Memory that won't go away for Bay of Plenty

By CHRIS RATTUE

When the topic is Clayton McMillan, and the clue is Ranfurly Shield challenges, the answer is a painful subject for the Steamers' No 8 and captain.

McMillan and fullback Damon Kaui are the survivors from Bay of Plenty's 1996 Ranfurly Shield challenge that resulted in a famous fightback by an All Black-less Auckland side which scored three tries in the final eight minutes to overturn a 29-11 deficit.

The final tryscorer - Mat Carrington - landed a sideline conversion for the 30-29 victory at Eden Park.

It is the closest Bay of Plenty, a second division side that season, have been to lifting the shield in 17 challenges.

It is as legendary as rugby stories get, the breaking of an underdog's heart - with some Auckland skulduggery thrown in.

The 29-year-old McMillan, who embarks on his third Ranfurly Shield crusade in Sunday's challenge against Canterbury, describes the 1996 challenge as "the worst memory in my rugby career ... the worst, worst feeling ever".

"We'd played a lot of first division sides, beaten Canterbury, were quietly confident.

"It was a day when everything seemed to go right ... everything appeared crystal clear and fell into place apart from eight minutes.

"They scored one try and there wasn't any panic but they scored soon after and our loose forward Brett Sinkinson went off his tree about not dropping our bundle.

"Brett was a really respected guy, a quiet guy. For a guy like him to lose his rag ... that stood out for me."

And then came the hand of prop Kevin Nepia.

Referee Alan Riley signalled the match was down to the last scrum, with Bay of Plenty having the feed. McMillan and halves - the late Joe Tauiwi and Andy Miller - organised for Miller to kick the ball out. Standard practice. Arms would be raised, let the celebrations begin. But ... McMillan says: "He [Nepia] hooked the ball out of Joe's hands and chucked it under their guys' legs. The rest is history. The ref was on the other side of the scrum, and touch judges didn't say anything then. We protested, but it was a lost cause.

"We tried to be positive but it buggered our whole season. Everybody was absolutely buzzing, then to lose it like that.

"We should have won the second division but didn't even make the semifinals. It blew our guts out and didn't go away for the entire season.

"A lot of people refer to it. I talk about it now and then but really, I'm just trying to bury it."

McMillan was born in Perth but after his mother died of cancer when he was just a few months old, his father returned to Rotorua.

He has become an icon in the union, one of only 14 players (including Kaui) to notch 100 games.

He has always been a leader, captaining Rotorua Boys High, BoP schools, the New Zealand Divisional XV, and Bay of Plenty for three seasons before Mark Weedon took over for the last two.

It has not always been smooth. The Steamers have battled financially, and been first division easybeats. But McMillan has endured.

And his rugby commitment has meant putting some career plans with the police on hold, including reducing his hours as a Rotorua community constable this year.

"I told the union if they wanted me to play, these are my terms and that included compensation for time off work," says McMillan, who is married to Angela, a teacher.

"When we got into the first division two years ago we were basically doing the old Tuesday and Thursday night training. We got exposed badly.

"There's a lot more preparation now ... Me working part-time without being financially disadvantaged is part of the progress.

"We don't have the resources or luxuries or money bigger unions have. We have to accept that.

"But we can have awesome team spirit. Last year we were close knit but there's a huge emphasis this year on putting the team first with no personal agendas.

"Without criticising past players, some do whatever they can for themselves: 'Give me the ball, I'll run with it, get seen on television and I'll get in the Super 12.'

"At pre-season camp I said I wanted us to be the East Coast of the first division - the team that reached great heights against the odds.

"We don't have all the bells and whistles, but we can have an awesome, unbreakable team bond that gets us through the hard times while we'll also enjoy the good times."