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; 114 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)	TBA
Most appearances	Ron Preston (152)
Top scorer	Ron Preston (846)
Most tries	Keith Pryor (46)
League(s)	Bunnings NPC
2024	4th Runners-up
Team kit
Official website
www.boprugby.co.nz

Current squad

The Bay of Plenty Steamers squad for the 2025 Bunnings NPC is:^[2]

Bay of Plenty Steamers squad
Props Josh Bartlett Haereiti Hetet Benet Kumeroa Tevita Mafileo Jaya More Harold Rounds REP[a] Pasilio Tosi Filipe Vakasiuola Hookers Kurt Eklund Taine Kolose Sione Tupou Locks Naitoa Ah Kuoi Jai Knight Aisake Vakasiuola	Loose forwards Nikora Broughton Kalin Felise Joe Johnston Veveni Lasaqa Jacob Norris Semisi Paea Halfbacks (scrum-halves) Richard Judd Charlie Sinton Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi First five-eighths (fly-halves) Lucas Cashmore Taine Craig-Ranga Kaleb Trask	Midfielders (centres) Tamiro Armstrong Seamus Bardoul Lalomilo Lalomilo Reon Paul Rameka Poihipi Outside-backs Leroy Carter Fehi Fineanganofo Cole Forbes Kele Lasaqa REP[b] Ngarohi McGarvey-Black Emoni Narawa Frank Vaenuku
(c) denotes team captain. Bold denotes internationally capped. REP denotes a replacement squad player. Rounds wasn't named in the original Bay of Plenty squad, but was announced in the side for Round 2.[3] Kele Lasaqa wasn't named in the original Bay of Plenty squad, but was announced in the side for Round 4.[4]

Honours

Bay of Plenty have been overall Champions on 1 occasion, winning the inaugural title in 1976. Their full list of honours include:^[5][6]

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.^{[7][8][9][10][11][12]}

Player	Team
Naitoa Ah Kuoi	Chiefs
Josh Bartlett	Highlanders
Nikora Broughton	Highlanders
Leroy Carter	Chiefs
Lucas Cashmore	Hurricanes
Kurt Eklund	Blues
Fehi Fineanganofo	Hurricanes
Cole Forbes	Blues
Haereiti Hetet	Drua
Lalomilo Lalomilo	Moana Pasifika
Veveni Lasaqa	Highlanders
Tevita Mafileo	Hurricanes
Emoni Narawa	Chiefs
Reon Paul	Blues
Rameka Poihipi	Chiefs
Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi	Chiefs
Pasilio Tosi	Hurricanes
Kaleb Trask	Chiefs