3 pre-season games, 3 wins, tries a plenty and Waikato put in their rightful place. I must admit to a small feeling of trepidation in the Cowshed when we slipped to an early 21-3 deficit but we rallied magnificently and took a deserved win. I used to think that the incompetent NZRU had accidentally omitted our local rivalry from the fixture list for three seasons. Now it seems more likely that the Waikato Union has been running scared and has bribed the NZRU to avoid humiliation. Did I mention that Waikato hasn’t beaten the Bay in the provincial championship since 2003?

So what has generated this excessive optimism? Firstly the forwards are doing their job. Our scrum has been competitive, the front row has been into everything in the loose and wonder of wonders, we are winning our own lineout ball. Maybe the sudden departure of Davison and Castle will help the next generation of props to develop while Marcel Cummings-Toone has been on fire so far.

We have depth in the loose forwards with both Latimer and Braid rested from the 22 against Waikato. Nutbrown and Delany are now an experienced pair and the backline has hummed with the new additions slotting in well. Regular watchers on the Sevens circuit will already know Nigel Hunt’s potential so I am saying a little prayer that he avoids the injury problems that always seem to strike our midfield weapons. 

Zar Lawrence looked superb in the Sevens this year and running at full-back for the Bay, he should have the pace and size to cope leaving Lance McDonald to play on the wing. I’d like to see Lance popping up in the midfield where his twinkling feet and pace can cause problems for lumbering forwards. The major concern is obviously the defence leaking tries although this is often an issue in pre-season games and hopefully the intensity of fighting for competition points will resolve this.

It is great news about the ticket prices and the Fan in the Stand heartily applauds the Bay union for taking this positive step. It makes it affordable for a family to see the rugby from the best seats and should mean healthy crowds to cheer on the team. A bonus will be crowded stands on TV again as an enticement for armchair viewers to see what they are missing.

We travel to Blenheim for the opener against Tasman on Thursday, followed by Counties-Manukau in Rotorua. To be in the hunt for a top eight spot, these look like games we must win before the sterner challenges of the bigger unions.