The Bay of Plenty Polytechnic Secondary School Rugby first XV championships kicked off on Saturday with Otumoetai College and Opotiki College taking first round honours in division one.

Defending division one champion Western Heights High School engaged in an old fashioned rugby battle against Opotiki College in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.

After 80 minutes of pulsating rugby action Opotiki College left the field with a 3-nil victory on its record sheet. The Opotiki win reverses a 22-nil lost to the Rotorua side just two weeks ago.

Otumoetai College, which won promotion to the top six from division two, showed they will be up for the challenge in the top echelon with a hard fought victory over Te Puke High School.

In a game that went down to the wire, Otumoetai took out the encounter 22-17.

The third top six match-up between John Paul College and Trident High School will be played as a midweek encounter this week.

Katikati and Tauhara College first XVs received a rare honour when they provided the curtainraiser to the Steamers XV game against Taranaki at Moore Park in Katikati last Friday.

In front of a large crowd, the local team established a 12-nil lead at the break, in the division two match-up. The second half flowed up and down the field, with good Katikati defence keeping their line safe. A Tauhara penalty in the second half resulted in the match finishing with a 12-3 victory to Katikati College.

For the second week in a row Bethlehem College faced off against Reporoa College, however, the venue was reversed, with the game played in the extremities of the Bay of Plenty Rugby Union at Reporoa College.

Reporoa came out with everything to play for and led 3-0 after 10mins with a penalty to first five Logan Curry. It took 20 minutes for Bethlehem to get its act together with fullback Logan McCulloch going over in the corner. Bethlehem dotted down once more before the break with a try to left wing Tim Richards converted by Bede Murray. The halftime score was 12-3.

Two quick second half tries to winger Tim Richards saw the score pushed out to 22-3. Reporoa piled the pressure on resulting in a try close to the posts to prop Christian Reedy, which was converted by Jimmy Reedy. A late try to wing Jared McNaughton resulted in Bethlehem taking out the match 29-10.

Promotion from division three proved no problem for Taupo Nui A Tia, which met Mount Maunganui in its first game in the division two championship. A 15-3 victory showed that that are likely to be right in the race for the semi-finals.

Bay of Plenty Polytechnic First Fifteen Results June 25

Division One: Otumoetai College 22 Te Puke HS 17, Opotiki College 3 Western Heights 0, JPC v Trident HS to be played midweek.

Division Two: Taupo Nui A Tia 15 Mount Maunganui 3, Bethlehem 39 Reporoa 10, Katikati 12 Tauhara 3.

Division Three: Whakatane 32 Rotorua Lakes 15, Rotorua BHS 63 Tauranga BC 9, Edgecumbe 24 Aquinas 14.

Bay of Plenty Polytechnic Baywide First Fifteen Draw July 2 (Home team first)

Division One: Otumoetai v Opotiki, Te Puke v JPC, Trident v Western Heights.

Division Two: Bethlehem v Taupo Nia A Tia, Mount Maunganui v Katikati, Tauhara v Reporoa.

Division Three: Rotorua Lakes v Tauranga BC, Aquinas v Whakatane, Edgecumbe v Rotorua BHS.