[9] Northern Districts, of which Poverty Bay is one of the constituent associations, began playing in the Plunket Shield in 1956-57.
The first Poverty Bay players to represent Northern Districts in the Plunket Shield in 1956-57 were Bernie Graham and Ken Hough.
When Northern Districts won the Plunket Shield for the first time in 1962-63, Poverty Bay's Peter Barton was a member of the team.
[10] Poverty Bay and the other five Northern Districts association teams compete each season in two-day matches for the Fergus Hickey Rosebowl.
The six clubs that compete in the senior Poverty Bay competition are Campion College, Gisborne Boys' High, Horouta, HSOB, Ngatapa and OBR.