Charlie Ngatai is on the improve from his second lot of concussion symptoms, but after a consult with his specialist, the midfielder will sit out another week for the Chiefs, missing their match against the Waratahs in Hamilton on Saturday.
After being out of Super Rugby for a year following the head knock he sustained last season, Ngatai returned with a strong performance against the Reds in New Plymouth on May 6, but following the bye he had headaches post-training on May 15.
That saw him ruled out of the match against the Crusaders in Fiji, and the Chiefs understandably played it cautiously in keeping him out of the game against the Blues in Auckland last Friday.
There were indications he would then be back into action this weekend, however coach Dave Rennie said Ngatai last week visited the specialist who he'd dealt with throughout his initial concussion, and his recommendation was to give it three weeks, so the Chiefs won't be considering him until next Friday's match against the Hurricanes in Wellington.
"He's good, the head feels good, he's been training fully, so again we're going to be cautious and take the advice of the expert," Rennie said.
The Chiefs have mixed news on their other two concussed players - both also midfield options, who failed head injury assessments against the Crusaders and missed the Blues game. Sam McNicol won't be considered, though is close, but Stephen Donald - providing he got through contact on Tuesday afternoon - will be, and, by the look of Tuesday morning's training run, could be in for a start at second five-eighth in what will be his 100th match for the franchise.
The other injury concerns for the side centre around Tim Nanai-Williams, who did an ankle against the Blues and is considered a chance of facing the Waratahs, though there's a ready-made replacement for the right wing in Toni Pulu, who is fit again after a hamstring niggle kept him out of the past two fixtures. New Zealand Sevens rep Joe Webber was also taking part in training, the former Waikato now Bay of Plenty winger having been called in as a replacement player.
Having been made to settle for a 16-16 draw against the Blues, the Chiefs now won't be able to top the New Zealand conference unless they collect bonus-point wins from their remaining games, against the Waratahs, Hurricanes and Brumbies, and the Crusaders take zero points from clashes with the Highlanders and Hurricanes. It's more so now a battle for second place in the Kiwi pecking order and a likely quarterfinal in Canberra instead of Cape Town.
Rennie was disappointed with his side's inability to build pressure against the Blues, managing just 36 per cent possession and 40 per cent territory, while discipline keeps being a big factor.
"We lost the penalty count 11-4 too. Four of them were sort of 50-50 but seven of them weren't clever, so we've got to take the referee out of the game and maybe paint better pictures," Rennie said.
Asked if his players needed to remain calmer on the park too, Rennie went on to raise questions around how Blues replacement prop Alex Hodgman was able to get away with no citing after a dropping a shoulder into Damian McKenzie, who was on the ground at a ruck late in the game.
"I think what the guys were most fired up about was the cheap shot on Damian, which, for some reason went undetected. So that's why we had two or three of the guys trying to tell the referee [Nick Briant] to go back and have another look, but the TMO [Glenn Newman] decided there was nothing in it."
Replays seemed inconclusive as to whether the contact was with head or shoulder, but Rennie was adamant it was the former.
"Again, all we're asking for around that is consistency. Johnny Fa'auli got a four-week suspension for something that was far less than 100 things I've seen in other games."
Photo by: GRANT MATTHEW/FAIRFAX NZ
(Charlie Ngatai returned against the Reds in New Plymouth this month, but has been sidelined with concussion symptoms again since).