Rugby: New Steamers set to play key roles

Bay of Plenty hooker Liam Polwart, left, in action at the Tauranga Domain against Counties Manukau.

In sport, players who break out of their comfort zones often have a strong will to succeed.

Within the Bay of Plenty Steamers squad are several players who went to school in Wellington, Auckland and even Australia but have found their niche at home in the Bay of Plenty.

Halfback Luke Campbell and hooker Liam Polwart are relatively new to the union but have quickly become crucial members of the group.

Both 22-year-olds are set to play key starting roles for the Steamers in tomorrow night's Mitre 10 Cup Championship final against Wellington.

Campbell hails from Wellington and followed Clayton McMillan up from the capital after they were captain and coach of the champion Wellington under-19 team.

He was the reserve halfback behind Richard Judd before a knee injury to Judd early in the game against Otago last week ended his season.

Campbell says you have to always be ready for your chance.

"It is about taking opportunities at training, knowing my role so that when something unexpected like this happens, and you are out there for 60 minutes in a semifinal, you have the clarity and know the detail," he said.

"I was pretty confident I could do my role for the team. Having a crowd like that definitely helped me keep going. My lungs were definitely puffing at the end."

That semifinal against Otago was his 15th game which earned him a Bay of Plenty blazer, something he is immensely proud of.

Tomorrow night he will run into a stadium he dreamed of playing at as a kid. But he is not letting any of that affect his focus ahead of the final.

"I am here with Bay of Plenty, this is home now, so I am happy I can go out there and put all that other stuff to the side until after the game. It will be a special moment, but I will just focus on doing my job."

Steamers halfback Luke Campbell. Photo / File

Polwart was a young star in Auckland, captaining that union's under-19 side, but has no regrets about shifting to the Bay of Plenty.

"It has been probably the best move I could have made. I wasn't really getting the exposure I wanted to so I got an opportunity here and have not looked back to be fair," he said.

"I am getting plenty of game time and learning plenty off Clayton and the other coaches. Coming from Auckland, it is a different culture here. Everyone is welcoming, the players are all mates, and all live so close. The high-performance unit is unreal here too."

Polwart, who this week was named in the Maori All Blacks team, compares this season's early performances by the Steamers to a rollercoaster.

"One of the big things we wanted was to get some consistency going on. Once we got that the boys are starting to play better each week and grow in confidence.

"I think we are a confidence team and it is working for us."

The Bay of Plenty Steamers side to face Wellington, Westpac Stadium, 7.35pm kickoff.
1. Aidan Ross, 2. Liam Polwart, 3. Jeff Thwaites, 4. Keepa Mewett (captain), 5. Tom Franklin, 6. Mitchell Karpik, 7. Hugh Blake, 8. Tyler Ardron, 9. Luke Campbell, 10. Mike Delany (vice-captain), 11. Joe Webber, 12. Terrence Hepetema, 13. Lalakai Foketi, 14. Monty Ioane, 15. Chase Tiatia.
Reserves: James O'Reilly, Jordan Lay, James Lay, Troy Callander, Jesse Parete, Te Aihe Toma, Matthew Garland, Elijah Nicholas.