Baywide rugby: Top of table clash set for Tauranga Domain

Sonny Collier on the charge for Te Puke Sports against Te Puna. PHOTO/FILE

With just three rounds to play in the Farmlands Co-operative Baywide club rugby competitions, today's games will impact who makes the top four play-offs.

In Premier 1, leading the way are Te Puke Sports (19), Tauranga Sports (15), Te Puna (12), Mount Maunganui Sports (10) and Whakarewarewa (10) but the other three clubs are a bonus point win away from being in the mix.

The draw has thrown up the perfect match-up between leaders Te Puke Sports and Jordan Cup holders Tauranga Sports at Tauranga Domain.

Tauranga head coach Euan Mackintosh says his team's improvement in the second round is due to their increased accuracy in the execution of their game plan.

"The general level of accuracy across all areas has gone up a level and boys seem to be buying into what we are trying to achieve," Mackintosh says.

"We know how physical Te Puke will be so we have to match them in that area. They have a bit of everything but certainly have a physical presence that some other teams don't have.

"If we can put together a full eighty minutes rather than forty it will play a huge factor in whether we can retain the (Jordan) Cup or not."

Te Puke player/coach Matt Wallis says, despite a strong performance against Te Puna last week, his team's defensive structure needs improvement.

"I think even though we won, and won well against Te Puna, they still exposed a lot of things defensively we needed to work on at training this week going into the Tauranga game. Tauranga Sports are a different team again."

Tauranga defeated Te Puke at home in round one. While redemption would be nice it will not come without hard work, Wallis says.

"We are always looking to redeem ourselves when we lose to a team in the first round. We want to win to keep our momentum going with our season but we know we are going to have to work hard for it.

"They are a good set piece team and they are good at using the width of the field with speed. We need to be prepared for that and adjust accordingly. We want to continue to show improvement at winning the breakdown so we can get fast ball to play with and then applying set piece pressure too."

In other games, Whakarewarewa host Rangataua at Puarenga Park, Greerton Marist are home to Rotoiti while Te Puna take on Mount Maunganui Sports at Maramatanga Park.

In Premier 2, second-placed Rangiuru head to third-placed Te Teko in a crucial top four clash after a heart-stopping one-point win over Arataki Sports last Saturday.

Rangiuru coach Simon Rolleston wants greater urgency from his side to compete with Te Teko's physicality.

"We have talked about our attitude on defence and been more urgent around the field. Te Teko away is a very tough task. We were dominated by their big pack last round so the challenge has been laid to our forwards to set the platform for our backs," Rolleston says.

"We showed composure right to the final whistle last week, led by our captain Isaac Te Aute. We know this week will go to the wire again, and if we play to our potential we have the self-belief we can sneak a win down there."

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