It doesn't get any easier for the Bay of Plenty Steamers as they get set to take on Counties Manukau in Pukekohe this Sunday.

After taking a pasting by their rugby neighbours Waikato 43-10 in Tauranga last Sunday. The Culum Retallick lead side travel to Pukekohe Stadium to face a wounded Counties side.

Steamers mid-fielder Dan Hollinshead in action against Waikato. Photo: Camron Avery.

Counties like the Steamers were taught a harsh lesson in Round 3 of the ITM Cup beating 35-11 by Hawke's Bay and came up short last night against Taranaki losing 17-10 in New Plymouth.. Although the home side have a slight advantage going into this latest clash they currently sit in the bottom half of the Premiership competition and have had a short turnaround from their Wednesday night clash with Taranaki.

The Steamers are well rested having a week to recover from their bruising encounter with Waikato. Their coach Clayton McMillan will be hoping his team have learnt from Sunday's clash.

If they want to play for territory as it appears they've been trying to do. Then they have to chase with more enthusiasm. This lack of enthusiasm showed against Waikato. Often looking tentative and slow on the chase they gave Waikato's back three too much room. Something you can't do against Counties.

They will also have to tighten their defence on the inside channels. Too often, their line was broken by an inside pass to a runner who more often than not broke the advantage line and made gains the Steamers struggled to cope with.

It wasn't all doom and gloom for the Steamers the return of Nathan Harris has given a bit more sting at scrum time and accuracy in the lineouts. Right winger Tino Nemani is a devastating runner with ball in hand often breaking the first tackle. Second five Dan Hollinshead has been solid in the mid-field and deserves another crack this weekend.

The one concerning thing for McMillan would have to be the lack of opportunity the side created against Waikato. Although they never gave up throughout the 80 minutes, they often showed no real imagination on attack. This could be put down to poor clearance from the ruck but it was also laboured passing and poor attacking angles.

At almost the halfway stage of the competition Bay of Plenty still have a chance and a Steamers side who never gives up are a side who can beat any side on their day.

The match kicks off at 4.35pm Sunday September 6. The Steamers are expected to name their team to play Counties tomorrow afternoon.

Current Standings:

ITM Cup Premiership:

Tasman 15

Canterbury 14

Waikato 9

Auckland 8

Taranaki 8

Counties Manukau 7

Manawatu 3

ITM Cup Championship:

Hawke's Bay 15

Wellington 14

Bay of Plenty 8

Southland 7

Otago 5

North Harbour 4

Northland 0