From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Bay of Plenty Rugby Union (BOPRU) is the official governing body for rugby union in the Bay of Plenty.
The union is affiliated with the Super 14 Chiefs franchise.
[edit] History
Bay of Plenty Rugby Union was founded in 1911. The Steamers won the inaugural (and their only) National Provincial Championship in 1976, defeating Manawatu in Rotorua.
Bay of Plenty recorded their first Ranfurly Shield win on August 15, 2004 against Auckland, successfully defending it for one home defence against Waikato, before losing it to Canterbury on September 5, 2004. 2004 also saw the Steamers reach their last NPC playoffs, losing to Canterbury at Lancaster Park.
The Steamers were admitted to the new Air New Zealand Cup upon the competitions foundation.
[edit] Representative Rugby
The union's colours are blue and yellow as seen on the Steamers hoop jersey. The union plays the vast majority of their matches at BlueChip Stadium (Mt Maunganui), with some regular season matches being played at Rotorua International Stadium (Rotorua).
The senior representative team, The Steamers, currently play in the inaugural 2006 Air New Zealand Cup, the successor to the premier division of the National Provincial Championship (NPC).
The main jersey sponsor is BlueChip New Zealand. Apparel is supplied by ISC. Other sponsors include:
[edit] Notable former players
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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Chiefs franchise area |
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| Air NZ Cup teams |
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| Heartland teams |
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Andre Bell
