Rugby: Steamers trip on Log o' Wood

Bay of Plenty Steamers player Doug Edwards looks to pass during the Ranfurly Shield challenge against Hawke's Bay on Saturday in Napier. Photo / Getty Images

What was shaping as a historic day for Bay of Plenty rugby turned into another disappointing loss for the Steamers.

The Bay of Plenty Steamers lost 36-17 to Hawke's Bay on Saturday, during their first Ranfurly Shield challenge in nine years.

The big occasion was not matched by a top performance from the Steamers, who battled hard for the province but were unable to produce any real threat at McLean Park in Napier.

Apart from one long spell in the second half the Steamers really struggled to keep possession of the ball during the match.

To add to the disappointment, Steamers' winger Tino Nemani was sent off in the dying minutes for a dangerous tackle. Steamers' captain Culum Retallick was also shown a yellow card earlier in the match.

The loss means the Steamers will turn their focus to avoiding the wooden spoon in the ITM Cup Championship this year after winning just one match from seven starts.

The Battle of the Bays got off to a positive start for the Steamers on Saturday, who held their line well against the advancing Hawke's Bay attack.

Both teams traded penalties during the opening 20 minutes with Hawke's Bay pushing out to a 9-3 lead.

The game finally snapped into action when Hawke's Bay halfback Chris Eaton broke the line and went charging into the Steamers' 22m zone.

Steamers captain Culum Retallick brought him down close to the try line but referee Kane McBride sent Retallick to the sin bin for a high tackle.

The Magpies scored off the resulting play, taking a quick tap before spinning the ball left. Michael Allardice scored in the corner.

The Magpies got their tails up after that try and, if not for a knock on, they would have scored again a couple of minutes later.

The home side took a 14-3 lead into the break.

Hawke's Bay almost made a perfect start to the second half when they had a try disallowed down the left edge.

They made up for the mistake a few minutes later when impressive first five-eighth Ihaia West broke the line and scored.

The Steamers finally found themselves down the other end of the field and had a good opportunity to close the margin.

But their attack broke down and they lost possession.

The same thing happened five minutes later as the Steamers attack broke down once again.

Some instructions must have been handed down from the coaching box as the Steamers changed their style of attack.

They refused to kick the ball away in their own half and strung together upwards of 20 phases, making about 30m.

In a cruel twist, Hawke's Bay forced a mistake and Ryan Tongia picked up the ball and raced away 70m to score. Trailing 26-3, the game looked lost for the Steamers.

But to their credit, the visitors did not give in. They scored two late tries while Hawke's Bay also added two tries to finish off the match.

The Steamers' best try came from substitutes Siegfried Fisiihoi and Jesse Acton. Fisiihoi made a huge run down the field before Acton scored off the back of a resulting scrum.

Nemani was sent off towards the end of the game after a shocking tackle, which saw him lift an opposition player onto his head.

• Hawke's Bay 36 (Ihaia West 2, Ryan Tongia 2, Michael Allardice tries; Ihaia West con, 3 pen) defeated Bay of Plenty 17 (Tino Nemani, Jesse Acton tries; Nic Evemy 2 con, pen)