Early frontrunners clash

Tauranga Sports verses Whakarewarewa, they don't get much juicer than this in the 2015 Bayfair Baywide Premier Competition.

Three rounds into the club rugby competiton and the Western and Eastern Bay of Plenty sides are the early frontrunners having dismantled the majority of their opponents, both now and in the preseason.

Mount Maunganui host Rotoiti in Round Four of the Bayfair Baywide Premier Competition. Photo: File.

The only other unbeaten side is Te Puke fresh off a 13-6 away win against Rotoiti.

Rounding out the Top Four is Mount Maunagnui who hosts Rotoiti at Blake Park on Saturday.

The Mount will be looking to continue their form having thrashed Opotiki 76-10 and have just the one loss to Te Puke, while Rotoiti will want to produce a win away from home, adding to their solitary win.

Mount Maunganui coach Rodney Voullaire says the side is in a good place at the moment, slowly building and concentrating on just themselves.

'Players are fighting for positions, which is fantastic to see the depth we have.”

'Rotoiti are a dark horse. They are a good team to play against. The key this weekend and looking forward will be being at home.

He adds: 'It is great to be home, we enjoy our pitch and the invaluable support we receive.”

Rotoiti captain Joe Royal says it's been a tough couple of weeks for his side, but is confident they have woken up afdter Saturday's loss.

'We know we can match and beat teams, we just need to put a winning performance in on game day.

'We are looking for a win on Saturday to get ourselves back on track. It will be a tough match, but we can take a bit of confidence into it from our performance last week.”

In other matches Opotiki host Whakatane Marist at Princess St Reserve, Te Puke Sports takes on Te Puna, Greerton Marist hosts the winless Waikite, and Rangataua clash with Paroa.

The clash of the round in Division One is Judea hosting the unbeaten Rangiuru.

The hosts have suffered just one loss, last week to second placed Kahukura 39-13, while Rangiuru accounted for Poroporo 51-13.

Judea coach Dion Seeling says the side is looking forward to the rematch after losing in the dying minutes of the first clash.

'We controlled most of that match but Rangiuru played for eighty minutes and we couldn't close out the game. We learnt that we need to play to the final whistle if we want to compete in the first division.

'We have had three games this year, winning against Katikati and out lasting Te Teko with a close 7-5 win then getting humbled by Kahukura in a blow-out loss in the weekend.

'Hopefully that loss has sharpened our focus for our upcoming game against Rangiuru, because we know that each week is going to be hard if we don't prepare and get better as a team and coaching unit.”

Other matches have Arataki hosting Te Teko, Poroporo at home to Ruatoki, Ngongotaha taking on Kahukura at Ngongotaha Domain, Marist St Michael's faces Katikati, and Reporoa clashing with Galatea.

The women's division offers plenty of action lead by Waimana hosting Tokoroa. Both sides have two wins for the season with Tokoroa slightly ahead thanks to three bonus points.

Waimana captain Janie Kaafi says with the side under a new coaching regime, they seem to be improving with each game.

'We do not take any team lightly and have structured our training to combat the advances of Tokoroa who we take on board have not lost in the competition so far. We did not meet the team during the preseason tournament and are excited to clash on our home ground.

'We are looking forward to a heavily contested game both up front and in the backs. It will be a tight game with both teams interests set to win this game looking ahead to semi-finals. Exciting stuff only game time will tell who will come out on top.”

Tokoroa coach Adrian Purnell says the community is behind us here and we are well supported in Tokoroa.

'It's been an enjoyable season and the Bay of Plenty Rugby Union has been right behind our journey and very inclusive. Player development and growth is our goal this year and we're tracking nicely.”

Other matches see top-of-the-table Arataki at home to Ngongotaha, Apanui hosting Waikite, and Tauranga Sports away to the winless Rototiti.

This Saturday's draw:

Premier:

Opotiki vs Whakatane Marist at Princess St Reserve

Te Puke Sports vs Te Puna at Murray Salt Stadium

Tauranga Sports vs Whakarewarewa at Tauranga Domain

Greerton Marist vs Waikite at Greerton Park

Rangataua vs Paroa at Te Ariki Park

Mt Maunganui vs Rotoiti at Blake Park

Kick off at 2.45pm Premier

Development Kick off at 1pm

Division 1:

Arataki vs. Te Teko at Arataki Park

Judea vs. Rangiuru at Maharaia Winiata Park

Poroporo vs Ruatoki at Poroporo Park

Ngongotaha vs Kahukura at Ngongotaha Domain

Marist St Michael's vs Katikati at Marist Park

Reporoa vs Galatea at Reporoa

Kick off at 2.45pm

Women:

Arataki vs Ngongotaha at Arataki

Waimana vs Tokoroa at Waimana Domain

Apanui vs Waikite at Te Kaha

Rotoiti vs Tauranga Sports at Emery Park

Kick off 1pm Sunday

0 comments

Leave a Comment


You must be logged in to make a comment.