BAY of Plenty have thrown former All Blacks squad member Taniela Moa a lifeline, while also bolstering their own wafer-thin playing stocks behind the scrum, by signing the halfback yesterday less than three weeks before the ITM Cup kicks off.

Moa, 25, is a 50-game Auckland veteran and arrives at the Steamers next week to fill the hole left by Samoan international Junior Poluleuligaga's departure to the UK.

The Steamers already have Josh Hall in their squad as halfback but felt he was still a season away from giving them what they wanted in the ITM Cup, particularly this season and the need to finish in the top seven before next season's competition split.

"We saw the benefit of having a strong halfback last year and although we've got huge wraps on Josh and his massive potential, we felt he's a player of the future who's still a year or so away," Bay of Plenty Rugby Union chief executive Jeremy Curragh said.

The Bay had approached former Highlander Toby Moreland before Poluleuligaga's departure but couldn't afford two top-shelf players in the same position.

"We still had Junior signed at the time and couldn't realistically afford both of them, and also didn't want to cut our investment in Josh," Steamers coach Sean Horan said. "By the time Junior indicated to us he was going, Toby was already gone [signing to play Super 15 for the Chiefs next year and the ITM Cup for Auckland]."
Moa, a former New Zealand schoolboys and colts representative, had been linked to a deal with French club Bayonne after missing out on Auckland's domestic squad. He's no stranger to being left on the sideline - last October he spurned Auckland and took his chances in the Super 14 draft but didn't get picked up, eventually playing for the Blues from out of their wider training group.

He travelled with the All Blacks two years ago to South Africa as Tri-Nations halfback protection when Andy Ellis damaged his ribs but didn't play.

Bay of Plenty are making a habit of picking up halfback discards, starting with Kevin Senio from Auckland seven years ago, followed by Jamie Nutbrown (Canterbury) and Poluleuligaga (North Harbour). All proved to be cracker purchases.

Curragh said no concerns were held over the physical state Moa would arrive in after he tipped the scales at 102kg last year.

"He showed us [Steamers] up last year [in the 29-15 loss at Eden Park]. He's of a similar ilk to Junior - big and physical - and we've been given assurances from Moa and his agent that he'll turn up fit.

"He's been in limbo, with nowhere to go less than a month out from the ITM Cup start, and we're the ones who've given him an opportunity. I'm sure he's mindful of that."

Curragh is also aware of Moa's history after he was fined $1200 and given a formal warning by the New Zealand Rugby Union for a bottle-throwing incident at a rugby club last year. He appeared in Auckland District Court charged with assault, was granted diversion and directed to complete an alcohol-counselling programme.

"He's had some issues off the field but there was no reluctance to sign him because of past mistakes," Curragh said. "It's a clean slate and we fully expect Taniela to deliver, on and off the field."