Opotiki showed they are genuine PGG Wrightson Baywide premier contenders, posting an emphatic 41-9 victory against Whakarewarewa, in the Eastern Bay of Plenty on Saturday.

Tough as nails Opotiki front rower Dean Elmiger charged over for two of the six home teams tries. Te Amo Wibore, who along with twin brother Te Hata, have returned home after playing overseas, also scored a try and added two conversions with ever reliable Opotiki kicker Sam Howe slotting a penalty and two conversions.

Opotiki led 15-3 at the break before Whakarewarewa came back into the encounter in the second spell. Leading 27-9 with 15 minutes remaining, Opotiki ran in two further touchdowns to post a six tries to nil win. The Opotiki victory moves the Eastern Bay side into a share of second place on the point's table.

While defending titleholders Te Puke Sports continued their unbeaten run, they were made to battle to the finish before defeating Rotoiti at Emery Park. Rotoiti led 9-3 at the half way spell and then stretched their advantage to 13 going into the last quarter.

Two Te Puke tries awarded to Gideon Uelese and Nick McCashin, plus two conversions and three penalties added by McCashin, took Te Puke to an extremely hard fought victory. The home sides points came from a Matt Landers try, three Whakataki Cunningham penalties and a conversion from Quade Langeveldt.

Tauranga Sports went on a try-scoring gallop in Rotorua steaming away from Wakite 80-14. Rhys Davies led the way with three touchdowns, with Lewis Hancock and Jeremy Caves dotting the ball down twice in the 12 try win at Waikite headquarters.

Te Puna halted their recent slide down the standings, when they ran in six tries on their way to a 42-16 victory over a game Greerton Marist, at Maramatanga Park.

While Greerton made the early running, the rest of the encounter belonged to Te Puna who posted a bonus point victory. Mount Maunganui grabbed their third successive win proving too strong for Rangataua winning 49-3.

Paroa emphatically answered the question of whether they are genuine Division One championship material, when they easily disposed of the Te Teko challenge 32-13, at Dunderdale Park. Along with Te Puke Sports in the premier ranks and Mount Maunganui Colts, they remain the only unbeaten teams in the 2012 Baywide competitions.

Rangiuru marched into second spot on the standings, with decisive victory over Poroporo in the Eastern Bay. The Te Puke based side, face the added burden of every game on the road, as their new home ground in Te Puke is still awaiting the final finishing touches before being ready for play.

Marist St Michaels squeezed past Reporoa at Marist Park posting a narrow 15-13 win. Whakatane Marist bounced back from last weeks loss to Paroa to get home from Ruatoki 28-13 with Kahukura winning the local derby with Ngongotaha 24-22.

Colts front-runner Mount Maunganui continued their charge on the age group title, beating Rangataua 21-5 in the curtain raiser at Te Ariki Park. Greerton Marist won a thriller against Te Puna getting home 16-13, which cemented the Greerton sides hold on second place.

Defending titleholders Te Puke Sports continued their resurgence defeating Marist St Michaels 31-19, Tauranga Sports posted a 34-15 win over Waikite, Whakarewarewa beat Opotiki 36-14, with Ruatoki prevailing 31-10 over Rotoiti.

PGG Wrightson Baywide Rugby Results 28 April 2012

Premier

Te Puke Sports 23 (Gideon Uelese, Nick McCashin; tries McCashin 3 pen 2 con) Rototi 16 (Matt Landers try; Whakataki Cunningham 3 pen, Quade Langeveldt con) HT 3-9

Opotiki 37 (Dean Elmiger 2, Bartie Quinsel, Te Amo Wilbore, A Biddle, T Walker tries; Sam Howe 2 con pen, Te Amo Wilbore con) Whakarewarewa 9 (Tyson Ripia 2 pen, Maurice Stone pen) HT 15-3

Mount Maunganui 49 (Zane Butler 2, Danny Tonga, Duncan Walker, Andrew Steed, Zar Lawrence, Andy Devoy tries; Matt Golding 2 pens; 4 cons) Rangataua 3 (Daiyu Ishimori pen) HT 17-3.

Te Puna 42 (Tapene Mika 2, Vili Tia, Daniel Schuster, Whanahou Peita, Te Aihe Toma tries; T Toma 2 con pen) Greerton Marist 16 (John Cunningham 2 tries; Brendan McKeown dg, Blair Tristram pen) HT 15-8

Tauranga Sports 80 (Rhys Davies 3, Jeremy Cave 2, Lewis Hancock 2, Steve Honey, Keepa Newett, Kane Hames, Nick Evemy, PhilipTogotogorua tries; Evemy 10 con) Waikite 12 (Scott Bogun 2 tries; con) HT 31-0

Points Table: Te Puke Sports 28, Whakarewarewa 21, Opotiki 21, Tauranga Sports 21, Rotoiti 20, Mount Maunganui 17, Te Puna 16, Waikite 7, Greerton Marist 1, Rangataua 0.

Division One: Whakatane Marist 28 Ruatoki 13, Paroa 32 Te Teko 13, Marist St Michaels 15 Reporoa 13, Kahukura 24 Ngongotaha 22, Rangiuru 45 Poroporo 12

Colts: Mount Maunganui 21 Rangataua 5, Greerton Marist 16 Te Puna 13, Te Puke Sports 31 Marist St Michaels 19, Tauranga Sports 34 Waikite 15, Whakarewarewa 14 Opotiki 36, Ruatoki 31 Rotoiti 10.