# 1998 Chiefs (Super Rugby) season

1998 was another tough year for the Waikato Chiefs rugby team in the Super 12 tournament, winning 6 of their 11 games and finishing 7th overall on the table. This year the team was coached by Ross Cooper and captained by Errol Brain.

## Standing

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | BP | Pts |
| 1 | Blues | 11 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 388 | 296 | +92 | 7 | 43 |
| 2 | Crusaders | 11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 340 | 260 | +80 | 9 | 41 |
| 3 | Sharks | 11 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 329 | 263 | +66 | 8 | 36 |
| 4 | Highlanders | 11 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 343 | 279 | +64 | 6 | 34 |
| 5 | Reds | 11 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 273 | 229 | +44 | 5 | 31 |
| 6 | Waratahs | 11 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 306 | 276 | +30 | 4 | 30 |
| 7 | Chiefs | 11 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 279 | 291 | −12 | 5 | 29 |
| 8 | Hurricanes | 11 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 313 | 342 | −29 | 6 | 26 |
| 9 | Stormers | 11 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 248 | 364 | −166 | 6 | 18 |
| 10 | Brumbies | 11 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 228 | 308 | −80 | 5 | 17 |
| 11 | Bulls | 11 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 249 | 306 | −57 | 4 | 16 |
| 12 | Cats | 11 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 266 | 346 | −80 | 7 | 15 |

## Results

* 28 February 1998
| Waikato Chiefs | 25–23 | Canterbury Crusaders |
| Try: McLeod Little Pen: MacDonald (5) | | Try: Mehrtens Kerr Marshall Mayerhofler Pen: Mehrtens |
* North Harbour Stadium, Albany Referee: Steve Walsh (New Zealand)
* 7 March 1998
| Queensland Reds | 25–28 | Waikato Chiefs |
| Try: Smith Flatley Horan Con: Flatley (2) Pen: Flatley (2) | | Try: Reihana Cooper Randle Con: MacDonald Cooper Pen: Foster Cooper |
* Ballymore Stadium, Brisbane Referee: Johan Meuwesen (South Africa)
* 13 March 1998
| Waikato Chiefs | 19–22 | Wellington Hurricanes |
| Try: Robinson Randle Pen: Foster MacDonald (2) | | Try: Telea (2) Leaupepe Umaga Con: Preston |
* Waikato Stadium, Hamilton Referee: Glenn Wahlstrom (New Zealand)
* 21 March 1998
| Auckland Blues | 25–23 | Waikato Chiefs |
| Try: Vidiri Con: Cashmore Pen: Cashmore (6) | | Try: Marsh Randle Con: Cooper (2) Pen: Cooper (3) |
* Eden Park, Auckland Referee: Steve Walsh (New Zealand)
* 4 April 1998
| Otago Highlanders | 29–11 | Waikato Chiefs |
| Try: Wilson Stanley Leslie Falaniko Con: Culhane (3) Pen: Culhane | | Try: McLeod Pen: Cooper (2) |
* Carisbrook, Dunedin Referee: Paul Honiss (New Zealand)
* 11 April 1998
| Waikato Chiefs | 37–25 | Northern Transvaal |
| Try: Marsh Collins Cooksley Miller Flavell Con: Foster (2) Cooper Pen: Foster (2) | | Try: Van Schalkwyk Grobbelaar Van der Westhuizen Con: Smith (2) Pen: Smith (2) |
* Waikato Stadium, Hamilton Referee: Andrew Cole (New Zealand)
* 18 April 1998
| Golden Cats | 35–36 | Waikato Chiefs |
| Try: Van der Walt Swanepoel Con: De Beer (2) Pen: De Beer (7) | | Try: Brain Marsh Moore Little (2) Con: Foster (4) Pen: Foster |
* Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein Referee: Stuart Dickinson (Australia)
* 25 April 1998
| Coastal Sharks | 52–18 | Waikato Chiefs |
| Try: Wessels Terblanche (4) Brink Minnaar Con: Wessels Honiball (6) Pen: Honiball | | Try: Larsen Osborne Con: Little Pen: Cooper (2) |
* Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth Referee: Andrew Cole (New Zealand)
* 2 May 1998
| Waikato Chiefs | 26–7 | Western Stormers |
| Try: McLeod (2) Con: Foster (2) Pen: Foster (4) | | Try: Penalty try Con: Koen |
* Rotorua International Stadium, Rotorua Referee: Peter Marshall (Australia)
* 8 May 1998
| Waikato Chiefs | 35–15 | ACT Brumbies |
| Try: Reihana (2) Randle (2) Con: Foster (2) Cooper Pen: Foster (3) | | Try: Birch Larkham Mortlock |
* Waikato Stadium, Hamilton Referee: Tappe Henning (South Africa)
* 15 May 1998
| Waikato Chiefs | 21–33 | Waratahs |
| Try: Cooper Randle Con: Cooper Pen: Cooper (3) | | Try: Welborn Dowling (2) Con: Burke (3) Pen: Burke (4) |
* North Harbour Stadium, Albany Referee: Johan Meuwesen (South Africa)

## Squad

The Chiefs squad for the 1998 season was:
| 1998 Chiefs squad |
| Props Con Barrell Michael Collins Hookers Greg Smith Locks Mark Cooksley Ian Jones | Loose forwards Errol Brain Blair Larsen Glen Marsh Justin Collins Nick Holten Scrum-halves Brett McCormack Fly-halves Ian Foster | Midfield Scott McLeod Walter Little Wings Roger Randle Bruce Reihana Fullbacks Leon MacDonald Glen Osborne Todd Miller |
| (c) denotes team captain,Bold denotes player is internationally capped. |