1998 was another tough year for the Waikato Chiefs rugby team in the Super 12 tournament, winning 6 of their 11 games and finishing 7th overall on the table. This year the team was coached by Ross Cooper and captained by Errol Brain.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | BP | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Blues | 11 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 388 | 296 | +92 | 7 | 43 | |
| 2 | Crusaders | 11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 340 | 260 | +80 | 9 | 41 | |
| 3 | Sharks | 11 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 329 | 263 | +66 | 8 | 36 | |
| 4 | Highlanders | 11 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 343 | 279 | +64 | 6 | 34 | |
| 5 |  Reds | 11 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 273 | 229 | +44 | 5 | 31 | |
| 6 | Waratahs | 11 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 306 | 276 | +30 | 4 | 30 | |
| 7 | Chiefs | 11 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 279 | 291 | −12 | 5 | 29 | |
| 8 | Hurricanes | 11 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 313 | 342 | −29 | 6 | 26 | |
| 9 | Stormers | 11 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 248 | 364 | −166 | 6 | 18 | |
| 10 | Brumbies | 11 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 228 | 308 | −80 | 5 | 17 | |
| 11 | Bulls | 11 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 249 | 306 | −57 | 4 | 16 | |
| 12 | Cats | 11 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 266 | 346 | −80 | 7 | 15 |
The Chiefs squad for the 1998 season was:
| 1998 Chiefs squad | ||
|---|---|---|
| Props
Hookers Locks | Loose forwards
Scrum-halves
Fly-halves | Midfield
Wings Fullbacks |
| (c)denotes team captain,Bold denotes player is internationally capped. |