Consecutive wins have Volcanix on a high

Bay of Plenty Volcanix players celebrate their first win against Auckland, at Eden Park on Friday. Photo / Getty Images

What a difference a few years makes.

The Bay of Plenty Volcanix' results against the Auckland Storm in the last three years are a prime example of just how far they have come.

In 2015, they were demolished 101-0. In 2016, they lost 62-0. Last year, playing in the Championship, the Volcanix started their campaign in a crossover game against Auckland, who were in the Premiership, and drew 10-all. It was a massive improvement and a sign of things to come as they went on to win the Championship final, earning promotion to the Premiership.

On Friday the Bay of Plenty side claimed their first victory against Auckland - at Eden Park no less. They led 27-5 at halftime and survived a second half comeback by Auckland to hold on for a 34-29 win.

Volcanix coach Brendon Webby said the win was reward for the effort the players had put in this season.

"It was good for them to get some just rewards, which was the message I sent out before the game, that they simply owed it to themselves to have some fun and really test themselves."

He was pleased with the way the team dug deep in the final minutes to hold out an Auckland side with all the momentum.

"We probably should never have let ourselves get into that position, to be fair. But it wasn't a matter of us letting Auckland back into the game, I just think they worked really hard, they were pretty sharp and they worked themselves back into it really well.

"We did make a few errors but they were full of Black Ferns, they had about seven Black Ferns and two Japanese internationals. They utilised those players really well as well as their massive size advantage across the park.

"In the second half we struggled with combating that, but we dug deep. For us, defence is all about what the person next to you means, so obviously the girls mean a lot to each other because they defended extremely well."

Webby said it was a willingness to embrace the game plan which helped his side shoot out to an early lead.

"They really did stick to what we were trying to achieve, which was to run them round and create opportunities out wide. Watching the tape, that's what they did.

"We had a few unforced errors but that's a result of trying to play rugby, which is what we set out to do - move the ball and give it some air.

"The really pleasing thing for me was that they didn't stop trying to play. With the couple of mistakes that we made they held their heads high and moved on to the next phase or the next job. They stuck at it and that's what really allowed us to score those points."

On Saturday, in the final week of round robin matches, the Volcanix travel to Counties Manukau - still with a mathematical chance of clinching a semifinal spot.