Bay of Plenty local Māori traditions, the Bay of Plenty was the landing point of several migration canoes that brought Māori settlers to New Zealand. These include the "Mataatua", "Nukutere", "Tākitimu", "Arawa" and "Tainui" canoes. Many of the descendent iwi maintain their traditional homelands ("rohe") in the region, including Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, Te Whakatōhea, Ngāi Tai, Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa ki Kawerau, Te Arawa, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui and Ngāti Pūkenga. Early Māori settlement gave rise to many of the town and city names used today. The first recorded European contact came when James Cook sailed through the Bay of Plenty
Bay of Plenty Rugby Union had also slipped behind Fitzpatrick, and he was overlooked for the 1987 World Cup. Greg Rowlands, a 1976 All Black to Argentina, holds the record for the most games – 161 – and most points – 1008 – for Bay of Plenty. 1976 2004 (1) In addition to the Men's 1st XV, the BOPRU has a number of other representative teams for both Men and Women. BOPRU is part of the Women's Provincial Championship. The Bay of Plenty Rugby Union holds union-wide and sub-union competitions including the Kusabs Cup, the premier Bay of Plenty rugby trophy starting in 1912. It