1949 Rugby Season Was Memorable One For Bay Of Plenty

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 15, Issue 28, 1 May 1950, Page 4

1949 Rugby Season Was Memorable One For Bay Of Plenty

The 1949 Rugby season had been a memorable one for the Bay of Plenty Rugby Union, said the chairman of the union, Mr W. Henderson, Whakatane, at the annual meeting at Matata. It had marked the occasion of the first match, for more than two decades, with a major overseas side.

The touring Australian team had played the second match of what had proved a very successful tour against the Bay of plenty at Whakatane before a record crowd. The gate receipts had totalled about £6lO. !

Mr Hendersons commented on the excellent way in which the game had been catered for and remarked that, when subsequently in Wellington, the president of the New Zealand Rugby Union had personally expressed his appreciation. Referring to representative matches Mr Henderson said that Thames Valley had played the Bay of Plenty at Rotorua and the Bay had won by a narrow margin. The team had also gone on tour for six days playing and losing to,, East Coast and playing, and beatijig Poverty Bay at Gisborne. Later in the season they had played Waikato at Hamilton and had lost this game by two points.

Six Representative Rugby Matches For Bay Of Plenty

Five representative Rugby matches have been arranged for the Bay of Plenty representative Rugby team this year. Four will be played in the Bay of Plenty, in centres other than Whakatane and the fifth will be played at Auckland.

The draw arranged:— June 3:'Bay of Plenty v East Coast at Opotiki. June 10: Bay of Plenty v Poverty Bay at Te Puke. July 22: Bay of Plenty v Bush at Rotorua.

August 26: Bay of Plenty v Waikato at Tauranga.

September 23: Bay pf Plenty V Auckland B at Auckland. In addition to these matches Bay of Plenty is to combine with Poverty Bay and East Coast in a game against the touring British team at Gisborne on June 21.