The Bay of Plenty Rugby Union is pleased to announce it has retained two of its staff into senior management positions.

Bay of Plenty Rugby Union operations manager Neil Alton, has taken on the newly evolved position of Community Partnerships and Engagement Manager, formerly known as Commercial Manager. Neil started the role four weeks ago.

Pat Rae has been promoted to the new position of Community Rugby Manager. His promotion is effective immediately and one of his first tasks will be to recruit his replacement into the Referee Manager, a position he held for the last three years.

Bay of Plenty Rugby Union chief executive Mike Rogers says both Neil and Pat bring a wealth of knowledge to their new roles.

'We are very lucky to have quality people involved in rugby in the Bay of Plenty. This has been recognised by New Zealand Rugby, with a number of our staff being involved in national teams and activities.

'Retaining good people in the sporting industry can be very challenging so providing new opportunities and challenges is important and something we are focused on.”