Pirates know their forwards have to work on kickoff retention and better ball security at lineout time, while Taihape, after being a distant fourth behind the other semifinalists in 2013, have shown they could rapidly close that gap in the next four months.
Pirates coach Phillip Morris was happy to take a bonus point win and pointed to the pack securing the ball when it's in the air as being his No1 priority.
"I've got that up there [on my notepad], just the set pieces.
"We made it hard for ourselves after we got that lead.
"We've got the depth of players coming back. Our fitness can only go one way."
His Taihape opposite Kerry Whale was disappointed but not discouraged.
He had blooded three new Premier players and was not yet at full strength with reliable goalkicking fullback Luke Whale on the injured reserve list for a couple of weeks.
Their 2013 halfback James Barrett covered the No15 jersey with the instruction to get on the shoulder of anyone making the break and he was dangerous with almost every touch only being let down by bad passing options when isolated.
"I'm proud of these fellas. They deserved to win, in the first half we made all the play," said Whale.
"There was a few missed passes, accuracy wasn't too bad."
Wanganui representative first-five Tom Wells kicked well in windy conditions, and will be missed this coming weekend and he has plans of the matrimonial kind when Taihape host Kaierau for another big match.
But the star of the show was Stowers, proving the difference by being perpetual motion and always getting himself in position to finish off Pirate raids.
His first try was the best and likely the pick of the round.
After their team fumbled the kickoff and had to absorb Taihape pounding their line, Pirates prop Brett Turner went blindside and drew in two tacklers before feeding Stowers, who slipped through two cover attempts and set off on a 70m sprint for the opening points.
Pirates again struggled with the kickoff but Taihape were guilty of dropping off tackles out wide, negating the good defensive work props Ritchie Iorns, Slade Hay-Horton and No8 Tremaine Gilbert were doing.
After several cracks at the line by the pack, Pirates first-five Denning Tyrell dashed wide and fed Stowers to dive over in the corner.
Minutes later, halfback Ricky Boniface snatched a wayward Taihape pass and dashed from one 22m line to the other before running out of legs but finding Stowers looming for his hat trick.
Taihape's passing left a lot to be desired as Wells and Gilbert created busts but had no support.
Yet just before halftime it finally clicked as winger Jaye Flaws nearly scored in one corner, before hooker Rimu Wipaki was able to grab a loose ball from the ruck on the other side to dive over.
Following up another Barnett breakaway, the attempted pass squirting loose into Gilbert's hands as the gap was closed to five points at the break.
Taihape continued their momentum to lead early in the second stanza following two Wells penalties, the second following the sinbinning of Pirates winger Josaia Dawai after a reckless high shot on Barnett.
Taihape centre Cyrus Paringatai look set to score what could have been the matchwinner before being called back for a forward pass.
Not panicking despite lineout struggles, Pirates brought on plenty of fresh legs and upped the tempo again, with captain Lasa Ulukuta getting free on the outside to set up Stowers dashing under the posts for what proved the matchwinner with 12 minutes left.
Integrity Motors Pirates 24 (Clive Stowers 4 tries, Denning Tyrell 2 con) bt Taihape 18 (Rimu Wipaki, Tremaine Gilbert tries, Tom Wells 2 pen, con). HT: 17-12.
