Bay of Plenty sneak into Mitre 10 Cup semifinals with win over Hawke's Bay

Bay of Plenty have booked their spot in the Mitre 10 Cup Championship semifinals with a gutsy win over Hawke's Bay in Napier. Photo / Getty

Bay of Plenty held on for a tense 26-24 win over Hawke's Bay in Napier today to sneak into the Mitre 10 Cup semifinals.

The Steamers led 26-10 with only 10 minutes remaining but the Magpies gave the visitors a late scare, scoring two quick tries to narrow to within two points.

They pushed forward in search of the win as the clock moved into injury time only to turn the ball over and hand Bay of Plenty victory.

The Steamers now sit on 23 competition points along with Manawatu, however their victory over the Turbos last week means they sit third in the Championship.

Manawatu will be praying North Harbour lose to Northland tomorrow afternoon, otherwise their 2016 campaign will draw to an end.

Discipline was a problem for the Magpies in the first half, conceding a lopsided nine penalties to one. Six of those came in the first 19 minutes of play, however Bay of Plenty refused to take the points, giving up four easy penalty kicks which could have given them a handy first-half lead.

For all the Steamers' sustained pressure, they managed only one first-half try through halfback Te Aihe Toma, who picked a gap and slid most of the way to the tryline.

The Magpies responded after taking 24 minutes to get inside the Steamers' 22, when their halfback Brad Weber slithered his way through four defenders to reach the chalk.

Hawke's Bay 24 (B. Weber, J. Lowe 2 tries; I. West 3 cons, pen)
Bay of Plenty 26 (T. Toma, L. Foketi, S. Sakalia tries, penalty try; D. Hollinshead 3 cons)
HT: 10-7