They may have lost the battle, but the Chatham Islands rugby team won the hearts – and most definitely the stomachs – of their Bay of Plenty hosts recently.
The team from the Chathams – a plucky collection of fishermen, farmers and conservation workers – embarked on a five-day tour with the highlight a match against a Bay of Plenty Classic XV as the curtain-raiser to the Steamers-Otago game in Mount Maunganui.

Photos of the BOP Classic XV v Chatham Islands

Some photos from the BOP Classic XV against the Chatham Islands.

Bay of Plenty banked five Air New Zealand Cup competition points but showed they still have plenty of work to do after beating Otago 31-20 at Baypark last night.

The home side ran in five tries, three in a strong first half, but let Otago back into the round six clash, after a skittery second spell that saw the visitors close to just four points at one stage.

Forwards and backs combined to give halfback Jamie Nutbrown a dream ride in the first half, which saw the Steamers ahead 24-0.

However, the continuity was missing in the second spell as players got isolated with the ball, Otago picked up turnovers, scored two converted tries and grafted some penalties - including one 54 metre effort to first-five Chris Noakes.