Tough season-opener for Tūranga

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Tūranga Tāne side were up against it when they took on an experienced and powerful Pacific Island Representative selection in Whakatāne on Saturday.

The Pasifika squad was made up of players from Counties Manukau, Auckland and North Harbour who missed out on selection for their  National Provincial Championship teams.

They had too much firepower, running out

56-17 winners, but there were highlights and positives for Tūranga Tāne .

Winger Winiata Tarawa, replacement midfield back Ale Paulo and No.8 Jame Hughes-Lock scored tries for Tūranga Tāne in what was their  pre-season opener and preparation for Te Tini-a-Maui Māori Day Tournament in Hastings.

Andew Tauatevalu, at first-five then fullback, converted two of the tries.

Tūranga Tāne  manager Josh Willoughby said he was “proud of every player who took the field”.

“The boys showed a lot of heart and mana in the jersey against an opposition filled with former NPC players and aspiring NPC players,” Willoughby said.

“Special mentions to captain Shyann Wyllie, Winiata Tarawa and James Hughes-Lock, and to Caleb Rurehe for making the step up from Horouta Senior 1s.

“And there was great leadership from Andrew Tauatevalu on and off the field.”

The odds were also against a Tūranga Wāhine team hit by player unavailabilities on Saturday when they travelled to the Bay of Plenty to take on Waimana Women .

The home team won 45-12.

Both of the Tūranga Wāhine tries were scored by winger Nikita Wharehinga, whose confidence is clearly blooming in her second season of playing rugby.

Prop Paku Hiko kicked a conversion.

The Waimana side were made up of players from all over the Bay of Plenty.

The match was played as two 20-minute quarters, then a 40-minute half.

Waimana led 15-7 after the first quarter.

Tūranga Wāhine showed plenty of grit in the second quarter as they kept Waimana scoreless and Wharehinga scored her second try.

Waimana took control from there.

“With greater numbers and possession, Waimana made easy work of a tiring Tūranga team,” Tūranga Wāhine coach Lenny Ferris said.

“New players Kiana Ria, Lu Taitapanui, Misty Robson and Serenity Hemaloto-Ngatu made big contributions to the team effort.

“Team management were very proud considering the circumstances of player availability for this game.”

Tūranga Wāhine will continue their Heartland Championship preparation against Wairoa on August 12.

They open the Heartland season in Whangamatā on August 19 against Thames Valley, who they beat 38-22 in an exhibition match last year in Gisborne.

They also face King Country (in Gisborne), Whanganui (Tūrangi), Ngāti Porou East Coast (|Ruatōria) and Wairarapa Bush (Wairoa) before finals weekend in Taupō on September 23.

Poverty Bay Under-20s squad suffered a 48-7 loss to Whanganui in Round 1 of the Hurricanes Development Series in Napier.

Clint Pirihi, co-coaching the side with Anthony Kiwara, said despite the scoreline, their first hit out ‘went really well’.

They just needed to make more of their opportunities.

“We got very close at times,” Pirihi said. “A little knock-on before the line or a little mistake, but the boys played well and the defence was good.

“Our forward pack were the standouts. They worked together and never gave up.”

The series continues in Bulls this weekend with a tough double-header against Horowhenua-Kāpiti on Saturday and Wairarapa Bush on Sunday.