Bay of Plenty (National Provincial Championship)
NZ rugby union club, based in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bay of Plenty (often known as the Bay of Plenty Steamers) are a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand. The union was originally established in 1911, with the National Provincial Championship established in 1976. They now play in the reformed National Provincial Championship competition. They play their home games at Rotorua International Stadium in Rotorua or Tauranga Domain, Tauranga, both in the Bay of Plenty Region. The team is affiliated with the Chiefs Super Rugby franchise. Their home playing colours are blue and yellow.
Official BOPRU emblem | ||
| Union | Bay of Plenty Rugby Union | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Steamers | |
| Founded | 1911 | |
| Location | Mount Maunganui, Tauranga, New Zealand | |
| Ground(s) | Rotorua International Stadium (Capacity: 34,000) Tauranga Domain (Capacity: 5,500) | |
| CEO | Mike Rogers[1] | |
| Coach | Richard Watt | |
| Captain | TBA | |
| Most appearances | Ron Preston (152) | |
| Top scorer | Ron Preston (846) | |
| Most tries | Keith Pryor (46) | |
| League | National Provincial Championship | |
| 2025 | 3rd Semi-finalist | |
| ||
| Official website | ||
| www | ||
Current squad
The Bay of Plenty Steamers squad for the 2026 Hilux NPC season is:
| 2026 Bay of Plenty squad | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Props
Hookers
Locks
|
Loose forwards
Halfbacks (scrum-halves)
First five-eighths (fly-halves)
|
Midfielders (centres) Outside backs
|
| (c) denotes the team captain. Bold denotes internationally capped players. ST denotes a short-term signing. DEV denotes a development squad member. |
Honours
Bay of Plenty have been overall Champions on 1 occasion, winning the inaugural title in 1976. Their full list of honours include:[7][8]
- National Provincial Championship First Division
- Winners: 1976
- National Provincial Championship Second Division North Island
- Winners: 1978
- National Provincial Championship Second Division
- Winners: 2000
- Mitre 10 Cup Championship Division
- Winners: 2019
Current Super Rugby players
Players named in the 2025 Bay of Plenty Steamers squad, who also earned contracts or were named in a squad for any side participating in the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific season.[9][10][11][12][13][14]