The Ruakura Rugby Football Club is named in honour of the place that has become the spiritual home of the Chiefs Rugby Club.
Since 2012, the Ruakura Research Centre in Hamilton has been the official training base of the Chiefs, a humble, purpose-built facility crafted by the very squad and staff who wore the jersey that season. While modest in appearance, it embodies the character of the club and region: hardworking, humble, innovative and deeply connected to the community.
Historically, Ruakura has been a centre of agricultural research and groundbreaking ideas, a place where science, teamwork, and progress have long come together. Fittingly, the name “Ruakura” is derived from te reo Māori, meaning “the two (or twin) feathers.” Each feather holds its own meaning. The first represents your time within the Chiefs, the seasons spent training, playing, and contributing to the kaupapa. The second feather symbolises your journey beyond the jersey, a lasting connection that continues even after you leave. Together, the two feathers reflect balance, unity, and enduring purpose, values that sit at the heart of Chiefs Rugby and the Ruakura Rugby Football Club.
Though the Chiefs were based elsewhere from 1996 to 2011, their move to Ruakura marked a turning point, the beginning of a new era where the club fully embraced its regional identity, representing the heart and breadth of Chiefs Country with pride.
Wearing the Colours of Connection Flowing Back to the Waikato River
Across New Zealand and around the world, wherever our past players and staff may be, they are never far from a waterway that ultimately flows back toward the Waikato River a river that carries connection, memory, and legacy. These rivers and tributaries are living symbols of the enduring bond between the people of Ruakura and the Chiefs Rugby Club a connection that is always moving, always alive.
At Ruakura Rugby Football Club, our colours are inspired by the brilliant blue of Huka Falls the dramatic and powerful source of the Waikato River. These colours represent our identity, our energy, and the strength of those who laid the foundations for everything Chiefs Rugby has become. Black will also feature proudly the core colour of the Chiefs, symbolising unity, strength, and tradition. It grounds our club in the legacy of the Chiefs jersey and honours those who wore it.
Before there was a river, there was a spring.
A spring or puna is where water rises from the ground and new flow begins. It is from these sources that rivers are born.
At Ruakura RFC, we honour those who were part of the Chiefs family from 1996 to 2011 the players, staff, and workers who may not have trained at Ruakura but whose contributions were foundational. They are our spring the place where everything began. Without their belief, effort, and courage, there would be no river. There would be no Ruakura story.
Their time helped carve the channels through which our legacy could flow.
They will always be part of our history the original source of energy, identity, and connection. Ruakura RFC does not exist to separate eras, but to bring them together. From spring to river, from foundation to future, the story of Chiefs Rugby is one continuous flow united by people, purpose, and pride.
Our past players and staff remain at the heart of that story. They are the ones who shaped the spirit, values, and culture of Chiefs Rugby from the earliest days of the professional era. Their leadership and unity, both on and off the field, continue to ripple through every generation.
The formation of Ruakura Rugby Football Club is a way to acknowledge this shift, and more importantly, to create a place of belonging for all past players and staff, including those who were part of the Chiefs journey from 1996 to 2011. This club is a whānau, a united group that bridges eras, generations and regions, built on shared pride and enduring connection.
Ruakura is more than a location, it is a symbol of legacy, progress and home.
