Chiefs replacement in a flash

Young Counties Manukau wing Lelia Masaga is on his way to join the Chiefs in South Africa to replace injured provincial teammate Niva Ta'auso.

Ta'auso, a burly centre, limped off midway through the first half of the Chiefs' opening Super 14 game against the Sharks in Durban on Sunday morning.

The injury is likely to sideline the promising player for up to four weeks, so Masaga, a 19-year-old student nicknamed "Flash", gets his chance.

He made his debut for Counties in the NPC second division last year, bagging an impressive 10 tries on their march to the semifinals, and was picked in the New Zealand Divisional XV for their two-game trip to Fiji.

Ta'auso impressed when brought into the Chiefs midway through last year as a replacement for the injured Loki Crichton, scoring four tries in five games.

The good news on the injury front for the Chiefs, who were disappointing in losing 30-21 to the Sharks, is that regular captain Jono Gibbes is on track to be fit for Saturday morning's round-two match against the Cats in Johannesburg.

The former All Black loose forward/lock is on the mend after a lengthy layoff for a foot injury.

* Crusaders wing Tony Koonwaiyou is out of the Super 14 with a stress fracture to his right shin. Auckland player Koonwaiyou, who went to the defending champions in the draft, has been replaced by Canterbury's Stephen Brett, a member of the Crusaders training group.