A misdirected Whaka pass was pounced on by Bavou who raced away to grab a try for himself, restoring the seven-point lead, with John Dodd adding a penalty just before the break to give Sports a 17-7 halftime lead.
Whaka began the second half the stronger team, Chris van der Vlught going over to bring the score to 17-14, but that was as close as Whaka got. Dodd kicked two more penalties for a 23-14 lead while Sports withstood intense pressure from the home side, their line only breached once by Whaka winger Masiu Vainikolo wide out on the left. Sports' second-five Bryce Cowley scored his side's third try and Dodd's conversion pushed the score out to 30-19.
"When you look at the game itself, they certainly took the opportunities better and little mistakes counted against us," said Irihei.
"They had a coupe of easy turnovers and picked the ball up and there were a couple of missed tackles, and they went straight up the field where we had to work hard to get our tries. To finish 30-19 is a bit disappointing. I thought if we could have finished stronger, we might have been in with a chance but unfortunately we didn't."
Irihei singled out ever reliable Te Rangi Fraser and the front row as top performers.
"Joe Savage, being the veteran in the side, played exceptionally well. [Tauranga Sports] is a Bay pack, but our boys pushed them around a couple of times, so there are good signs there. We've never had that before, so there's a lot of positives in our forward pack, but it's still three losses in a row against the three top teams - and that doesn't do us any favours."
Tauranga Sports remain unbeaten in the Baywide Premier competition, but coach Zane Winslade refused to let his team get too far ahead of themselves. "Results-wise it's perfect I guess, but we just can't rest on our laurels. It's the next round that counts - these wins, while they're great for building momentum, you've just got to concentrate on performances. It's just about getting better, and constantly improving our performance, rather than thinking that we are world beaters because we've won five games."
Results:
Baywide Premier:
Te Puke Sports 33 (Luke Campbell, Lars Morrice, Graydon Scheres tries; Luke Campbell 3 cons, 4 pens) Te Puna 31 (Rueben Lagatule, Tana Tuhakaraina, Tavana Lutui, Troy Webber tries; Robert Dunne 4 cons, pen) HT 27-17.
Rangataua 64 (Kemble Frost 3, Carlin Tata 3, Ainsley Skudder, Adam Parr Teina Hika, Joel Little tries; J Little 7 con) Opotiki 3 - HT 24-3.
Tauranga Sports 30 (Brad Nicol, Ralulu Bavou, Bryce Cowley, tries; John Dodd 3 pen 3 con) Whakarewarewa 19 (Te Rangi Fraser, Chris van der Vlught, tries; Te Rangi Fraser 2 con.
Mount Maunganui 44 Rotoiti 6, Paroa 18 Arataki 8, Whakatane Marist 39 Greerton Marist 15.
Division One: Ruatoki 43 Katikati 10, Te Teko 23 Rangiuru 21, Waikite 18 Judea 17, Marist St Michaels 24 Papamoa 0, Poroporo 50 Kahukura 20, Ngongotaha bye.
Development: Whakatane Marist 23 Greerton Marist 17, Rangataua 32 Opotiki 12, Tauranga Sports 105 Whakarewarewa 0, Te Puke Sports 18 Te Puna 6, Mount Maunganui 56 Rotoiti 0, Arataki 41 Paroa 14.
