This was supposed to be prime-time, the big show, a chance for the Steamers to strut their stuff.

Instead, Saturday afternoon's match with Auckland turned into a mini disaster.

Beaten up on the paddock, the Bay Union's coffers also took a big hit amid some of the worst playing conditions in recent memory.

A hardy 3500 spectators turned up to see the Steamers lose 11-6, with sackfuls of salt rubbed into frozen wounds when the torrential rain abated shortly after the final whistle.

"We could've got a 10,000-strong crowd in but instead we got a couple of thousand," BOPRU chief executive Jeremy Curragh lamented.

"Without a doubt, that timezone is a huge advantage so this was really disappointing but that's the risk of the beast.

"There's a lot of sympathy out there but the team needs to keep winning and we've got 10 weeks to go."

The union only has six more home games this season, with the penultimate match against Southland in October the only other one in the prime Saturday afternoon slot.

There are some tough away games coming up, starting with a trip to New Plymouth to face Taranaki on Friday night, then a trip to Christchurch two weeks later.

The positives from the Auckland bath were few and far between, though at least the Steamers collected their third consecutive bonus point.

For a side that could only retrieve four extra points from the entire 2009 season, that's a big deal.

With just one win from their first three matches, the Steamers are alone in ninth spot, just a point behind Waikato who have two wins.

Bay of Plenty could also point to a strong finish, helped by good fitness and some overly generous interpretations from referee Josh Noonan, who nearly single-handedly prevented Auckland running away with things.

There was also the dubious non-try after an hour, when Auckland prop Tevita Mailau was ruled to have been held up after a great saving tackle by Toby Arnold.

Noonan wasn't helped by the gremlins afflicting his water-logged communications equipment, while the downpour was a test for the skills of both teams.

"We knew the weather was going to pack in so we prepared a plan," Steamers captain Colin Bourke said. "Weather like this definitely levels the playing field, then all that is taken into account is who plays the smarter rugby.

"Auckland pinned us in our 22 in both halves and in those last 20mins, we probably tried to play a bit too much."

The pack, so powerful a week earlier against Hawke's Bay, was out-muscled by Auckland for much of Saturday's game while the backs couldn't release their dangerous back-three.

Mistakes crept in and the only sustained attack was late in the match when lock Culum Retallick was held up over the line.

But a knock-on from the resulting scrum ruined all that hard buildup.

"If we want to be contenders for top-four, we need to nail those opportunities because against the stronger teams because we don't get too many," Bourke said.