Steamers face voracious Lions

The intensity and difficulty ratchets up a few levels for the Bay of Plenty Steamers when they take on the unbeaten Wellington Lions at Rotorua International Stadium from 7.35pm tonight.

The Lions have scored more than 40 points in their opening wins over Manawatu and Taranaki and have an outstanding backline and physical, ball-running forwards.

But the Steamers have better depth across their squad than they've had for several seasons so will look to match the Lions at every facet of the game.

The clear message from Steamers captain Keepa Mewett is to beat them "you have to meet fire with fire".

"We have spoken about it this week about trying to be as physical as we can be and try and be a dominant force in the pack," he said.

"It is definitely a big challenge but something that has to be done if we are to get a result."

Last Friday's excellent 46-17 win over Hawke's Bay was pleasing for Mewett because of the way his team stuck to the game plan.

"We had some clear targets that we wanted to hit to get that sort of result like urgency to the breakdown and tidying up our set piece, particularly in the second half when fatigue sets in.

"That push-over scrum try we got at the end exhibited that."

Captaincy was not something on 30-year-old Mewett's agenda this season.

"I hadn't even been part of the leadership group for the past few years. I understood the way we wanted to play and I had been around the scene for the last six years now.

"I play club rugby here and a lot of the Super Rugby guys with experience don't do that so the job landed on my lap and it is going quite well. It is a good challenge but the first thing I need to worry about is just performing individually."

Mewett does not have to look far for guidance.

He has union centurion Culum Retallick and internationals in the Lay brothers (Samoa) and Tyler Ardon (Canada) to draw on if needed.

All Blacks forwards Nathan Harris (Bay of Plenty) and Vaea Fifita and Jeffery Toomaga-Allen (Wellington) have been released by the selector to play in tonight's game.

A key player will be halfback Richard Judd who starts his third game in the Bay of Plenty jersey since joining from Counties Manukau.

He made the move to get more game time after playing second fiddle to Augustine Pulu for two years. Joining up with former All Blacks first-five Mike Delany has been a huge bonus for Judd.

"He is such an experienced player which for a nine makes it so much easier. His direction on the park is bloody good and we do a lot of work especially in previewing the opposition ahead of games," Judd said.

Bay of Plenty Steamers v Wellington Lions, Rotorua, tonight, 7.35pm
Bay of Plenty:
1. Jordan Lay (1), 2. Nathan Harris (26), 3. James Lay (1), 4. Tom Franklin (2), 5. Keepa Mewett (26) - Captain, 6. Hugh Blake (10), 7. Mitchell Karpik (2), 8. Jesse Parete (11), 9. Richard Judd (2), 10. Mike Delany (63) - Vice-Captain, 11. Joe Webber (2), 12. Terrence Hepetema (9), 13. Lalakai Foketi (20), 14. Monty Ioane (13), 15. Chase Tiatia (16). Reserves: 16. Liam Polwart (6), 17. Solomona Sakalia (29), 18. Siegfried Fisi'ihoi (30), 19. Culum Retallick (104), 20. Troy Callander (13), 21. Henry Stowers (11), 22. Luke Campbell (6), 23. Liam Steel (1)
( ) Denotes number of games

Wellington:
15 Andrew Wells, 14 Malo Tuitama, 13 Wes Goosen, 12 Regan Verney, 11 Ben Lam, 10 Jackson Garden-Bachop, 9 Kemara Hauiti-Parapara, 8 Brad Shields (c), 7 Galu Taufale, 6 Vaea Fifita, 5 Sam Lousi, 4 Isaia Walker-Leawere, 3 Jeff To'omaga-Allen, 2 Asafo Aumua, 1 Tolu Fahamokioa. Reserves: 16 Sitiveni Paongo, 17 Vince Sakaria, 18 Alex Fidow, 19 Will Mangos, 20 James Tuia, 21 Carlos Price, 22 Dan Kirkpatrick, 23 Losi Filipo.

Head to Head:
Played: 38, 1912-2016, Bay of Plenty wins 5, Wellington wins 31, draws 2