It was a lovely night in Napier last Friday and the Bay turned up to play in their real colours – and then played like the real and only Bay. Having been in Napier 2 years ago when we were soundly hammered, the Fan was most content to see the tables turned and the Hawke’s (*) supporters grimly leaving the ground once Colin Bourke had conjured up his wonderful individual try.

Before the game, confidence was low following our indifferent opening game but we were briefly excited to see Mike Delany on the field warming up. It turned out there had been no miracle recovery and he was just making sure he was ready for his arduous water-boy duties.

One key player who was returning to the starting side was James McGougan and for 50 minutes, he worked out the frustration of months of inactivity by throwing himself at Hawke’s jerseys with bone-shattering force. Our scrum also looked more stable as he propped alongside Josh Hohneck, who showed another dimension to his game with an expert pick up and pass to Brett Mather to set up the crucial 3rd try. The scrum went into reverse gear once McGougan departed so it is essential that he stays fit.

Solomon King had to leave the field injured yet again but at least this allowed Latimer and Braid to rule the breakdown in the second half. Our line-out was perfect in the first half but fell apart in the second and with a lack of possession, the dual open-side flankers were the ideal double act. Latimer tackled the man and then Braid stole the ball or they exchanged the roles with equal success.

The backline is starting to click and the Lance MacDonald/Toby Arnold combination combines pace, acceleration and rugby smarts. We have missed MacDonald’s ability to dart through gaps and Arnold always looks good running the ball back. The Flash (Lelia Masaga) will be growing in confidence now he has dotted down his first try and no opponent will be relaxed with our potent back three. It is a long time since we had weapons out wide and it will be an entertaining season to be a Bay fan.

The Fan is reasonably content with six points from two tricky away games but the challenges continue with a solid but unspectacular Auckland side visiting this Saturday. We have lost six games to the latte sippers since we took the Ranfurly Shield from them in 2004 and we are due to break this terrible run on Saturday afternoon. Make some noise for our boys.

* Please refer to the team who play in black and white as “Hawke’s” as they have surrendered the use of the word Bay to the mighty Bay of Plenty Steamers!