KEY POINTS:
A rejigged and slightly miffed Chiefs side will take on the Stormers in Hamilton tomorrow night.
Coach Ian Foster welcomed back key midfielder Richard Kahui from an ankle injury but named him to start at second five-eighths, alongside Mills Muliaina, who switches from fullback to centre.
The merry-go-round
in the backs sees Soseni Anesi become the third different starting fullback in just five games.
"It maybe doesn't look like a settled, regular backline but I don't see that as a big problem for us," said Foster.
Injuries had forced him into many of the backline reshuffles that have characterised his selections this season, he said.
The Chiefs have struggled for defensive solidity in midfield but Foster was careful not to criticise last week's pairing, the injured Dwayne Sweeney and the dropped Callum Bruce.
The time was right to give Muliaina a run at centre and Bruce was unlucky to find himself on the bench, he said.
Foster also trod lightly around the axing of No 8 Sione Lauaki, who has been dropped to the bench in favour of the recalled Liam Messam.
Lauaki has been largely ineffective this season but Foster said the move was more about conditioning than form.
"Sione is a big part of our team, he is a fantastic player for us," he said.
Despite a curious display in which he spent long periods stationed in the backfield alongside the wingers and fullback, Foster said Lauaki had played well against the Cheetahs and helped "suck the energy" out of them.
A spell on the bench would help freshen up the big No 8, he said.
Foster wasn't bothered by Lauaki's visible show of disappointment at being subbed off against the Cheetahs.
"I saw it as a positive that he didn't want to come off. He's getting closer and closer to being an 80-minute player."
The Chiefs won't lack for motivation against a Stormers side who are cock-a-hoop after scoring their first victory of the season over the Reds in Brisbane at the weekend.
Foster bridled at comments coming out of the South Africans' camp that suggested they already had one eye on next week's clash with the Blues.
"The Stormers have come out and said they think they can go unbeaten [on tour]and that they might even beat the Blues. Those words put in perspective how they view the Chiefs," Foster said.
The injury curse that has decimated the Chiefs' locking resources is showing no signs of abating. Mark Burman is out for the season just days after being called up as a replacement for Kristian Ormsby, who is also out for the entire campaign.
Burman injured knee ligaments playing for a Waikato XV against Wellington on Friday night. Auckland lock Jay Williams is being assessed as a potential replacement.
