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Written by Jamie Troughton
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Monday, 30 August 2004 |
AS if a 44-point drubbing wasn't bad enough, Bay of Plenty were hit by two major injuries ahead of their crucial Ranfurly Shield defence against Canterbury this weekend.
Key halfback Kevin Senio is in grave doubt after badly spraining an ankle scoring a try in the 58-14 mauling by Taranaki on Saturday night, while robust second-five Jeff Ierome is out for the rest of the season after breaking a leg.
Most of the rest of the team were also nursing knocks after the nine-try pounding with Paul Tupai's hip injury causing most concern.
Saturday's result was a huge reality check for a side which created history by beating Auckland for the coveted Shield and a bursting of the bubble which allowed them to defend it superbly against Waikato.
In contrast, the All Black-laden Canterbury side slipped up another gear by trouncing Otago 42-7 on Friday night and loom as a terminal threat to Bay's brief Shield tenure.
While it's hard to be overly critical of a side which rose to such great heights the two previous weekends, the first-half against Taranaki ranked as bad as any 40 minute stint in the past two seasons, rivalling last year's second-half efforts against Northland and Wellington.
The Steamers were simply blown off Yarrow Stadium by a furious Taranaki assault, inspired by a steam-rolling forward pack led by former All Black hooker Andrew Hore and burly No 8 Brent Thompson.
Lock and captain Paul Tito also admitted the painful 22-13 loss to Bay to Plenty in Mount Maunganui last season was a contributing factor.
``We touched on that obviously - it wasn't our whole motivation but things definitely went pear-shaped at the Mount last year,'' Tito said. ``We wanted to rectify that and we did that tonight.''
They did it by charging straight through the Bay of Plenty pack, retaining possession expertly and giving their sharp backs ample ball. It was a simple ploy but ruthlessly executed - and Tito singled out two key players.
``Horey (Hore) in the tight - mate, I would have hated for that prick to have played against me. I'm glad he's on my side.
``Thompson really stepped up and played outstanding for us. I don't like to single out players but I thought those two were pretty outstanding.''
Within three minutes, wing Shayne Austin had plucked an audacious chip kick out of the air to score, and added another seven minutes later when first-five Brock James punctured the Bay of Plenty backline.
There was a brief respite for the visitors when Senio scored, but the price for those seven points was huge, losing the inspirational No9 for the rest of the game when he was pinned under two tacklers reaching out for the tryline.
Diminutive reserve Ruki Tipuna stepped in behind a rapidly back-wheeling pack but couldn't stem a yellow and black tide which collected a bonus point for the home side after just 22 minutes and had added a sixth 11 minutes later.
Glen Jackson dummied over on the stroke of halftime but the 41-14 scoreline was irreparable.
Bay of Plenty's malaise was obviously contagious - referee Kevin Rowe limped off at the break with a calf strain. If it wasn't for a decidedly generous 8-1 penalty count in the second half by his replacement Greg Watson in Bay's favour, the final scoreline could have been even worse.
Steamers coach Vern Cotter admitted his side struggled to focus after two weeks of Shield fever and they were completely `flat'.
``The defeat became pretty heavy in the end and we came away with nothing but bruised pride,'' Cotter said. ``They collectively outplayed us and they had more desire.''
There were no parts of Bay of Plenty's game spared from the woe.
``We turned over the ball too much, we didn't keep it for long enough, we were fragile in attack, and our defence took in water in close and out wide.
``Everyone needs a little correction every now and again and hopefully that's ours for the season.''
That stance won support from an unlikely source. After the game, buoyant Taranaki officials expressed delight in Bay of Plenty's Shield win and Tito admitted now that his side had conquered the Steamers, they'd be right in behind them.
``Bay have taken two franchises down and they've still got a few of the other unions to go. They'll be pretty gutted by their performance today but I'm sure they'll get up next week and I hope they do it against Canterbury.''
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