Thursday, October 26, 2017
TOM Franklin is expected to play for the Bay of Plenty Steamers in the Mitre 10 Cup championship final tomorrow. Photo Rick Moran
Adyn Ogle
THE Bay of Plenty Steamers will contest their first final in 17 years tomorrow and Opotiki’s Tom Franklin will be at the heart of it.
Franklin did not play in the Bay’s 48-32 semi-final win over Otago, he attended his sister’s wedding, but the lock-turned-blindside is available for tomorrow night’s Mitre 10 Cup championship final against Wellington.
“The body is good. After missing a game last week it is probably the freshest I have felt all week.
“I always knew if there was a game on that date I wouldn’t be playing, but I knew the boys would go well. I think it really gave them confidence.”
Franklin’s time with the Highlanders, Otago and the Maori All Blacks in recent years has been in the second row, but the 27-year-old said he had enjoyed his time in the number six jersey.
“It has been awesome, I had always wanted to play blindside and the role doesn’t change too much apart from in the scrums.”
The Steamers suffered a horror defeat at Eden Park against an underwhelming Auckland side but then scored three consecutive victories to punch their ticket to the final.
The last time the Bay made a final was when they earned promotion from the old second division in 2000.
“There is a sense of belief in this team and it has been a real positive year,” Franklin said.
“You have to get better each week. The coaches have been awesome and each week we have tweaked the game plan.
The Steamers’ opponents Wellington have lost just once this year and amassed 456 points during the regular season, scoring a bonus point in every game on their way to earning top qualifier status. Franklin said they would need to take it to the provincial heavyweights.
“They have some big boys and we have to get in their face and be relentless.”
Kick-off at Westpac Stadium is at 7.35pm.