Chiefs midfielder

Ngatai ankle 'not good enough'

An ankle injury suffered in the 28-10 final-round win over the Brumbies in Hamilton last Saturday night kept the 26-year-old from travelling with the team, coach Dave Rennie revealed from South Africa on Tuesday evening.

Ngatai went down early in the match, and while he played on, he was then pulled at halftime as a precaution, but in the end wasn't taken on the long haul, with Rennie seeing it as too much of a gamble.

Charlie Ngati back for Chiefs after head knock

Ngatai ,26, will play his first game almost a year to the day since a head knock against the Highlanders left him with long-term concussion symptoms, placing his career at risk.

A one-cap All Black, the Taranaki ace was one of 2016's standout performers in midfield and likely would've played more Tests.

Instead, Ngatai has slowly worked his way back to full health and fitness, ticking off the final boxes with three club rugby appearances.