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.
