Rugby: Magpies march into final

Ihaia West's accuracy from the kicking tee helped Hawke's Bay into the Championship final. Photo / Getty

Hawke's Bay 33
Bay of Plenty 26

Hawke's Bay's better lineout, place kicking and use of the wind negated Bay of Plenty's superior scrum, handling and breakdown dominance, enabling them to advance to the final of the ITM Cup championship in Napier.

It was a satisfying outcome after Waikato wrested the Ranfurly Shield from them last week.

After starting with a charge-down try to centre Richard Buckman, the hosts were subject to a barrage of attack from the visitors who, with a more expansive game and the wind behind them, generated a hat-trick to blindside flanker Johan Bardoul by halftime.

Bay of Plenty first five-eighths Nick Evemy struggled with his place kicking in the southwesterly gusts. He drilled one penalty but missed each of the first three conversions. In contrast, Ihaia West converted three tries and kicked four penalties, the highlight being one of approximately 45m on the angle which extended the lead to 30-21 with 11 minutes to go. West's tactical boot was also pivotal, and he regularly took on the Bay of Plenty defensive line. On one occasion a half break enabled him to reach out and dot a try in the tackle.

Hawke's Bay faced a 18-13 halftime deficit but composed themselves with the wind in the second stanza. They controlled the territory and possession percentages and exerted sufficient pressure to grind out victory.

Errors were plentiful from both teams in the first half. Hawke's Bay forced too many passes, particularly those from rumbling forwards to elusive backs; Bay of Plenty suffered from an inability to finish which, in the case of Nathan Harris rumbling 20m down the touchline to cross, came down to the television match official discovering a Magpie hand under the ball. That was hard to identify for the naked eye, but fortunately most tries escaped external influence. Bardoul suffered no such disappointment with his three tries.

His first came from a rolling maul, his second on the end of an expansive movement towards the left flank and his third after rustling the ball at the breakdown to burrow two metres. Te Rangi Fraser was also set free into the corner with five minutes remaining.

However, Bay of Plenty missed two certain tries due to shepherding, notably in the final movement when Tino Nemani set replacement hooker Jeff Thwaites clear under the posts. Assuming a successful conversion, it would have tied the game.

Hawke's Bay 33 (R. Buckman, B. O'Connor, I. West tries, West 3 con, 4 pen)
Bay of Plenty 26 (J. Bardoul 3, T. Fraser tries, N. Evemy, D. Hollinshead pens)
Halftime: Bay of Plenty 18-13.