 |
Sports correspondent & historian with |
Bay of Plenty Rugby management can be well pleased with the crowd that turned up for the Bay of Plenty Steamers’ NPC clash against Manawatū at Tauranga Domain last Saturday.
Unfortunately, the blue-and-gold brigade could not provide their passionate fans with the result they wanted, going down 29-12 to the visitors.
With four weeks remaining in the preliminary competition, the Steamers, who sit ninth on the points ladder, need to lift their intensity if they are to make the playoffs.
The two key matches in the Steamers’ push for a playoff spot come over the next two home fixtures at Tauranga Domain.
First up, on Saturday, September 19, is the fierce rivalry with the “Other Bay”, when Hawke’s Bay attempts to lower the colours of the Bay of Plenty representatives. The Steamers will need to be at their very best, as Hawke’s Bay currently sits atop the standings with an unbeaten six-game winning streak.
The following weekend, Tasman will visit Tauranga’s premier rugby venue.
A ground steeped in history
The story of Tauranga Domain begins some 150 years ago.
In 1873, a number of Tauranga residents petitioned the Government’s Native Minister for a public park in the emerging town. While the residents’ first choice was an area between Huria Marae and the newly formed road to Waihi, the Government instead set aside the more central site that today is Tauranga Domain.
The Tauranga City Council website notes that a well-maintained cricket pitch was in operation by 1888.
Football and cricket pavilions were constructed in the 1890s, while bowls, tennis, croquet, athletics and hockey were also played regularly. A band rotunda was built in 1894.
From the 1920s, Tauranga Domain became the headquarters of the Tauranga Rugby Union, with the oval-ball game drawing large crowds of local rugby fans each Saturday during the season.
In 1971, the British Lions stopped at Tauranga Domain late in their three-month tour of New Zealand to play the Bay of Plenty representative side. Around 20,000 spectators packed into the venue, with many watching from towering temporary scaffolding stands.
While the tourists were hot favourites, the Bay boys took the game to the visitors, who had to draw on all their resources to secure a 20-14 victory.
The return to the Domain
There have been several attempts to build a standalone rugby stadium in the Western Bay of Plenty. A couple of decades ago, there was even a short-lived proposal to establish another rugby union complete with a new stadium.
Shortly after the idea was rejected by New Zealand Rugby, Steamers matches were relocated to the infield of Baypark Speedway. While the ground was packed to overflowing for the Steamers’ two Ranfurly Shield defences in 2004, the general consensus was that fans were too far away from the on-field action.
Bay of Plenty Rugby relocated the Steamers back to Tauranga Domain for the 2016 season.
The larger metropolitan unions would probably have looked with envy at the crowd that turned out for the Steamers’ clash with Manawatū, while many of their own large stadiums appeared nearly empty during NPC fixtures.
With the NPC increasingly playing second fiddle to Super Rugby, smaller venues such as Tauranga Domain are now ideally suited to New Zealand’s provincial rugby competition.
Go the Steamers!