Reds without Hunt for Chiefs clash
A knee injury to Karmichael Hunt has forced a shuffle in the backline, with captain Samu Kerevi shifting to inside centre, Campbell Magnay brought into the starting side at outside centre and Duncan Paia’aua moved to fullback.
Stiles said: "It's obviously quite disappointing to lose Karmichael for this match as he has been one of our most consistent players. Thankfully it’s not a major injury concern, but it was enough to rule him out of this weekend.
"On the positive side, it allows us the opportunity to bring Campbell Magnay into the starting side for the first time this season. Campbell has worked hard to get back from injury. It's been a tough slog for him but he’s come out the other side and is raring to go.
"One of our big focuses this season has been on trying to develop the next crop of players. We’ve got a lot of promising young players in the squad at the moment and they’re learning through experience how tough Super Rugby is and what it takes to be successful in this competition. No doubt we'll be better for those experiences.
"There's no easy matches in Super Rugby and heading to New Zealand to take on the Chiefs provides its own set of challenges. We're looking forward to seeing how the side can respond after a bitterly disappointing result last weekend."
Reds: 15 Duncan Paia'aua, 14 Izaia Perese, 13 Campbell Magnay, 12 Samu Kerevi (captain), 11 Eto Nabuli, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 James Tuttle, 8 Scott Higginbotham, 7 George Smith, 6 Hendrik Tui, 5 Lukhan Tui, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Sam Talakai, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Sef Fa'agase.
Replacements: 16 Alex Mafi, 17 Kirwan Sanday, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Izack Rodda, 20 Leroy Houston, 21 Nick Frisby, 22 Hamish Stewart, 23 Chris Kuridrani.
Date: Saturday, May 6
Venue: Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth
Kick-off: 19.35 (17.35 AEST; 07.35 GMT)
Referee: Jamie Nutbrown (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Mike Fraser (New Zealand), Cam Stone (New Zealand)
TMO: Shane McDermott (New Zealand)
