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Chiefs captain Luke Jacobson signs on for another two years
By Ned Lester
Chiefs captain Luke Jacobson has re-signed with the ladder-leaders until the 2027 season, keeping him in contention for the All Blacks for the upcoming Rugby World Cup.
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Jacobson, now with 90 Chiefs caps under his belt to go with 24 All Blacks appearances, was a bolter in New Zealand’s 2019 Rugby World Cup squad as a 22-year-old. An injury-disrupted career has followed, but at his peak, the versatile flanker has demanded selection in a highly congested position.
Affectionately known as ‘Concrete Shoulders’ for his hard-hitting defence, Jacobson succeeded co-captaincy pairing Sam Cane and Brad Weber as the Chiefs’ captain in 2024.
“I’m excited about where this team has gotten to and I’m hungry to turn that into some championship success,” Jacobson said upon re-signing, having come agonisingly close to Super Rugby glory in three of the four recent campaigns.
“It’s not just the results that keep you around – it’s the environment and the team culture. Between the coaches, management, and the players, there’s a good group of people here and they make it pretty hard to leave.
“I really enjoy my rugby here. I’m able to grow my game and grow my leadership. I grew up supporting this team and after playing with them for 8 years, it’s a team that continues to really align with my values.
“I’d love to play 100 games for the Chiefs, it would be a huge milestone for me and one I would be really proud to achieve.”
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The 28-year-old’s signature maintains a leadership bridge for the club, who will lose head coach Clayton McMillan at the end of the current season.
The coach has overseen a dramatic turnaround in Hamilton, returning the club to title contention with Jacobson as a key figure.
“He leads with integrity, humility, and total commitment to the jersey and that’s respected by everyone. His decision to re-sign speaks volumes about the culture we’ve built and the direction we’re heading,” McMillan said.
The Chiefs have also recently re-signed big names in Wallace Sititi, Tupou Vaa’i and Damian McKenzie, and are rumoured to be luring Moana Pasifika star Kyren Taumoefolau south to replace Shaun Stevenson, who is headed for Japan later this year.
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Those were what he injured weren’t they? Kinda hasn’t used them since then, very good technical 7 and link man at 8 still though.
Hasn’t used them!? You must not have watched any of the Chiefs games this year. Jacobson has smashed the Blues and Crusaders players 2 times each this year, amongst being a standout in every other game he’s played.
Before this season I really thought it was time to drop Jacobson, Blackadder and Papalii from All Black selection and select new loosies like Kirifi and Lakai, along with Sititi, Savea, and Finau.
However Jacobson has played extremely well at both 7 and 8 and does all the dirty work at rucks and in close carries to free Sititi and Finau to play wide. If the Chiefs win the title, I would not be upset to see Jacobson selected for All Blacks.
The alleged signing of Kyren Taumoefolau as a replacement for Shaun Stevenson is interesting as KT is an out & out Winger while SS is a 15 who can cover Wing. Who are the Chiefs going to have as their starting 15? DMac, Narawa, Jacomb, Carter (maybe) or do the Chiefs need to get a main 15?
Etene is a fb and Narawa is a natural kicker, played there as fair bit at the start.
KT has FB experience
Kyren Taumoefolau would be better of signing with the Hurricanes who are loaded with talent at every position but wing.
The Chiefs already have 3 wings competing for All Black honors with Emoni Narawa, Leroy Carter, and Etene Nanai-Seturo.