Rugby: Te Puke all class in opener at Mount

Te Puke Sports first five Matt Coles fends off his opposite Clayton Stewart in the Baywide premier rugby clash at Blake Park. Photo / Andrew Warner

Te Puke Sports outplayed defending champions Mount Maunganui Sports on their pristine Blake Park pitch to win 22-12 in the opening round of the 2015 Bayfair Baywide competition on Saturday.

The scoreline is misleading as the result was never in doubt and Mount scored all of their points in the final few minutes after both reserves benches had been emptied.

From the opening kick-off Te Puke harried and unsettled the home team, who found the new Te Puke midfield combination of centre Conner Hirini and second five Dan Hollinshead impassable. Hollinshead probably made more tackles on Saturday than a season in his usual No10 spot but came through with his reputation enhanced.

Te Puke unveiled a potential new star in young first five Matt Coles, who shifted down the new Tauranga Eastern link highway from Tauranga Sports to get game time. His running was a constant threat to the Mount inside channel and, along with halfback Jono Kitto, he sparked the early attacking raids.

Te Puke won the game in a five-minute period at the end of the first half when they scored two tries to set up a 17-0 lead at the break. Sipa Moimoi scored the first and Mount fullback Mason Walker was sin binned for play after the try, meaning a penalty on halfway to Te Puke.

From the resulting lineout the ball was spun to barnstorming No8 Eru Smith-Wanu, who crashed through the front line and ran 40 metres to score under the bar.

Smith-Wanu is taking every chance to impress new Steamers coach Clayton McMillan, who knows a thing or two about No8 play after 113 games in the Bay jersey. His combination with captain David Whitecliffe-Davies on defence played a large role in the win.

Mount spent the opening 12 minutes of the second spell on attack with nothing to show for it. First chance Te Puke had they scored through veteran Luke Perrott and that was the game.

Kitto gave a masterclass in clearing the ball quickly and sniping around the edges.

The Chiefs development halfback says last year's 50-point hiding at Blake Park was a major motivating factor.

"They also beat us earlier this year and we were disappointed with how we played," he said. "We knew we had to come here and match them up front physically. The mark of our early season was impatience with the ball, trying to score off every phase. So we wanted to do the basics well, make our tackles and be disciplined in our own half. Our D was outstanding today."

Mount captain Chris Elvin was disappointed but not panicking after the loss. "They brought more intensity to the start and we conceded a few too many penalties out there which put us on the back foot straight away," he said. "Everyone wants to start well but sometimes it just doesn't go your way. We have plenty to work on."

Baywide Premier results

Te Puke Sports 22 (S Moimoi, E Smith-Wanu, L Perrott tries; D Hollinshead 2 con pen) Mount Maunganui 12 (M Golding, Andy Devoy tries; Clayton Stewart con)
Te Puna 47 (P Pearson 2, T Mika, H Boyce, C Mita, L Mikaere, I Reyal, A Kuka tries; T Toma pen, con; K Long con) Rangataua 7(K Frost try; J Ririnui con)
Whakarewarewa 91 (T Fraser 2, K Houlthan 2, C van der Vlugt 2, K MacDonald 2, R Vaipo, H Baird, J Lesi, T Sweeney, L Coleman tries; R Vaipo 13 con) Paroa 7 (R Tai try, con)
Tauranga Sports 62 Opotiki 10; Whakatane Marist 58 Waikite 13; Rotoiti 34 Greerton Marist 25

Points table: Whakarewarewa 5, Tauranga Sports 5, Te Puna 5, Whakatane Marist 5, Rotoiti 5, Te Puke Sports 4, Mount Maunganui 0, Greerton Marist 0, Waikite 0, Opotiki 0, Rangataua 0, Paroa 0.