Counties Manukau have righted the ship, but it was taking water at an alarming rate in the first half at Pukekohe today for their crossover Mitre 10 Cup clash with Bay of Plenty.
They struck a purple patch in the second stanza, scoring three tries in six minutes while Steamers wing Monty Ioane was cooling his heels for a knockdown. That spree appeared to knock the stuffing out of Bay of Plenty, who had dominated in the opening half. But the Steamers reawakened with a trio of tries in the space of about 12 minutes to secure two bonus points and give the home side some anxious moments.
Rallied by a prominent display from lock Viliame Rarasea and some sharp attacking play from centre Sam Vaka, the Steelers seized the initiative to lead 39-15 until the visitors rediscovered their verve and spark late-on.
Ioane had an interesting outing, scoring two tries but spending 10, costly, minutes in the sinbin for his knockdown. The yellow card call was correct, but the decision to award a penalty try, which referee Paul Williams made in conjunction with the TMO, was highly dubious as there was doubt the Steelers would have scored.
