Bay of Plenty turned offensive defence into an art-form last night, handing Hawke's Bay a 30-11 mauling at McLean Park.

The five-try win was an outstanding display of counter-attack, as Bay of Plenty scored their first competition win in Napier since their days in the second division, more than a decade ago.

Steamers captain Colin Bourke, who sealed a great game with a classy chip-and-chase try late in the game, said it was the perfect way to rebound after their opening 13-10 loss to Waikato.

"We were guilty of not playing too much rugby last week so to come here and score five tries is great," Bourke said.

He paid tribute to a vastly-improved pack performance and some withering defensive work for paving the way.

"It's definitely an area we tried to work during the week, increasing that physicality at the breakdown, and it paid dividends because we hunted well as a pack."

Bay of Plenty had the best of a rugged first half, with their forwards dominant, but could only lead 8-6.

It was a concerted, well executed forward drive which gave Taniela Moa his first try in blue and gold colours, after a classy counter-attack from Jason Hona and Lance MacDonald.

All Moa had to do was step over the line, after the Bay pack wheeled perfectly a metre out.

Hawke's Bay only had one attacking chance in the Steamers 22, which was quickly snuffed out by a Luke Andrews lineout steal.

With Bourke snaring a feast of ball at the back of the lineout, returning prop James McGougan also made his presence felt with several big hits, most notably on All Black wing Zac Guildford midway through the first half.

McGougan was also at the centre of a vastly improved scrumming display.

Hawke's Bay fired shots but few of them were accurate, with ponderous backline play and disjointed passing.

The Steamers started the second half brilliantly, when Braid turned the ball over with Hawke's Bay hard on attack.

The ball was shuffled wide to MacDonald, who broke again and fed Toby Arnold. Arnold was caught 5m out, but the Steamers regrouped quickly and Lelia Masaga scored on the other side of the field.

After absorbing 20mins of constant pressure, Bay of Plenty's counter-attacking worked again when prop Josh Hohneck swooped on a loose ball with 13mins to play, feeding centre Brett Mather.

Mather's miracle pass found first-five Dan Waenga, who completed a dream homecoming by sprinting in from 20m.

His former Napier Boys' High School teammate Bourke sealed a four-try bonus point with his try, then replacement halfback Chad Tuoro finished things with two minutes left.

Tuoro, Waenga, Masaga and Moa all scored their first tries for their new province.

There's still much to work on before the Auckland game in a week in Mount Maunganui, notably goal-kicking - with Waenga and Phil Burleigh missing four shots between them - and midfield polish.

But an unexpected win in one of the toughest opposition cauldrons is still plenty to celebrate, plus the Bay now have six points from their first two outings, which have both been away.