The Bay of Plenty Under-16 representative rugby team faces a huge encounter in its last game of the Northern Region competition season at the Tauranga Domain this weekend.

At stake in the match-up with long time rivals Waikato is the Northern Region Championship title, which will be won by the winner of the season ending game.

While the competition is a round robin contest, the draw has resulted in the two top teams going into a head-to-head battle for the right to be crowned Northern Region champion.

The Bay team will take an impressive unbeaten record into the clash with its near neighbours.

In just four games the Bay boys have racked up 180 points and conceded just 21. However, encounters with Waikato are never easy and the Bay side will need to play mistake-free rugby if they wish to win the Northern Region title for the first time.

A second Bay of Plenty age group team will also be in action on the pristine number one field of the Tauranga Domain, where Rugby World Cup sides have trained in recent weeks.

The Bay of Plenty Under-18 side will want to finish their Northern Region campaign on a high note, in the match-up against North Harbour.

While the Bay Under-18 side has posted just one victory, they have been competitive in all their matches in the top echelon of the Northern Region Under-18 competition.

It is also a huge weekend for the best under-14 and 15 players in the region, who will have their day in the sun at the Paengaroa Domain on Sunday.

The BOPRU Sub-Union series sees the best Under-14 and 15 players from the Eastern Bay, Western Bay and Central (Rotorua) sub-unions participate in a round robin one-day series.

At stake are representative berths in the Bay of Plenty Under-14 and 15 sides that will play their Waikato counterparts in October.

BOPRU Representative Programme October 1

BOP Under-18 v North Harbour @ Tauranga Domain – kickoff 11am

BOP Under-16 v Waikato @ Tauranga Domain – kickoff 12.30pm

October 2 @ Paengaroa Domain

BOPRU Sub-Union Under-14 & 15 Series