Central Bay of Plenty Junior Rugby's stolen gear found

Central BOP junior rugby chairwoman Selena Syme the day after the theft. Photo/File

A Rotorua rugby club has extended its thanks to the community after a large portion of the rugby equipment stolen last week was recovered.

Central Bay of Plenty Junior Rugby chairwoman Selena Syme arrived at Rotorua International Stadium to set up for last Saturday's games a little after 7am to discover the large white trailer full of gear for the junior teams had been taken.

The equipment was uninsured and valued at $15,000. It included the pads that go on the bottom of the goal posts as well as things like the rope and flags for the sidelines.

But yesterday Syme told the Rotorua Daily Post a good portion of the stolen gear had been recovered.

"The trailer has also now been recovered, however it has been damaged so our committee will be working hard to find the funds to get it back into working order," Syme said.

"We would like to thank the Rotorua police for wading through the blackberry brambles to retrieve our gear."

Before the equipment was retrieved, Central Bay of Plenty Junior Rugby received offers of help from multiple people and groups.

Easy Firewood Rotorua offered to auction wood for the club, while Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology offered to make a new trailer.

Syme said the club was grateful for all the offers for help, including one from as far away as Christchurch.

"We are speechless at our community's generosity and even more so at how our situation moved people all over New Zealand to band together and help us.

"Maintaining and growing junior rugby in the Central Bay Region is something we strive for constantly, it is often really hard to replace or buy the equipment our junior rugby players need and deserve.

"We are always on the lookout for support and sponsorship so that we can make rugby more accessible and sustainable for our families and children."

Police confirmed the trailer had been found but said inquiries were still ongoing.