2015 Chiefs (rugby union) season
# 2015 Chiefs (rugby union) season

2015 was another tough year for the Chiefs rugby team. They won 10 of their Super Rugby games and finished 5th overall on the table for the 2nd year in a row, and 3rd behind the Hurricanes and Highlanders in the New Zealand Conference. Playing the Highlanders in the qualifying finals in Dunedin was always going to be tough losing 24-14.

## Standings

The final standings of the 2015 Super Rugby season were:

| New Zealand Conference |
| - |
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | Hurricanes | 16 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 458 | 288 | +170 | 58 | 31 | 9 | 1 | 66 |
| 2 | Highlanders | 16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 450 | 333 | +117 | 54 | 40 | 6 | 3 | 53 |
| 3 | Chiefs | 16 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 372 | 299 | +73 | 40 | 27 | 4 | 4 | 48 |
| 4 | Crusaders | 16 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 481 | 338 | +143 | 56 | 39 | 8 | 2 | 46 |
| 5 | Blues | 16 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 282 | 428 | −146 | 29 | 50 | 2 | 6 | 20 |
| Overall standings |
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | Hurricanes | 16 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 458 | 288 | +170 | 58 | 31 | 9 | 1 | 66 |
| 2 | Waratahs | 16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 409 | 313 | +96 | 50 | 41 | 5 | 3 | 52 |
| 3 | Stormers | 16 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 373 | 323 | +50 | 32 | 35 | 2 | 1 | 45 |
| 4 | Highlanders | 16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 450 | 333 | +117 | 54 | 40 | 6 | 3 | 53 |
| 5 | Chiefs | 16 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 372 | 299 | +73 | 40 | 27 | 4 | 4 | 48 |
| 6 | Brumbies | 16 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 369 | 261 | +108 | 45 | 21 | 6 | 5 | 47 |
| 7 | Crusaders | 16 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 481 | 338 | +143 | 56 | 39 | 8 | 2 | 46 |
| 8 | Lions | 16 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 342 | 364 | −22 | 33 | 41 | 2 | 2 | 42 |
| 9 | Bulls | 16 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 397 | 388 | +9 | 37 | 39 | 4 | 6 | 38 |
| 10 | Rebels | 16 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 319 | 354 | −35 | 35 | 42 | 3 | 5 | 36 |
| 11 | Sharks | 16 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 338 | 401 | −63 | 37 | 43 | 3 | 3 | 34 |
| 12 | Cheetahs | 16 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 357 | 531 | −174 | 44 | 65 | 4 | 2 | 26 |
| 13 | Reds | 16 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 247 | 434 | −187 | 32 | 53 | 3 | 3 | 22 |
| 14 | Blues | 16 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 282 | 428 | −146 | 29 | 50 | 2 | 6 | 20 |
| 15 | Force | 16 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 245 | 384 | −139 | 28 | 43 | 3 | 4 | 19 |

## Results

The following fixtures were released on 18 September 2014:

## Squad

The Chiefs squad for the 2015 Super Rugby season were:

| 2015 Chiefs squad |
| - |
| Props Jarrod Firth Mitchell Graham Jamie Mackintosh Pauliasi Manu Ben Tameifuna Siate Tokolahi Hookers Hika Elliot Quentin MacDonald Rhys Marshall Locks Michael Allardice Brian Alainu'uese Michael Fitzgerald Brodie Retallick (c) Matt Symons | Loose forwards Johan Bardoul Sam Cane Mitchell Crosswell Ross Filipo Tevita Koloamatangi Michael Leitch Liam Messam (c) Sean Polwart Liam Squire Maama Vaipulu Scrum-halves Kayne Hammington Augustine Pulu Brad Weber Fly-halves Aaron Cruden (c) Marty McKenzie | Midfield Andrew Horrell Anton Lienert-Brown Charlie Ngatai Seta Tamanivalu Sonny Bill Williams Wingers Hosea Gear Bryce Heem James Lowe Tim Nanai-Williams Fullbacks Tom Marshall Damian McKenzie |
| (c) denotes team captain, Bold denotes player is internationally capped. Nathan Harris and Tawera Kerr-Barlow were both omitted from the squad after injuries ruled them out for the entire season. |

## Player statistics

The Chiefs players' appearance and scoring statistics for the 2015 Super Rugby season are:

| Player | Apps | Tries | Cons | Pens | DGs | Pts | YC | RC |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Michael Allardice | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Brian Alainu'uese | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Johan Bardoul | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Sam Cane | 15 | 4 | - | - | - | 20 | 2 | - |
| Mitchell Crosswell | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Aaron Cruden | 8 | 1 | 14 | 20 | - | 93 | - | - |
| Hika Elliot | 15 | 1 | - | - | - | 5 | - | 1 |
| Ross Filipo | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Jarrod Firth | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Michael Fitzgerald | 15 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - |
| Hosea Gear | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Mitchell Graham | 11 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Kayne Hammington | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Bryce Heem | 16 | 4 | - | - | - | 20 | - | - |
| Andrew Horrell | 13 | 1 | 4 | 6 | - | 31 | - | - |
| Tevita Koloamatangi | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Michael Leitch | 13 | 3 | - | - | - | 15 | 1 | - |
| Anton Lienert-Brown | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| James Lowe | 11 | 5 | - | - | - | 25 | 3 | - |
| Quentin MacDonald | 13 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Jamie Mackintosh | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Pauliasi Manu | 16 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Rhys Marshall | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Tom Marshall | 14 | 2 | - | - | - | 10 | 1 | - |
| Damian McKenzie | 16 | - | 7 | 9 | - | 41 | 1 | - |
| Marty McKenzie | 6 | - | 4 | 5 | - | 23 | - | - |
| Liam Messam | 14 | 3 | - | - | - | 15 | 1 | - |
| Tim Nanai-Williams | 9 | 2 | - | 1 | - | 13 | - | - |
| Charlie Ngatai | 11 | 6 | - | - | - | 30 | - | - |
| Sean Polwart | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Augustine Pulu | 16 | 3 | - | - | - | 15 | - | - |
| Brodie Retallick | 8 | 1 | - | - | - | 5 | - | - |
| Liam Squire | 4 | 1 | - | - | - | 5 | 1 | - |
| Matt Symons | 14 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - |
| Seta Tamanivalu | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ben Tameifuna | 15 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - |
| Siate Tokolahi | 17 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Maama Vaipulu | 10 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Brad Weber | 17 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Sonny Bill Williams | 10 | 1 | - | - | - | 5 | - | - |
| penalty try | - | 3 | - | - | - | 15 | - | - |
| Total | 17 | 41 | 29 | 41 | - | 386 | 13 | 1 |
