Rugby: Japan captain to make Super Rugby debut for Chiefs

Japan captain Michael Leitch will make his Super Rugby debut this weekend for the Chiefs. Photographer: Paul Taylor.

Japan captain Michael Leitch will make his Super Rugby debut for the Chiefs on Sunday morning (NZT) when he starts at No8 against the Stormers in Cape Town.

Leitch is the only new inclusion in a forward pack that impressed in last weekend's loss to the Highlanders, while Dave Rennie has opted for four changes to a backline that squandered numerous opportunities in the three-point defeat.

Having been born in Christchurch, Leitch moved to Japan when he was 15 and was last year named the Cherry Blossoms' captain. The 26-year-old was a member of the Chiefs' wider-training squad in 2013 but injury denied him a chance to play, finally handed a chance this weekend with captain Liam Messam moving to blindside flanker.

"We brought Michael over from Japan for a reason and we wanted to get him in as early as we could," Rennie said. "He's an international footballer, he's really impressed us in training and he's a genuine lineout forward as well, so it just gives us a little bit more of an option there against a very good Stormers lineout."

The other changes to the run-on XV all come in the backs, a sign of the coaches' disappointment about a performance against the Highlanders in which the Chiefs were held to a pair of penalty tries.

Brad Weber will start ahead of Augustine Pulu at halfback while Tim Nanai-Williams will see his first action of the season after replacing the Andrew Horrell at centre. Bryce Heem starts in place of Hosea Gear on the right wing and Damian McKenzie comes in ahead of Tom Marshall at fullback.

Rennie indicated some of the changes were based on form while others were designed to add pace to the side and exploit the Stormers by spreading the ball.

"Bryce Heem's been going really well and he gets another crack," he said. "Tim's come back from injury and, especially with (the injured) Charlie [Ngatai] being out, we wanted a bit of gas at centre, and he's got a lot of experience obviously.

"Brad Weber gets a crack at nine again. He's been pretty strong, he's started the first two games and I think his pace will be really important in this game.

"Then Damian McKenzie, we're pretty keen to play him at 15. He's electric, he's got a great skillset and he's trained the house down. So we're really excited about unleashing him this weekend."

The Chiefs have enjoyed two solid days of training since touching down in the Republic, coming through a full-contact hit-out against a local club side today, and Rennie wasn't expecting the team named to suffer any withdrawals ahead of the match at Newlands against the unbeaten Stormers.

Chiefs team to play Stormers in Cape Town on Sunday morning (NZT):
1. Pauliasi Manu
2. Hika Elliot
3. Ben Tameifuna
4. Matt Symons
5. Michael Fitzgerald
6. Liam Messam
7. Sam Cane
8. Michael Leitch
9. Brad Weber
10. Aaron Cruden
11. James Lowe
12. Sonny Bill Williams
13. Tim Nanai-Williams
14. Bryce Heem
15. Damian McKenzie

Reserves:
16. Quentin MacDonald
17. Siate Tokolahi
18. Jamie Mackintosh
19. Michael Allardice
20. Maama Vaipulu
21. Augustine Pulu
22. Andrew Horrell
23. Tom Marshall