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What brings a 26 yr old English rugby fan with little knowledge of the NPC to support the BoP? Why, you may rightly ask, given his ignorance, doesn’t he choose one of the flashier names, maybe the glamorous Aucklanders, or the perennially Anglicised Canterbury? Why doesn’t he choose Waikato, seemingly, according to Foster at least, BoP’s senior partner in the Chiefs franchise?
The answer? Because the BoP are the BoP.
They’re not the pretty boy latte swilling metro-sexuals of Auckland, nor the dour, pasty, one eyed types of Canterbury, let alone the Dirtiest of Dirty ScumBags Waikato, they’re a good, honest, hard working, mid table (fingers crossed) team with a creative, passionate, witty, realistic(ish) and above all committed fan base. The Mafias love of the game, of their Province and of their players is infectious.
So here I am, a Harlequins fan, an England fan, living in London, who has never seen a BoP match live in his life. I’ve travelled around New Zealand and even spent some time in Rotorua, but I left still unaware of the treasure that is Bay rugby, and yet now I walk around London in a BoP Mafia t-shirt, carry the No. 19 membership card in my wallet and am proud to loudly proclaim myself a Mafia man (whilst at the same time damning with irrational fortitude the name of Dirty Scumbag Waikato), espousing to all the virtues of the World’s greatest game, played in the World’s greatest rugby heartland, played by the team with the World’s longest name…the Western Bay Finance Bay of Plenty Steamers.
Since the day I first chatted with Donsteppa and Baron Silas Greenback, the pull of the Steamers has been almost magnetic, a real rugby brotherhood determined to stand up for itself in the face of the bigger boys. I was lucky to join the Mafia at such a good time, my first season as a fan saw us finish 5th in the first division, just 4 short steps away from achieving our goal of 1st Division Domination. A season which saw us go unbeaten at home and included a mighty thrashing of Auckland, which if it can be repeated in the first game this year, will see us get hold of the Ranfurly Shield for the first time. The Ranfurly Shield victory in turn will be our spring board to winning the First division and getting Glen Jackson into the AB 10 shirt, with the Captains arm-band, where we all know he belongs.
If I could be there in the stands I would be, shouting at the top of my voice, cheering HoriBop’s latest attempt at emotionally destroying the opposition mascot (and Chief Exec!), jeering the latest defender to be left for dead by the mercurial Jackson, laughing at the latest defender to be sat on his arse by a Lutui fend. So while you’re standing on the terraces in the cold, revelling in the atmosphere, remember how lucky you are to be a BoP fan supporting the team you love and how much I would love to be there.
God willing, this will be our year….….although, as I’ve already learnt from my short time in the Mafia, if it isn’t, then there will always be next year…
Update: Since Tim "Dodge" Hodgson wrote this piece, not only have we won the Ranfurly Shield, but we've sent him a couple of match tapes to put him out of his misery!
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