The defeat of early Baywide premier competition frontrunners Te Puke Sports and Whakarewarewa on Saturday has created a logjam at the top of the standings, with just two points separating the top five teams.
Te Puna belied their status at the bottom of the points table to narrowly beat Whakarewarewa 31-29 in Rotorua. Whakarewarewa made the early running and had banked a bonus point (four tries or better) after just 25 minutes, with Akira Mako (2), Siegfried Fisi-ihoi and Kimo Houlthan crossing for touchdowns.
The home side led 24-7 at the half before Te Puna stormed back into the match. A fifth Whakarewarewa try had them back in front, before Jordan Tahere ran in Te Puna's fourth try under the posts, which resulted in Te Puna grabbing a two point victory.
Rotoiti continued their run of home field victories comprehensively beating Rangataua 50-10, with Josiah Navito starring with three tries.
Tauranga Sports grabbed a share of the competition lead after they ran away from Rangiuru in their nine-try 62-17 win, with Greerton Marist moving up the points table after defeating Opotiki 30-11 at Greerton Park. Mount Maunganui gave Te Puke Sports their first loss of the season, as they ran in seven tries in a 53-10 win.
