Wallaby centre to debut as Chiefs return home.

Gibbes has also moved All Blacks Simon Parker and Emoni Narawa from the bench to start at blindside and wing respectively. Kaylum Boshier moves from six to openside and the bench has been bolstered by the return of All Blacks loose forwards Wallace Sititi and Samipeni Finau.   

Xavier Roe will play his 50^th Super Rugby after the former Hamilton Boys High School product made his debut against the Highlanders in 2021.  

The Gallagher Chiefs will run out at FMG Stadium Waikato for the first time this year, with the stadium renamed Rugby Park for Saturday in homage to their first ever Super Rugby match. 

That match, in 1996, saw the Gallagher Chiefs beat the Crusaders 27-26 at a sold-out Rugby Park in Hamilton. 

This Saturday’s game marks a return home for Foketi, the Hamilton-born nine test Wallaby centre, who was part of the Chiefs development program under former coach Dave Rennie, before being picked up by the Waratahs. 

Foketi spent his teenage years in Australia and played two Super Rugby games for the Rebels in 2014.  He moved back to New Zealand to play for Bay of Plenty the following year and was included in the Chiefs development program.  But his professional career truly kicked off when he was contracted to the Waratahs in 2018 – playing 83 games during his eight years with the Sydney club. 

“We are really excited about playing in front of our friends and whanau.   We’ve effectively had three weeks on the road … so it’s really nice to get underway at home.” 

Gibbes acknowledged the significance of Foketi’s Gallagher Chiefs debut in the city of his childhood, and Roe’s milestone match. 

“It’s nice to be able to achieve these things at home,” Gibbes said.  “We are really excited about playing in front of our friends and whanau.  We’ve effectively had three weeks on the road with the Hurricanes preseason match in Porirua, so it’s really nice to get underway at home.” 

Damian McKenzie has re-joined the Gallagher Chiefs after four weeks out with the birth of his first child.  Cortez Ratima was not considered due to paternity leave. 

With only minor changes to his side, Gibbes is pleased to see consistency in selection despite huge pressure on the coaches from the players. 

“We’ve got a healthy squad so that helps with the consistency in selections, but the players are making it really tough to pick the team – which is great.” 

In addition to the main event, Saturday’s game day will feature a curtain raiser between the University of Waikato Chiefs Tāua against the Crusaders XV and live entertainment reminiscent of 1996.