An old-fashioned war of attrition between Rangiuru and Judea took place in the Baywide Division One match-up played at Centennial Park in Te Puke on Saturday.
Judea, who always rise to the occasion against Rangiuru, dominated the first half but the steady boot of the Rangiuru first five kept them in the game. The visitors were in front as the clock ticked down, however Rangiuru grabbed the lead with two minutes to go and held on to take out the encounter 22-20.
Judea scored four tries to Rangiuru's one , but the deadly kicking of the Rangiuru pivot enabled the home side to take out a narrow two-point win. The Judea tries went to Ona Ranapia, Abereham Watkins, Matewiki Watarawi and Brody Akurangi. Papamoa, who won promotion back to Division One from Western Bay rugby last season, also had to fight hard for the win points on offer. However, the Western Bay side will be more than happy with their 15-10 victory over Ruatoki, who are battle-hardened veterans of the second echelon.
Katikati had a long trip back from the Eastern Bay of Plenty after encountering the power of Poroporo, who are determined to earn a berth in the premier two competition in the second half of the season. While the Eastern Bay side posted a solid 54-14 victory, it wasn't all one-way traffic with Katikati crossing for a couple of tries.
Te Puna showed they could be a force in the Baywide Development competition when they walloped Whakarewarewa in the early game at Maramatanga Park. Te Puna stretched a 42-5 lead at half time, to a 83-12 victory against the Rotorua visitors. Jesse Church was in dynamic form at fullback and grabbed four tries. Another to impress was openside flanker Angus McDonald who dotted the ball down on three occasions.
