‘Get them on the ropes': Bay of Plenty captain looks ahead to NPC Final

There are a lot of ups and downs in rugby, and that’s part of what makes it so entertaining for fans around the world. As the warriors of sporting battle go toe-to-toe in  pursuit of glory, the storylines on offer can be captivating, poetic, and even a bit like a “fairytale.”

Bay of Plenty captain Kurt Eklund is hoping to lead the province to its first National Provincial Championship (NPC) title in 48 years. The Steamers last won the top flight 1976, which was the inaugural season of the NPC.

Auckland and Canterbury have dominated New Zealand’s provincial rugby scene in the almost half-century that has since passed, while the Bay had failed to even make a Final. But, that changed last weekend when they got the job done at home against the Cantabrians.

The Steamers piled on 24 unanswered points during the second term as they ran away for a relatively comfortable 32-20 win at Tauranga Domain. They’ll now face Wellington for a shot at the title – a team that beat them in golden point during the regular season.

Lucas Cashmore kicked a final-play penalty goal to send the clash to extra time, but a Kyle Preston try saw Wellington get the chocolates in the end. But that was then and this is now, with the Bay’s skipper full of confidence that the team is “good enough” to make history.

“It would be the fairytale, wouldn’t it? Obviously, in the back of the mind that’s the end goal but we’ll just see how we go on Saturday afternoon,” Eklund said on SENZ Mornings.

“We were down in the attacking 22 for a long period of time and we just couldn’t get over the line. It was getting quite frustrating and the boys could feel it out there,” he asked when asked about the round-robin fixture.

“Just knowing that we can play their style of game and get them on the ropes gave us a little bit of confidence and hopefully we can keep that going into the game tomorrow.

“There is a little bit of motivation there, especially when you lose against a team and you get to resurrect it, if you will… there’s a lot of motivation. We know we’re a good enough team to be able to do it, it’s just if it happens on the day.”

Eklund will lead the Steamers in the Final, with the team boasting genuine star power across the board. Naitoa Ah Kuoi seems to be in career-best form in the second row, and then there are backs Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, Emoni Narawa and Leroy Carter.

But the story of the week undoubtedly comes from Wellington’s team naming. Du’Plessis Kirifi will lead a supremely talented Lions side, but it was nigh on impossible to look past the man who’s set to wear the No. 16 jumper on debut.

Four-Test All Black Hika Elliot answered an SOS call from Lions head coach Alando Soakai to play following an injury to hooker Penieli Poasa. This game will either be a fairytale for Eklund or Elliot, with the Lions’ 38-year-old recruit recently hinting at retirement.

“He’s pulled up 100 games for the Chiefs and he’ll probably bring a lot of experience to the boys,” Eklund explained. “He’s probably been in a few finals himself.

“Being able o have the mindset that he has coming into it and probably a bit of leadership… since they’ve had a few hookers go down.

“Pretty interesting.”