The Chiefs were founded in 1996 as the Waikato Chiefs 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 side were able to do one better and claimed 6th position on the ladder but were still yet to make the playoffs. In
2000 the Chiefs won 3 of their regular season games and finished the regular season in 10th place. 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 Super 12 season, fell to a 10th-place finish. But the season after, the Chiefs won 7 regular season games and came 4th on the ladder – claiming the 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 club. The Chiefs won 7 of their 13 games and drew once with 5 losses to come 7th. In 2009, the Chiefs made their second ever semi-final, defeating the 14 – 10 to advance to the final for the first time. They lost the final to the Bulls by the biggest-ever margin of 61–17. In the
2010 and
2011 seasons, they were unable to replicate their form of 2009, missing the playoffs in both seasons. In
2012, following the disappointing results of previous years, the Chiefs underwent a significant change in personnel. This included the recruitment of new coaches, including
Dave Rennie and
Wayne Smith, and players, including
Aaron Cruden,
Ben Tameifuna,
Brodie Retallick and
Sonny Bill Williams. The changes had an immediate impact as the Chiefs finished at the top of the New Zealand conference, qualifying for a home semi-final, which they won, defeating the 20–17. They subsequently hosted the
final for the first time in the teams's history, comprehensively defeating the by 37 – 6, claiming their first title. They also set many club records in the 2012 season, including: most home wins, best home streak, best season winning streak, and most points and tries scored. In 2013, the Chiefs again won the Super Rugby title and the New Zealand conference with a regular-season record of 12 wins and four losses. They also won the BNZ Cup, a new trophy established by the NZRU for the New Zealand side with the best record in intra-conference matches. In 2016 the Chiefs played a touring
Wales side, winning the one-off encounter 40–7. In doing so they became the first New Zealand Super Rugby franchise to defeat an international team. In 2017 the Chiefs played the
British and Irish Lions side in Hamilton, losing the encounter 34–6. In the regular season, they finished 3rd in the NZ conference and 6th overall, putting them through to the playoffs. They won a thriller quarter final against the Stormers in Cape Town (17–11) but lost in the semi-finals to the Crusaders (27–13) In 2018 the Chiefs finished 3rd in the NZ conference and 5th overall. This result put them through to the quarter-finals, in which they lost a tight battle against the Hurricanes (32–31) The Chiefs didn't have a great start to the 2019 season, losing 4 games straight off the bat, including a loss to the Sunwolves (30–15). However, the Chiefs redeemed themselves by defeating the Bulls 56–20 and going on to win more. They ended up finishing 3rd in the NZ conference and 7th overall, which put them through to the quarter-finals. However, the Chiefs would lose to the Jaguares 21–16 in Buenos Aires After 7 rounds in 2020, the Chiefs were 3rd in the NZ conference and 5th overall. However, the COVID-19 pandemic suspended the 2020 Super Rugby season from going ahead, for travel and health reasons. Despite this, NZRU created a domestic Super Rugby tournament called Super Rugby Aotearoa, which started in June 2020. The Chiefs played well but didn't win a single game in Super Rugby Aotearoa 2020. The Chiefs lost their first 2 games of Super Rugby Aotearoa in 2021, and then got their first win in the competition against the Hurricanes (35–29). In the 2023 season, the Chiefs won 13 of the 14 regular season matches, going on to host the Crusaders at
FMG Stadium Waikato for their first home final since 2013. The Crusaders however remained the
Super Rugby Pacific champions winning 25–20. ==Franchise area and ownership==