Scrum collapses and sopoaga clears his lines

The underdogs with 59% possession in the first quarter now have a scrum on Wellington's 22 metre line

Bay making use of their wingers with the ball making it from one side to the other and back again. However Wellington's defence looks difficult to breach and remains strong

Ripia with 19 from 24 to date in the competition adds to his tally with another 3 points from a difficult angle.

Sopoaga tries his luck with a 45 metre kick, however it has neither the distance or the accuracy so the score remains 10-0

Wellington increase their lead with a try through tight head prop Toomaga-Allen. He takes the ball back inside off the back of a ruck and exploits a gap as is he's a back line player, poor defence allows the sturdy prop 10 metres and touch down for the first try of the game. Sopoanga converts

Possession stats 10 minutes
BOP 51%
Wellington 49%

Sapoaga makes no mistake with an easy kick in front of the posts. Wellington take the lead just 5 minutes in

Wellington are looking dangerous in attack and have brought play right up to BOP's 5 metre line

Welcome everyone to Ultimate Rugby's coverage of this ITM encounter between Wellington and Bay of Plenty. The top-of-the-table Wellington Lions will be looking to make it six wins on the trot against a Bay of Plenty side which is rooted to the bottom of the premiership table. With the halfway point of the competition all but reached, it is no secret that the Bay have to start getting wins if they are to avoid the indignity of relegation. Their team remains similar to that which ran on against Northland last week, however, a number of injuries will see a slight shuffle within the forward pack.