Well that's a relief. A scrappy game but we got there in the end and Bourke's charge-down and chase made the scoreline more comfortable than it felt.

Given our lack of bonus points this season, 5 points last night would have been handy and working out the number of wins required to make the semis is tricky. We have 5 games left and we are 6 and 2 so far. Our opponents to come are Otago, Hawke's Bay, Harbour, Manawatu and Taranaki. There is nothing to fear from any of them - so how many can we realistically expect to win?

All 5? It is certainly possible and would probably have us topping the table at season end. Incredible. But unlikely given there are 3 away games and all of them against desperate opposition. We can beat Otago but will have to play much better than last night. The battle of the Bays will be tough, Harbour has been poor and we should have too much for them. Manawatu are dangerous but vulnerable while the game against Taranaki is the Sunday afternoon of the final weekend - if we are still in with a chance of making the semis, there will be a massive crowd at Baypark. I reckon 3 out of 5 will see us go close to the top 4 and maybe even make it - last season 6 wins from 10 was enough for top 4. In a couple of weeks time, a more serious analysis of the points table and remaining fixtures will be required.

The game was a bit of a shambles early on, penalties and dropped ball removing any flow from the game. Missed penalty attempts were traded until a slick backline move sent a man free down the left wing. From the resultant ruck, the numbers were out right and a huge pass cut out the Tasman defenders rushing up, Retallick freed the ball out of the tackle and Burleigh had bare grass in front of him. The last defender couldn't decide whether to stick or twist and Burleigh strolled over untouched.

At some point in the first half (can't remember if it was before or after the try), a lovely move sent Hona away down the left wing but he chose to kick through when 10 yards out and the Tasman defender got there first. Maybe it was the time for Hona to back himself and his size and try to muscle over or at least set the ball for a certain try or penalty with the defence scattered.

The final 10 minutes of the first half were manic. Firstly the ever combative Braid was penalised for a no arms tackle although it was more of a collision than a malicious body check. Apparently the ref had alredy warned so Braid wandered to the bin looking confused. Tasman slotted the penalty to make it 7-3.

Then with Bay on attack, Delany was skipping and dancing around the 22 when Khan F (not attempting the spelling) the Tasman half-back picked him up and speared him. Delany managed to get an arm down to break the fall and that probably saved the Tasman 9 from a red - he walked with a yellow and it looked like a certain 3 to the Bay and 14 a side. But off the ball, Bourke had been engaging in some fisticuffs and was walked for 10 also. Having seen the replay later, I can see why he was carded - throwing punches at a guy who had his arms pinned by a Bay player. No idea what caused the fight in the first place though.

So the penalty was reversed and we had 5 minutes to survive in the half with 14 playing 13. Desperate defence saw us to half-time at 7-3, although Tasman turned down a kickable penalty with 30 seconds on the clock and messed up the resultant lineout.

With Braid back on at the restart, the Bay looked to have weathered the storm but there were worrying signs that in broken play, Tasman could cause us problems. Both sides were restored to 15 when the Tasman hooker (who ran strongly all night) took static ball on the 22 and somehow evaded the tackles of both Bourke and Braid (minds still on the yellow cards). From there he couldn't be put down (I think I counted 5 attempts) until he popped a pass for Ainley to stroll over under the posts. 10-7 to Tasman and some stress in the crowd.

Soon after, the Tasman 10 put up a bomb which landed right where the previous ruck had been and all of his forwards stood still and were penalised for offside (not retreating). 10-10 as Delany bagged his only penalty of the night - he had 3 attempts around half-way and they all slid past despite distance being no issue.

As both teams strived to take the advantage, Tasman were a rabble off phase ball - the half-back standing over it for ages and some awful passes and balls spilled in the tackle. Then the Bay delivered some bad ball to Delany with defenders pressing. Burleigh instinctively ran off him and he hit a huge hole and travelled deep into the Tasman 22. From the resultant ruck, the forwards decided to rumble and gained metre by metre until Junior Polu was able to crash over. Converted and now 17-10 and a little relaxation.

Typically Tasman fought back with penalties going their way and their lineout very solid. Soon they earned a kickable penalty and it was back to 17-13. But as the clock ticked down and Tasman needed a try, they looked less and less like they had a clue how to do it. 5 minutes from time, an attempted kick was charged down by Bourke and with power and strength he drove over in the corner. Converted from the sideline by Delany and it was 24-13 and goodnight.

So what of last night's victory? Firstly (and different to the rest of the season), the backline hummed like a Rolls-Royce. Runners were coming onto the ball at pace, passes were out in front and we looked dangerous every time we had good ball. What let us down was throwing the speculative pass out of the tackle instead of being patient and capitalising on the territorial advantage gained. A few times, we made 60m down field only to drop the ball and have it returned with interest. The Tasman backline only looked dangerous in broken play when their runners could target forwards.

Our scrum creaked a little although Tasman seemed to be using the illegal sideways shuffle to turn it through 90 degrees. Our lineout was solid with Retallick as the money man, but the throw to the back was overthrown a few times which was costly. The defence around the fringes of the rucks was impressive and as it has all season, increased with intensity as the game went on. Zak Hohneck was busy in 6 and should be an able deputy when Latimer returns next week. Braid still has a lot to learn but he is incredibly committed and is always in the action. Retallick and Moore are a great combination now and when Savage is back to full match fitness, the Bay pack will be a match for any team.

Junior and Delany are forming a good understanding, Polu has a great wide pass which gives Delany some freedom. Also a great partnership is Delany and Burleigh when they can use 2 wide passes to hit Burleigh for a cross-field kick and Burleigh's running is also dangerous. Hughson was often used as the link man to set the extra man free and Arnold came into the line well. Hona took some great high balls and looked like a man committed to make the catch and take the hit. He has really come on as a winger this season. Again not much of the play seemed to reach Hunt on the right wing, eventually he was replaced by Lawrence who again looked like he had all his fingers taped together.

Go the Bay!