Bay of Plenty may appear down and out in the NPC first division but North Harbour skipper Rua Tipoki isn't putting the boot into his former province.
After 80 minutes in North Harbour colours on Friday night, Tipoki's thoughts were quickly with his old team, who slumped to their fifth
loss in six games.
Bay of Plenty sit ahead of only winless Northland while Harbour are within two points of the top four with three rounds of regular play remaining.
The North Harbour captain walked off Rotorua International Stadium shoulder to shoulder with disappointed Steamers skipper Wayne Ormond.
Last year they were teammates and crucial cogs of a Bay of Plenty side who captured the nation's attention by lifting the Ranfurly Shield and driving into the semifinals.
On Friday night they were opponents, with Tipoki's side taking the honours 41-8 and ending any thoughts of a semifinal appearance by the Vern Cotter-coached Bay of Plenty in 2005.
"There's no miss loyalty out there but I said to Wayne (Ormond) after the game that I'm really saddened for them," said Tipoki, a New Zealand Maori in 2005 and past national Sevens representative.
The loss was the biggest suffered by Bay of Plenty against North Harbour in eight matches.
"They're not going to back down after this -- they're going to come back better," he said of the Steamers immediate prospects.
The 30-year-old midfielder was one of Harbour's better performers. He ran close to the offside line all night and controlled his side well in trying conditions.
In the end his side were too clinical for the Bay but he admitted it wasn't as easy as the scoreline indicated.
"The passion's still there," Tipoki said of the Steamers.
"This game just meant so much to both teams -- it's finals time for both -- every game you drop puts you out of the top four, so you've just got to put it all on the line and not take a backward step."
- DAILY POST (ROTORUA)
