Rugby: Fraser offers some food for thought

Rangataua's Carlin Tato drives forward against Greerton Marist on Saturday. Photo/Andrew Warner

A frontrunner stumbling and a chasing pack doing the business mean Bay of Plenty club rugby fans can slip themselves into playoff mode a fortnight early.

Te Puke Sports' 17-67 hammering at the hands of Whakarewarewa, combined with four-try bonus point wins to Tauranga Sports, Mount Maunganui and Greerton Marist, mean five teams mathematically still have a chance to finish top of the regular season standings in one of the most even competitions in recent memory.

The Pirates' major stumble in the face of an 11-try Whakarewarewa onslaught sent shock waves right round the top half of the competition, increasing the stakes in the coming weeks with home semifinals now largely up for grabs.

Whakarewarewa standout Te Rangi Fraser, who missed out on a place in the Steamers last week, turned the game against the competition leaders into nothing less than a benefit match.

He scored four tries and kicked five conversions for 30 points, and gave the provincial selectors something to think about with a classy performance against new Steamers' signing Dan Hollinshead.

The competition's surprise side led 29-7 at the break after playing into a strong wind, then cut loose to put the rest of the competition on notice.

Greerton Marist turned in a similarly explosive exhibition in the second 40 to blow Rangataua away 38-10, while Mason Walker followed in Fraser's footsteps by dotting down for four tries in the Mount's 49-0 dismantling of Opotiki.

Tauranga Sports, looking ominous and perhaps even flying under the radar a touch, have been bolstered by former Manawatu captain Hamish Gosling and had 10 different try scorers in their 69-5 win over Rotoiti. Final-round matches between Greerton Marist and Tauranga Sports, and Whakarewarewa and Mount Maunganui, already shape as huge contests.

Rangiuru, who have performed much better in the second half of the season after finding the going tough in the early rounds, will followed in Paroa's footsteps by being one and done in the premier competition.

Their 37-20 loss to Te Puna consigns the club to relegation, meaning their final round match with neighbours Te Puke Sports takes on even greater significance.