The Steamers may have turned a corner but prop Tristan Moran reckons there's still a couple of tricky bends to negotiate.

Bay of Plenty resurrected their ITM Cup rugby season last night with an impressive 41-13 win over Manawatu on another miserable Mount Maunganui night at Baypark.

Cloud bursts before and during the match consigned the match to a forward battle, although thanks to some impressive Bay handling, it was far from dour.

Moran opened his account for his new province with the first two tries of the game and was a different camera angle away from a third, though he's warned his side not to get cocky.

The team has a 10-day gap before their next game, another home match against Counties-Manukau, which also looms as crucial.

"The boys just fronted up for Manawatu and it was do or die but it doesn't mean much if we back this up with a poor performance next week," Moran said. "We've got to keep our feet on the ground and continue working hard for each other - it's basically must-win every week now and we can definitely do it but it's just a matter of fronting up each week."

Last night's six-try effort was a vastly different performance from their last outing on Baypark, a hideous 11-6 loss to Auckland in equally rainy conditions.

"We disappointed our supporters out here last time and really let them down so we definitely had a point to prove," Steamers coach Sean Horan said. "The guys knew the conditions, they knew the expectations and they just went out and played how we know they can play."

Mike Delany's audacious second-minute penalty from 54m out set the tone for the match, with nearly everything the home side touched came off.

There were some nice touches by rookie flanker Sam Cane, but the 18-year-old hurt his ankle midway through the first spell in the only serious injury from the match.
Cane's last act before he succumbed was a dab close to the Manawatu line which led directly to Moran being shunted over.

Delany couldn't add the conversion but 3mins later Moran was at it again, finishing off an impressive 20m rolling maul from a lineout. His second try made the score 13-3 and he nearly had another in the second half, only denied by the third match official.

"I thought I'd gotten the third but I knew they wouldn't give it because there were just too many bodies. I was a good six inches over though."

Not that it mattered. A sublime piece of Cory Aporo skill gave Bay their third try in 8mins, after another rumbling drive from the Bay forwards amid 13 phases.
Delany got the ball blind and slotted a grubber in behind the Manawatu defence and centre Aporo - in his first game of the season - waited perfectly for the bounce, picking up and diving over in one motion. Delany's sideline conversion made it 20-6 at the break.

The Steamers had their bonus-point try 3mins into the second spell after yet another forward drive and another bust by Aporo. Lelia Masaga got the ball flat-footed, 20m out, bounced over three tackles and had enough leg drive to force his way across.

With Delany nursing a sore ankle, Colin Bourke added the conversion to make it 27-6.

Culum Retallick's try made it 34-6 and coach Sean Horan made wholesale changes midway through the half with his side well up. Simon Chisholm came on for his blazer game, and fellow front-row reserves Josh Hohneck and James McGougan entered the fray.

Delany was also spelled to protect his ankle, while Aporo exited after an excellent return to the side.

The game lost shape in the final quarter as both sides added tries, but the match was well beyond Manawatu by that stage.