KEY POINTS:
Bay of Plenty captain Mark Smith celebrated his 50th appearance for the province as they marched on in defence of their national men's interprovincial teams title in Nelson yesterday.
Bay of Plenty were pushed by Southland before winning 4-1 to remain one of three unbeaten teams after two
days of competition at Greenacres Golf Club. With the bye already under their belt, Bay of Plenty share the lead on three wins in section two along with 2005 champs North Harbour, with Hawkes Bay next on two wins and a half.
It is a dog fight in the other section where all teams have been beaten.
Otago cling to the lead with two wins and a half, with Manawatu-Wanganui, Wellington and Waikato all with two wins.
Wellington bounced back after their loss on Tuesday with two wins to be in third place ahead of Waikato and hosts Tasman.
Canterbury and Auckland will need a miracle if they are to remain after post-section play.
Bay of Plenty took 50 years before they won the interprovincial title but have won four times in the last six years, with Smith taking an active part in each of those wins.
They accounted for Aorangi-South Canterbury and Southland yesterday, both by 4-1 margins as Smith's raised his half-century for the province.
"I was a bit nervous standing on the tee today. You really want a good one for your 50th. But my 50th game feels every bit as exciting as the first one," Smith said. "Southland have played really well so far this week. I was really happy with the team today because they have been so dangerous."
North Harbour moved confidently forward with two impressive victories, dropping just one game and a half in wins over Taranaki and Poverty Bay-East Coast.
They have a key match against Hawkes Bay today.
Hawkes Bay posted a 5-0 whitewash of Poverty Bay-East Coast before finding winless Northland a major obstacle yesterday afternoon.
They ended the contest 2 each, with a key match being at the top of the order where Hawkes Bay international Nick Gillespie fought out a halved result with junior international Gary-John Hill.
Otago put paid to neighbours Canterbury 4-1 in the morning but were then held 2 to 2 by Tasman with all the matches decided on the final two holes. Otago won the first two games while the Riordan brothers Blair and Sean won for Tasman.
Otago have Michael Minty to thank after he won four of the last five holes to grab a half with Jason Giblin.
Manawatu-Wanganui bounced back from a 2-3 loss to Tasman with an outstanding 4-1 win over then unbeaten Waikato in the afternoon.
Wellington recovered from a loss to beat rivals Auckland before dispatching Canterbury 4-1.
There is one round today with the final two rounds tomorrow ahead of the semifinals and final on Saturday.
- NZPA
