23rd December 2009 09:39AM

The Chiefs will play three New Zealand franchises in their preseason campaign early next year.

The first Chiefs hit-out will be against the Highlanders in Dunedin on Saturday 23 January, followed the next week with a match against the Blues on Friday 29 January in Albany.

Then the Chiefs play their first pre-season match on home turf when they take on the Hurricanes in Rotorua on Friday 5 February. Kick off is 3.00pm.

Chiefs coach Ian Foster says he is happy with the progress of his players so far in the December training period which has largely had a fitness focus.

"They will get a two-week break for Christmas and the New Year, then get back into training on January 7. We'll be hitting into a lot more rugby specific training from that time.

"The preseason game schedule ensures we can get some combinations together before our squad heads overseas for the start of what will once again be an exciting competition."

For the Rebel Sport Super 14 competition the Chiefs begin their campaign off-shore, firstly in South Africa for games against the Sharks and Lions, then in Australia playing Western Force in Perth, before returning home.

The first Chiefs home game in the championship is against the Reds at Waikato Stadium on Friday 5 March. Kick off is 7.35pm.

Chiefs Pre-Season Fixtures

Chiefs v Highlanders Saturday 23 January Dunedin 2.30pm
Chiefs v Blues Friday 29 January Albany 5.30pm
Chiefs v Hurricanes Friday 5 February Rotorua 3.00pm

Change to Chiefs v Blues Date

The Chiefs v Blues match to be played in Auckland in week 14 has been moved from Friday 14 May to Saturday 15 May. Kick off is still 7.35pm.

SANZAR just released details that some matches for weeks 13 and 14 of the Rebel Sport Super 14 competition have been amended following a change in flight schedules which would have impacted on team preparations