Fehi Fineanganofo of Bay of Plenty is tackled by Daniel Rona of Taranaki. Photo: Marty Melville/Actionpress
Three tries to Fehi Finengeanofo have helped Bay Of Plenty to a much-needed 43-17 bonus-point result against Taranaki in New Plymouth.
The timely win sees the Steamers move up to fifth on the NPC table, with only three rounds remaining in the NPC regular season.
Fineanganofo, who had a breakout season with the Hurricanes in Super Rugby Pacific, was joined on the scoresheet by another former All Blacks Sevens star, Ngarohi McGarvey-Black, in the first half, after Josh Jacomb opened the scoring with a penalty for the home side.
Richard Judd and Naitoa Ah Kuoi also scored tries for the Bay, with Kaleb Trask knocking over three conversions for a commanding 26-3 lead at halftime.
Adam Lennox looked to have sparked a Taranaki comeback in the second half, when he darted over, but Fineanganofo answered back, when he outraced Daniel Rona to dive on a kickthrough by replacement back Lucas Cashmore. That try made the rest of the game more or less academic, with Hemepo Cunningham grabbing a consolation try for Taranaki.
However, Bay Of Plenty were keen to make a statement. First Semisi Paea scored and then Fineanganofo completed his hattrick with an almost identical try to his second.
That blew the scoreline out to 43-17 and ended the game, with the Steamers now regaining the momentum they started the season with, when they had a big win over heavily fancied Tasman.
They also draw level on 20 points with Tasman, Taranaki and Hawke's Bay, with the Steamers hosting the Magpies in a crucial game next weekend. Taranaki head to Dunedin to take on Otago.
Read how the game unfolded here:
