Opinion - What's up with the Steamers?

BOP Steamers supporter Brendon Gardner is saying 'hang in there supporters'; despite a poor performance this season.

What'S wrong with the Steamers? I get asked that question more than any other and I wish I had a simple answer. What I do know for sure is there are three fundamental factors in any team's success - the calibre of the players, the coaching structure, and the confidence within the team to never second guess themselves.

Bay of Plenty Times Sports Reporter Peter White.

After another of those "could have and should have" seasons, the Steamers are dead last in the second-tier ITM Championship. Luckily, there is no relegation to the Heartland Championship. Bay of Plenty Rugby's board will decide the fate of coaches Kevin Schuler and Rodney Gibbs at the end of the season, when their role in the last two poor seasons will be examined.

But how much of the ineptitude is down to them, or the fact the team lacks a top class halfback and first-five, or loose forwards like recent Steamers Colin Burke, Tanerau Latimer, Sam Cane and Luke Braid?

A lack of self-belief has held the players back all season. That was obvious in the loss to Northland at Baypark last Thursday. Sure, an absolute shocker of a decision by the TMO that wiped out Carl Axten's try was crucial, and so bad the Northland players were laughing about it afterwards. But you have to make your own luck and so often this season the Steamers have lacked confidence to finish off games.

I've seen it before. In a past role as media liaison with Auckland Rugby, I worked with one of the best ever Auckland teams in 2007 and the following year probably the worst ever. The all-conquering 2007 team had 17 All Blacks in the squad and never looked like losing. They were also the most accurate at training of any team I worked with, including the Blues. But when most of them left, representing the union in 2008 was a young, inexperienced team similar to this year's Steamers. The pressure was too much for some young men barely out of school. I remember one player saying to me he did not belong in the jersey. He went on to become a Super Rugby player but, that first season, he never backed himself.

So self-belief is fundamental to success. Just look at North Harbour. After years of struggling for such a well resourced union, they have beaten Canterbury and Hawke's Bay in successive games. Their defensive effort and confidence to attack have improved dramatically, as they now believe in themselves.

The Steamers have games against Otago at Baypark on Saturday, and Waikato in Hamilton the following Thursday. Let's hope they can do a Harbour and have something to show for all their hard work this season.

On a brighter note, it was great to see former Tauranga Boys' First XV teammates Sam Cane and Nathan Harris getting game time for the All Blacks yesterday. Harris was on debut and the two mates, along with Brodie Retallick, made it a record three Bay of Plenty players in an All Blacks test team.