Bay of Plenty 32
Counties-Manukau 9
Whispers of training ground disharmony, dodgy pre-season form followed by the coach going missing meant you wouldn't have given too much for Bay of Plenty's early Air New Zealand Cup prospects.
And that, of course, means they have won two-from-two in the championship and sit joint top with Southland and Wellington after their win over Counties-Manukau in Pukekohe yesterday.
No one is talking about coach Greg Smith, the former Waikato and Fiji hooker who was appointed in March but split from the union before round one - or the reason for the parting. It is all hush-hush, but there is speculation of a severance deal being worked out. Talks were to be held between Smith and the union last week. They were put off to this week. Smith's assistant, Steve Miln, and caretaker Sean Horan, have overseen a decent start to the competition.
Horan said last week that the pair would "continue to do this as long as they want us to do it. Me and Steve would love the job but it's entirely up to the board". And the board right now might be figuring the new status quo is the way to go.
Yesterday Counties-Manukau put up superior numbers to Bay of Plenty. But the only line that really mattered went the Bay's way. They scored three tries, two good ones to left wing Jason Hona and one to centre Nigel Hunt, and the boot of dead-eye first five-eighths Mike Delany kept driving nails into Counties' coffin. He kicked five penalties - including one boomer from round halfway - as part of a six-from-eight haul. He might not rate among the more glamorous or flamboyant No 10s going round, but he's just the ticket for the Bay.
"Especially with the new rules it's pretty important that you take those points on offer," Delany said last night.
"Teams are winning games with penalties and so it's important to get those kicks and put pressure on the other team."
Fellow unbeaten team Wellington in Rotorua are next up for Bay of Plenty on Saturday night and Delany said it was an occasion to relish.
"The boys seem to get up for the big games. They'll be excited and looking forward to it."
And Delany also gave a team perspective on the unsettling coaching issue, suggesting it's not been at all unsettling for the players.
"We know everything's good as gold from our point of view. No dramas there," he said.
"We just turn up each week, all the boys are on the same page, so it doesn't hinder us at all.
"[Miln and Horan] work well together and we've got good leadership within the team, so everything's coming together nicely."
