Waikato Chiefs
| Union | New Zealand Rugby Union |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1996 |
| Location | Hamilton, New Zealand |
| Region |
Bay of Plenty Counties Manukau King Country Thames Valley Waikato Taranaki |
| Ground(s) | Waikato Stadium (Capacity: 26,000) |
| Coach(es) | Dave Rennie |
| Captain(s) |
Sam Cane & Aaron Cruden |
| Most caps | Liam Messam (149 caps) |
| Top scorer | Stephen Donald (860) |
| League(s) | Super Rugby |
| 2016 | Semifinalist 3rd (New Zealand Conference) 4th (Australasian Group) 6th (overall) |
| Official website | |
| www |
|
The Chiefs (formerly known as the Waikato Chiefs and officially called the Gallagher Chiefs for sponsorship reasons) are a professional rugby union team based in Hamilton, New Zealand. Their primary home ground is Waikato Stadium. The Chiefs play in black, red and yellow coloured jerseys. The team competes in the Super Rugby competition, previously known as the Super 12 from 1996 to 2005 and Super 14 from 2006 to 2010. The Chiefs are one of the competition's five New Zealand sides.
Until 2004, the Chiefs were the only New Zealand side to never have qualified for the Super 12 semi-finals. In that year the Chiefs earned their first semi-final berth, and in the end achieved fourth place (defeated 37–20 in the semi-final by the ACT Brumbies). They subsequently made the 2009 final, but found themselves on the short end of a record 61–17 defeat by the Bulls.
The Chiefs were rewarded with a home final after a strong 2012 season. Their opponents, the Sharks, went into the match as underdogs. The Chiefs defeated the Sharks 37–6, winning their first title. In 2013, the Chiefs became the fourth team in Super Rugby-history to record back-to-back title wins, when they defeated the Brumbies 27–22 in front of a full home crowd at Waikato Stadium.
The Chiefs were founded in 1996 as the Waikato Chiefs for the inaugural Super 12 season in 1996. Prior to the Super 12, the Super 10 competition had been in place, which NPC teams took part in, including Waikato. In the first year of competition the Chiefs placed 6th in the overall standings, missing out on making the finals; winning 6 of their 11 regular season matches. The following season the Chiefs placed 11th, winning 4 games and losing 7. In 1998 the Chiefs performed closer to the standard of their 1996 season and placed at 7th in the final standings. In 1999 the side were able to do one better and claimed 6th position on the ladder but were still yet to make the playoffs.
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