Bay run hot again but fans blow cold

By CHRIS RATTTUE

Bay of Plenty continued to let their actions speak as loudly as their words, but were left disappointed by the scant home support they received against Otago.

Bay of Plenty notched their third win over a Super 12 host union this season in thumping Otago 44-16 at Blue Chip Stadium in Mt Maunganui.

And they will attempt to take a fourth major scalp when they take on Wellington, who have lost Ma'a Nonu to a broken thumb but have Tana Umaga back, at Mt Maunganui on Saturday.

The Bay may have lost halfback Ruki Tipuna to an injury from Saturday's match, following hard on the season-ending ankle fracture suffered by star No 9 Kevin Senio.

That aside, it was another glorious match for the Steamers, who were in marvellous spirits when they had the ball and defended resolutely, although Otago are almost dysfunctional on attack this season.

After the Ranfurly Shield highs and lows, Bay of Plenty have backed up their claims that the shield was merely a bonus and that the NPC playoffs have always been their main goal.

Their supporters may need more convincing. After the crowd of nearly 18,000 for the shield defence against Waikato and 13,000 against Canterbury, just 5500 watched the Otago game.

"We were very disappointed as a team," manager Craig Morris conceded yesterday. "Three home games in a row can be pretty tough on people financially. And we knew there would be some sort of drop-off after the shield. But we had honestly hoped for 7000 to 8000.

"What more can we do? We've beaten three Super 12 franchises and I just hope people get behind the Bay. We've made a real commitment to moving to Mt Maunganui.

"We always said the semifinals were our main goal. I hope we've shown that they weren't just words, and we mean it."

Bay of Plenty were brilliant at times against Otago, especially when Glen Jackson sparked a long-range move carried on by Grant McQuoid, who produced a magical no-look pass, with Adrian Cashmore finishing off in the corner.

Otago, with just nine tries in five games, were often at their dreadful worst on attack. They did not get the rub of the green on a crucial video referee call for a possible Neil Brew try. But they were largely the authors of their own misfortune.

Tipuna, meanwhile, will need head and shoulder checks this week after being injured in a high tackle from Ryan Nicholas, which saw the Otago centre sinbinned by Paddy O'Brien, and aggravating the injury when scoring a sharp blindside try and was forced out of the game.


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