From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chiefs
Founded	1996
Union	New Zealand Rugby Football Union
Location	Hamilton, New Zealand
Region	Waikato
Ground	Waikato Stadium
Capacity	26,350
Coach	Ian Foster
Captain	Jono Gibbes
League	Super 14
2007	6th
Home colours		Away colours

The Chiefs (formerly known as the Waikato Chiefs) are a professional rugby union team based in Hamilton, New Zealand. Their home ground is Waikato Stadium. The Chiefs play in black, red and yellow coloured jerseys. The team competes in the Super 14 competition (known as the Super 12 from 1996 to 2005) and is one of the competition's five New Zealand sides.

The Chiefs current captain in Jono Gibbes, and their head coach Ian Foster. 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 4th place (defeated 37-20 in the semi-final by the ACT Brumbies).

Contents 1 History 2 Franchise area 3 Super records and achievements 3.1 Super 12 placings 3.2 Super 14 placings 3.3 2007 table 4 Players and coaches of note 4.1 2008 squad 4.2 Notable players 4.3 Coaches 4.4 Captains 5 Notes and references 6 External links

The Chiefs franchise was founded in 1995 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 franchise were able to do one better and claimed 6th position on the ladder but were still yet to make the Super 12 finals.

In 2000 the Chiefs won 3 of their regular season games and finished in 10th place by the end of the season. The following season the team equalled their best position again - finishing 6th. In 2002 the team won 4 games and lost 7 to finish in 8th position, and the season after, 2003, fell to a 10th finish. But the season after the Chiefs won 7 regular season games and came in at 4th on the season table - claiming their first semi-final spot in their history. The Chiefs lost the semi-final against the Brumbies. In 2005 the team finished 6th. In 2006 the Super 12 expanded to the Super 14 with the addition of a new Australian and South African team. The Chiefs won 7 of their 13 games and drew once with 5 losses to come 7th.

The team represents the provincial unions of Counties Manukau, Waikato, Thames Valley, King Country, and Bay of Plenty. Originally the Chiefs also represented North Harbour and Northland, because when the Super 12 was created in 1995, a large contingent of All Blacks came from Auckland, North Harbour and Counties Manukau.

Had the Blues been allowed to represent Auckland, North Harbour, Counties Manukau and Northland, they would have in effect been able to play a team of All Blacks in all but name. In an effort by the NZRU to make things more fair, the Chiefs were given North Harbour and Northland, while the Blues were given Counties Manukau and Thames Valley. By 1999, clear regional All Blacks dominance no longer existed, so the Chiefs arranged a swap with the Blues. North Harbour and Northland were "returned" to the Blues in exchange for Counties Manukau and Thames Valley.

Super 12 Results
Year	Played	Win	Draw	Loss	PF	PA	Diff	BP	Points	Place	Playoffs
1996	11	6	0	5	291	269	22	4	28	6th
1997	11	4	0	7	272	295	-23	3	19	11th
1998	11	6	0	5	279	291	-12	5	29	7th
1999	11	5	0	6	248	301	-53	6	26	6th
2000	11	3	0	8	257	352	-95	8	20	10th
2001	11	6	0	5	301	330	-29	4	28	6th
2002	11	4	0	7	323	341	-18	8	24	8th
2003	11	2	0	9	257	274	-17	9	17	10th
2004	11	7	0	4	274	251	23	5	33	4th	Lost semi-final to Brumbies
2005	11	5	1	5	272	250	22	6	28	6th

Super 14 Results
Year	Played	Win	Draw	Loss	PF	PA	Diff	BP	Points	Place	Playoffs
2006	13	7	1	5	325	298	27	6	36	7th

2007 Super 14 Table watch · edit · discuss
Pos	Name	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	BP	Pts
1	Sharks	13	10	0	3	355	214	141	5	45
2	Bulls	13	9	0	4	388	223	165	6	42
3	Crusaders	13	8	0	5	382	235	147	10	42
4	Blues	13	9	0	4	355	235	120	6	42
5	Brumbies	13	9	0	4	234	173	61	4	40
6	Chiefs	13	7	1	5	373	321	52	10	40
7	Western Force	13	6	1	6	276	282	-6	6	32
8	Hurricanes	13	6	0	7	247	300	-53	3	27
9	Highlanders	13	5	0	8	235	301	-66	7	27
10	Stormers	13	6	0	7	249	326	-77	3	27
11	Cheetahs	13	4	1	8	265	342	-77	4	22
12	Lions	13	5	0	8	175	284	-109	2	22
13	Waratahs	13	3	1	9	266	317	-51	7	21
14	Reds	13	2	0	11	201	438	-237	3	11
Updated 2007-05-11

The squad for the 2008 season:^[1]

Props Ben Castle Simms Davison Ben May Craig West Hookers Aled de Malmanche Tom Willis Locks Jono Gibbes (Captain)[2] Toby Lynn Kevin O'Neill Kristian Ormsby

Loose Forwards Tom Harding Hayden Hopgood Sione Lauaki Tanerau Latimer Faifili Levave Liam Messam Half Backs Brendon Leonard Jamie Nutbrown Fly Halfs Stephen Donald Tasesa Lavea

Centres Callum Bruce Richard Kahui Wingers Lelia Masaga Sitiveni Sivivatu Dwayne Sweeney Viliame Waqaseduadua Full Backs Sosene Anesi Mils Muliaina

• Isaac Boss
• Jonah Lomu
• Caleb Ralph
• Bruce Reihana
• Mark Robinson
• David Hill
• Mark Ranby
• Keith Lowen
• Ian Jones

• 1996 to present:^[3]
• Brad Meurant (1996 - 1997)
• Ross Cooper (1998 - 2000)
• John Mitchell (2001)
• Kevin Greene (2002 - 2003)
• Ian Foster (2004 - present)

• 1996 to present:^[3]
• Richard Turner (1996)
• Ian Jones (1997)
• Errol Brain (1998)
• Michael Collins (1999)
• Glenn taylor (2000)
• Deon Muir (2001 - 2002)
• Jono Gibbes ( 2003 - present)

• Official site
• Data and statistics itsrugby.co.uk

v • d • e Super Rugby
SANZAR • Super 14 franchise areas • Trophy
Teams	Blues • Brumbies • Bulls • Cheetahs • Chiefs • Crusaders • Force • Highlanders • Hurricanes • Lions • Reds • Sharks • Stormers • Waratahs
Super 12 Seasons	1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005
Super 14 Seasons	2006 • 2007 • 2008
Champions	Super 12 • Super 14

v • d • e Rugby union in New Zealand
Governing body	New Zealand Rugby Football Union
National teams	All Blacks • Junior All Blacks • New Zealand Māori • 7's • U-21 • U-19 • Schoolboys • Black Ferns
Competitions	Super Rugby • Air New Zealand Cup • Heartland Championship • Ranfurly Shield • Hanan Shield