As much as assistant coach David Hill tried to deny it, the Chiefs look set to keep their powder very much dry for the Super Rugby Aotearoa final.
With their place in the May 8 decider against the Crusaders in Christchurch locked in, the Chiefs have the luxury of a dead rubber final-round clash against the Blues in Auckland on Saturday night, which they can use in whatever way they feel will give them the best preparation for the big one.
And by the look of their Tuesday afternoon training at their Ruakura headquarters, the visitors to Eden Park are indeed going to make a raft of changes to their lineup, as they rest up their big guns for next weekend.
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Anton Lienert-Brown is another big gun the Chiefs will want to rest up ahead of the final.
Star playmaker Damian McKenzie matchwinner from the past four games has played every minute of the campaign so far and will be the most obvious man to freshen up.
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Fellow All Blacks Anton Lienert-Brown (all but 40 minutes), Brad Weber (started every game) and Tupou Vaai (missed one with concussion and started the rest) are others, while the likes of prop Angus Ta’avao, hooker Samisoni Taukeiaho, flanker Mitchell Brown and winger Etene Nanai-Seturo have also logged big minutes, and two-test loosie Luke Jacobson could be given an extra week to ease back from a concussion issue.
Fronting media prior to training, Hill tried to suggest the Chiefs wouldnt go down the rest and rotation route, for a Battle of the Bombays he said was their biggest rivalry.
I dont think were willing to rest anyone, he said.
We had a pile of players come in Monday morning ready to play again. So theyre obviously enjoying their rugby, theyre always keen to play and pull on the Chiefs jersey. And, I think playing the Blues, that rivalry has got a few of them pretty excited.
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Chiefs assistant coach David Hill wasnt confirming his sides plan to rest their big guns.
The analysts are not allowed to put up any footage of the Crusaders or anything, so we do our best to keep things nice and focused, preparing for the Blues. Its just stay on task and as weve learnt throughout this competition, the grind on a Monday/Tuesday is pretty important.
Our best preparation for a final is actually having a good week this week and putting in a performance we are proud of on the weekend.
So its just a matter of finding the mix for this game. Theyre [the Blues] on a four or five-day turnaround having played Sunday afternoon, theyll be banged up, so were looking at putting out a team that can beat them.
But, even if it kills the Chiefs winning momentum now five victories on the trot the bigger picture will most surely be at the forefront of the coaches minds.
Making that an even easier decision for them is the teams draw, which saw their byes come in rounds one and six, meaning two lots of four games in a row. That becomes five this time with the final, then the trans-Tasman competition starts straight after and thats 10 on the trot, and if they were to make the decider of that one, its a whopping 11.
The Chiefs are already counting the cost of the brutal all-Kiwi comp, with Tuesdays announcement that a trio of loose forwards Kaylum Boshier, Mitchell Karpik and Simon Parker had been ruled out for the rest of the Super season.
Messam says he is ready to add to his record 179 caps for the Chiefs this weekend.
That has seen Tom Florence and Liam Messam called in, and they could potentially take the park as soon as this weekend.
Liams played 179 games for the Chiefs, so I dont think he needs too much prep, he could probably do it blindfolded, so hes ready to go, he volunteers to come down, so now hes getting paid he better do the job properly, quipped Hill, whose last season at the Chiefs crossed over with Messams first, in 2006.
Hill said Messams experience, mana and presence, both in meetings and on-field, will be beneficial.
He doesnt say as much as he used to when he was captain, arguing with refs and debating with coaches. But just having him there is good for the younger guys, he’s the ultimate pro.
Hill also confirmed injured midfielder Quinn Tupaea has been replaced by Waikato utility Gideon Wrampling for just the rest of the Aotearoa campaign.