\u201cYou always think you\u2019re going again next week. It\u2019s weird \u2013 like your arm\u2019s been cut off. At least in a final, you\u2019ve made the big dance. But this one hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n
The match began brightly for Bay of Plenty, with flanker Veveni Lasaqa crossing early to give the visitors a 12\u20137 lead after 20 minutes.<\/p>\n
That spark soon faded as Otago seized control, leading 21\u201312 at halftime before running in 20 points in the second spell to secure their seventh consecutive victory.<\/p>\n
Bay of Plenty player Tevita Mafileo has been named in the All Blacks squad for this year’s Grand Slam tour. Photo \/ Bay of Plenty Rugby Union<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter we lost the final last year, we sat there thinking we could have won it,\u201d Watt said. \u201cThis was different. We got a hiding and they outplayed us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The veteran coach pointed to the fundamentals \u2013 and Otago\u2019s physical dominance \u2013 as key factors.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you don\u2019t win the collisions, it\u2019s hard to win the game,\u201d Watt said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t win the air, we didn\u2019t win the ground, we turned over too much ball. They\u2019ve been doing it all year \u2013 they\u2019re a bloody good side.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Steamers’ NPC campaign ended with a 41\u201317 loss to Otago in the semifinals in Dunedin. Photo \/ Bay of Plenty Rugby Union<\/p>\n
The Steamers also felt the absence of captain Kurt Eklund, who was sidelined with an injury. <\/p>\n
\u201cA guy like Kurt has a lot of mana,\u201d Watt said. \u201cHe gives players confidence \u2013 he\u2019s in the thick of everything. I\u2019m not sure if his presence would\u2019ve changed the result, but losing your leader in a big game hurts.\u201d<\/p>\n
This season, Bay of Plenty restocked their trophy cabinet with the Chief\u2019s Cup, the Macrae Shelford Bay Cup, the Peter Burke Trophy, the Mark Weedon Trophy and the Nathan Strongman Memorial Trophy. Hawke\u2019s Bay seized back the Macrae Shelford Bay Cup in a close Battle of the Bays.<\/p>\n
Despite the semifinal heartbreak, Watt said he\u2019s proud of what the Steamers achieved this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re a genuine title contender now,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re consistent and we\u2019ve generated some real support across the region.\u201d<\/p>\n
That support has been a defining feature of the Steamers\u2019 recent rise. Watt praised the connection between players and fans, noting how the team stay on the field after matches to chat with young supporters. <\/p>\n
\u201cI remind the guys that they\u2019re caretakers of the jersey. It\u2019s about inspiring the next generation to want to be a Steamer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bay of Plenty\u2019s success at nurturing local talent is evident, with Charlie Sinton and Kele Lasaqa recent examples from the development programme. Rotorua Boys\u2019 High School were crowned national secondary school champions this year and the province continues to feed players into professional and international ranks. <\/p>\n
Bay of Plenty player Charlie Sinton clears the ball. Photo \/ Bay of Plenty Rugby Union<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I started, we had about eight or nine Super Rugby players. Now we\u2019ve got 19,\u201d Watt said. \u201cAnd to have four All Blacks \u2013 that\u2019s pretty cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among those named in national squads are Benet Kumeroa and Naitoa Ah Kuoi (All Blacks XV), with Tevita Mafileo, Pasi Tosi, Leroy Carter and Emoni Narawa selected for the All Blacks\u2019 Grand Slam tour, though Narawa is sidelined with injury.<\/p>\n
As the dust settles, Watt and his coaching staff will review the season and look to keep the core group together. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re still knocking on the door,\u201d he said. \u201cWe just haven\u2019t kicked it down yet. The disappointment of last year\u2019s final fuelled the hunger to come back this year. Now we\u2019ve got to make sure we come back next year and kick the door down.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Bay of Plenty supporters, the semifinal loss may sting but the pride remains strong. <\/p>\n
Under Watt\u2019s steady hand, the Steamers have re-established themselves as a force in New Zealand provincial rugby \u2013 a team who play with heart, connect with their people and refuse to stop pushing for that long-awaited next title.<\/p>\n
Canterbury and Otago will contest the 2025 NPC final at the Apollo Projects Stadium in Christchurch on Saturday. Kickoff is at 4.05pm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cYou always think you\u2019re going again next week. It\u2019s weird \u2013 like your arm\u2019s been cut off. At…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":87332,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[64247,74,66148,1561,52297,10748,1738,3019,6788,66147,4999,65838,42,6559,78,2225,43,2551,22308,1118,9629,66144,58310,1562,66146,5500,16674,66145,40,38,41,39,8238],"class_list":["post-87331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-64247","tag-after","tag-barr","tag-bay","tag-bunnings","tag-came","tag-campaign","tag-clash","tag-dunedin","tag-forsyth","tag-friday","tag-halt","tag-headlines","tag-heavy","tag-in","tag-loss","tag-news","tag-night","tag-npc","tag-of","tag-otago","tag-outmuscle","tag-painful","tag-plenty","tag-roof","tag-semifinal","tag-stadium","tag-steamers","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-under"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87331"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87331\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87332"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}