Te Puke rugby limelight up for grabs

With much focus this season on the flood of new players washing through Bay of Plenty club rugby, tomorrow's round features a match with a bit of local depth and historic feeling.
Dubbed in some quarters as the "Battle of Te Puke", Rangiuru will host cross-town rivals Te Puke Sports at Jamieson Oval, with each side eager to have bragging rights in the township until the second round.
The beauty of the match is that a large chunk of the players involved are Te Puke born and bred - even Rangiuru's big off-season signing is, most appropriately, a local boy with strong links to the club.
New Zealand sevens representative Tanerau Latimer will make just his second senior club appearance in a formidable loose-forward trio also boasting Steamers Andrew Leota and Paul Tupai.
It's a trio any side would fear and Te Puke's tactics will be to make them redundant by getting quick, clean ball and exploiting the pace on their flanks.
Ironically, two of Latimer's IRB sevens series opponents lie lurking on the Te Puke wings, with Canadian sevens player Brodie Henderson paired with Fijian flier Filimone Bolavucu.
Henderson has already scored four tries in three club games this season while Bolavucu made an immediate impact last week, scoring a try in his first game.
"He went pretty well last week," Te Puke coach Rodney Gibbes said.
"He looks like he's pretty elusive and he gets up to speed very quickly. It's usually just a couple of big strides and he's up and planing."
Last week's emphatic 49-8 win over Tauranga Sports marked the end of the first phase of Te Puke's season and Gibbes noted they'd achieved most of their goals, losing only once and nestled safely inside the top four.
Tomorrow's match marks the start of the second phase of their campaign. Gibbes has extra motivation to win, knowing how different a prospect Rangiuru are in the second round when their players are fit and focused.
A loss tomorrow would leave Rangiuru teetering on the edge of the relegation zone and coach Bob Moorehead admits preparations haven't been terribly impressive.
"We had 10 players at training on Tuesday," Moorehead noted wryly. "AFFCO (freezing works) and the Kiwifruit packhouses have both started their nightshift and that's something we can do little about. The boys have to live and I can't expect them to give up a shift just to train.
"But I'm just delighted at all the local players in both sides. All I've been hearing about lately is the imports throughout the competition but the local players are the ones our communities can identify with and vice versa."
Meanwhile, the Mount Maunganui and Rotoiti camps are starting to show signs of wear and tear with niggling injuries - Rotoiti captain Joe Masters is in doubt for the hosts and the high-flying Mount is also struggling for a fit tighthead prop after a string of injuries.
In other matches Whakarewarewa travel to Kawerau, Kahukura host Te Puna, Waikite travel to Tauranga Sports and Rangataua clash with Whakatane Marist.