"He played over here a few seasons ago and sent an email to Mike Rogers on my behalf saying that I was keen to come over and asked whether there was an opportunity.
"There was, which is great."
Great, too, for the union, which had been advised of a late stumbling block in the loose forwards at the end of last week.
"Beau Robinson is a pretty aggressive footy player and I suppose it's down to luck in a way," said Steamers coach Kevin Schuler.
"Obviously Lats [Tanerau Latimer] is our key man but he's had a big campaign with the Chiefs and is pretty battered and the strong recommendation from the medical crew there was that he needed an extended break.
"That came at pretty late notice and we were just lucky that Beau was available and very motivated to play ITM Cup. It's a great outcome really.
"He's with us right through and very keen. He'll set a pretty high standard around that collision area. We all know from Super rugby that he is pretty combative, so we hope he'll bring that to the Bay this year."
Schuler said such last minute dealing is inherent to the ITM Cup.
"I think that's the nature of it. We have to be able to cut our cloth to suit. We want to be able to put a competitive side out on the paddock.
"Super Rugby is a brutal competition and we have lost four players out for the season who would have loved to have played for the Bay but can't because they got beaten up during Super rugby.
"You just don't know what you are going to get at the end of the season; whether the Chiefs will play a final or won't play a final."
