Nankivell ruled out after visa error

Chiefs midfielder Alex Nankivell was barred from entering South Africa for his side’s Super Rugby quarter- final against the Stormers.

Nankivell was a possible starter at second- five for the Chiefs early tomorrow morning but an issue with his passport meant he could not enter Johannesburg when the Chiefs arrived this week. Chiefs coach Dave Rennie put the issue down to a clerical error when the passports were sorted in Wellington.

“All the passports are administered in Wellington, they had to be physically taken down there, and all our visas are valid until 31/ 8/ 2017. For some reason, Alex’s expired at the end of June.”

The Chiefs hadn’t played in South Africa since April, meaning the issue was discovered only when he landed in Johannesburg.

“There was absolutely no flexibility from the South African border and they said he had to be sent back to the port that he came from, which was Sydney,” said Rennie. “We were hoping to sort it from there but he had to go back to Wellington to have the passport amended.”

The Chiefs originally li sted Nankivell as being out due to illness but Rennie attempted to explain that creative use of the injury report.

“Our focus i s on the game. We didn’t want the focus to be on something at the border. What we were saying was that he’s travelled 50 hours on the plane, so we’ve deemed that he’s not well enough to travel.”

Rennie said he was not interested in placing blame, noting it was frustrating for the team and Nankivell.

“I couldn’t have told you what the date on my [ visa] was either. The expectation was that those in Wellington had done their job properly.”

Nankivell’s visa has now been corrected, meaning he will be available if the Chiefs return to South Africa later in the playoffs.