Bay of Plenty (National Provincial Championship)

For the Bay of Plenty Rugby governing body, see Bay of Plenty Rugby Union.

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.

Bay of Plenty

Official BOPRU emblem
Union	Bay of Plenty Rugby Union
Nickname(s)	Steamers
Founded	1911; 112 years ago (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(es)	Richard Watt
Captain(s)	Kurt Eklund
Most appearances	Ron Preston (152)
Top scorer	Ron Preston (846)
Most tries	Keith Pryor (46)
League(s)	Bunnings NPC
2023	4th Quarterfinalist
Team kit
Official website
www.boprugby.co.nz

Current squad

The Bay of Plenty Steamers squad for the 2023 Bunnings NPC is:^[2]

Bay of Plenty Steamers squad
Props   John Afoa   Josh Bartlett   Alex Johnston   Benet Kumeroa   Aidan Ross   Jeff Thwaites ^INJ   Pasilio Tosi Hookers   Kurt Eklund (c)   Taine Kolose   Nathan Vella Locks   Semisi Paea   Justin Sangster   Manaaki Selby-Rickit   Etonia Waqa	Loose forwards   Naitoa Ah Kuoi   Nikora Broughton   Sam Cane   Penitoa Finau   Ryosuke Funahashi   Veveni Lasaqa   Jacob Norris ^REP ^[a] Halfbacks (scrum-halves)   Leroy Carter   Richard Judd   Marley Murphy ^REP ^[b]   Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi First five-eighths (fly-halves)   Lucas Cashmore   Wharenui Hawera   Carlos Price   Kaleb Trask	Midfielders (centres)   Tamiro Armstrong   Seamus Bardoul   Fehi Fineanganofo   Grady Forbes ^REP ^[b]   Lalomilo Lalomilo   Reon Paul ^REP ^[c] Outside-backs   Cole Forbes   Ngarohi McGarvey-Black   Melani Nanai   Emoni Narawa   Roderick Solo ^INJ   Sekuini Tanimo   Codemeru Vai
(c) Denotes team captain, Bold denotes player is internationally capped, ^REP denotes a replacement player, ^WTS denotes a wider training squad member. Norris wasn't named in the original Bay of Plenty squad, but was announced in the side for Round 7.^[3] Forbes and Murphy weren't named in the original Bay of Plenty squad, but were announced in the side for the second fixture in Round 8.^[4] Paul wasn't named in the original Bay of Plenty squad, but was announced in the side for Round 6.^[5]

Honours

Bay of Plenty have been overall Champions on 1 occasion, winning the inaugural title in 1976. Their full list of honours include:^[6][7]

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 2023 Bay of Plenty Steamers squad, who also earned contracts or were named in a squad for any side participating in the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season.^{[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]}

Player	Team
John Afoa	Crusaders
Naitoa Ah Kuoi	Chiefs
Nikora Broughton	Highlanders
Sam Cane	Chiefs
Kurt Eklund	Blues
Penitoa Finau	Moana Pasifika
Lalomilo Lalomilo	Chiefs
Melani Nanai	Crusaders
Emoni Narawa	Chiefs
Aidan Ross	Chiefs
Justin Sangster	Hurricanes
Manaaki Selby-Rickit	Chiefs
Jeff Thwaites	Highlanders
Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi	Highlanders/Chiefs
Pasilio Tosi	Hurricanes
Etonia Waqa	Drua

References

1. "Staff". Bay of Plenty Rugby. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
2. "Introducing the 2023 Steamers Squad". Bay of Plenty Rugby. 21 July 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
3. "Bunnings NPC Round 7: Team Lists". Bunnings NPC. 14 September 2023. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
4. "Bunnings NPC Round 8: Team Lists". Bunnings NPC. 21 September 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
5. "Bunnings NPC Round 6: Team Lists". Bunnings NPC. 7 September 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
6. "National Provincial Championship winners, 1976–2014". Te Ara. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
7. . Rugby Heartland. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
8. "Match Centre - Super Rugby - Crusaders vs. Waratahs". SANZAAR. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
9. "Gallagher Chiefs squad announced for 2023" (Press release). Chiefs. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
10. "Highlanders 2023 Squad Announcement" (Press release). Highlanders. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
11. "2023 Squad announced". Blues (Press release). 26 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
12. "Moana Pasifika name 2023 DHL Super Rugby Pacific Squad". Moana Pasifika (Press release). 22 November 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
13. "Gallagher Chiefs team named for rivalry clash" (Press release). Chiefs. 27 April 2023. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
14. "2023 Squad announced" (Press release). Crusaders. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
15. "Hurricanes 2023 squad announced" (Press release). Hurricanes. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
16. "Fakatava to Begin Rehab on Knee" (Press release). Highlanders. 10 November 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
17. "Tahuriorangi returns to the Gallagher Chiefs as replacement" (Press release). Chiefs. 9 February 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
18. "Derenalagi returns to match-day 23" (Press release). Fijian Drua. 4 May 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2023.

External links

• Official Site
• BOP Mafia – Supporters Club