Rugby: The making of the Bourke supremacy

Lawrence Dallaglio must have seen into the future when he came to New Zealand in 2005.

The British Lions No 8 lasted only 20 minutes in Rotorua but he made sure, even in his injury-induced despair, that his jersey made it to Bay of Plenty opposite Colin Bourke.

It was a sign of Dallaglio's honour and character as well as an acknowledgement that the 19-year-old Bourke was something a bit special.

New Zealand then and even now have been strangely bereft of obviously top-class No 8s. Most in this country are converted from the flank - for whatever reason they realise they aren't cutting it on the blindside or the openside and take a punt in the boot of the scrum.

Not Bourke. He's a No 8. Always has been, always will be, which is maybe what Dallaglio saw - a kindred spirit.

There was a further symmetry. As Dallaglio was stretchered off in Rotorua, his knee in tatters, it signalled the end of his career. Bourke, although no one could possibly have known it at the time, also began a descent after that night in June, 2005.

He missed out on a Super 14 contract after the Bay, the darlings of the competition in 2004, unravelled. Bourke, who had been drafted to the Highlanders in 2005, headed to Italy for an off-season.

He needed to play some rugby. His time with the Highlanders had all been behind the scenes. He didn't play, unable to force his way past Craig Newby and Paul Miller.

He came back from Italy refreshed, his eyes opened by the experience and won a wider training contract with the Chiefs in 2007 and again in 2008.

It was progress, of sorts, but when the mind was cast back to the 19-year-old Bourke, it felt like a training contract was a poor return.

That feeling has been enhanced by his performances in this year's provincial championship. The player everyone thought he could be was finally on show and has been for several weeks now.

The Bay of Plenty are the team to beat in this year's Air New Zealand Cup and so much of that is due to Bourke. He's a bruiser, a real athlete who zips around the place like a Mini only to crash into things as if he's a truck.

Bourke, now 24, is back on track and has some insight into why.

"When I was younger I felt a bit of pressure," he says. "I didn't take my opportunities when they came and that was frustrating. I didn't have a lot of game time and, when I did play, I put a lot of pressure on myself.

"The difference is now I am much more relaxed. My match fitness is good and I definitely feel you have to play to develop. It has been a long time between drinks, I suppose."

He's not sure if being captain of the Steamers has been a big factor in his renaissance. The armband came to him by default when Tanerau Latimer was elevated to the All Blacks and Joe Savage got injured.

"I'm not much of a talker," he says. "I prefer to be in the background but I'm having to talk a little bit more. It's new to me but I'm not sure if it is helping."

It is certainly helping the Bay, who have been inspired this season. They are the team everyone is talking about; the biggest surprise of all.

They were on the bones of their backside last year, financially at least, and hope faded further for them this season when they lost their coach days before their first game. Rookie coach Greg Smith was let go, the reasons why still unclear.

It had the hallmarks of disaster. "We came into training one Monday morning and were told about it," says Bourke. "But we had enough senior players around who knew what direction we wanted to go.

"We set ourselves some goals with the season broken into three parts. The first ended after the Auckland game and we had four wins out of five, which we were very happy with. To start the next phase so well against Canterbury has given us self-belief."

Bourke's star looks well-placed to continue to rise. A place with the Chiefs is assured and it would be a surprise to see him spend as much time on the bench as he did this year.

Dallaglio was on to something; he saw something special about Bourke, and he was right.