New-look Steamers find success creates pressure

By RICHARD BOOCK

Vern Cotter arrived in Wellington yesterday a worried man - and not for the usual reasons.

Having watched his side beat Taranaki against the odds and the growing media interest that followed, the Bay of Plenty coach reckoned his main job this week was making sure everyone kept their eye on the ball.

The back-slapping and unprecedented news demands left him uneasy, as did the knowledge that Wellington would be desperate to redeem themselves after an equally unexpected loss to North Harbour last weekend.

Another concern was the fact that many experts were tipping the Steamers to win tonight's showdown at the Cake Tin, leaving them on track to challenge for a semifinals berth.

Cotter had no problem with his side being tipped - only that the same experts were picking Taranaki to smash his team the week before at Mt Maunganui.

And then there were the increased expectations, which went hand-in-hand in with increased pressure and intensity, and the potential for match-deciding distractions.

"We've had a lot of media - positive media - and I'm wary of it, to be honest," Cotter said from Wellington yesterday.

"It's the sort of competition where anyone can persevere on the day, and certainly we can't afford to be distracted from the job in front of us.

"I've been stressing the fact that it's in the balance for us now. People have been talking about semifinals but equally, if we were to lose form now, we could still find ourselves in the bottom four."

In fifth-equal position on points with Wellington at the halfway stage of the competition, Bay of Plenty were involved in the previous two promotion-relegation games, against Hawkes Bay.

The tenuous existence brought about a more hard-nosed attitude towards this year's campaign.

"This was a front-up year for Bay of Plenty," said Cotter. "We didn't want to be hanging on to our first-division status by our fingernails.

"From the start, we've been realistic about how well we should be doing and have put the work in to ensure we met those expectations."

Cotter, who briefly touched on the disparity between Super 12-based unions and the others, was convinced the Steamers' work ethic was making the difference in the battle against the fulltime professionals.

"It's incredibly hard for a side like us, with so few fulltime rugby players, to succeed in a professional and semi-professional environment.

"But the players know what they're up against; they've discussed it, and they know what's required for success at this level."

Wellington: Christian Cullen, Lome Fa'atau, Conrad Smith, Paul Steinmetz, Sireli Bobo, David Holwell, Jason Spice; Thomas Waldrom, Scott Waldrom, Kristian Ormsby, Ross Filipo, Ross Kennedy, Tim Fairbrother, Luke Mahoney, Kas Lealamanua.

Res: Jason Macdonald, Neemia Tialata, Hemi Pou, Iva Motusaga; Piri Weepu, Riki Flutey, Jimmy Gopperth.

Bay of Plenty: Apoua Stewart, Anthony Tahana, Alan Bunting, Dale Rasmussen, Todd Blythe, Glen Jackson, Kevin Senio; Clayton McMillan, Rodney Voullaire, Wayne Ormond, Bernie Upton, Mark Sorenson, Ben Castle, Aleki Lutui, Simms Davison.

Res: Ngarimu Simpkins, Taufa'ao Filise, John Moore, Paul Tupai; Nathaniel Walker, Nathan Strongman, Ray MacDonald.

Referee: Kevin Rowe. Kickoff: 7.35pm. TV: Live on Sky Sport 1.

NPC points table