Rugby: Loss shocks but future is good

Rene Ranger charges away from Bay of Plenty halfback Samisoni Fisilau in his last game for Northland. Photo / Michael Cunningham

How the Bay of Plenty Steamers managed to lose to Northland on Saturday night may become a university discussion paper for doctorate students.

It beggars belief they could have nearly 90 per cent possession and territory in the second half with a raging gale behind them and not put away the 13th ranked team in the ITM Cup.

The Steamers scored a fine try to Nick Evemy with the first play of the second spell after a concerted spell of excellent ball-running from the hard-working pack but did not add any further points until it was too late.

Promising replacement halfback Te Aihe Toma scored in injury time but the game was lost 20-19.

Northland had one major break out in the second half, which resulted in a spectacular try to left winger Mateo Malupo, but apart from their solid defensive line led by France-bound Rene Ranger they offered little in the last 40 minutes.

Steamers captain Willie Ripia made a costly mistake to not take a gift three points from a penalty with 25 minutes left that would have put more pressure on Northland and meant a converted try to win.

Had he done so then Toma's celebrations at scoring his first try for the Bay would have had greater meaning.

The Steamers have the lowest number of line breaks in the competition and the lack of attacking options became increasingly obvious as the game wore on.

All season long the Steamers scrum has been outstanding with a strong engine room of Culum Retallick and Josh Sole behind the front row of props Kane Hames and Pingi Tala'apitaga and hooker Nathan Harris.

Super Rugby contracts should be not far away after they were the fulcrum of the scrum of the season that saw Northland shunted back 10 metres for a rare pushover try to Carl Axtens in the first half.

Harris was in sparkling form with ball in hand and his lineout throwing continues to improve. He had an 80 per cent success rate against Northland which is up there with the top hookers.

The former NZ Under-20s rake was invited to spend time with the All Blacks last month and is clearly a player for the future.

So the Steamers finish the 2013 ITM Premiership dead last but compared to the likes of North Harbour there is real optimism for the future.

A stack of young players had their first taste of top-level rugby, so will not second guess themselves in the future, and the supporters have not deserted the team.

Many of the losses could have been reversed but the Steamers lacked the razor sharp inside backs combination that seemingly every other team had.

The key for the coaching team is to keep this squad together and build a stronger group in preparation for a charge to win the ITM Championship next year.

Northland 20 (Mateo Malupo 2, Rene Ranger tries; Dan Hawkins con, pen) Bay of Plenty 19 (Carl Axtens, Nick Evemy, Te Aihe Toma tries; Willie Ripia con, Kenny Lynn con).