Bay of Plenty Rugby Union and new sub-unions were formed, the union achieved its first national representation when A.L. McLean was selected for the All Blacks in 1921. McLean was the first of 22 men who have represented New Zealand while wearing the blue and gold hoops, in addition to the many players who received their rugby education in the Bay of Plenty before achieving higher honours elsewhere. As the heartland of Maori rugby the region has produced a large number of Māori All Blacks, while age group and secondary school teams from throughout the union have also established a long and successful heritage that
Bay of Plenty Steamers Bay of Plenty has also challenged many times for the Ranfurly Shield. In 2004 Bay of Plenty won the Ranfurly Shield over Auckland 33–28 at Eden Park to win it for the first time. They would defend it against Waikato 26–20 at Mt Maunganui before losing it two weeks later to Canterbury 26–33. A year later Bay of Plenty would challenge Canterbury in Christchurch, however Bay of Plenty lost 13–40. The last time Bay of Plenty challenged for the Ranfurly Shield was on 19 September 2015, resulting in a narrow 23–17 defeat to Hawke's Bay. Bay of Plenty also has