Euro clash of Bay rugby talent

European rugby's big stage is rapidly becoming a stage for some of Bay of Plenty's brightest exports, as sports editor Kelly Exelby and Jamie Troughton write.

He seemed to be the perennial off-sider, magnificent technically but too nice a guy to be in charge. Could Joe Schmidt ever make it as a head coach in rugby?
You won't hear it from him but the answer is an emphatic "yes".
And the next 10 days will decide whether the former Tauranga Boys' College teacher is merely one of the rising stars of the coaching game, or something on an even higher level.
Schmidt's Leinster team will turn out against Northampton - featuring former Steamers and Katikati-raised lock Mark Sorenson - at the Millennium Stadium in tomorrow's Heineken Cup final.
Then he'll have to get his team back up for the Magners league grand final, an all-Irish affair against Munster on May 28. No Irish team has ever won both and Schmidt quipped that he'd nearly be willing to trade back into his old role.
"Some days I think I'd prefer to be an assistant coach - lower profile, just the on field focus and a bit more hands on," Schmidt said.
"But I guess being here does prove that the Chiefs combination can work - despite having to listen to the occasional rendition of the Mooloo song, my assistant coach Jono Gibbes has been a great foil and we've worked well together."
The 44-year-old joined Leinster in his first senior coaching role from Clermont, where he continued the successful Steamers combination with head coach Vern Cotter.
The pair guided Clermont to the club's first French title in 100 years, before Schmidt left to mark his own path in Ireland.
Despite a rocky start to the season, Leinster have come good at the business end and are just 160mins away from glory.
"We don't have any trophies at the moment and we're desperate to win them," he said. "The best thing about it is you're now going to be judged on 80 minutes and it's the 80 minutes that is the hardest to get to."
"Northampton are a massive blip on our radar ... they've won eight from eight. They want to be the first team ever to win nine from nine and they've just about got the firepower to do it."
Schmidt is looking forward to catching up with Sorenson after tomorrow's game.
"I still follow the Bay and especially the Bay players - I had a good catch up with Paul Tupai recently and was texting back and forth with Jacko (Glen Jackson) this week. It's great to see him get his first Super 15 whistle blowing exercise."
Sorenson, too, is keen to catch up with his old mentor at Cardiff - and might even buy Schmidt a beer if the final goes Saints' way. Whether that happens will have as much to do with their powers of recovery as it does an effective game to counter Leinster talisman Brian O'Driscoll and his teammates.
Northampton were knocked out of the English premiership in the semifinals last weekend by reigning champions Leicester 11-3 but Sorenson, in his first season with the Saints said they'd ditched the mental baggage ahead of the trip south-west to Cardiff.
"Last weekend was a disappointment, for sure, but we haven't dwelt on it because we haven't had time to dwell on it. We turned up Monday, accepted it could have gone either way and set about preparing for this weekend."
Sorenson's wife Sarah is heading to the final and is looking forward to catching up with former Steamers captain Ben Castle and his wife Lauren in Wales.
"BC's been phoning all week but I know he's a good mate of Jono's too so he's likely been picking both our brains so he has something to talk about with each of us before the game. It'll be a good catch-up with BC and Schmidty - we had some good times together for the Bay, especially with that Ranfurly Shield win, although it seems so long ago now."
Sorenson will start off the bench tomorrow behind the Saints' first-choice locking duo Christian Day and Courtney Lawes, with the key to lifting the Heineken Cup, Europe's top prize, for the pack to front up and make their mark.
"We need to influence the game with our strengths - a strong scrum, a big midfield to carry the ball up hard and create room for our back three (Bruce Reihana, Chris Ashton and Ben Foden). Forcing them to kick poorly so we can bring it back on the counter-attack is also a big part of what we do."
Sorenson heads home to Papamoa in two weeks for a month off, where he's got little planned except for waxing his surfboard and pillaging the local fish stocks. Both pursuits have never been far away, although the move inland to Northampton means he's had little opportunity to do either in the past 10 months.
"It's great being part of a team pushing for honours but it's been a huge adjustment living so far away from the coast for the first time in my life. Surfing and fishing have been a big part of what I do, complementing my rugby ..."