Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Mitre 10 Cup rugby: BOP Steamers ready for Counties Manukau

Peter White
By Peter White
Sports writer·Bay of Plenty Times·
22 Sep, 2017 04:59 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Joe Webber makes the break that set up the try of the match in the 57-0 thrashing of Southland on Wednesday. Photo / Getty Images

Joe Webber makes the break that set up the try of the match in the 57-0 thrashing of Southland on Wednesday. Photo / Getty Images

Never has a zero looked so good.

While Bay of Plenty supporters are still crowing about the record 57-0 scoreline over Southland on Wednesday, defensive coach Rodney Gibbs was happiest about the duck egg beside Southland's name on the screen at Rotorua International Stadium.

To hold the opposition scoreless is the ultimate goal every match for Gibbs. To do it against a side that has had the wood over the Steamers in recent years made it doubly satisfying.

"That was something we have been working towards. It is important that we keep getting better and keep growing. It has been a bit of a roller coaster through the year so far. I have been challenging the boys to get a bit of consistency," Gibbs said.

"That was a good defensive effort but the challenge now is to keep those standards up."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

While it was hardly a vintage Southland outfit, and they played 36 minutes of the second half with 14 players after Elliott Dixon was sent off, the damage was done earlier in the match by the intensity of the Bay of Plenty defensive line.

Gibbs said communication and trust between the players was a key part of the system.

"That is the case in any team environment and comes when they start gelling and believing in each other and the systems we have got. That is starting to come together well."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

This Sunday Bay of Plenty will look to continue their drive towards a home semifinal in the Championship division when they host Counties Manukau at Tauranga Domain in a rare afternoon kick-off.

The Steelers will offer a far sterner test than Southland did and are desperate to get some points to try and move off the bottom of the Premiership table.

"It will be a great test. The boys were already talking about it after the [Southland] game. We all know the complexities of this season and the short turn-around so I don't think anyone uses that as an excuse now," Gibbs said.

"It was a real mental shift over the last few days, making sure we are mentally fresh to be able to physically compete, which is important against teams like Counties that bring a physical nature to the game."

Discover more

Retallick moves from playing to coaching

22 Apr 05:00 AM

Bay of Plenty Rugby is hosting a special heritage function on Sunday for 47 former Bay of Plenty representatives who played against the British and Irish Lions teams of 1959, 1966, 1971, 1977, 1983 and 2005.

The Steamers will be wearing replicas of the jerseys worn by Bay of Plenty teams in the 1970s and 1980s.

Bay of Plenty team v Counties Manukau

1. Solomona Sakalia (32), 2. Liam Polwart (9), 3. Jeff Thwaites (15), 4. Culum Retallick (108), 5. Keepa Mewett (28) - Captain, 6. Tom Franklin (6), 7. Hugh Blake (14), 8. Jesse Parete (14), 9. Richard Judd (5), 10. Mike Delany (67) , 11. Joe Webber (5), 12. Terrence Hepetema (13), 13. Lalakai Foketi (24), 14. Elijah Nicholas (11), 15. Chase Tiatia (20)
Reserves: 16. James O'Reilly (13), 17. Aidan Ross (15), 18. James Lay (4), 19. Troy Callander (17), 20. Mattie Axtens (5), 21. Luke Campbell (10), 22. Matthew Gatland (0), 23. Isaac Te Aute (15)

Bay of Plenty v Counties Manukau
Tauranga Domain, Sunday, 2.35pm kick-off
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.co.nz or at the gate
Adult: $20, student $10, child (15 years and under) $5, under-5 free
Ticket holders travel free on all Bayhopper buses to and from the game with their game ticket

BOP Volcanix v Tasman
Farah Palmer Cup, 12.05pm kick-off.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

'Serious injuries': Crash closes highway

11 Jul 05:30 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

Mixed verdicts delivered for Tribesmen accused of murdering one of their own

11 Jul 05:00 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

'Hardly surviving': Sales fall after dairy raid

11 Jul 03:29 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

'Serious injuries': Crash closes highway

'Serious injuries': Crash closes highway

11 Jul 05:30 AM

Emergency services are responding to a two-vehicle crash which has closed SH29.

Mixed verdicts delivered for Tribesmen accused of murdering one of their own

Mixed verdicts delivered for Tribesmen accused of murdering one of their own

11 Jul 05:00 AM
'Hardly surviving': Sales fall after dairy raid

'Hardly surviving': Sales fall after dairy raid

11 Jul 03:29 AM
Substation fault cuts power to thousands in Tauranga

Substation fault cuts power to thousands in Tauranga

11 Jul 03:01 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP