Peni Lasaqa of Bay of Plenty scores a try in the day 1 pool game against Auckland Development on Sunday. Photo / Getty Images
Peni Lasaqa of Bay of Plenty scores a try in the day 1 pool game against Auckland Development on Sunday. Photo / Getty Images
Bay of Plenty Toa have started their defence of the Jock Hobbs Memorial title in style, hammering Auckland Development 50-0 on day one.
Bay of Plenty are the team to beat this year, after claiming the province's first national premiership rugby title in 42 years with a 35-30 win over Canterbury in last year's final.
Despite the emphatic victory in game one, head coach James Porter saw plenty of room for improvement.
"We knew about [Auckland] through their footage and we were hoping to probably get through a little bit more work than we did. We didn't really adjust to the conditions.
"We're happy with the win but there is a lot more to work on."
Porter said it was crucial to identify work-ons and seek improvement throughout the whole tournament.
"It's a short turnaround, there's only two days between each game, so we have to work pretty hard. We've got pretty awesome staff and they're working pretty hard to give the boys all the information they need."
Bay of Plenty Toa head coach James Porter. Photo / Andrew Warner
There were some positives to take from the game against Auckland, other than the impressive scoreline.
"I think it was the freedom we played with, we played attacking rugby and probably made a number of mistakes in that but the boys wanted to play. They wanted to play high tempo rugby and scored 50 points, which is great, we just need to now refine what we want to do and be a bit more accurate."
He said several players put their hands up and produced solid performances.
"Nikora Broughton was outstanding, our number seven, he got through a hell of a lot of work. Bailey Gordon ran the ship pretty well and Fritz Rayasi was exciting out on the wing."
They wanted to play high tempo rugby and scored 50 points, which is great, we just need to now refine what we want to do and be a bit more accurate.
The win booked the side a spot in the semifinals - a mouth-watering rematch against last year's beaten finalists Canterbury.
"They're probably the elite program in the country. They're very tactical and very technical, they limit their mistakes so we will have to really address what we do with the ball, hold on to possession.
"It's just subtle changes but we don't want the boys to go away from what they know, just keep playing footy."
Tomorrow,all players at the tournament will participate in professional development and position-specific coaching sessions before semifinals get under way on Wednesday.
Day One Results: Graham Mourie Cup: Canterbury 27 – Manawatu 7 Wellington 22 – Otago 3 Auckland 30 – Waikato 25 Bay of Plenty 50 – Auckland Development 0 Sir Michael Jones Trophy: Taranaki 58 – Northland 0 North Harbour 27 – Counties Manukau 26 Hawke's Bay 44 – Southland 0 Tasman 33 – Heartland 3
Day Two draw: 10.45am Manawatu vs Auckland Development. 10.45am Northland vs Heartland. 12.30pm Otago vs Waikato. 12.30pm Counties Manukau vs Southland. Sir Michael Jones Trophy semifinals: 2.15pm North Harbour vs Hawke's Bay. 4pm Taranaki vs Tasman. Graham Mourie Cup: 2.15pm Wellington vs Auckland. 4pm Canterbury vs Bay of Plenty.
Finals day – September 14: The Sir Michael Jones Trophy (3.25pm). Graham Mourie Cup (5.05pm).
