Bay of Plenty club rugby: Whakarewarewa to host Tauranga Sports in Premier men's final
Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Bay of Plenty club rugby: Whakarewarewa to host Tauranga Sports in Premier men's final
The Baywide rugby finals are on this weekend. Photo / 123rf
Three of the four teams that hosted Baywide semifinals on Saturday disappointed their home crowds when they failed to progress to next weekend's finals.
Whakarewarewa will be aiming to end the Western Bay of Plenty domination of the Baywide Premier competition, which dates back to 2006, when Whaka last won the Baywide crown.
On Saturday, the top qualifiers were at home at Puarenga Park in Rotorua against Greerton Marist.
In what was described as a hard-fought battle, Whaka emerged triumphant, 25-17.
Meanwhile, Tauranga Sports opened the scoring against Te Puke Sports at Murray Salt Stadium with a converted try 12 minutes into the match.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
23-07-2025
- NZ Herald
First XV rugby: Hastings Boys' High School Super 8 final hopes hinge on Saturday results
The likelihood of Hastings getting a sniff looked forlorn when they lost twice in their first four games, including a controversial last-second, single-point loss to Rotorua last month, also in Hastings. Hastings, who haven't won the Super 8 since sharing the honours with Hamilton in 2017, needed a big effort on Saturday, ahead 14-5 after 20 minutes but being down 20-19 at halftime and 27-19 five minutes after the break. With a big effort from the forwards particularly, Hastings scored the last 22 points, including two to tries to No 8 Panapa Peia and one to prop Isireli Qaranivalu, to go with the first-half five-pointers to flanker PJ Peivi, lock Eli Southwick and wing Raef Robinson in the first half. First five-eighths Tana Faumuina kicked a penalty goal and three conversions. Napier BHS, already out of a chance of qualifying, with four losses in five games, beat New Plymouth BHS 27-10 in Napier, after leading 15-0 at halftime. Napier's tries were scored by loose forwards Carlo Mienie and Ollie MacLachlan, fullback Joe Jury-Senitu, and wing Angus Lovatt, while first five-eighths Will Lovatt kicked a penalty and two conversions. But the sky blues had it much tougher backing up on Wednesday, during one of the biggest exchanges in New Zealand schools sport. Defending the banner after retaining the bragging rights in a drawn match in Napier last year, NBHS conceded three tries in being down 19-0 after 22 minutes, before their only try was scored by No 8 Carter Pirie, converted by Will Lovatt, before going to halftime down 22-7. Meanwhile, in the Central North Island Schools competition, Lindisfarne College, having already played all eight games, sit out the last two weeks waiting to see whether they will play leaders St Peter's Cambridge or second-placed Feilding HS in the semifinals. On Tuesday in Hastings, they had a 62-12 traditional fixture win over Masterton school Rathkeale College, which this year opted out of the CNI competition and is currently placed fourth in the Wellington schools Premier competition. Lindisfarne are also preparing for a first and second XV trip to the UK and France in September. Doug Laing is a senior reporter based in Napier with Hawke's Bay Today, and has 52 years of journalism experience, 42 of them in Hawke's Bay, in news gathering, including breaking news, sports, local events, issues, and personalities.
NZ Herald
19-07-2025
- NZ Herald
Whakarewarewa claims Baywide rugby title after beating Tauranga Sports in nail-biter
The Red Kingdom at Rotorua's Puarenga Park came alive today as Whakarewarewa brought home the Baywide Premier Men's Rugby title in a nail-biting battle against Tauranga Sports. Whakarewarewa showed from the start they wanted the trophy back in their cabinet after a 19-year dominance by Western Bay sides. Within the
NZ Herald
17-07-2025
- NZ Herald
Whakarewarewa aims for Baywide rugby title in Rotorua showdown
Whakarewarewa came within a sniff in 2022 by reaching the finals. They say that loss still haunts them, so the red and blacks are hissing to get the win. For club president Marty Hatu, Saturday is about rewriting history from that 2022 match. 'We played those fellas back then, and they dealt to us. The stars have aligned, and now we get to run it back.' Hatu is already getting goosebumps as Saturday approaches. He's also already getting phone calls and texts from his mates wanting him to save them a park at the club. Hatu predicts Saturday will be huge, with what is expected to be a crowd of thousands creating a sea of red and black. 'The only advice I can give is to get there early.' It's a proud weekend for the Whakarewarewa Rugby Community Sports Club with its women's side coming through unbeaten to make the Baywide Women's Championship final on Sunday. It's the first time since 2017 that Whakarewarewa has fielded a women's team in the competition. Hatu said being what was deemed a new team meant they must start in the championship grade before progressing to the premier grade. Hatu said the women have been posting some huge scores throughout the season, and they were hopeful they could get the job done on Sunday to ensure their spot in the championship grade next year. Dawson Smith gathers the ball at a game at Puarenga Park earlier in the season. Photo / Supplied 'We have been building for this since many of these girls were playing in the juniors, so it's been three to four years in the making,' Hatu said. Meanwhile, premier men's coach Ngarimu Simpkins said despite finishing top of the table, Whakarewarewa lost to Tauranga Sports 17-8 earlier in the season. 'It was one of the best things that happened to us. We had been beating teams, but to be tipped up at that time, we were able to fix a few things. You want to lose a game during the year rather than a semifinal or a final.' He said the home final was key and could give them the edge. 'We have pitched it right from game one that we are not just representing the Whaka club. We are representing Rotorua as the only local Baywide premier side.' Shaq Stone shakes off a defender. Photo / Supplied Halfback Shaq Stone has played more than 130 games for his Whakarewarewa side and said there was nothing like playing a home game. 'We see it, we feel it. The crowd is going to play a huge part. None of those other teams like playing in the Red Kingdom, it's a fortress. The crowd is our 16th man.' Stone said while Tauranga Sports were stacked with Bay of Plenty Steamers' players, nothing beat experience. He said many Whakarewarewa players had between 50 and 150 caps. 'Our boys are hanging around to get that championship before they hang up their boots. You can have all the Bay Steamers' players you want, but at the end of the day, they have only got two arms and two legs. We are representing our whānau and our iwi, and that mana and pride will come out.' Stone believed Whakarewarewa was shining in all grades because of the club's organisation, from the JAB juniors to the men's premier team. He said their pre-season started early and there was a 'big emphasis on turning up'. 'Preparation has been key, and there's a lot of work that's gone on behind the scenes early.' He said building the club from the ground up had also helped, with many JAB players feeling proud of their club roots and returning to play for Whakarewarewa as an adult. 'The prems get the limelight, but a lot of the credit goes to everyone else.' The men's game against Tauranga Sports kicks off at 2.45pm on Saturday, and the women's against Te Puna is 1pm on Sunday. Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.
