All eyes on our Magpies

The Hawke's Bay Rugby Union is expecting the Magpies' electric one-point victory over Bay of Plenty to breathe new life into their 2012 ITM Cup campaign.

Ihaia West scored after the final hooter at Maclean Park on Friday night to give Magpies a 42-41 triumph in the Battle of the Bays.

Hawke's Bay Rugby Union commercial manager Jay Campbell says the much needed win will give the squad a platform for success heading into the Otago match on Saturday night.

"It was obviously a fantastic finish to the game and I thought the way the Magpies played in the last 15 to 20 minutes certainly gives plenty of positives leading into the Otago game. I think it'll certainly kick-start the season. Everyone here involved in Hawke's Bay rugby is pretty positive about where we're heading over the next four or five games."

He hoped this would translate into "bums on seats" next weekend. "It's always a good battle between Hawke's Bay and Otago. At this stage we'll be expecting another crowd of around seven-and-a-half thousand which we had on Friday."

He encouraged people to buy their tickets for the game early, as the last minute rush at Maclean Park meant people were often still stuck in ticketing queues at kickoff.