‘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.”
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Come on, a loosely-linked collection of semi-anecdotes doesn't cut it JD.
Ppl feel friction and they look for something or someone outside themselves to blame. It's human nature.
There are pieces such as this written https://www.rugbypass.com/news/opinion-why-everyone-hates-leinster/ not because anyone hates Leinster or Ireland, or can prove they are hate-worthy, but simply because ppl hate a long run of success. I have no doubt it is the same with the Crusaders in NZ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCQ7n2o6TBw .
Nothing to do with personalities or some kind of individual or collective arrogance. Having been around Leinster for a few years I cannot think of any I would describe as arrogant. And Leo Cullen is one of the most genuinely sincere men you could ever hope to meet. The team is built in his image.
So try not to drink the kool-aid so readily, you're better than that.😉
Go to commentsI think most tier one teams have a lot to debate regarding who should be picked, who is on form etc etc. Standard talent management stuff.
England doesn’t have a shortage of good players. I don’t think it matters most who gets picked - it’s Borthwicks plans for this England side that matters most. How to extract the best out of the players and to beat the opposition.
Of what I’ve seen so far I think that’s the big question mark. Does he have the ability as a coach to ultimately out think and outwit Galthie, Farrell, Erasmus, Razor, Contemponi etc etc?
No. I personally don’t think so.
He has got the players and the resources. He hasn’t delivered the results, yet. And that’s what this November is going to be all about for Borthwick and England. Do the best players in England have the best coach to take them to a new level in an extremely competitive test arena?
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