Bay of Plenty sign off on underwhelming season on a high
Bay of Plenty ended their disappointing Mitre 10 Cup campaign by overcoming a Northland side already on the road for next weekend’s Championship semifinals.
Northland were guaranteed their place in the top four for a second successive season before kick-off but head into the finals on the back of two straight defeats after the clinical Steamers prevailed 38-35 in Tauranga yesterday.
The loss means the Taniwha will be travelling to Hamilton to face runaway leaders Waikato for a place in the Championship final but Northland have some serious improvements to make – especially in defence – after conceding a whopping 11 tries at home against the rampant Mooloos last Saturday.
Their tackling was again suspect as the Steamers won by six tries to five to head into summer with two successive wins under their belt, although their afternoon was dampened somewhat as impressive debutant winger Emoni Narawa broke his leg in the second half.
Bay of Plenty played with the freedom of a side with nothing to play for and they were much improved and more energised after only just ending a five-match losing streak with a scratchy late win against lowly Southland last Sunday.
With the semifinals in mind, Northland rested some key players and they were awfully flat in the first half as the Steamers ran in four tries to secure a bonus point after 29 minutes, while clinically taking limited opportunities after the break as the visitors finished with a late rally to make the score far closer.
Northland and Bay of Plenty finish the regular season with identical records – fours win and six defeats respectively – but the Taniwha secured the last semifinal spot by three points.
Tipped as Championship contenders, Bay of Plenty’s campaign went from bad to worse with five straight defeats ultimately wrecking their hopes of returning to the finals after falling short at the final hurdle in last year’s decider against a dominant Wellington side.
With summer approaching, the picturesque Tauranga Domain was bathed in glorious sunshine as the Steamers hosted their final game of an underwhelming season within view of Mt Maunganui.
Bay of Plenty raced out of the blocks with starting props James Lay and Jeff Thwaites rumbling over the line and Liam Steel’s try under the crossbar sent the hosts 21-0 ahead after 20 minutes.
Narawa skipped past some weak tackling for Bay of Plenty’s fourth before Aorangi Stokes raised Northland’s hopes with their first score before the break.
Northland were better in the second half as Ropate Rinakama, Noah Cooper, Tamati Tua and Jordan Hyland touched down to earn two bonus points, but tries to Fa’asiu Fuatai and Chase Tiatia kept the Taniwha at arm’s length.