Rugby: Shield up for grabs in Bay v Bay

Steamers player Jono Kitto with the ball against Taranaki at the Rotorua International Stadium last Saturday. Photo / Ben Fraser

Steamers fans are hoping the Ranfurly Shield will be nestled tightly in the grip of captain Culum Retallick about 4.15pm tomorrow.

There are plenty of good rugby reasons why the Steamers are capable of ending Hawke's Bay's tenure as holders. But often it is the team that can control their emotions that has the best chance.

Last year a fired-up Steamers team went to Napier and got carried away by the occasion to be soundly beaten 36-17 - not helped by a red card to Tino Nemani.

Steamers head coach Clayton McMillan challenged unsuccessfully for the Log 'o Wood four times in his 113 games for Bay of Plenty so knows all about getting the players at just the right emotion levels for the big game. "We are not trying to glorify the situation, but it is a unique opportunity and one that does not often come a rugby player's way," he said.

"We have had a look at the statistics across the board and they rank pretty highly. They are not a team anyone takes lightly. They're well coached and well organised."

McMillan has made several changes to his starting 15 that faced Taranaki in Rotorua last Saturday. The backline has been completely reshuffled. Nick Evemy starts at first five, with Lalakai Foketi moving to second five. Craig Clare slots on to the right wing, Tino Nemani to centre and Elijah Nicolas on the left wing. Top try scorer Chase Tiatia moves to fullback.

The Steamers three-win-three-loss start to the ITM Championship has them in third place and comfortably in semifinal contention.

Rich pickings indeed after the past two seasons. But head coach Clayton McMillan believes they still have a long way to go to match the top-ranked sides.

"I know the general public are generally quite happy that we got three wins quite early, which shows there has been some improvement in the side. But we have come up against some of the better teams and have been exposed in a few areas," McMillan said.

"I guess that is to be expected, but we also have high expectations of ourselves so haven't been overly happy with our losses, particularly as we have fallen away quite badly at the back end.

"That's not through any lack of effort, but it's just an educational thing. We certainly don't want to make any excuses whatsoever for poor performances, but some of the sides have a lot of Super Rugby players, who have been exposed to a high level of rugby, and the attention to detail and the ability to work under pressure is where they have some obvious gains.

"I am confident that the guys we have in our squad are more than capable of performing better at critical times in games."