Rugby: Promotion priority for the Bay

Bay of Plenty have won their first NPC rugby title in 22 years and the first since playoffs were introduced eight seasons ago, but the big talk in the province is already focused on next season.

The question is whether the Bay have done enough to win New Zealand Rugby Football Union approval to go up to the first division.

Gordon Tietjens, who has tasted his first NPC success after six years coaching the Bay, is adamant his players have done their bit to boost the team into the top tier next season.

Bay of Plenty's finances, for the past two years well in the red, reportedly look healthy now, with interest from sponsors keen - if promotion is secured.

Player numbers in the two-city province have never been in doubt, with Bay of Plenty boasting 42 senior teams spread throughout a far-reaching area.

Yet for all their optimism, the nagging doubt remains over whether the NZRFU has the courage to lift Bay of Plenty out of the second division.

They have two options: promoting them in place of a lesser-performed first-division union such as Counties Manukau or Southland, or promoting both Bay of Plenty and Nelson Bays as part of top-tier expansion to 12 teams.

For all the conjecture, there is no doubting that Bay of Plenty, for years the perennial bridesmaids after winning the inaugural NPC first division in 1976, have made this season their own.

The season was mapped at a pre-season training camp at Auckland's Formosa Country Club, and Saturday's 16-12 defeat of defending champions Nelson Bays at the Tauranga Domain was the culmination of that hard work.

Yet the Bay's biggest season in 25 years could so easily have started with a disaster, with the side lucky to sneak past Wanganui 19-16 in a patchy display that was a catalyst for better things ahead.

What followed was a rollercoaster ride that thrilled with its mix of sublime backline attack, with the Bay outsides - Rico Gear, Justin Wilson, Keith Pryor and Sam Hala - possessing extreme pace and finishing power.

There were also characteristic slumps, with the Bay almost failing to complete what should have been thumping victories on several occasions.

Their best wins were against Hawkes Bay (19-8), Nelson Bays (26-20) and Mid Canterbury (55-9).

They had indifferent performances against Manawatu, King Country and Thames Valley.

Bay of Plenty's season unravelled slightly with a final-round loss to Marlborough, although seven of their frontline players were out injured.

Crowd support was also mixed, with Rotorua spectators, usually plentiful, strangely absent, but with Tauranga supporters getting behind the team, as witnessed by semifinal crowds of 4800 and a capacity turnout of 10,500 for the final.

Tietjens might not be supported by everyone in Bay rugby, but his standing at national level has helped to forge an enviable stockpile of talent this season.

Auckland loan players Gear and Jason Chandler have been a revelation - Gear with his sheer class, freakish attacking ability and pace on the break that won him New Zealand A selection on Sunday.

Chandler has battled stress fractures, but his commitment and work-rate are unquestioned.

Tongan import prop Tevita Taumoepeau, who arrived almost by accident on the back of failed first five-eighths Elisi Vunipola, held the Bay's scrum together. He is being touted as a Chiefs Super 12 selection.

Wing Hala has been devastating out wide, but he is looking to complete his university degree in Auckland or Wellington.

The departure of midfielder Wilson and flanker Craig De Goldi - both poached by Auckland - will hit Bay of Plenty hard, but the annual cycle of losing their best talent will only be remedied by promotion.

The best of the home-grown players were revitalised prop Steve Simpkins, who lost 14kg in the off-season, grafting lock Paul Tupai, No 8 and captain Clayton McMillan and tiny wing Pryor, the NPC's leading tryscorer with 10.