Blake Gibson went off with an ankle injury as the Blues and Chiefs went through their pre-season paces in Waiuku.

It was not the most auspicious of starts for new Blues rugby co-captain Blake Gibson on a sunny afternoon in Beaver country, aka Waiuku.

Gibson's Blues and nearest neighbours the Chiefs got together in Steven Donald's hometown deep in the Counties heartland for an opposed hitout that saw both sides work through a series of play phases in a controlled rugby environment, with a referee keeping things ticking over.

For the record four tries were split two apiece and both coaching staffs expressed satisfaction at what they were able to achieve in the first real physical hitout of their Super Rugby pre-season.

The two sides will meet again next Saturday in Kaikohe, Northland, for a much more structured rugby contest over four 20-minute quarters.

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On the injury front, the Chiefs escaped scot-free ("Better than a bonus point," beamed assistant coach Tabai Matson), while the Blues were not so fortunate, with co-skipper and loose forward Blake Gibson the main concern with an injured ankle.

Given Gibson's troubled injury history already early in his professional career, it's a ding that causes a little more consternation than it might otherwise have among the Blues who believe the young No 7 can lead their reclamation project in 2019.

Blues assistant coach Tom Coventry said injuries were part of the deal when you introduced full contact to proceedings, but admitted Gibson was the last person they wanted to see limping off.

"This is part of the process of graduating them back into full rugby, and the old saying is you've got to crack a few eggs to make an omelette. Unfortunately we lost Blake with an ankle injury and Jed Brown went off with a sore calf.

"Blake especially will be a bit disappointed considering he's been off the paddock for a little while, but hopefully it's not too major."

Coventry was guardedly happy with what he saw from his team, which included Ma'a Nonu getting through a busy run in midfield as he launches his bid to win a fairytale spot in the All Blacks.

"It was a bit messy and we would have liked to hold the ball a bit longer," he said. "There were a few handling errors, our timing was a little off and we also need to get bodies a bit lower through contact. But at this time of the year you knock each other around a bit, and it's good to knock someone else around for a while.

"We'll get a lot out of what we saw today. We were good with ball in hand close to the tryline, and not so good on the edge. We're probably fitter than we've been, and the All Blacks came back today to train, so it feels like the squad is coming together."

Matson liked what he saw from some new faces such as Etene Nanai-Seturo and Japan-based Ataata Moeakiola and said it was just good for his players to dip their toes back in the waters of full contact rugby.

"It was really good just to have a training run and not complicate what we got out of it with a game. It was perfect for us. The guys were breathing heavily because it doesn't matter how fit you are, the first game hurts.

"It's been a good day. We tested a couple of the young guys and you can see they'll definitely handle Super Rugby. Etene looks capable, and showed little glimpses of the excitement he brought to sevens, and to see Ataata charging down that sideline was awesome."

Matson confirmed the Chiefs don't expect to see All Blacks loose forward Sam Cane back from his back injury until several months into the season. "He's still miles away. We're still looking at April-May."

But the news was better on props Atu Moli and Kane Hames who have both had long spells out of the game. Moli was close to playing in Friday's hitout and Hames is also due back with the returning All Blacks next week. "We're really positive about having those players available this season," said Matson.