Gibbes joins Chiefs party; Leonard recovers at home

Gibbes joins Chiefs party; Leonard recovers at home
Wednesday, 30 April 2008
Gibbes joins Chiefs party; Leonard recovers at home - Rugby news & coverage - Stuff.co.nz


The in-form Chiefs will be without All Black Brendon Leonard when they face the Western Force in their Super 14 rugby match at Perth on Saturday.

The halfback is remaining behind in New Zealand to continue his recovery from a bruised knee but could join his teammates when they complete their round-robin schedule with two matches in South Africa.

Coach Ian Foster said today that Leonard would assessed on a week-by-week basis to determine if he would fit to play against the Lions in Johannesburg or the Sharks in Durban.

The injury sidelined Leonard from the Chiefs' 32-20 victory over the Queensland Reds in Hamilton last weekend, a result that lifted them to fourth on the points table.

While the Chiefs are heading across the Tasman without Leonard, they have been boosted by the addition of skipper Jono Gibbes to their 26-strong tour party.

Gibbes hasn't played in the Super 14 since suffering a hamstring tear in the round-three defeat to the Hurricanes in late February, but came through 60 minutes of a club rugby last weekend.

Foster said it was unlikely at this stage that Gibbes would get a run against the Force, especially if there were no problems with the other locks in the party.

He said a decision would be made on Thursday, but Gibbes would probably benefit from another week of full-on training with the squad.

Because of airline seating availability, Gibbes, fellow-lock Kevin O'Neill and frontrower Aled de Malmanche headed for Perth today.

The rest of the squad will fly over tomorrow.

Chiefs' travelling squad: Sosene Anesi, David Bason, Callum Bruce, Ben Castle, Simms Davison, Aled de Malmanche, Stephen Donald, Jono Gibbes, Hayden Hopgood, Richard Kahui, Tanerau Latimer, Sione Lauaki, Simon Lemalu, Faifili Levave, Toby Lynn, Lelia Masaga, Ben May, Liam Messam, Mils Muliaina, Jamie Nutbrown, Kevin O'Neill, Sitveni Sivivatu, Dwayne Sweeney, Viliame Waqaseduadua, Jay Williams, Tom Willis.