Chiefs captain Sam Cane will sit out the Super Rugby Aotearoa opener against the Highlanders on Saturday with a stiff back.
The exclusion of the newly crowned All Blacks skipper will be a blow to the Chiefs as they will now have to play their first game in months without the star loose-forward.
The match will take place at Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium and will be the first event in the country to host a crowd of fans since COVID-19 lockdown restrictions banning large crowds were put in place.
Those restrictions have now lifted after New Zealand entered Alert Level 1 today.
The Chiefs will play the Highlanders at 7.05pm Saturday while the Blues take on the Hurricanes at 3.35pm Sunday
Source; TV NZ
