A clinical display by Bay of Plenty Steamers has booked their place in the Mitre 10 Cup Championship final after belting Manawatu 64-3 tonight.
The Bay showed that rugby can be a simple game – get front foot ball and use an efficient backline to score points. A near flawless set piece and an industrious forward pack led to a dominant performance at Rotorua International Stadium tonight.
After the visitors kicked an early penalty, Bay of Plenty responded with pressure on defence as Tom Franklin charged down a clearing kick. It led to an attacking scrum for the Bay and as they swept, left the space for Emoni Narawa to punch through a disjointed Manawatu defence to score.
It would not be the last time the fleet-footed fullback would trouble Manawatu. Bay of Plenty benefited from a solid set piece as Narawa joined the line again to hit the gap from a Mitch Karpik pass before linking with Joe Ravouvou, who crossed the line unopposed.
The set piece would prove too much for Manawatu to deal with soon after as Bay of Plenty set up a maul for Nathan Vella to score. After first five Dan Hollinshead missed a penalty and two conversions, the superhuman Chase Tiatia took over the kicking duties and converted Vella's try to give his side a 17-3 lead after 19 minutes.