Canterbury proved too good for Bay of Plenty in the NPC semifinal on Saturday, winning 24-10 in Christchurch.

Canterbury are now one step away from breaking their NPC title ‘drought', after Bay of Plenty again felt the Christchurch curse in their semifinal on Saturday night.

While many teams would give up anything to go just four years between triumphs, the perrenial prize winning Cantabs are in the midst of their longest dry spell since 1997.

And the red and blacks sure look thirsty for that first title since 2017, clinically seeing off the Steamers 24-10 at Orangetheory Stadium to book a decider there next weekend against Wellington.

Impressive young first five-eighth Fergus Burke scored all the home side's points in the semi, bagging two tries, a conversion and four penalties, on a night when he went to the top of the competition's pointscoring chart.

His second five-pointer proved the major blow, in the 57th minute, when he was on hand to finish off a contender for try of the season thanks to the individual brilliance of Rameka Poihipi, with the second five-eighth getting the ball 60 metres out, slicing through the defensive line, stepping round a few more and unloading for Brodie McAlister, who in turn fed Burke.

The No 10 then knocked over a couple more three-pointers to make the Steamers' job too tough, and ensured the Bay's wait for another top-tier title – after claiming the inaugural one in 1976 – goes on.

This was just their third top-flight semifinal, but it was an 18th successive loss in the Garden City, dating back to 1975. On the other side of the coin, this was a 16th home playoff win in a row for Canterbury, dating back to 2007.

Into a strong wind in the first half, the hosts dominated possession and territory though were guilty of giving up five penalties in the opening quarter of an hour and were fortunate not to have found themselves down 9-0.

That was because Wharenui Hawera – starting at No 10 with talisman Kaleb Trask ruled out – missed two of his three shots at goal, from mid-range, in front. And when Burke then slotted two easy ones, it was Canterbury who instead had their noses in front.

The home side then rumbled into good attacking spots and while the Steamers tackled manfully, the pressure eventually told in the 34th minute when a close-range scrum had Willi Heinz run shortside and feed Burke, who dummied and went over in the corner.

Bay of Plenty had Emoni Narawa to thank for not falling behind by more, when the electric winger turned ruck turnover exponent on his own line in the 39th minute, and on the back of that, the visitors worked upfield and finally got chances on Canterbury's line.

However, some five minutes after the siren, Tom Christie proved just why he's one of the best in the business at the tackle, coming up with a huge penalty of his own to keep the hosts' line intact and send the Steamers to the sheds steaming in exasperation.

That frustration only amplified in the first half a dozen minutes of the second stanza, when Tamaiti Williams came up with two big steals near his own line, though Bay of Plenty made it third time lucky when Naitoa Ah Kuoi burrowed over in the 52nd minute, and all of a sudden it was a one-point game.

However, then came the brilliance of Poihipi – who Canterbury will cross their fingers for after he then left the field clutching his abdomen – and while the Steamers had an immediate chance to hit back, a Christie ripped ball near the goal-line snuffed them out once more.

The big moment

Fergus Burke's second try. Nearing the hour mark, after the Steamers had not long prior closed to within one point, Rameka Poihipi's individual brilliance set up one of the scores of the season and kicked Canterbury back out to an eight-point advantage.

MVP

Openside flanker Tom Christie was highly impressive, making a whopping 27 tackles – eight more than any other player – and coming up with some huge plays when his team were on their own line, while No 10 Fergus Burke was again superb in running the cutter and scoring all the victor's points, going 100 per cent off the tee.

Match rating

7/10: A decent battle between two quality sides, if not punctuated by plenty of Ben O'Keeffe's whistle, as both teams went hammer and tongs at the breakdown.

The big picture

Canterbury will host the hot-to-trot Wellington in the decider next Saturday night. It's the red and blacks' first final since 2018, and first home one since 2017.

At Orangetheory Stadium, Christchurch: Canterbury 24 (Fergus Burke tries 34min, 57min; Fergus Burke con, 4 pen) Bay of Plenty 10 (Naitoa Ah Kuoi try 52min; Wharenui Hawera con, pen). HT: 11-3

Aaron Goile/Stuff