Rugby not the winner

North Harbour's Rudi Wulf flips over Hayden Reid. Sandra Mu / Getty Images

Bay of Plenty 7 North Harbour 25

Once upon a time, the New Zealand Rugby Union had a silk purse called the NPC. After yet another game last night that grabbed the attention for all of six seconds, how they must wish they still had that lovely old silk purse instead of the sow's ear they have found themselves clutching.

Give the new competition time, the union has pleaded. Only the committed are likely to comply. And, boy, they will have to be committed to sit through more of this.

Take out one enormous hit by Nick Williams, a stunning try by George Pisi and a few breaks by the Harbour midfield and it was hard to see why going to the dentist for extensive corrective surgery wasn't an infinitely better option than coming to Bay Park.

Hell, having the surgery and then forfeiting the recovery window to instead dine with Don Brash carried more appeal. It is hard to believe that so much average football could be shoehorned into 80 minutes.

Harbour took the win on the back of another big game from their forwards, who look a tight bunch and are potentially capable of gutsing it out with some of the big boys.

The defence was pretty sharp, too, with the backs getting off the line well and the patterns holding steady when the Bay put the pressure on.

They have built momentum now - three wins from three games - but might struggle to sustain it without Luke McAlister and Greg Rawlinson.

Harbour No 8 Williams said the team can't afford to let the loss of their All Blacks be a distraction, though. "We can't worry about individuals - it is about the team and everyone has to lead." That may be easier said than done as McAlister was instrumental once again in keeping Harbour going forward. Yet, while he enjoyed a solid game, there was a sense that McAlister was playing within himself.

He needs to put pen to paper pronto and get what are becoming tiresome and distracting contract negotiations out of the way. If he wants to convince All Black selectors he is worthy of a starting berth, he should make his point on the field, not by threatening to jump in the arms of some English sugar daddy.

There is no doubt, as he showed last night, that he has a nice range of skills and is superb at attacking the line flat with his swerve and bust.

Yet his tactical kicking wasn't quite accurate enough to convince that he could start a test at No 10 and establish himself as the dominant figure.

From coach Allan Pollock's point of view, the loss of McAlister is offset by the return of Rua Tipoki. Back from a 16-week suspension last night, Tipoki will take responsibility for setting the backline alight in McAlister's absence.

"It is almost impossible for me to stress how important Rua is to us," said Pollock. "As bizarre as it sounds, he is a huge calming influence for us."

He was once a calming influence, too, for the Bay. The Steamers have lost their way since hitting dizzy heights in 2004. Too much quality and leadership has escaped the region.

They are in a dreaded rebuilding year and on current form, it's a project starting from rocky foundations.

Bay of Plenty 7 (J. Afoa try; M. Delany con).
North Harbour 25 (G. Pisi, V. Waqaseduadua, R. Dustow tries; L. McAlister 2 pens, 2 cons).