Langbahn Team – Weltmeisterschaft

1997 Chiefs (Super Rugby) season

Chiefs
1997 season
Head coachBrad Meurant
CaptainIan Jones
StadiumWaikato Stadium, Hamilton
Owen Delany Park, Taupo
North Harbour Stadium, Albany
Placing11th
RecordWon 4, Lost 7
Top try scorerAll: Eric Rush (6)
Top points scorerAll: Matthew Cooper (106)

1997 was a tough year for the Waikato Chiefs rugby team in the Super 12 Tournament. They won 4 of their 11 games and finished 10th overall on the table, this year the team was coached by Brad Meurant and captain by Ian Jones.

Standing

Pos. Team Pld W D L PF PA PD BP Pts
1 New Zealand Auckland Blues 11 10 1 0 435 283 152 8 50
2 Australia ACT Brumbies 11 8 0 3 406 291 115 9 41
3 New Zealand Wellington Hurricanes 11 6 0 5 416 314 102 10 34
4 South Africa Sharks 11 5 2 4 321 350 −29 6 30
5 South Africa Gauteng Lions 11 5 1 5 302 346 −44 6 28
6 New Zealand Canterbury Crusaders 11 5 1 5 272 235 37 4 26
7 South Africa Free State 11 5 0 6 301 327 −26 5 25
8 South Africa Northern Transvaal 11 3 3 5 264 342 −78 4 22
9 Australia NSW Waratahs 11 4 0 7 255 296 −41 4 20
10 Australia Queensland Reds 11 4 0 7 263 318 −55 4 20
11 New Zealand Waikato Chiefs 11 4 0 7 272 295 −23 3 19
12 New Zealand Otago Highlanders 11 3 0 8 299 409 −110 5 17

Coaching staff

Job Name
Coach Brad Meurant
Assistant coach John Boe
Manager Steve Gilbert
Physio Dennis Shepherd
Physio Chris McCullough
Doctor Chris Milne
Doctor Steve Reid
Trainer Peter White

Results

Round 1 28 February 1997 Wellington Hurricanes New Zealand 18 – 23 New Zealand Waikato Chiefs The Showgrounds, Palmerston North  
Try: Jarrod Cunningham,
Tana Umaga
Con: Jon Preston
Pen: Jon Preston (2)
Scoreboard[1] Try: Eric Rush,
Glen Osborne, Walter Little
Con: Matthew Cooper
Pen: Matthew Cooper (2)
Referee: New Zealand Colin Hawke


Round 2 8 March 1997 NSW Waratahs Australia 26 – 33 New Zealand Waikato Chiefs Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney  
Try: Matt Burke,
Richard Harry
Con: Matt Burke (2)
Pen: Matt Burke (4)
Scoreboard[2] Try: Eric Rush (2),

Errol Brain
Con: Matthew Cooper (3)
Pen: Matthew Cooper (4)

Referee: Australia Andrew Cole


Round 3 15 March 1997 Waikato Chiefs New Zealand 16 – 26 New Zealand Auckland Blues North Harbour Stadium, Albany  
Try: Scott McLeod
Con: Bruce Reihana
Pen: Bruce Reihana (2), Matt Cooper
Try: Joeli Vidiri, Zinzan Brooke, penalty try
Con: Carlos Spencer
Pen: Carlos Spencer (2)
Drop: Carlos Spencer
Attendance: 25,000
Referee: New Zealand Paddy O'Brien


Round 4 22 March 1997 Waikato Chiefs New Zealand 31 – 16 Australia Queensland Reds Waikato Stadium, Hamilton  
Try: Bruce Reihana, Dion Matthews, Matt Cooper
Con: Matt Cooper (2)
Pen: Matt Cooper (4)
Try: Ben Tune
Con: John Eales
Pen: John Eales (3)
Referee: New Zealand Colin Hawke


Round 5 29 March 1997 Canterbury Crusaders New Zealand 24 – 15 New Zealand Waikato Chiefs Fraser Park, Timaru  
Try: Daryl Gibson, Kevin Nepia
Con: Andrew Mehrtens
Pen: Andrew Mehrtens (3)
Drop: Andrew Mehrtens
Try: Paul Mitchell, Rhys Duggan
Con: Matt Cooper
Pen: Matt Cooper
Attendance: 8,500
Referee: New Zealand Glen Wahlstrom


Round 7 11 April 1997 Waikato Chiefs New Zealand 15 – 33 South Africa Sharks North Harbour Stadium, Albany  
Try: Glen Osborne, Glenn Taylor
Con: Blair Feeney
Pen: Blair Feeney
Try: Adrian Garvey (2), Cabous van der Westhuisen
Con: Gavin Lawless (3)
Pen: Gavin Lawless (4)
Referee: New Zealand Paddy O'Brien


Round 8 19 April 1997 Northern Transvaal South Africa 34 – 27 New Zealand Waikato Chiefs Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria  
Try: Graeme Bouwer, Jacques Olivier (2), Nicky van der Walt
Con: Casper Steyn (4)
Pen: Casper Steyn (2)
Try: Dean Anglesey, Glen Osborne
Con: Matt Cooper
Pen: Matt Cooper (5)
Referee: South Africa Ian Rogers


Round 9 26 April 1997 Free State South Africa 27 – 13 New Zealand Waikato Chiefs Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein  
Try: Hendrik Jordaan Kruger, Jan-Harm van Wyk, Rassie Erasmus, Wybrand Els
Con: MJ Smith (2)
Pen: MJ Smith
Try: Michael Collins
Con: Matt Cooper
Pen: Matt Cooper (2)
Referee: South Africa Tappe Henning


Round 10 3 May 1997 Waikato Chiefs New Zealand 47 – 9 South Africa Gauteng Lions Waikato Stadium, Hamilton  
Try: Caleb Ralph (2), Deon Muir, Scott McLeod
Con: Matt Cooper (5)
Pen: Matt Cooper (4)
Pen: Gavin Johnson (3) Referee: New Zealand Paul Honiss


Round 11 9 May 1997 ACT Brumbies Australia 48 – 34 New Zealand Waikato Chiefs Canberra Stadium, Canberra  
Try: George Gregan, Joe Roff (2), Mitch Hardy, Owen Finegan, Stephen Larkham, Troy Coker
Con: David Knox (5)
Pen: David Knox
Try: Aaron Hopa, Eric Rush (3)
Con: Ian Foster (4)
Pen: Matt Cooper (2)
Attendance: 13,742
Referee: Australia Stuart Dickinson


Round 12 16 May 1997 Waikato Chiefs New Zealand 18 – 34 New Zealand Otago Highlanders Owen Delany Park, Taupō  
Try: Caleb Ralph, Glenn Taylor
Con: Blair Feeney
Pen: Ian Foster (2)
Try: Doug Howlett (3)
Con: Simon Culhane (2)
Pen: Simon Culhane (4), Tony Brown
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: New Zealand Paul Honiss

Squad

The Chiefs Squad for the 1997 Super 12 Season were:

1997 Chiefs Squad

Props

Hookers

Locks

Loose forwards

Scrum-Halves

Fly-halves

Midfield

Wingers

Fullbacks

(c)

denotes team captain, Bold denotes player is internationally capped.

References

  1. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Wellington Hurricanes 18–23 The Chiefs". South African Rugby Union. 28 February 1997. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  2. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – New South Wales Waratahs 26–33 The Chiefs". South African Rugby Union. 8 March 1997. Retrieved 15 March 2016.