Wellington have pulled off a comfortable 24-10 win over Bay of Plenty in wet and extremely windy conditions at Westpac Stadium in Wellington.
The home side were the better of the two teams in the opening exchanges and they were rewarded with the game's first try when Reggie Goodes pushed his way over the try line.
Minutes later, the Lions were in again when Jackson Garden-Bachop put in a well-placed cross field kick to fullback Peter Umaga-Jenson, who was able to cross untouched.
Steamers halfback Luke Campbell got the visitors on the scoreboard with a penalty goal, but immediately after the restart, Wellington were in again after former Warriors forward Sam Lousi put Garden-Bachop into space and then found Wes Goosen, who dived over in the corner.
Wellington led 17-3 at the break.
Three minutes into the second half, Reggie Goodes crossed again after a great run by Sam Lousi sent him over the line.
Returning first-five Dan Hollinshead set up the Steamers' only try, stabbing a kick through to Terrence Hepetema to score under the posts.
Hollinshead was brutally knocked out in the Steamers first game of the season against Taranaki.
Neither side were able to create any real scoring chances, as the wind and rain picked up and caused troubles for both sides.
Wellington will travel north next week to face Northland in Whangarei on Thursday, while Bay of Plenty have a double header next week - firstly they will face Southland on Wednesday and then Auckland on Sunday.
Newshub.
