Helping the Bay break boundaries

By DAVID LEGGAT

Not so long ago, Alan Bunting probably had his eyes on winning a place in the New Zealand cricket team, alongside his childhood buddy Daniel Vettori.

While Vettori achieved his ambition and has become one of world cricket's premier spinners, Bunting's sporting ambitions went in another direction.

Right now his sights are set on making Bay of Plenty a credible force in the Air New Zealand NPC first division.

The Bay play Taranaki at Western Finance Bay Stadium on Sunday in a game where victory will keep them at least in the frame for a semifinal spot.

True, they are seventh on the standings with one win and two narrow losses.

But despite the strong-running centre's assertion that the Bay are operating on the one-game-at-a-time philosophy, they could be forgiven for looking ahead and eyeing games against wobbly Wellington, battling Northland, and gritty but limited Southland, and figuring they have a chance of making the top four.

They can look back on their first three weeks with reasonable satisfaction.

A win over North Harbour and five and four-point losses away to Canterbury and Otago make for reasonable reading.

Indeed, the Bay could easily have been higher on the table had a late pass from hooker Aleki Lutui to Bunting, who could see 60m of daylight and Ranfurly Shield glory beckoning, not been (correctly) ruled forward by referee Kelvin Deaker.

"We had a couple of chances, and a couple of refereeing decisions went the wrong way and could have changed the game," Bunting said.

As for the forward-pass ruling? His immediate reaction was it was a bad call. On reflection he acknowledges the referee got it right.

On what has been seen so far, the chances of the Bay having to front up for the end-of-season promotion-relegation game against the second division champions for a third straight year are slim.

"At the start we knew we didn't want to be playing that promotion-relegation game and to do that we needed to be competing more, particularly against the teams where the Super 12 franchises are based."

One big plus for the Bay has been consistency in selection. The introduction of Apoua Stewart on the wing for Sunday is the first change to the starting XV in four games. That, and a strong group ethic in a team where the absence of stellar names means everyone has to pull together.

"We're learning more as combinations. We've grown in the mini-parts of the team but there's plenty to work on," Bunting added.

Shin splints suffered while playing sevens rugby early last year cost the 25-year-old Tauranga Boys High physical education and English teacher all of last year's NPC bar the final three games, having established himself in 2001.

Injuries also played a part in turning Bunting's attention from cricket to rugby in his late teens, having shown signs of real talent as a fast bowling allrounder.

He played for the senior representative Bay team as a teenager and in 1995 made the national Youth and Development Academy team for a North Island tour, and the New Zealand Youth team on a South Island tour.

That team was captained by test batsman Craig McMillan and included fellow current or former test players Mathew Sinclair, Matthew Bell and David Sewell.



Niggling injuries, compounded he now believes in part by being over-bowled, led to a waning of interest, at around the same time national sevens coach and Bay coach Gordon Tietjens spotted his rugby potential.

"The closest I get to cricket now is with my mates in the back yard."

As for Taranaki and their rugged forward pack, the last three weeks have been demanding but ...

"This will be no different. It will be tough, if not tougher."

Bunting, and his Bay team-mates can see a big carrot dangling just within reach.

A win at Mt Maunganui will move it a stride or two closer.