and is in line for a return against the Crusaders in Hamilton in round 10, while Anesi (ankle) is day-to-day.

With the Chiefs having at last started to gel in hefty victories over the Highlanders and Bulls that have put them within a point of the play-off race, the opportunity to field an unchanged side is a welcome, if unfamiliar, luxury.

"We wanted to reward the players," assistant coach Craig Stevenson said. "We are pretty happy with where our game is at in terms of our attack.

"We are playing with a lot of confidence at the moment and some guys are coming into some real nice form."

The Brumbies, who are coming off a bye and sit three points behind the Chiefs on the ladder with a 3-3 record, have notched all of their wins in Canberra.

But they were unconvincing in seeing off the Highlanders by two points, were hammered by the Hurricanes in round five and were almost run down by the winless Cheetahs last time out.

They will, however, be boosted by the return of captain Stirling Mortlock, whose first appearance this season will be his 100th in Super Rugby.

Mortlock, who underwent a shoulder reconstruction following the World Cup, will likely take over the kicking duties from Mark Gerrard, whose naming in the Brumbies team this morning was dependent on the results of an MRI scan on his injured hamstring yesterday.

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