New dad Damian McKenzie one of several All Blacks to sit out Chiefs’ Super Rugby Pacific opener

Wednesday, 11 February 2026

Damian McKenzie will miss the Chiefs’ Super Rugby Pacific opener following the birth of his first child.

What: Super Rugby Pacific, Rd 1, Blues v Chiefs; Where: Eden Park, Auckland; When: Saturday, 7.05pm; Live on Sky Sport 1.

New dad Damian McKenzie will sit out the Chiefs’ Super Rugby Pacific season-opener against the Blues in Auckland on Saturday night.

In announcing their team on Wednesday, the Chiefs said the veteran playmaker was not considered for the Battle of the Bombays clash at Eden Park following the birth of his first child last week.

McKenzie, 30, and partner Georgia O’Sullivan (daughter of champion New Zealand jockey and horse trainer Lance O’Sullivan) had revealed in October last year that they were set to become parents in February.

The 140-cap first-five is one of several big guns who won’t suit up for the Chiefs in round one, with new coach Jono Gibbes opting to keep plenty of powder dry.

Prop Ollie Norris, loose forwards Simon Parker and Wallace Sititi, and wingers Leroy Carter and Emoni Narawa are the other All Blacks not selected, while Brodie McAlister is out with a broken hand, which had seen a late change of plans for Samisoni Taukei’aho, who was originally going to skip the first couple of rounds.

Josh Jacomb will run the cutter for the Chiefs in the absence of Damian McKenzie in this weekend’s opening round.

In addition to McAlister, the only other players unavailable were newly-recruited former Wallaby midfielder Lalakai Foketi, who is expected back by round three after sustaining a knee injury in the 29-0 pre-season win over the Hurricanes in Porirua last Saturday; prop Sione Ahio, who is nursing a minor ankle sprain from that game; and young outside back signing Isaac Hutchinson, who is targeting a round-eight return from his horror knee injury last year.

In McKenzie’s absence, the Chiefs have a pretty handy operator at the controls, with Josh Jacomb taking the No 10 jersey, in what is the All Blacks XV rep’s last season at the franchise before shifting to the Highlanders.

There are four players set to debut for the franchise, with former Moana Pasifika star Kyren Taumoefolau to start on the right wing, in a back-three that also features Liam Coombes-Fabling, who missed all of last season with a knee injury.

The other three debutants are all uncapped at Super level ‒ Bay of Plenty, Māori All Blacks and All Blacks XV prop Benet Kumeroa; Waikato utility and former All Blacks Sevens rep Tepaea Cook-Savage; and Manawatū midfielder Kyle Brown ‒ and will all play from a bench that also features a pair of All Blacks in Samipeni Finau and Cortez Ratima.

“When the team was announced there was a big roar for the debutants and there’s a recognition that it is a special time for them,” Gibbes said, as his three-time runner-up outfit go into a new season with some confidence after two pre-season victories, and with plenty of established combinations.

Blues hooker Bradley Slater will face his ex-Chiefs team-mates on Saturday night.

“You always know that you haven’t had enough time to focus on every single thing. There will be some stuff that is highlighted by a very good Blues team – that’s the size of the challenge. It’s important for us that we fall back to what we have trained.”

Meanwhile, the Blues have three debutants of their own, including former Chiefs hooker Bradley Slater, who will start, with the other two ‒ Canterbury loose forward and wider training group member Torian Barnes, and Auckland rep and former All Blacks Sevens flyer Codemeru Vai ‒ named in the reserves.

With Patrick Tuipulotu still rehabilitating his shoulder, Dalton Papali’i will captain Vern Cotter’s outfit, who start the season without All Blacks playmaker Beauden Barrett, who will be eased back into action in the coming weeks.

After winning the corresponding contest 25-14 last year, the Chiefs backed that up with a 32-31 victory at home a month later, before the Blues then stunned them with that last-gasp 20-19 victory in Hamilton in the qualifying final, which ultimately cost the top seeds home advantage in the decider, that they lost 16-12 to the Crusaders in Christchurch.

“It’s a fixture that has brought the best out in both teams over the years,” Gibbes, a former Chiefs rep (69 caps between 2001-2008) and captain, noted.

“There’s a long history of the red, yellow and black colours flying high at Eden Park so hopefully that is the case this week.”

Blues: Zarn Sullivan, Cole Forbes, AJ Lam, Pita Ahki, Caleb Clarke, Stephen Perofeta, Finlay Christie, Hoskins Sotutu, Dalton Papali’i (c), Torian Barnes, Josh Beehre, Sam Darry, Ofa Tu’ungafasi, Bradley Slater, Joshua Fusitu’a. Reserves: James Mullan, Mason Tupaea, Marcel Renata, Laghlan McWhannell, Anton Segner, Sam Nock, Xavi Taele, Codemeru Vai.

Chiefs: Etene Nanai-Seturo, Kyren Taumoefolau, Daniel Rona, Quinn Tupaea, Liam Coombes-Fabling, Josh Jacomb, Xavier Roe, Luke Jacobson (c), Jahrome Brown, Kaylum Boshier, Tupou Vaa’i, Josh Lord, George Dyer, Samisoni Taukei’aho, Jared Proffit. Reserves: Tyrone Thompson, Benet Kumeroa, Reuben O’Neill, Seuseu Naitoa Ah Kuoi, Samipeni Finau, Cortez Ratima, Tepaea Cook-Savage, Kyle Brown.