The Chiefs will have Brodie Retallick at their disposal - albeit in a limited capacity - while fellow All Blacks Nepo Laulala, Nathan Harris and Anton Lienert-Brown will miss this weekend's clash with the Sunwolves, coach Colin Cooper said today.
With the All Blacks' workloads being managed during this Super Rugby season in order to avoid burnout ahead of the Rugby World Cup, coach Cooper's hand has been forced this week, with the trio of Laulala, Harris and Lienert-Brown given a week off.
With the All Blacks' plan being no stars play more than 180 minutes across the opening three rounds of Super Rugby, only Brodie Retallick will be available for the Chiefs this weekend, available for a 34 minute stint.
Speaking at Chiefs training today, Cooper confirmed the current situation.
"Nathan Harris, Anton Lienert-Brown, Nepo Laulala are all having All Black rests," he said.
"He's [Retallick] got minutes that we can use. We had a plan to take him off in the Brumbies game, but obviously Michael Allardice got injured. He had to play the whole 80.
"It would have been better to play more minutes in this game in front of his home crowd, but we're on limited minutes because of the All Blacks."
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