Rugby: Taranaki stay in touch with lead

Colin Bourke scores. Photo / APN

Taranaki kept a Bay of Plenty revival at bay to remain among the leaders in the national provincial rugby competition.

Taranaki won the fourth round ITM Cup match in New Plymouth, despite losing their way for much of the second half.

The home side scored three first half tries to lead 24-7 at the break but couldn't come up with the bonus point try in the second half.

That wasn't the only bad news in victory.

In a likely blow to their hopes for the season, Taranaki lost hooker Laurence Corlett with a suspected broken arm.

The visitors looked out for the count at halftime but they had the better of an often scrappy second half.

Bay of Plenty's first major try scoring opportunity of the spell came when giant halfback Taniela Moa bulldozed his way over the line through a mass of defenders, but Taranaki got enough arms and legs in the way to dislodge the ball. A try at that point in the third quarter would have set the scene for a stirring contest.

Bay of Plenty had to wait until the 70th minute though before they made their second half advantages count when a Phil Burleigh break set up Ben Smith for a try. Daniel Waenga couldn't land the wide conversion, leaving Taranaki with a 24-15 advantage. It proved to be too little too late for the Steamers.

Taranaki owed much to their strong beginning.

Bay of Plenty had only one moment of joy in the first half, a try to captain Colin Bourke from a crawling maul.

Apart from that, Taranaki sparkled with three tries, two of them through their own outstanding work while the other was spoon fed to them by Bay of Plenty errors.

Fullback Kurt Baker created the best of the lot, stepping through the Steamers' defensive line, gathering his chip kick thanks to a favourable bounce, and flicking the ball up to David Smith.

It was a cracking try, and coming just after Bourke's score had given the visitors new hope, was a major setback for the Bay.

Scott Waldrom had opened the scoring in the 12th minute, skidding and stretching over the line after supporting a break from halfback Brett Goodin.

Then came the Bay of Plenty gift. Wing Lelia Masaga made a half hearted attempt to control a pass, allowing Taranaki to swing on to attack.

They kicked through, Bay of Plenty made a hash of their scrambling defence, and Jayden Hayward won the race to the touchdown.

With Willie Ripia banging over four out of five goal attempts in the half, Taranaki made sure they took full advantage of their try scoring edge.

Taranaki will be humming with three wins in a row but as in last week's match against Waikato, they had to rely on a fast start which they struggled to maintain. Bay of Plenty have plenty of attacking gifts but are slipping down the ladder.

24 TARANAKI
Tries: Scott Waldrom, Jayden Hayward, David Smith
Con: Willie Ripia (3)
Pen: Ripia

15 BAY OF PLENTY
Tries: Colin Bourke, Ben Smith
Con: Phil Burleigh
Pen: Dan Waenga