Lelia Masaga got the glory with three tries but Graham Henry's trip to Rotorua yesterday may not have been in vain.

The All Black coach rocked up to Rotorua's International Stadium to check  North Harbour first-five Luke McAlister, searching for cover for injured  Dan Carter.

Lelia Masaga got the glory with three tries but Graham Henry's trip to Rotorua yesterday may not have been in vain.

The All Black coach rocked up to Rotorua's International Stadium to check  North Harbour first-five Luke McAlister, searching for cover for injured  Dan Carter.

But McAlister lasted less than half an hour before being shunted  into the midfield - instead Henry's attention would have been captured by the alluring form of Steamers first-five Mike Delany. Five months after wrecking his shoulder,  Delany's return was a triumph. 

He provided the spark and direction as the Steamers won 39-29, with Masaga helping the Steamers break free with a second half hattrick. It also broke a two-match losing streak and injected  much-needed confidence  into the side.

"We've been lacking a little bit of direction and it's great to have Mike back," Steamers captain Colin Bourke said. "He and Phil Burleigh got us going forward and it was a huge asset."

In front of a sparse 3000 crowd, the Steamers made a fast start when Delany's skip-pass found second-five Burleigh, who cut through sloppy defence.

Hard-working flanker Luke Braid made it 10-0, five minutes later, after he charged over  thanks to a strong run from open-side flanker Tanerau Latimer.

Harbour responded  minutes later after  McAlister worked a slick backline move, which  centre Jack Tarrant finished. McAlister converted,  narrowing the gap to three points.

Delany finally found his range in the 27th minute after Harbour were penalised for infringing in the ruck but the next scoring play was a pearler.

Bourke broke from a scrum in his own 22, ran a scissors cut with Braid, who found centre Brett Mather. Mather's withering burst took him deep into Harbour territory and wing Lance MacDonald capped a superb 80m move, scoring in the corner.

Harbour hit back through All Black lock Anthony Boric when Bay's horrible right-side defence was exposed again.

McAlister opened the second half by cross-kicking to hooker James Parson waiting on the wing to close the scores to 20-19, but Masaga's treble gave his side the breathing space  needed. His second was his best, grubbering through from a turnover and benefiting from some deft soccer skills from Burleigh.

Bourke admitted  the Bay still had much to work on before Friday night's tough away trip to Canterbury, with shoring up some feeble defence top of the list. But at least they'd escaped the lower reaches of the table. 

"There's a bit more relief than anything," Bourke said. "We haven't been far away the last few weeks and we've just been lacking that little bit extra. "It wasn't pretty but it's something to build on and the boys have tasted that winning feeling again."