Bay of Plenty 19
Canterbury 17
First it was Wellington, then Waikato and now Canterbury: Bay of Plenty are ticking off the big scalps this season.
Their gripping win over defending champions Canterbury put them back on top of the Air New Zealand Cup. And they celebrated with a couple of beers, too.
No problem, said coach Sean Horan yesterday. "You play well, you deserve a beer. Then the next day you go back to work."
Fair enough, too, for Bay of Plenty had shown terrific character to hold off Canterbury in the dying minutes.
Discipline was paramount as Canterbury piled on 17 phases, edging forward, waiting for a stray hand at a ruck or a loss of concentration in the retreating defensive line.
It never came, and put that down to smart play by a team who believe in themselves and are determined to be taken seriously.
"There was a real resolve there and a lot of trust and communication when under pressure," Horan said yesterday.
It's one thing beating another provincial rival, another to turn over one of the big city unions.
Horan put the win - their fifth in six games - down to the setting of a benchmark.
"Where do we want to be? How do we want other unions to perceive us?" he said.
"Are we happy just being a G9 union [those outside Super rugby bases] that occasionally beats one of the big boys or do we really want to be taken seriously as good rugby players? I think we're showing that."
Canterbury were without their heavy mob - All Blacks Richie McCaw, Brad Thorn and Dan Carter - but they have a traditional way of playing and, as Horan pointed out, "their systems are very good; their players understand what they're meant to be doing".
They had their moments, too, but hands let them down and they were up against a resolute blue and yellow defensive wall.
Bay of Plenty's only try, appropriately, was set up by inspirational captain and No 8 Colin Bourke, who surged powerfully to the Canterbury line before second five-eighths Phil Burleigh crossed through a giant hole by the posts.
Another couple of Mike Delany penalties - he kicked five of six - gave Bay of Plenty just enough to hold off Canterbury - for whom Stephen Brett at one point managed the season's worst penalty attempt, the ball ending nearer the corner flag than the posts.
But Bourke was the fulcrum for Bay of Plenty on Saturday. He has always been a talented ball player, converted from a back a few seasons ago, and Horan had high praise for his skipper.
"His ball carrying, defensive attributes, accuracy in and round the contact area has been very good this year. And the players respect him," Horan said.
First-choice captain, prop Joe Savage, returns to the frame this week after getting injured in the first half of the round-one win over Northland.
It's not a bad time to be back among your mates. But Bay of Plenty won't start shouting the odds just yet. The round robin is only halfway done; there is plenty of scope in an intriguing championship for things to go awry.
"It's week by week, another step, another goal," Horan said. "Last week we took a step backwards against Auckland, didn't play to our potential and got knocked to the canvas. There's no better way to get up than beating Canterbury."
Waikato, up 24-0 in the first half, saw off Hawkes Bay 30-22 in a game where the pace was furious and several good-quality tries were scored.
Hawkes Bay almost got across at the death and were left to rue giving Waikato a giant head start.
"We weren't quite on our game in the first 20, and it really hurt us," Hawkes Bay captain Jason Shoemark admitted. "But we're still right in this competition."
Considering Hawkes Bay sit 11th going into the seventh round this week, that says something about a competition in which just about every team has shown the capability of beating each other on any given day.
