Maybe it's the generous coating of fur on his face at the moment but the Bay Badger has quite a thing for Steamers prop James McGougan.

There's something about the bearded, rugged charm of the big Tauranga Sports frontrower that sends me into a snuffling frenzy and gets Mrs Badger all jealous.

Big Googs, as well as being a damn-fine prop, is also an Eastern Bay boy originally, which is also very appealing.

He's got generous helpings of that Whakatane-in-your-face attitude in his play, a flinty edge and a willingness to mix it up in tight. For all you poofter backs out there, that's a nice way of saying he would rather suck a sackful of eel-bellies than take a backward step.

The Badger likes that in a bloke, and even more so in a Bay of Plenty forward.

That's why I was also glad to see Opotiki hooker Dean Elmiger chuck his big frame into the fray against Counties-Manukau. Maybe that Eastern Bay mongrel was what was missing for the last couple of seasons.

Let's stay on the topic of the fatties for a second.

While most of us mourned the loss of Super 14 props Ben Castle and Simms Davison, a different school of thought is now emerging.

Castle's captaincy had its moments last year, it seems, and a distinctly negative vibe flowed down through the side from the top. That's a shame, cos he was a good player for the province and a decent bloke. Maybe the weight of the world and the skipper scarf was too much even for those big shoulders.

Sausage-fingers Simmsy was a different story, however - one bloke who definitely put the `me' back into `Steamers'.

You can often judge a provincial rugby player by his attitude to his club. In Davidson's case, his loyalty to Te Puke Sports was like a lizard with his tail cut off. He spent nearly six seasons with the Bay and never even got a blazer for Te Puke, and by all accounts wasn't even registered to a club for his last couple of seasons.

The Badger's favourite coach reckons that if a man (or a badger) knows where he comes from, he's got a much better chance of knowing where he's going. It's all about character.

It's worth noting here that current Steamers captain Tanerau Latimer is still proudly registered to the Rangiuru club, and probably still will be when he makes the All Blacks too.

We know that money's tight in the Bay union but this is ridiculous. Apparently poor old Counties-Manukau couldn't even train under lights on Friday night as the power bill would have been too much.

I'm all for financial prudence as much as the next Badger but a big part of Bay culture is making guests feel welcome.

For the record, rumours Baypark's lights are being switched to energy-savers this week are completely untrue. Probably.