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| 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) | FMG Stadium Waikato (Capacity: 26,000) | ||
| Coach(es) | Clayton McMillan | ||
| Captain(s) | Luke Jacobson | ||
| Most caps | Liam Messam (182) | ||
| Top scorer | Damian McKenzie (1247) | ||
| League(s) | Super Rugby Pacific | ||
| 2024 | Playoffs: Runners-up 4th overall | ||
| |||
| Official website | |||
| www | |||
The Chiefs (Māori: Rangatira;[1] formerly known as the Waikato Chiefs and officially called the Gallagher Chiefs for sponsorship reasons) are a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Hamilton, Waikato. The team competes in the Super Rugby competition, previously known as the Super 12 and Super 14, and are one of the competition's five New Zealand teams. Their primary home ground is FMG Stadium Waikato.
The Chiefs are central to six provincial teams; Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki and Counties Manukau playing in the National Provincial Championship (NPC), with Thames Valley and King Country competing in the Heartland Championship.
The Chiefs field three main teams, the Gallagher Chiefs who compete in DHL Super Rugby Pacific, the Chiefs Manawa who compete in Sky Super Rugby Aupiki and their age-group team the University of Waikato Chiefs U20s.
The Chiefs teams play in red, black and yellow colours with jerseys in recent years having strong Māori cultural elements to tie the club to its region. Māori culture, values and traditions are also a cornerstone of the club’s culture, implemented during Dave Rennie’s time as head coach and continued by current head coach Clayton McMillan.[2]
Until 2004, the Chiefs were the only New Zealand side never to 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 reached 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. The Chiefs defeated the Sharks 37–6, winning their first title. In 2013, the Chiefs became the fourth team to record back-to-back title wins, when they defeated the Brumbies 27–22 at Waikato Stadium.
In 2021 the Chiefs Rugby Club established their women's team, formerly known as the Chiefs women, now the Chiefs Manawa (Waitomo Chiefs Manawa for sponsorship reasons). The Waitomo Chiefs Manawa won the inaugural season of Sky Super Rugby Aupiki in 2022 and were runner-up in the competition in 2023 and 2024.