Underdogs Bay of Plenty eye fairytale finish with drought-breaking NPC title

Bay of Plenty hooker Kurt Eklund says victory over Wellington in this weekend's NPC final would be the perfect culmination of a statement season.

The Steamers last won the national championship back in 1976, and Eklund acknowledges ending that 48-year drought this weekend would earn this team a special place in the region's rugby folklore.

"It would be a fairytale, wouldn't it?" Eklund admitted on SENZ Mornings.

"Obviously in the back of the mind that's the end goal, but we'll just see how it goes on Saturday afternoon."

The Steamers enter Saturday's showdown riding a five-game unbeaten streak, with their last loss coming - coincidentally enough - against the Lions back in late September.

The margin that day against the competition leaders was only five points and Eklund says the arm-wrestle of the contest instilled his side with a self-belief they'll take with them into enemy territory at Sky Stadium.

"I think just knowing that we could play this style of game and get them on the ropes, gave us a little bit of confidence and hopefully we could just keep going into the game tomorrow.

"There's a lot of motivation and we know we're a good enough team to be able to do it."

Listen to the full interview below: