Bay of Plenty Rugby League competition. Bay of Plenty Rugby League Bay of Plenty Rugby League is the local sporting body responsible for the administration of Rugby league in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand. Following the restructuring of the New Zealand Rugby League they are part of the Upper Central Zone along with Waikato Rugby League, Coastline Rugby League and Gisborne Tairawhiti Rugby League. Between 1994 and 1996, the Bay of Plenty region was represented by the Bay of Plenty Stags in the Lion Red Cup competition. The Bay of Plenty region has been represented by two separate teams in the Bartercard
Bay of Plenty in the region struggled: the climate was ill-suited to sheep farming and the geography was inaccessible, further hindered by a lack of infrastructure. By the end of the century the population had started to dwindle. But after experimenting with different crops, settlers found success with dairy production. Dairy factories sprang up across the Bay of Plenty in the 1900s, with butter and cheese feeding economic prosperity throughout the early 20th century; local Māori continued to live on the fringe of this prosperity. Timber also became a major export in the 1950s, as kiwifruit did later. The present Bay of Plenty