Rugby: Top teams struggle to justify rankings

Leaders Bay of Plenty and Nelson Bays stuttered initially before forging back to maintain their unbeaten records, while Hawke's Bay finally got into the winners' circle during second division NPC rugby action at the weekend.

Bay of Plenty found themselves 16-0 down to Marlborough before tries either side of halftime sparked them to a 31-16 win at Rotorua in a match played before just 800 spectators.

Coach Gordon Tietjens would have been happier with the wind-assisted second spell, which reaped four tries and included enough stout defence to keep Marlborough scoreless.

Nelson Bays specifically targeted away wins as crucial to their campaign before their match with Manawatu and it was a mission accomplished at Palmerston North.

The southerners were completely outplayed in the first half but revived after the interval to beat Manawatu 23-16.

Manawatu started urgently, monopolised possession, won ruck after ruck and the few times Nelson Bays got the ball it was knocked-on.

But ominously, for all their domination, Manawatu held only a 6-0 lead at halftime.

The roles were reversed after the break, with Manawatu fading.

Hawke's Bay registered their win away at promoted Mid Canterbury in Ashburton, the first step to getting their horror season back on track.

They took maximum points from their 35-5 win and leap-frogged Mid Canterbury to climb to sixth spot.

They led 15-5 at the break and thoughts of a home side comeback were extinguished when the Magpies scored 20 unanswered points.

After the break Hawke's Bay slowly ground down the Mid Canterbury pack and broke the defence in the second half as their greater weight advantage told.

In the round's other match, Thames Valley deprived King Country of earning points on the road with a 28-20 win at Te Aroha.