Bay of Plenty women finish fourth at National Sevens in Tauranga

Kiani Tahere was one of many standout players for the Bay of Plenty women's sevens team during the TECT National Sevens. Photo / Getty Images

When asked what he thought of his side's performances at the weekend, Bay of Plenty women's sevens coach Rodney Gibbs was able to sum it up in one word; "admirable".

At the TECT National Sevens on their home turf at the Tauranga Domain, a young side came of age on their way to a fourth place finish, one better than at the previous tournament.

During pool play on Saturday, they opened their campaign with a 22-12 win in the battle of the Bays against Hawke's Bay. They cruised to a 26-0 win over Tasman in their second game and in their last game of the day Bay of Plenty had to dig deep but finished strongly against Waikato to win 24-7.

Not only were the results impressive, but the Bay of Plenty women play a scintillating style of footy. Brimming with pure speed, they are able to turn any game around in a matter of seconds.

On day two, they flew out of the blocks in their Cup quarter-final to lead 19-0 before holding off an Otago comeback and winning 19-12.

The draw was not kind to the home side as they came up against defending champions and favourites Manawatu in the semifinals.

The Manawatu side proved too strong, with stars such as Sarah Goss and Selica Winiata who put on a show on their way to a 31-5 win.

Bay of Plenty's Kendra Reynolds is wrapped up by Manawatu players during the Cup semi finals at the TECT National Sevens at Tauranga Domain. Photo / Getty Images

That result relegated Bay of Plenty to the third place playoff, which they lost 14-5 to a powerful Auckland side.

Gibbs said his players did themselves proud.

"We're really happy with how the weekend's gone and I have huge praise for some young ladies who were pretty awesome."

The depth of the squad was a major contributor to the team's success.

"We were really lucky, we had 12 really good players so we were able to rotate the squad around and that made it pretty fluent throughout the whole weekend.

"There are some young players in this team who are great for the future of the Bay of Plenty Rugby Union and rugby in general."

Gibbs said his side improved throughout the weekend, which was exactly what the coaching staff asked for.

"That was the main thing, especially on attack. There were a few nerves early on, but I think as they got confident, there are some great individuals and as they started to grow as a team they started to get a bit of rhythm, which was nice to see.

"I think the girls who came off the bench in each game probably added a great dimension, from a defensive point of view especially. It's pleasing to have girls coming off the bench, making a difference and making sure we finished strong."

Bay of Plenty women's results

Pool Play
Won 22-12 v Hawke's Bay
Won 26-0 v Tasman
Won 24-7 v Waikato

Cup quarter-final
Won 19-12 v Otago

Cup semifinal
Lost 31-5 v Manawatu

Third place playoff
Lost 14-5 v Auckland