Rugby: Pre-season chance to put hand up

Steamers' player Tim Bond, (with ball) in action last season. The team play a pre-season match tomorrow in Whakatane. Photo / Stephen Parker

The Bay of Plenty Steamers will play their first pre-season game tomorrow when Auckland pay them a visit at Whakatane's Rugby Park.

The Steamers are coming off two poor seasons in the ITM Cup, but have a new-look team this year with 15 uncapped players in their 35-man squad, and a new head coach in Clayton McMillan.

McMillan said the thing he wanted to see from his side tomorrow afternoon was a desire to do the jersey proud.

"Being the first game I want to see players excited about pulling a Steamers jersey on," he said.

"The result is probably secondary to seeing a couple of things in the game."

He said the match would give players an opportunity to put their hand up for selection in the starting team when the ITM Cup begins on Friday, August 14 (a home match against North Harbour).

McMillan said he would be taking the full squad to Whakatane tomorrow but would give those players involved in the Baywide premier club final last weekend limited minutes or rest them completely.

"Everyone will be over there but not everyone will play. The guys who played at the weekend will have a smaller role to play [against Auckland] to give them more time to freshen up."

Fortunately, he said none of the Steamers players involved in the club final between Tauranga Sports and Te Puke had pulled up with injuries last weekend.

McMillan said since they named their squad on July 12, up until the Baywide club competition wrapped up at the weekend, they had not been doing too much work as a playing group.

He said it was important for the integrity of the club competition the Steamers players were allowed to focus on their clubs during the playoffs.

However, he said most of the players had been involved in the high-performance group during the year and a huge amount of work had already gone into the up-coming ITM Cup season.

"The majority of work we have been doing had been done prior to the team being named a few weeks ago."

The Steamers will have one more pre-season match after Friday's game - a match against Manawatu at the Tauranga Domain next Thursday afternoon.

One of the stars of the Baywide rugby season Te Rangi Fraser (Whakarewarewa), who scored at least one try in every round this season, could play a big part for the Steamers this year. McMillan said he viewed him as a big part of the team. "We look at him equally as a first five or fullback so he gives us some pretty big versatility."

New coach McMillan is a former Bay of Plenty and Whakarewarewa stalwart having played 113 games for the Steamers. The Steamers have only won three ITM Cup games in the past two seasons.

- The Steamers team to play Auckland was to be named this afternoon.

Bay of Plenty Steamers v Auckland

Rugby Park, Whakatane, tomorrow 2.30pm

Entry: Adults $10, students $5, under 5s fre