“I took that to heart with my values and the person I am. I wanted to enhance the legacy of the Chiefs. So, every time I put that jersey on and the older I got, the more responsibility I felt was on my shoulders to uphold those values and standards of what it meant to be a Chief.
The Chiefs Rugby Club believes in connection, whether that be connections to each other, their fans or the land.
This has been shown consistently across the Chiefs jerseys over the years, with the kōwhaiwhai [ornate swirls] that represent the flow of the waterways throughout the region connecting the Chiefs with sponsors, members, players, clubs and supporters.
“I think the jerseys, what I love about them - they’re outwardly showing what we’re inwardly doing,” Kaua said.
“It represents both the women’s and the men’s sides of the game, the women’s and the men’s side of our own whakapapa as players. It represents people as a whole, and I think that’s vital. We want to challenge the status quo.
“What I love about the Chiefs is that we’re willing to do what we need to do to push the game to the places we need it to be, and that’s special.”
The connecting element of the kōwhaiwhai across all of the jerseys allows mana to flow from player to player, jersey to jersey, and season to season.
“We are all connected on this awa - there is a Chief at every bend. And that’s your responsibility: to breathe and live the values of what it means to be a Chief,” Messam said.
The taniwha is another consistent element woven into the design of Chiefs jerseys to represent power, strength and tiakitanga [protection, guardianship].
This can then be drawn on by the players as they wear the jersey heading into battle on the field.
The home jersey will be worn by both the Gallagher Chiefs and Chiefs Manawa teams.
Featuring prominently is the huia bird, the feathers of which were tapu for Māori and worn by great chiefs into battle.
The presence of both male and female huia signifies the unified approach and collective mindset of the Chiefs Rugby Club teams.
The huia are depicted looking inwards at a taniwha (the protector) and the beating heart of the Chief who wears the jersey.
The away jersey also features flowing kōwhaiwhai, representing the waterways of the region that connect the teams to home when they are away.
The taniwha is shown prominently on this jersey, holding on to the bend of the river.
The saying “he piko he taniwha” [at every bend a taniwha] is represented by its many arms and legs holding onto the kōwhaiwhai.
This symbolises how members of the Chiefs whānau are all connected by the waterways and collectively protected by the taniwha.
The kōtuku [white heron], or “he kōtuku rerenga tahi” [a bird of single flight], represents stand-out performances in games.
Like sightings of the kōtuku, these are often rare, special and treasured moments.
The training jersey is influenced by Rongo-mā-Tāne, the god of cultivation, with the taniwha depicted holding a kō [kūmara-digging stick] to represent the preparation the teams do ahead of game day.
The taniwha is depicted wrapped around the Chiefs’ regions, and holds on to the six huia feathers in the centre of the jersey that symbolise the provincial unions of the Chiefs region – Waikato, Taranaki, the Bay of Plenty, Thames Valley, Counties Manukau and King Country.
The raranga harakeke [flax weave] shown at the top of the jersey symbolises nurturing and caring for people, a core value of the Chiefs Rugby Club.
Jesse Wood is a multi-media journalist based in Te Awamutu. He joined the Te Awamutu Courier and NZME in 2020.
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