Rugby: Anton Lienert-Brown shines on return but Bay of Plenty beat Waikato advance to NPC semis

Anton Lienert-Brown in action for Waikato. Photo / Photosport

If Anton Lienert-Brown had any nerves about returning to the full contact of a rugby game, being tasked with bringing down charging Bay of Plenty prop Aidan Ross surely put them at ease.

Waikato's 34-27 NPC quarter-final loss against Bay of Plenty was his first match since suffering a shoulder injury six months ago, but it was hard to tell, such was the ease at which he played in his return.

With some damaging carries and big tackles, Lienert-Brown impressed in 46 minutes of work; surely a pleasing sight for All Blacks coach Ian Foster after naming the midfielder in his squad for the upcoming northern tour. Lienert-Brown's return to health comes at the perfect time for Foster, who lost Quinn Tupaea to injury for the season.

"He's a very experienced, seasoned player for us, played a lot of test matches and we've got a lot of faith in him," Foster said of Lienert-Brown.

"He's coming back from a long-term shoulder injury but he's now back playing and we can monitor him through the next two or three weeks. We're excited about his inclusion in the group."

While a successful outing on an individual level for Lienert-Brown, it was Bay of Plenty who took the spoils.

After losing in a close encounter against Waikato in Hamilton a week ago, it seemed the Steamers took the lessons out of that game and improved on their performance in a repeat on Sunday.

While Waikato had good moments – with lock Laghlan McWhannell making a number of big plays to bag two tries – it was the Bay of Plenty attack that had their hosts scrambling.

The Steamers came out of the gates firing, pressuring the Waikato tryline inside the opening five minutes, but ultimately being turned away by some stoic defence. Instead, it was Waikato who struck first, with McWhannell taking advantage of a defensive lapse to cut through a big gap and stride to the line.

His try was cancelled out when fellow Chiefs lock Naitoa Ah Kuoi, delpoyed at blindside flanker for Bay of Plenty, scored for the visitors.

However, a second try to McWhannell minutes before halftime saw Waikato hold a 14-10 lead at the break.

From the restart, Bay of Plenty kicked things up a notch, particularly on defence as they smothered the Waikato attack and, despite losing first five-eighth Kaleb Trask to a head injury at halftime, their fast-paced attack caused problems.

After an exchange of penalties, a second try to Ah Kuoi, and one to wing Leroy Carter – who finished a storming run from lock Justin Sangster – saw Bay of Plenty take the lead and push it out.

Waikato were able to score a late try through Bailyn Sullivan, but it was Bay of Plenty who punched their ticket to a semifinal date against Canterbury in Christchurch next weekend.

"We came out firing in that first five minutes and I thought we were going to get over their line, but their defence was pretty outstanding," Bay of Plenty captain Kurt Eklund told Sky Sport.

"Just to come into that second half, get a few points and hold them out, it was a bit unfortunate they scored right at the end there, but we're happy we've got another week of footy.

"You've got to be on for the 80 minutes. Our defence, that's what's going to win up games. We can score points and we've shown that, but defence is what wins it for you, so that was the importance of today.

"We weren't ready to go home. We want another week; we want another couple, so we'll see how we go."

Bay of Plenty 34 (Naitoa Ah Kuoi 2, Leroy Carter tries; Kaleb Trask con, pen; Wharenui Hawera con, 4 pens)
Waikato 27 (Laghlan McWhannell 2, Bailyn Sullivan tries; Damian McKenzie 2 cons, 2 pens; Jack Lam con)
HT: 10-14