Chiefs (rugby union)

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.