Day one of the Bayleys National Sevens was a success for Bay of Plenty's men's and women's teams, but they know the hard work begins tomorrow.
The men had a near perfect day, winning all three of their Pool B games to finish top and book a spot in the Cup quarter-finals. They started strong with a 43-0 win over Mid Canterbury, then produced hard fought victories over powerhouses Canterbury and Auckland.
Coach Paul Tietjens said day one of the tournament was "very pleasing".
"Obviously as a coach you want to come out of day one with three from three, the ideal scenario, and we did that today.
"We were slow starters against Mid Canterbury and managed to put 40-odd points on them. We had a tough battle with Canterbury and basically had to score from our own try line to seal that win.
"Against a very good Auckland team with a lot of possession we defended well. Credit to my boys, it was a full 12-man effort today, they dug deep," Tietjens said.
The Bay of Plenty men's team were looking at every game as a final.
"They held onto the ball and scored some good tries at crucial times. That's three finals, we've got out fourth tomorrow and it's only going to get harder."
Meanwhile, the Bay of Plenty women's team just snuck out of Pool B where they were up against two of the tournament favourites, Manawatu and Wellington.
Bay of Plenty men's players celebrate a win over Auckland at the Bayleys National Sevens at Rotorua International Stadium. Photo / Ben Fraser
They lost 15-12 to Wellington and beat North Harbour 38-5, meaning a win was vital in their final game of pool play against Manawatu. In a spirited performance they came from behind in that game to win 19-12 and go through in second place via points difference.
Coach Victoria Grant said, after a slow start, the team improved as the tournament went on.
"We had a loss early but we took the learnings from that and I was really proud of the girls and the way they came back in the second and third games, especially the third game. Manawatu is a really good team, so that should give the girls confidence going into tomorrow.
Bay of Plenty's Tynealle Fitzgerald looks to offload against Wellington. Photo / Ben Fraser
"Last year we had a good day one, but day two we didn't show up and lost the quarter-final. We're really conscious of that and we've talked about that a lot," Grant said.
The match-winner in the game against Manawatu, World Sevens Player of the Year Michaela Blyde, said her team had a "dodgy start" to the day, but came good in the end.
"We didn't play to the best of our potential in game one and two, but we brought in game three knowing we were playing a very good Manawatu team. It's a good start for us to bring into tomorrow which is the most important day.
"I'm stoked with how I played today, but the energy from the other girls on the field, as well as the ones on the sideline, just helps me lift my game a little bit more, so I'm super excited for quarter-finals tomorrow," Blyde said.
