Bay of Plenty 35 Canterbury 31
Unburdened by the pressure of expectation, Bay of Plenty threw off the shackles to set up an intriguing run into a potential Ranfurly Shield this weekend with an exhilarating 35-31 win over national premiership leaders Canterbury at Mt Maunganui.
Unbeaten leaders after the first four rounds, the Steamers slumped with four consecutive losses to push themselves right back into the relegation zone.
But they're unbeaten this season at Baypark Stadium and last night's penultimate round-robin game showed why, with the Steamers jumping to a 29-3 halftime lead against a strangely subdued and error-prone Canterbury.
But the Cantabs, more used to day-time rugby back in Christchurch, stormed back, scoring four tries in a rampant second half, finally holding their passes and running incisively to cut Bay's lead to 32-31 with four minutes to play.
But Bay weren't to be denied in what was likely to be skipper Colin Bourke's final game on Baypark, with first-five Chris Noakes nailing a last-gap penalty, giving him 25 points in a flawless night.
Bay of Plenty's last win was the 32-0 thumping of Wellington at the end of July but they'll be looking forward with renewed vigour to their final round-robin clash with Southland in Invercargill which, depending on which Taranaki side fronts tonight, might give them a rare Shield challenge.
Canterbury opened their account for the evening with a Tyler Bleyendaal penalty in the fourth minute but Bay of Plenty's response was swift, with the Steamers scoring what's surely one of the tries of the season, with Noakes and centre Phil Burleigh initiating a bust out of the 22, Jamie Nutbrown and Sam Cane then combining in a interchange of quick passes (with Cane's last pass to Nutbrown clearly forward) to put Johnny-on-the-spot fullback Toby Arnold over for his sixth premiership try this season.
Noakes' conversion from wide out put Bay ahead 7-3.
The seven-point buffer wouldn't last for long - it soon shot out to 14 after Canterbury wing Patrick Osborne fumbled a simple pass from Blyendaal just outside his 22, with Ben Smith and then Tanerau Latimer handling to put a charging Bourke in under the sticks.
Twenty points in 15 minutes was frantic stuff but Bay of Plenty weren't done as a lacklustre Canterbury, looking nothing like the frontrunning defending champions, played right into their hands, dropping off tackles and spilling ball.
Canterbury, with flanker Matt Todd fighting a lone battle at the breakdown, barely fired a shot as Noakes controlled the territory, pressuring the visitors to infringe, with the Bay first-five slotting four penalties - one of them after a brawl that spilled over the advertising hoardings - to bump the lead to 26-3 late in the half.
Even when halfback Jamie Nutbrown limped off with an injured left leg Bay, playing with a freedom not seen in their previous four outings, kept attacking, with Noakes having the final say of the half with a drop goal.
Canterbury righted a few wrongs within 10 minutes of the restart, firing into their work with a harder edge as first lock Luke Romano was mauled over and then halfback Willi Heinz snatched loose ball after No 8 Colin Bourke was caught at the back of a fast-reversing scrum.
Blyendaal converted both and suddenly Bay's 26-point lead had evaporated.
Canterbury struck again through Ryan Crotty and replacement wing Telusa Veainu as Bay tired, although they found the energy to hit back and edge clear in the final minute.
Scorers:
Bay of Plenty 35 (Toby Arnold, Colin Bourke tries; Chris Noakes 2 cons, 6 pens, drop goal)
Canterbury 31 (Luke Romano, Willi Heinz tries, Ryan Crotty, Telusa Veainu tries, Tyler Blyendaal pen, 4 cons) Halftime: 29-3.