9

Chiefs

Michael Leitch had an outstanding debut season for the Chiefs in 2015, being selected as their Rookie of the Year.

The following year, in 2016, Michael took his game to the next level, being regularly named in the Super Rugby “team of the week” at No. 8. By the end of that season Michael was considered by many rugby writers as the best player in his position in Super Rugby. Chiefs Head Coach Dave Rennie said, “Michael Leitch possesses an incredible work ethic, is an outstanding distributor from the back of the scrum and is one of the best lineout exponents in the game”.

His experience, talent and leadership skills make him a crucial component of the highly successful Chiefs Super Rugby team.

The Chiefs are a professional rugby union team based in Hamilton, New Zealand. Their primary home ground is Stadium Waikato and they play in black, red and yellow coloured jerseys. The team competes in the Super Rugby competition as one of the competition's five New Zealand sides.

In 2012 the Chiefs were rewarded with a home final after their strongest ever super rugby season. In the final the Chiefs defeated the Sharks 37–6 winning their first Super Rugby title. In 2013, the Chiefs again won 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.