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The Fan is wondering whether the choice of the half-time song “Road to Nowhere” was a comment on our plight at that time. The first 10 minutes of the second half saw the Bay batter the Southland line, gain a man advantage and reduce the deficit with a penalty. The charge down try to Stewart effectively ended the contest. Congratulations to the Stags and let’s hope they can give Wellington a run in the semi-final.
Southland had learned from their defeat two weeks ago. They launched Te Whare (or The House as I like to call him) and the Bay boys would have had better results trying to tackle a desirable property with good indoor/outdoor flow. Jimmy Cowan wasn’t going to let Ruki Tipuna run through his legs this time even if he had to resort to an illegal grab of the little fella to create the gap for The House’s first try.
It wasn’t all bad news though. Those helpful TV news people made sure the ground wasn’t overcrowded by reporting it was already a sell-out. Then the second half scoreline had people leaving 20 minutes before the end to ease the traffic problems.
Given the disappointment of the ending to our season, it is important to remember how much progress we have made and especially how remarkable it was for the Bay to finish 4th this season. We lost two Super 14 players in Williams and Tahana since last season and then Castle and Davison just before the season started. Coach Schuler did great work to get a performing 15 on the paddock and they busted a gut to bring some pride back into the Blue and Gold jersey.
By mid-season, it was clear that some players were carrying injuries and with the outstanding Jamie Nutbrown departing, we were running on empty from the Auckland game onwards. King, Delany and Hunt had to soldier on despite injuries and this illustrated the severe lack of depth we have in most positions.
Finally 5 reasons to be cheerful for the future :-
1. The Bay union has done a wonderful job of rebuilding the shattered finances, attracting big crowds and connecting with the local community.
2. Ticket prices are now realistic and special deals for kids are encouraging families to the games. Maybe family season tickets will be the next great idea?
3. Many local players in the squad. The future of Bay rugby is dependent on bringing through our young talent.
4. Captain Tanerau Latimer has signed up for two more seasons. He looks like he needs a long, long holiday after his efforts for the Chiefs, NZ Maori and the Bay.
5. At this stage none of the current squad has signed for an overseas club (I hope).
This is the Fan’s final piece of advice for Ian Foster before he picks the Chiefs squad for 2009; Select Bay players to play the first half of games and the losers from Waikato for the second half.
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