Rugby: Second time twice as nice

Otago 26
Bay of Plenty 17

Just a few days before his death, Sir Howard Morrison was chuffed to know that a DVD of his life, called Once In A Lifetime, was outselling that of Michael Jackson.

The Bay of Plenty rugby team - who wore black armbands and who stood with Otago in a minute's silence to mark Morrison's death last night - are trying to make it twice in a lifetime. They famously won the first national provincial championship in 1976 and just as famously have never got close since.

They have a bit of a show this year, but only if they can find a way past performances as committed and back-to-basics as Otago's last night.

There are few teams in the Air NZ Cup which can string the passes together as well as the Bay, getting the link men chiming in and the support play moving as smoothly as the long ocean waves of Ohope Beach.

But they fell foul of a determined Otago, bolstered by the return of their All Black lock, Tom Donnelly, and an almost perfect display by little-known 32-year-old first five-eighth Glenn Dickson.

After a quiet start, the Bay rocked Otago back on their heels with a try to lock Cullum Retallick, negating a strong opening by the home team. They did so after a break and some fine, marshalling play by first five-eighth Mike Delany.

The 25-year-old Delany has been one of the most improved players on view in this year's Air NZ Cup. In a country apparently bereft of a decent back-up for Daniel Carter, he appeals at least as a possibility, at least on his first-half display, although some skitteriness affected his game in the second half.

He has lifted his attacking game and now boasts a stiff fend to go with an ability to skip through the line. He has also improved his defensive game - previously regarded as a weakness - and his kicking from hand is good. His goalkicking generally manages a high percentage success rate.

However, if we are talking All Blacks and Howard Morrison (a son of Ohinemutu in the Bay), the famous Morrison song My Old Man's An All Black might have had a relevant airing at Carisbrook if anyone had bothered to play it last night.

One of Otago's 'oldest men', Donnelly was for years regarded by many as All Black material. For years, he wasn't selected. Then, one day out of the blue, at nearly 28, he was.

Donnelly's solid debut against the Wallabies' in last weekend's 33-6 win by the All Blacks looked as though, finally, he was starting out on an international career. He does a lot of grunt work - good pushing in the scrums, hits the rucks and mauls hard, takes the ball up and tackles and doesn't shirk the physical stuff. Oh, and his lineout work is reliable.

For Otago, his presence was enough to steel them up after suffering a bit of a mauling at the hands of a rampant Hawke's Bay last week. It was Donnelly's lineout take which started the first score of the night - a slick try to fullback Ben Smith after good work from Dickson and blindside flanker Eben Joubert.

Their other 'old man', 32-year-old Dickson, had a hand in both tries, kicked beautifully and overshadowed Delany in the second half.

At halftime, it looked like the northerners were keeping the dream of breaking their 33-year drought alive. The Bay came back with their rollicking, bouncing, hard-to-defend-against style for Retallick's try and they ended the first half on top 17-10 after flanker Luke Braid - another good prospect - scored from a maul.

Braid, 20, is yet another flanker with an engine that never seems to run out of fuel; who covers a lot of ground; makes key tackles; and features in turnover work. He's no Richie McCaw yet - who is? - but it will be interesting to watch him in the next season of Super rugby, assuming he is assigned to a franchise.

But, in the second half, Otago took the game away from the Bay. Incisive running by livewire halfback Sean Romans, winger and league convert Ryan Shortland and the hard-running Joubert saw the Bay infringe too often in defence.

Dickson knocked over two penalties before sparking Smith's second try - breaking past tacklers and dinking a little kick that Smith toed on to score. A further Dickson penalty made it 16 unanswered points and the Bay could feel the match slipping away.

Dickson missed another penalty - his one blemish of the night - but Luke Braid's yellow card for a dangerous tackle only helped Otago's cause.

Delany tried to spark a late rally but Dickson's defence snuffed out a dangerous raid - and Dickson, Donnelly and Shortland all played a major role in lifting Otago's confidence and in raising the uncomfortable prospect for the Bay that they might yet need a 34th year for history to repeat itself.

Otago 26 (B. Smith 2 tries, G. Dickson 2 con, 4 pen), Bay of Plenty 17 (C. Retallick, L. Braid tries; M. Delany 2 con, pen). Halftime: 10-17.