BoP battlers survive in top flight

Bay of Plenty officials are already planning their first-division campaign for next year, as CHRIS RATTUE.

Bay of Plenty 32 Hawkes Bay 12

A relieved Bay of Plenty administration is already planning its first-division campaign next year after they held off Hawkes Bay in the promotion-relegation clash in Rotorua.

Bay of Plenty won the do-or-die game comfortably, but it was an error-ridden match at the International Stadium.

After second-division champions Hawkes Bay held a 5-0 lead, then trailed just 10-5 at halftime, the home side skipped away, scoring tries through the superior pace of their backs in front of a crowd of 6000.

It meant that Bay of Plenty survived in the top flight in their first year back, first avoiding automatic relegation and then winning yesterday's vital game.

They can now plan for the future in the comfort that there is no more automatic relegation, knowing that should they finish last, there is the escape route of the promotion-relegation game.

Retaining first-division status also avoids the ugly business of having sponsors downgrade their contributions.

Union chief executive Jon Brady said: "We're very relieved. It's a great day.

"We always believed we had the team to win this game, but you never know in a one-off, especially if you don't get the bounce of the ball.

"We've formed plans for the future over the past two or three weeks to cover both scenarios and it is nice to be able to throw one of them away now."

There is still doubt whether coach Gordon Tietjens will be available next year as he decides whether the Bay job and that of the national sevens coach for the Commonwealth Games can be combined.

Tietjens, assistant Brent McKillop and the players will be reviewed over the next 10 days.

Already, a lack of strength and speed has been identified as a problem for the Bay of Plenty players, most of whom have fulltime jobs.

They struggled against most first-division opponents, many of whom have been physically honed by five years of professional rugby.

Former Hurricanes trainer Keith Roberts, who is also a sprint coach and works for the New Zealand Rugby Union, has joined Bay of Plenty as the high-performance manager.

But as Roberts arrived only in July, he was not able to prepare vital off-season programmes to build strength and speed.

Brady said the union was confident about the ability of some developing players to be good first-division prospects, but would also carefully target some new recruits in specific positions.

He did not know of any of the squad who were leaving.

Hawkes Bay competed well for the first half in a game blighted by lost possession. It was a sharp run from midfield back Damian Karauna, setting up one of wing Charles Baxter's three tries, which took Bay of Plenty to a 17-5 lead and began to push Hawkes Bay out of the picture.

And the Hawkes Bay cause was lost when midfield back Murdoch Paewai popped a pass from the ground to Bay of Plenty wing Todd Blythe, who ran 55m to score.

The vision and control of Glen Jackson was vital to Bay of Plenty's cause, and Blythe and Baxter had major hands in the try-scoring action.

The scoreline showed how difficult it is for a second-division team to make the jump in a promotion-relegation game, and the difference between the divisions.

Bay of Plenty won just two out of 10 matches in the top division. Hawkes Bay were undefeated in the second.