Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union

Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union Official page of the Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union 🔴⚪
Proudly representing Tairāwhiti Gisborne - from grassroots to Heartland.

Growing the game, building community, and celebrating our rugby whānau. FOR DRAW, RESULTS & STANDING TABLE , click on the link: https://www.sporty.co.nz/povertybayrugby/

Or on our website (www.povertybayrugby.co.nz) choose the SENIOR RUGBY tab, then CPS 2021 Draws & Results. ABOUT US: The Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union is the governing body for rugby union within the Gisborne district, in the

area surrounding Poverty Bay on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The men's representative team play from Rugby Park, Gisborne, and currently compete in the Heartland Championship. The Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union was established in 1890 by four clubs in the Gisborne area - Gisborne, Turanganui, Poverty Bay and Warerenga-a-Hika, with the union's inaugural first-class match being held against Hawke's Bay the same year. Since then, the union has played against every other existent union in New Zealand as well as an array of overseas touring sides, including but not limited to Australia, England, South Africa and Japan, against whom Poverty Bay drew in 1974. In 1981, Rugby Park was the scene of clashes between pro-tour supporters and anti-tour protesters prior to a match against the touring South African side. Poverty Bay ultimately lost the game by 6 - 24.

🏉 Big Saturday of rugby ahead!Round 7 for our Premier teams and Round 8 for Senior Ones — with Senior Ones kicking off t...
11/06/2026

🏉 Big Saturday of rugby ahead!

Round 7 for our Premier teams and Round 8 for Senior Ones — with Senior Ones kicking off their Championship rounds this weekend. Senior Ones will now split off into a 2 pool, 6 team competition.

See you there 🙌

📢 Interested in getting involved in rugby in a new way?We’re looking for people to referee JAB U12 and U13 games this se...
10/06/2026

📢 Interested in getting involved in rugby in a new way?

We’re looking for people to referee JAB U12 and U13 games this season. Referees are paid $25 per game, and anyone with a good knowledge of rugby is encouraged to give it a go.

ℹ️This introductory session will cover the key laws of the game, positioning, communication, and game management, giving you the confidence to take the field as a referee. The course is practical, beginner-friendly, and a great way to stay involved in rugby. No refereeing experience is required – just bring yourself and a willingness to learn.

Course needs a minimum of 6 people to be run.

📅 19th June
🕕 6:00pm
📍 Refs Room, Rugby Park

Come along and see if refereeing is for you!

Register here:
https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=UGbNglGg0k2pqmRkTjaO3p9xiTPBCwxElNldbI5cp6RUMktHR1hBSVZLQUk1RVJSMVZOTlM3V0NNVi4u&utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAb21jcASViRZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA81NjcwNjczNDMzNTI0MjcAAad6NDnA7zC2FBoGJtLjroz48RTNNypgVsJ7X60Uhnn7ulUdZPQopT1lgSA3WA_aem_JS8iAp4uNpCZPLJpbBd5rg

On field photo dump. Lads went to work for our bay 🫶🏽
09/06/2026

On field photo dump.

Lads went to work for our bay 🫶🏽

Side line photo dump. It’s been over a week and we still fizzing over the support shown to both teams for the kings bday...
09/06/2026

Side line photo dump.

It’s been over a week and we still fizzing over the support shown to both teams for the kings bday clash.

🫶🏽

Here are your Senior Ones standings after Round 7 🔥
08/06/2026

Here are your Senior Ones standings after Round 7 🔥

🏆Congrats to Ayvah TeAturangi and Eli Mackey- this week’s MIPs of the Turanga Pirates, brought to you by .gisborne Here’...
08/06/2026

🏆Congrats to Ayvah TeAturangi and Eli Mackey- this week’s MIPs of the Turanga Pirates, brought to you by .gisborne

Here’s what the club had to say about the two:

“Ayvah has been a Pirate for a few seasons now. This year has been her first year in contact rugby and he has grown heaps over the season. At training, and during the games, Ayvah shows she is a player with big heart that goes hard every week.”

“Eli has joined our club this year as an U9 player. At the start of the season he held back and took in the learning, and now he gets right on in there. He listens well, he cares for his team mates, and he tries really hard. He has grown heaps in his skill and his confidence. It’s been a great season for Eli and we love having him in our Pirates whānau.”

Keep up the great work, Ayvah and Eli! 🙌

Round 7 of the Senior Ones scores are in 🏉This week Nuhaka and Pirates also celebrated their club days. 🎤Here’s what Nuh...
06/06/2026

Round 7 of the Senior Ones scores are in 🏉

This week Nuhaka and Pirates also celebrated their club days.

🎤Here’s what Nuhaka had to say for their club day:

Established in 1878, Nūhaka Rugby Club is approaching 150 years of sporting history, making it one of the oldest sporting clubs in the region. Over time, the club evolved into the Nūhaka Sports and Recreation Club, expanding its opportunities beyond rugby. Today, the club supports Junior and Senior Rugby, Junior, Senior and Rangatahi Netball. As the club approaches its 150-year milestone, it continues to build on a proud legacy of community, participation, and sporting excellence.

🎤And a word from the Pirates:

Turanga Pirates Rugby & Sports Club was formed in 1952 through the amalgamation of two of Poverty Bay’s oldest rugby clubs – Kaiti City (1902) and Celtic (1924). The name, Pirates, was chosen to create a fresh identity and unite members from both clubs.
From humble beginnings training after work and on the beach, the club raised funds through community efforts to build its first clubhouse in 1956. Over the years, the clubrooms were expanded as membership grew, and the club eventually purchased the land it occupies today.
Pirates has always been a proud whānau-based club, built on community, belonging, and developing people through sport. While rugby remains at the heart of the club, we have continued to evolve and now support opportunities across sporting codes.
In 2026, the club proudly fields four JAB teams, five senior netball teams, and one Senior 1 rugby team. With 42% of our JAB players being female, and our senior Netball teams, we are a club of many wahine toa. Our JAB teams are providing the foundation for the future of our club by developing skills, confidence, friendships, and a lifelong connection to Pirates.
We are a whānau club aiming at developing Pirates for life. 🏴☠️

Poverty Bay Rugby is excited to bring you our Coach Development Online Series — three Zoom sessions with some incredible...
05/06/2026

Poverty Bay Rugby is excited to bring you our Coach Development Online Series — three Zoom sessions with some incredible speakers from across NZ! 🏉💻

Here’s what’s coming up:
Zoom 1 — Darren Larsen, Hurricanes
📅 17th June, 6PM
🎯 Game Understanding

Zoom 2 — Cameron Prouting, NZ Rugby
📅 29th June, 6PM
🎯 Plan-Do-Review

Zoom 3 — Tamati Ellison, NZ Rugby
📅 5th July, 6PM
🎯 Leadership & Team Culture | Building Positive Environments | Communication | Creating Player Buy-In

These sessions are designed to support secondary school and senior coaches within the Poverty Bay region.

Sessions will be recorded and shared with JAB coaches, and we’ll also be running separate JAB-specific Zoom discussions on:
🗓️22nd June
🗓️1st July
🗓️8th July
at 6PM to explore how this content applies in a JAB coaching environment.

To receive the Teams link for each session, complete the Microsoft form — visit the link in comments to register. 🔗

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to develop your coaching with some of the best in the game! 👊

05/06/2026

🎉Congratulations to our first fuel voucher winner for completing our Coach Development Survey, Becky Macpherson!

The $50 fuel voucher prize can be collected at the Poverty Bay Rugby Office at Rugby Park.

There's still 1 more voucher up for grabs- be sure to complete the survey by Monday, June 8th to be entered into the draw! 📋

Round 7 fixtures for our Senior Ones are locked in for Saturday 🏉
04/06/2026

Round 7 fixtures for our Senior Ones are locked in for Saturday 🏉

Address

Rugby Park
Gisborne
4010

Telephone

+6468689968

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union:

Shortcuts

Share

Category