Rugby: Missed opportunities cost Steamers

Bay of Plenty Steamers lock Keepa Mewett charges forward in the heavy defeat to the Wellington Lions at ASB Baypark yesterday. Photo / George Novak

It was a tale of missed opportunities for the Bay of Plenty Steamers against the Wellington Lions at ASB Baypark yesterday.

Wellington fronted their third game in eight days against a refreshed Steamers outfit, but it was the visitors who looked sharper throughout in winning 31-13.

The Steamers paid a high price for missed opportunities, with two tries ruled out by the match officials in the opening 10 minutes that could well have changed the course of the match.

But it was not to be and Jeremy Thrush scored twice for the Lions to give them a 12-3 lead playing into a gusty northerly wind. Tino Nemani saved two points with a rare conversion charge down.

Under the pump near their own line, the Steamers then broke out to score a spectacular try. Captain Zac Hohneck turned the ball over, Dan Hollinshead kicked ahead for Chase Tiatia to win the ball and feed rampaging blindside flanker Johan Bardoul, who finished off a great try.
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Hollinshead cleverly drop-kicked the conversion, after the wind blew the ball off the tee, to reduce the deficit to 12-10.

A brilliant individual try by Ardie Savea shocked the home side immediately after the half-time restart and showed the rugby world again of his freakish talent. The Steamers did well to regain some dominance but for the third time crossed the Wellington line only to have the try wiped out.

The Steamers had more attacking lineouts near the Lions line but they failed to take toll of the chances, even with the Lions reduced to 13 players with Jeff Tumaga-Allen and Ben May sent to the sin bin.

Late tries from Cory Jane and Tomasi Alosio ended a poor performance from the Steamers, who play Otago in Dunedin next Sunday before a likely semifinal against Hawke's Bay a week later.

Hohneck says the Steamers do not want to just limp into the semis.

"We want to push forward and we want to be a team that everyone is scared of playing in the semis. We want momentum heading in," he said.

"Execution under pressure let us down. We didn't get the rub of the green on a few calls but you make your own luck.

"We knew Wellington were on the back of an eight day turnaround and we know how teams perform after that.

"It is very hard to get up for every game so we were hoping to jump on that and play a bit of quick footy in the first half and wear them down," Hohneck said.

-Wellington 31 (Jeremy Thrush 2, Ardie Savea, Cory Jane, Tomasi Alosio tries; Jackson Garden-Bachop con, Jonny Bentley 2 cons) Bay of Plenty 13 (Johan Bardoul try; Dan Hollinshead con, 2 pens)