Rugby: Bay of Plenty, Nelson Bays in rerun of 1999 second division final

Not even a severe knee injury will keep former Blues Super 12 lock Jason Chandler from turning out in Saturday's NPC second-division rugby final at the Tauranga Domain.

Chandler, on loan to Bay of Plenty from Auckland this season, has battled a crippling left knee injury all season, but was again outstanding as Bay of Plenty swept aside King Country 48-30 at Tauranga yesterday to book a spot in the final.

They will meet Nelson Bays in a repeat of last year's second-division final after Nelson downed second qualifiers Hawkes Bay 43-16 in Napier on Saturday.

Chandler turned in a huge effort yesterday, paving the way for Bay of Plenty's tight five to dominate by controlling kickoffs and leading a superb defensive effort alongside captain and No 8 Clayton McMillan.

The 2.01m lock is doing it on half a leg, battling crippling stress fractures in his left knee which give him pain just running out on to the field.

"There was no way, even with the injury, that I was going to miss these two [playoff] games because this is what we put in all the hard work for," Chandler said. "Sure the knee is painful, especially when it overloads with too much pressure, but it is holding in there and when it goes, it goes."

Bay of Plenty shot to a 30-11 lead by halftime yesterday, thrilling a crowd of almost 5000 with a sublime display of running rugby and deadly counter-attack from deep within their own half.

First five-eighths Rodney Gibbs, promoted from the Bay of Plenty development side, was the first to score with a second-minute penalty, and the points flowed at the rate of one a minute with tries to Bay of Plenty's Keith Pryor, Craig De Goldi and Rico Gear, and with King Country's John Toloi grabbing one for his team.

The Bay's second five-eighths, Justin Wilson, who is heading to Auckland after the final, grabbed a try two minutes after halftime when he outsprinted King Country's cover defence from 65m.

King Country's pack battled grimly, with hooker Paul Mitchell and No 8 Jared Nordstrom prominent, but their hard yards around the ruck were unravelled by the backline's poor handling and lack of initiative on attack.

Wing Kuka Asolupe's individual brilliance netted King Country's second try, with the Samoan three-quarter counter-attacking from a stray kick, beating three down the sideline and chip-kicking and regathering for a 70m solo effort.

Asolupe's try and referee's Kelvin Deaker's 15-2 penalty count against Bay of Plenty in the second spell sparked King Country into a 20-minute flurry in which they scored twice more, to Mitchell and replacement flanker Jamarl Hona, before Pryor had the last say, bringing up his 11th try of the NPC with a clever jink down the sideline in the final minute.

Bay of Plenty's front row had the edge, while Chandler and loose forwards McMillan, De Goldi and Jason Emery stood tall on defence.

Halfback Rameka Poihipi had his best game of the season, Gibbs looked right at home in the big time, while the class and finishing qualities of Gear, Wilson and Pryor were adequately showcased.

Bay of Plenty coach Gordon Tietjens paid tribute to his forwards, who set the tone with a gritty first 40 minutes.

"It was certainly great to see the backs out there running in some excellent tries, but it has got to start up front and I couldn't have been happier with the way guys such as Chandler and Emery, in fact the entire pack, knitted together and fronted up out there," he said. "Nelson Bays looked pretty impressive in their semi and are peaking at the right time and it is pointing to a great second-division final."

On Saturday, experienced first five-eighths Warren Johnston contributed 23 points as Nelson Bays crushed Hawkes Bay.

Johnston scored a try and kicked four penalties and three conversions from 10 attempts at goal.

"That's the best feeling ever. For us, the third qualifiers, to come back here and do that after losing to them nine weeks ago ... yeah, I couldn't be happier," said Johnston, who could be playing his last NPC match this weekend.

- NZPA