Bay of Plenty 30
Hawkes Bay 11
Taranaki 33
Tasman 11
Hawkes Bay power and Bay of Plenty flair.
Those are the traditions of these two middle-ranking unions and both sides were true to form at Napier last night in the second round ITM Cup clash at McLean Park.
And it was the dash of Bay of Plenty, who rose to put on a stunning second half display, which won out.
Aided by courageous second half defence and Hawkes Bay errors, the Steamers withstood what turned out to be a tame onslaught from the Magpies and then ripped them apart.
The Steamers nailed the win with a stunning 90 metre try in the 70th minute which featured a wonderful pick up from try scorer Daniel Waenga. Outstanding captain Colin Bourke capped the night off with an exceptional solo try a few minutes later.
The game burst into life immediately after halftime with a length of the field try, initiated by a Luke Braid turnover at a ruck.
Wing Lance MacDonald made the initial break, fullback Toby Arnold carried it on, and when Hawkes Bay halted the move near their line, the ball was spun superbly to the right.
The job was finished by Lelia Masaga, the very brief All Black recruited from Counties Manukau, whose pace took him past the remaining defenders.
A wild, running game is in the Bay of Plenty DNA and for a Hawkes Bay player capable of responding in kind, look no further than hooker Hika Elliot. He charged into open territory in the 50th minute, Luke Rooney provided a link, only for an agonising end as halfback Kahn Fotuali'i dropped the ball with the goal line begging. Which summed up their night.
After ordinary starts to the season the first half found two teams warming to their ITM Cup tasks without threatening to reach boiling point.
The one try during the spell came after a long period of pressure from the visitors. Halfback Taniela Moa finished it off after Bay of Plenty moved the ball from one side of the field to another, made a few breaks and finished the deal with a fine rolling maul which gave Moa the easiest of runs to the line.
* Bay of Plenty 30 (T. Moa, L. Masaga, D. Waenga, C. Bourke, C. Tuoro tries; Waenga pen, P. Burleigh con)
* Hawkes Bay 11 (R. Buckman try; A. Horrell 2 pen). HT: 8-6.
TARANAKI BOUNCE BACK
Taranaki bounced back from their disappointing loss last week to Northland to easily overcome Tasman in New Plymouth last night.
Leading 21-6 at halftime, they had the bonus point try soon after the break when winger David Smith scored and they kept the pressure on to not let Tasman back in the match.
The three first-half tries came on the back of some solid work up front, especially from flanker Jarrad Hoeata, who was rewarded for his efforts with a neat blindside dash for a try before halftime.
Tasman just couldn't get their rhythm as Taranaki pressured them into making handling mistakes at crucial times.
When Taranaki lost flanker Scott Waldrom to the sinbin mid-way through the second spell Tasman fought back with a try and had the locals under pressure.
But a late George Pisi try put the result beyond doubt for Taranaki.
* Taranaki 33 (K. Baker, T. Keats, J. Hoeata, D. Smith, G. Pisi tries; W. Ripia, 4 con,)
* Tasman 11 (V. Fredricks try; S. Alfed 2 pen). HT: 21-6.
