Sevens: Rotorua Boys' blitz BOP Sevens tourney

Latu Vaeno scored two tries as Rotorua Boys' High School beat Opotiki College to win the Bay of Plenty Secondary Schools title. Photo / File

Rotorua Boys' High School gave yet another indication of their sevens superiority with a sublime performance to win the Bay of Plenty Secondary Schools Sevens tournament on Saturday.

Their rollicking 40-0 win, over a more-than-useful Opotiki College side in the boys' under-19 final, showcased some future stars. It also booked another trip to the national Condor Sevens coming up on November 29-30 at Kelston Boys' High School.

Rotorua went into the final as hot favourites after a comprehensive win over Tauranga Boys' College 22-5 in their semifinal. They did not disappoint against Opotiki, running in six superb tries to Latu Vaeno (2), Damian Darlington (2), Maaki Taulahi and Renton Barrett.

There was plenty of stunning interplay among the brilliant attacking runners from Rotorua, but none better than the high-stepping Darlington, who was named Player of the Tournament and bears more than a passing similarity to a young Shaun Johnston. Darlington has a similar background as a NZ Under-19 touch rep and capable fifteens and league player.

The benefits of having a fulltime rugby convenor and programme at Rotorua Boys' are now obvious after the consistency shown by the sevens and fifteens teams over the last two years in particular.

Rotorua team manager Craig Hodge said winning the Condor Sevens was the ultimate challenge.

"We have the team to do it but it is always a tough competition," he said. "Kelston, the home team, are always strong. Today was great because it was their first hit-out and as the day went on they just got better and better, and you could see patterns starting to come together."

Opotiki College ran out of steam after earlier beating Tauranga Boys' in pool play and Gisborne Boys' in the semifinal, but they too will contest the Condor Sevens as finalists. Opotiki College girls are also off to Kelston after they won the under-19 girls' final by 24-7 over a gallant Te Puke team.

Rotorua Boys' clinched a memorable day by beating Tauranga Boys' 17-13 in the under-16 final.

The boom in sevens among Bay of Plenty secondary school students meant the tournament was held over two days for the first time to accommodate 56 teams, up from 36 last year.

"We are rapped to see the growth. In 2011, there were just 10 teams in the under-19 grade, so we are really happy there is a massive demand for it and the schools have got behind new grades we have introduced," said Bay of Plenty Secondary School manager, Kyle McLean.

Special mention goes to the 10 referees, who whistled the first game at 8.20am and did not finish until after 7pm. Without their contribution, tournaments like this would not be possible.