Tana Umaga to start for Chiefs

Wellington - Former All Blacks captain Tana Umaga will make an early comeback to Vodacom Super Rugby after being named in the Chiefs' starting line-up for Saturday's match against the Brumbies.

Umaga, 37, will play at inside centre for the Canberra match, his first in Super rugby since he was a Hurricanes regular four years ago.

Chiefs coach Ian Foster has paired the 74-Test veteran with Dwayne Sweeney in a strong Chiefs backline which also includes current All Blacks fullback Mils Muliaina.

Foster said while Umaga had been out of Super Rugby for some time, playing and coaching in France since his international retirement, "I think the best way to get true value out of him in this campaign is to give him that early taste of it."

Teams

Chiefs:
15. Mils Muliaina (captain), 14. Tim Nanai-Williams, 13. Dwayne Sweeney, 12. Tana Umaga, 11. Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10. Stephen Donald, 9. Brendon Leonard, 8. Fritz Lee, 7. Tanerau Latimer, 6. Liam Messam, 5. Romana Graham, 4. Craig Clarke, 3. Nathan White, 2. Aled de Malmanche, 1. Ben May

Substitutes: 16. Toby Smith, 17. Daniel Perrin, 18. Hayden Triggs, 19. Scott Waldrom, 20. Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 21. Jackson Willison, 22. Lelia Masaga

Brumbies
TBA