Rugby: Chiefs player barred from entering South Africa

Alex Nankivell. Photo / Getty

Chiefs midfielder Alex Nankivell has been barred from entering South Africa for his side's Super Rugby quarter-final against the Stormers.

Nankivell was a possible starter at second-five for the Chiefs on Sunday morning, but an issue with his passport meant he could not enter Johannesburg when the Chiefs arrived earlier this week.

Chiefs coach Dave Rennie put the issue down to a clerical error when the passports were sorted in Wellington.

"All the passports are administered in Wellington, they had to be physically taken down there, and all our visas are valid until 31/8/2017, for some reason Alex's.... expired at the end of June."

The Chiefs hadn't played in South Africa since April, meaning the issue was only discovered when he landed in Johannesburg.

"There was absolutely no flexibility from the South African border and they said he had to be sent back to the port that he came from which was Sydney.

"We were hoping to sort it from there, but he had to go back to Wellington to have the passport amended," said Rennie.

The Chiefs originally listed Nankivell as being out due to illness, but Rennie attempted to explain that creative use of the injury report.

"Our focus is on the game this weekend - we didn't want the focus to be on something at the border.

"What we were saying was that he's travelled 50 hours on the plane, so we've deemed that he's not well enough to travel."

Rennie wasn't interested in placing blame on anyone, noting it was a frustrating time for both the team and Nankivell.

"We're not going to apportion blame here. To be honest, I couldn't have told you what the date on my [visa] was either. The expectation was that those in Wellington had done their job properly."

Nankivell's visa has now been corrected, meaning he will be available if the Chiefs return to South Africa later in the playoffs.

For now though, Rennie is keen to put the week's drama behind him, and look towards their showdown with the Stormers.

"It's the biggest weekend of our season so far, that's where our focus is."