NZ Rugby Takes High Court Fight to Stop PNG's NRL Newcomers Using "Chiefs" Name

Rugby union officials in New Zealand have launched High Court proceedings aimed at stopping the NRL's Papua New Guinea expansion team from using the "Chiefs" name on New Zealand soil. New Zealand Rugby (NZR) said the legal action is designed to protect the brand of the Waikato-based Chiefs, a side that has competed in Super Rugby since the professional era began in 1996. The NRL announced its expansion into Papua New Guinea in 2024, and the island nation's prime minister, James Marape, unveiled "Chiefs" as the club's name the following year. NZR said a year of direct engagement with the Australian Rugby League Commission had failed to resolve the dispute, and it is now seeking interim and final injunctions ahead of the franchise's official launch later this month. Chief executive Steve Lancaster said the Chiefs' players and supporters had built a powerful identity over three decades that deserved protection. ARLC chairman Peter V'landys hit back hard, calling the complaint hypocritical and pointing to the long-running use of the "Blues" name by New South Wales rugby league decades before Auckland's Super Rugby franchise adopted it. He vowed a vigorous defence and accused rugby union of feeling threatened by league's growing crowds in New Zealand. The PNG side, which has already signed a wave of NRL talent ahead of its debut season in 2028, is backed by a major Australian government funding package aimed at strengthening Pacific ties. Rugby league split from rugby union more than a century ago, and the two codes now face each other in court.