Bay of Plenty have finished third in this year's ITM Cup premiership after a 29-17 win over Southland (ed. Actually it was 4th behind Taranaki).

Steamers' first five-eighths Chris Noakes played a blinder setting up two tries and making two try-saving tackles.

Played in perfect conditions at Stadium Southland, Invercargill, Bay of Plenty were too strong for the home side.

Noakes said he was happy to come away with a win.

"It's certainly a great way to finish.

"Ideally we would have been playing for a place in the final but it was out of our hands and Invercargill turned on an absolute belter today and we were able to really enjoy ourselves."

Although Noakes said he would be back for Bay of Plenty next season, he was hoping to pick up a Super Rugby contract for next season.

"Obviously I'd love to sneak into a Super 15 but I'm possibly a long shot for that. So I'll probably go back to the day job of being a lawyer."

Noakes wouldn't do too bad as a judge as he dictated the play against Southland.

Both sides tested each other early in the first few minutes of the game using their kicking game to find territory.

Bay of Plenty looked to build momentum through their forwards but as has been the problem throughout the season their final pass was dropped or the ball was knocked on at critical times.

Southland looked strong on defence but were also guilty of easy turnovers and keeping themselves under the pump throughout most of the match.

It took 10 minutes before the first points were put on the board courtesy of a Noakes penalty just outside Southland's 22.

The Bay dominated territory and possession for almost 27 minutes but it took some individual brilliance from Noakes to break the Southland defence, when he chipped a kick 30m out from the try line and behind the Southland defence.

Phil Burleigh re-gathered inside Southland's 22 and bumped off a weak Southland tackle to score.

Probably for the first time in the season the Bay found they had dominance at scrum time but frustratingly it was their lineout which let them down.

No better example was Southland's opening point, when they turn over the ball at a Bay lineout and scored from 55m out thanks to Southland fullback Robbie Robinson who re-gathered a kick chipped behind the Bay's defensive line. James Wilson converted.

Bay of Plenty constantly looked dangerous with ball in hand and were rewarded 3 minutes from halftime with a Ben Smith try from a 5m scrum.

The Bay simply did two skip passes and a draw and pass to give Smith space out wide and for Noakes to convert to go into the break 15-7.

Southland coach David Henderson said the team tried to run it too much in the first half instead of looking for territory.

His team responded with aggression and territory for the first 5 minutes of the second half but Bay of Plenty weathered the storm and again Noakes set up Bay's second try by sliding through Southland's defensive line and putting Burleigh in for his second. Noakes converted the try to bring the lead up to 22-7.

The try appeared to give Bay of Plenty confidence to spin the ball but it almost backfired when Southland looked to have scored in the corner only to be denied by a try-saving tackle by Noakes.

The first five would do another try-saver 10 minutes later but in the other corner.

Southland started to gain an advantage with territory and possession 20 minutes into the second half and were rewarded with a try to flanker John Hardie which Marty McKenzie failed to convert.

But Bay of Plenty responded 5 minutes later after Sam Cane picked up a loose ball from a Southland lineout to race 50m to score. Noakes converted before being replaced by Dan Waenga.

It was tit for tat shortly after that, with Cardiff Vaega scoring 3 minutes later to keep Southland in the game with 10 minutes remaining.

Mistakes started to creep into Bay of Plenty's game to give Southland a sniff with 5 minutes to go but Bay of Plenty rallied to keep the score to 29-17.

Bay of Plenty captain Colin Bourke who was playing his last game for the Steamers said it was only the third time in the province's 100-year history that the team had finished in the top four of the competition.

Southland captain Jamie Mackintosh said bad decision-making let his side down.

"We played with good intensity but it was a disappointing way to finish the season."

Scorers:

Bay of Plenty 29 (Phil Burleigh 2, Ben Smith, Sam Cane tries; Chris Noakes pen, 3 con) Southland 17 (Robbie Robinson, John Hardie, Cardiff Vaega tries; James Wilson con). Halftime: 15-7