KEY POINTS:
Bay of Plenty's mixed open touch rugby side secured their 14th national title yesterday (6 March) at the New Zealand Touch Rugby Championships at Auckland's North Harbour Stadium.
The team beat Auckland by 7-6 in a tightly contested final which saw the score 6-all at full-time, and the final score of 7-6 a result of a player drop-off competition.
Canterbury showed dominance at the tournament with its women's open team winning its fourth consecutive national title, beating Waikato 5-3, and its men's team winning against Counties-Manukau 9-6.
Counties-Manukau won the under-21's mixed final, beating North Harbour 5-2. Waikato's women's under-21's team beat Wellington 5-0, while Wellington's men's under-21's team won 7-3 against Counties-Manukau - its second consecutive title.
This year's national championships were contested in extreme heat, with injuries proving a significant challenge for both players and referees - particularly at the beginning of the tournament.
The event will now be followed by the National Over-30's tournament, which begins at North Harbour Stadium tomorrow (March 8) and finishes on Saturday (March 10).
Next year's touch rugby nationals will be held in Wanganui.
Maori TV will screen a two-hour highlights programme of the touch rugby championships this Sunday March 11. The finals of the Masters national championships will also screen on Maori Television, on Sunday March 18.
As well as this coverage, Maori Television's sports entertainment show CODE will host the captain of the New Zealand mixed squad, Steve Wall, this Thursday March 8 at 8.30 PM.
Touch is New Zealand's largest team sport, with 317,000 people participating last year.
Results of playoffs and finals
Men's open: Counties-Manukau 7, Canterbury 6; Auckland 7, Manawatu 5; Canterbury 8, Auckland 7; Waikato 7, North Harbour 5. FINAL: Canterbury 9, Counties-Manukau 6.
Women's open: Canterbury 9, Counties-Manukau 1; Waikato 5, Auckland 4; Waikato 6, Counties-Manukau 4; North Harbour 3, Auckland 2. FINAL: Canterbury 5, Waikato 3.
Mixed open: Bay of Plenty 9, Wellington 6; Auckland 6, Counties-Manukau 5; Otago 10, Kapiti-Horowhenua 5; Canterbury 8, North Harbour 7; Auckland 7, Wellington 6; Canterbury 6, Otago 4; North Harbour 9, Kapiti-Horowhenua 3. FINAL: Bay of Plenty 7, Auckland 6.
U21 Men's: Wellington 8, North Harbour 3; Counties-Manukau 5, Manawatu 4; Counties-Manukau 6, North Harbour 5; Waikato 6, Auckland 5. FINAL: Wellington 7, Counties-Manukau 3.
U21 Women's: Waikato 2, Wellington 0; Canterbury 4, Manawatu 3; North Harbour 6, Auckland 0; Wellington 6, Canterbury 4; Counties-Manukau 5, North Harbour 3. FINAL: Waikato 5, Wellington 0.
U21 Mixed: Counties-Manukau 5, Bay of Plenty 3; North Harbour 7, Canterbury 6; North Harbour 8, Bay of Plenty 7; Canterbury 8, Manawatu 4. FINAL: Counties-Manukau 5, North Harbour 2.
