The rise and rise of Bay of Plenty rugby

Three years ago I stood under Rotorua's International Stadium interviewing then Bay of Plenty Development XV coach Vern Cotter.

His side had just beaten Northland 36-20.

They had also beaten Canterbury in the Development competition earlier that season.

They were the union's after-thoughts, a bunch of rugby misfits unwanted by Gordon Tietjens, men Cotter and his assistant Milton Haig turned into the surprise package of the national development competition.

The subject of discussion was the future of Bay of Plenty rugby and what was needed to get it cranking on the field.

At the time Cotter was just weeks away from securing the job as Steamers coach, about to take over from Tietjens who eventually resigned after seven seasons with the flagship side.

Cotter was pretty forthright. Retention of talent was high on his list for the future.

He was adamant there was rugby talent in the Bay of Plenty, a province for which he had proudly played.

Three years later the Western Bay Finance Bay of Plenty Steamers, mentored by Cotter, are on the verge of their greatest season since 1976 when the union won the inaugural national championships.

Retention has remained high on Cotter's list of priorities but he hasn't been so parochially blind as to ignore talent outside of the Bay of Plenty region.

His team have made some shrewd buys - Colin Bourke, Nili Latu, Kevin Senio, Bernie Upton, Grant McQuoid and Rua Tipoki.

They also managed to keep Glen Jackson on board until now.

Similar to his development side of 2001, the 2004 Steamers personnel were hardly all household names outside of Bay rugby circles when this year's NPC competition kicked off.

That changed in Auckland on August 15 when they secured the Log of Wood for the first time.

The Steamers breathed life back into the national competition and with each outing since, their appeal has grown both in and outside the region.

The Steamers are modern rugby's fairytale, a runt of the previously Super 12-dominated pack who have become the apples of the grassroots watchers' eyes.

Tomorrow they take on North Harbour and a man would have to be a troglodyte not to know five points - a win and a bonus point for four tries - would send the Bay into the semifinals a week later, possibly in Rotorua.

It's a hell of a long way from relegation danger which Cotter plotted against until last season's fifth spot finish.

That 2003 turnaround earned the Te Puke-based farmer the Sport Bay of Plenty Coach of the Year award.

This year he's fast moving towards another award - no matter what happens from here.

Now there was no semifinal place on offer in 2001 but Cotter approached the final game of that development season with a similar goal.

"Five points is the objective.

"Win or lose it doesn't matter; as long as we've given it everything," Cotter said at the time.

His team walked away from Rotorua's International Stadium field bloodied, bruised and with five points in their possession.

It was a hardworking no-nonsense effort that typified Cotter's approach.

There had been a couple of blues and you almost sensed each altercation brought an approval from the coach.

"It was good to see each of them standing up for their teammates, they've all become real friends over the season" Cotter said simply.

In talking to members of this year's team, it's very much the same.

The culture is set, just like the "blood on the shirt" banner that hangs on the team's dressing room wall prior to each game.

It's a culture Cotter has adopted since before that pre-game interview in 2001, an old-fashioned call to arms - give it heaps, walk from the field with heads held high and hopefully five points will follow.