Tongans steam over for Bay

By CHRIS RATTUE

BAY OF PLENTY 22 TARANAKI 13

Charging Tongan front-rowers Aleki Lutui and Taufa'ao Filise were the opening and closing acts for Bay of Plenty in victory over Taranaki.

And in between their try-scoring deeds, the battling Bay showed they could be edging towards centre-stage in this year's riveting first-division competition.

The Steamers upset Taranaki before a sun-soaked 8000 crowd in Mt Maunganui yesterday.

After playing the promotion relegation game for the past two season, Bay of Plenty have made a storming start, winning two out of four and claiming bonus points in away losses to the still-powerful Canterbury and Otago sides.

Yesterday's result continued an unbeaten home run for the first-division strugglers, and provided more proof that a national championship, which undoubtedly needs an overhaul to take out the disparities, still has a fundamental strength.

Bay of Plenty showed that much-respected Taranaki may not be alone in challenging a system that works so strongly in favour of the five main centres, even if ultimately the big guns will dominate the NPC unless changes are made to the Super 12-influenced national game.

It was the two big front-rowers who got Bay of Plenty rolling on the scoreboard against Taranaki.

Lutui smashed his way over in familiar fashion from a maul near Taranaki's line in the fifth minute.

Replacement prop Filise made a slightly longer charge, crunching through first five-eighths Mark Urwin as a couple of other Taranaki players clung on, to finish off the victory in the 74th minute.

In between, Taranaki had plenty of possession, especially in the first half, but were almost always met with stout resistance.

Taranaki led 8-7 after 25 minutes when flanker Neil Crowley wrestled his way over, following some terrific hand-to-hand combat from the visiting forwards.

And Urwin angled a run inside the Steamers' 20m line in the 50th minute to score, a quick reply after Wayne Ormond set up a try for his captain, Clayton McMillan. So by the 50th minute, the home side led 15-13.

Bay of Plenty should have had a greater advantage at this point, but Dale Rasmussen blew an easy chance from a Glen Jackson cross-field kick.

The officials failed to notice that Rasmussen, a late replacement for Alan Bunting who was sidelined with a viral infection, had knocked the ball forward with his shin rather than his hands. But Rasmussen had plenty of time for the pick-up and should have done better.

It could have been a crucial error, but by the end it didn't matter.

The Steamers survived, thriving on a confidence built around victories in the opening round against North Harbour and pre-season against Waikato, both at Mt Maunganui, and over Italy in Rotorua.

"In the last couple of years when we picked up bonus points the players were ecstatic," McMillan said. "Now we are disappointed if we only get bonus points - there's been a huge shift of attitude in the changing room.

"At the beginning we thought finishing mid-table was realistic. Now we've got a great opportunity to look a bit further than that."

And Taranaki coach Kieran Crowley, a national selector, said: "In every game Bay of Plenty have played to the wire. You've got to give them credit."

NPC points table