Steamers steam ahead in home game special

Bay of Plenty Steamers beat Taranaki Bulls 33-20. Photo / BOP Rugby

The Bay of Plenty Steamers are celebrating a 33-20 win over the Taranaki Bulls in round six of the Bunnings Warehouse National Provincial Championship.

Bay of Plenty rugby fans turned out in force on Saturday to watch the home game special, and to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their 2004 Ranfurly Shield-winning team.

The double-header day of footy saw Tauranga Domain’s stands packed with supporters as the Bay of Plenty Steamers took on the Taranaki Bulls and the Bay of Plenty Volcanix took on Auckland Rugby.

The Tauranga Domain grounds opened at 10am for the U-18 Boys’ and U-18 Girls’ matches, with the Volcanix v Auckland game kicking off at 11.35am.

Bay of Plenty Volcanix

Bay of Plenty Volcanix lost to Auckland 24-29 and will head to Rotorua International Stadium next Sunday for their next match in the 2024 Farah Palmer Cup, playing Canterbury.

The semifinals for the Farah Palmer Cup will be played from September 27-29, and the finals from October 4-6.

Bay of Plenty Steamers beat Taranaki

The Steamers versus Bulls game kicked off at 2.05pm, with a halftime score of 14-10 to Bay of Plenty.

The Steamers took charge after halftime to earn a 33-20 NPC win over the Taranaki Bulls and will head to the Sky Stadium in Wellington to play the Wellington team next Saturday.

They will be back to play Northland at Tauranga Domain on Saturday, September 28.

The Bay of Plenty Steamers are in second-equal place in the NPC current standings with 27 points, and Auckland are in first place with 30 points.

Hawke’s Bay also have 27 points, and Tasman are in fourth place with 23 points.

- SunLive