Following approval from New Zealand Rugby and an agreement being reached with the Hurricanes, the Chiefs Rugby Club said they are honoured to welcome Ngāti Porou East Coast Rugby Union into its provincial union whānau.

Ngāti Porou East Coast join Thames Valley, Counties Manukau, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, King Country and Taranaki as the provincial unions who make up ‘Chiefs country’. The Chiefs Rugby Club provincial unions unanimously supported the addition of Ngāti Porou East Coast.

Previously Ngāti Porou East Coast had been affiliated with the Hurricanes since the inception of Super Rugby in 1996. The move was approved by the New Zealand Rugby Union Board late last year.

Representatives of Ngāti Porou East Coast joined the Chiefs Rugby Club playing groups, Gallagher Chiefs and Chiefs Manawa, staff and board at FMG Stadium Waikato on Wednesday morning for the Whātanoa Gate Pōwhiri, in which they were officially welcomed.

Chiefs Rugby Club chair Bill Osborne – who alongside then Ngāti Porou East Coast Rugby Union chair Val Morrison, put the idea in motion almost two years ago – pointed to the rich cultural links shared by the two organisations.

“This is a marriage steeped in cultural understanding,” Osborne said.

“We share the same values when it comes to culture, Te Ao Māori principles and spirituality. Our focus on people, as opposed to things, is also common.

“I also want to take this time to thank the Hurricanes and New Zealand Rugby for their support on this endeavor.”

Morrison, who is now the union’s Horouta Māori delegate, added that while a move away from the Hurricanes – whose support he was at pains to commend – wasn’t taken lightly, it made sense on several levels and was overwhelmingly supported by members of his organisation.

“Geographically it is just logical. In four hours from Ruatoria – where we are based – we can be in the heart of Chiefs country. Four hours the other way and you are barely out of Poverty Bay,” Morrison said.

“This has nothing to do with the Hurricanes or our working relationship with them. As one of our people remarked at Wednesday’s pōwhiri, ‘this feels like coming home’.

“After all, we have whakapapa links to Tainui. In many ways this is where we belong.”

The partnership will open pathways and development opportunities for both players and staff between the two organisations.