Bay of Plenty have once again made a statement to the rest of the competition with a 40-14 thrashing of their neighbours Waikato.
After dispatching Otago 50-7 last week in Tauranga, the Steamers rolled the Mooloos at Rotorua International Stadium.
The visitors started the better of the two rivals, with young centre Quinn Tupaea scoring in the seventh minute.
But the Steamers hit back, halfback Richard Judd slicing through Waikato's defence to level the scores.
The hosts continued their dominance with ball in hand. Prop Ross Geldenhuys scored under the post to put the Bay of Plenty ahead.
Speed star Joe Ravouvou pounced on a loose defensive line to go through and score a runaway try to take the lead out to 19-7 for the home side.
The Mooloos worked back into the match towards the end of the first half, and Tupaea got his second to take the score to 22-14 at the break.
The Steamers kicked into another gear in the second half as Emoni Narawa took the score out to 29-14. A Dan Hollinshead penalty kick took the lead to 32-14 with just over 15 minutes to go.
Hollinshead added another three with just three minutes to go, and fullback Chase Tiatia scored to cap off the ideal day for the Steamers and inflate the score to a 26-point win.
The Steamers travel to Eden Park next week where they will take on Auckland, while Waikato will face Counties Manukau.
Newshub.
