Ormond, Senio mark farewells with big win

Bay of Plenty were reminded of what they will miss next rugby season when Wayne Ormond and Kevin Senio played leading hands in their 51-3 NPC first division hammering of Northland today.

Japan-bound Ormond and Senio, Canterbury's new halfback next year, put on a fine show at their farewell party in Tauranga as Bay of Plenty posted their largest winning margin in the first division.

The match at Blue Chip Stadium was never going to have much spice to it, with Northland firmly rooted at the bottom of the table and Bay of Plenty one place higher.

But with Ormond at his mongrel best and Senio bagging two tries, the fans had something to cheer.

Playing with howling wind at their backs in the first half, Bay of Plenty effectively sealed the result after leading 22-0 at halftime and finished the rout with eight tries.

Senio and Ormond left the field with seven minutes remaining, but both ensured last year's semifinalists would finish a poor year on high note with their third win.

Ormond was ever-present, spoiling Northland's ruck ball and making numerous breaks, one leading to a first-half try

All Black Senio scored the first and penultimate tries with his class evident in windy and testing conditions.

Another stalwart leaving Bay of Plenty was Britain-bound loose forward Paul Tupai, who etched his name into the scorebook with a 78th minute try, while centre Apoua Stewart also scored twice.

In a match that lacked structure, Bay of Plenty made the most of their opportunities and pounced on Northland mistakes, with the visitors throwing the towel in late to leak three tries in the final 10 minutes.

Northland finished the season winless, but to their credit they battled well into the strong wind in the first half.

Bay of Plenty were contained well by Northland with only two late tries before the break blowing out the margin.

Bay of Plenty made an ideal start when Senio dived over from a ruck for the opening try in the 13th minute, and with first five-eighth Mike Delany kicking well in the wind with a penalty and conversion, the hosts raced out to 10-0.

But Northland kept them honest, and with ball in hand were not afraid to spread it wide, but failed to put themselves in scoring positions.

It took until the 22nd minute for Northland to make their first foray in the Bay of Plenty 22.

Turnovers at critical times also cost them.

Stewart raced clear to score four minutes from the break, then another spilled ball from Northland saw Ormond break free from outside the 22 and start a sweeping movement which saw prop Simms Davison on hand to accept the final pass.

"I was pretty proud of my guys today, We knew Northland would come down and throw everything at us it was just a matter of keeping things tight in the first few minutes and holding onto our ball," Ormond said.

"We managed to score some good tries out there and towards the end we were throwing the ball around and that's what it was all about today."

The last word was left with Ormond who said he had many highlights during his long stint with Bay of Plenty, but possibly left a glimmer of hope for his fans.

" I've got to move on and that's the path I've chosen, but I'll probably come back one-day...who knows?

Bay of Plenty 51

(Kevin Senio 2, Apoua Stewart 2, Simms Davison, Grant McQuoid, Paul Tupai, Tanerau Latimer tries; Mike Delany pen, 3 con, Tupai con)

Northland 3

(David Howell pen)

Halftime: 22-0

- NZPA