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Anton Lienert-Brown ruled out of Hurricanes clash with concussion

July 3, 2020
The Chiefs second-five says the constant competition pushes him to give it his all in every match.

The Chiefs will be without All Blacks midfielder Anton Lienert-Brown for this weekend's Super Rugby Aotearoa clash with the Hurricanes in Hamilton, appearing to have suffered a concussion.

Lienert-Brown, 25, will be a notable absentee for the Chiefs against the Hurricanes, with both sides looking for their first victory of the revamped season.

Coach Warren Gatland says Lienert-Brown suffered a knock to the head in last weekend's loss to the Crusaders.

"He was fine after the game. He just came in on Tuesday and had a bit of a headache, so asked for some Panadol," Gatland said.

"So we just said, 'Look, let's test him on the HIA,' and he failed his HIA 3.

"There's no pressure from us, and it's making sure that we just take precautions. Players can fail their HIA even when they haven't had knocks. But we just wanted to make sure he was right, so we're giving him a rest this week, and there's a bye week next week."

Lienert-Brown is replaced in midfield by Tumua Manu, while the impressive Quinn Tupaea moves from centre into second-five as a result.

Elsewhere, All Blacks halfback Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi returns to the side for the first time since February, while flanker Mitchell Karpik is another ruled out with concussion, replaced on the bench by Dylan Nel. Lock Tupo Vaa'i is the final change, replacing Adam Thomson.

Chiefs: 15. Damian McKenzie, 14. Sean Wainui, 13. Tumua Manu, 12. Quinn Tupaea, 11. Etene Nanai-Seturo, 10. Aaron Cruden, 9. Brad Weber, 8. Pita Gus Sowakula, 7. Sam Cane  (c), 6. Lachlan Boshier, 5. Naitoa Ah Kuoi, 4. Mitchell Brown, 3. Nepo Laulala, 2. Bradley Slater, 1. Aidan Ross.

Reserves: 16. Samisoni Taukei'aho, 17. Reuben O'Neill, 18. Ross Geldenhuys, 19. Tupou Vaa'i, 20. Dylan Nel, 21. Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, 22. Kaleb Trask, 23. Solomon Alaimalo.

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