Waikato repel spirited Bay of Plenty

6.00pm

WAIKATO 33 BAY OF PLENTY 21

One team moved safely into the semifinals while the other faced a nervous 24-hour wait to avoid the relegation playoff after Waikato beat Bay of Plenty in NPC first division rugby match this afternoon.

Waikato won in cold and drizzly conditions but were given a torrid workout by a Bay of Plenty side fighting desperately to avoid the promotion/relegation playoff on October 27.

Bay of Plenty, who battled hard to the end, now have to sit back and wait for the result of tomorrow's round-robin match between Southland and Northland in Invercargill.

The best result for Bay of Plenty would be a Southland win, which would consign Northland to the bottom of the standings and the playoff.

Waikato needed just a bonus point from today's game but got the lot, kicking on from a 19-14 halftime lead to score four tries in total.

Stand-in skipper and midfield back Mark Ranby capped off a superb game, particularly on defence, with a hat-trick of tries, including two in the first half.

Referee Lyndon Bray gifted Waikato their fourth try when awarding a penalty try in the 65th minute after three collapsed scrums 4m from the tryline.

Bay of Plenty led 7-0 in just the second minute after quick thinking from Glen Jackson, who tapped and ran a close-range penalty, to put second five-eighth Dale Rasmussen into space for the game's opening try.

Ranby replied virtually from the restart, busting two tackles inside Bay of Plenty's 22, and a David Hill penalty soon after that gave Waikato the lead 8-7.

Bay of Plenty's second try, to halfback Chris Le Leivre, came after solid build-up from hooker Aleki Lutui and flanker David Duley, but Ranby struck for a try back down the blindside, and two Hill penalties again putt Waikato on top.

When No 8 Clayton McMillan coughed up possession early in the second half, gifting Ranby his hat-trick, the floodgates seemed certain to open for Waikato.

The penalty try bumped them out to 33-14 but Bay of Plenty's reply was immediate, with flanker Marty Holah spilling the restart and Bay of Plenty replacement Damian Karauna toeing the ball ahead for the simplest of tries.

Desperate for the fourth try, Bay of Plenty poured on the pressure in the final 15 minutes, camping inside Waikato's 22, but were denied by robust defence, led by flanker Steven Bates and lock Keith Robinson, and their handling errors.

Bay of Plenty thought they had the bonus in the dying seconds when a clever crossfield kick was grasped by Jason Tiatia, but the wing fumbled the ball near the tryline.

Waikato's win saw them march on into the first division playoffs, and a home semifinal, but came at a cost, with All Blacks lock Royce Willis assisted from the field with a torn calf muscle.

Waikato 33 (Mark Ranby 3 tries, penalty try; David Hill 3 pen, 2 con)

Bay of Plenty 21 (Dale Rasmussen, Chris Le Lievre, Damian Karauna tries; Glen Jackson 3 con)

Halftime: 19-14