NZ Rugby launches court action against NRL to have PNG Chiefs name changed

New Zealand Rugby has launched legal action against the NRL which could force the Australian government-backed expansion side the PNG Chiefs to be renamed.

The decision to call the NRL’s incoming 19th team the Chiefs has been contested by authorities in the 15-a-side game given there has long been a Super Rugby franchise by the same name based in New Zealand’s Waikato region.

This masthead revealed last month that NZ Rugby had written to the NRL warning it would take it to court if it did not reconsider branding the historic PNG entry to the competition as the Chiefs.

Australian Rugby League Commission executive chairman Peter V’landys responded that the NRL had no intention of changing the name.

“New Zealand Rugby (NZR) has today moved to protect the Chiefs brand and is filing proceedings in the High Court of New Zealand against the decision by the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) to launch a new NRL side using ‘Chiefs’ in its name,” NZ Rugby said in a statement on Thursday.

“NZR is seeking both an interim and final injunction which stops the use of the names ‘PNG Chiefs’, ‘Chiefs’ or any other similar names in New Zealand.

“The Chiefs have competed as a professional rugby team in Super Rugby since 1996 and over those 30 years, have built a strong identity and fanbase across New Zealand, Australia and internationally.

“In New Zealand, NZR owns both the trademark rights for the word Chiefs and the Chiefs logo and since 1998, NZR has also held trademark protection for the Chiefs logo in Australia.

“If the NRL uses “Chiefs” as the name for its expansion team playing and trading in those same markets, it will cause significant confusion and damage.”

NZ Rugby said it had shared it concerns with the ARL Commission, which owns the NRL, after the PNG Chiefs name was unveiled last October.

The PNG Chiefs logo and jersey is due to be revealed at an event in Port Moresby this month.

“Regrettably, NZR has been unable to engage with the ARLC constructively towards a resolution and it is now clear that, unless NZR takes this step, there will be no change to the team’s name ahead of the official launch on 21 October 2026,” NZ Rugby said.

The NRL has been contacted for comment.

Australia’s Labor government committed $600 million over 10 years to support the Chiefs entry into the NRL from 2028.

NZ Rugby chief executive Steve Lancaster said they had a “responsibility to protect the Chiefs brand”.

“We want to be absolutely clear, this is not about rugby league’s growth in the Pacific,” Lancaster said.

“We welcome the development of the Pacific region through sport and the passion that the people of Papua New Guinea have for both rugby and rugby league.”

Simon Graafhuis, the CEO of rugby’s Chiefs, said in the same statement: “Here in New Zealand, when people hear ‘the Chiefs’, they think of this club and this region.

“The identity carries significant cultural meaning and connection to the region and its people, we know it means a great deal to our players and coaches past and present, fans and supporters here and around the world.

“Teams in different sports and markets can exist alongside one another with the same name, but the issue here is the similarity of our sports competing in the same market, for the same fans, in overlapping windows.”

More to come

Chris Barrett is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former South-East Asia correspondent for the Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.