Rugby: Mount college show strength

The fleet-footed Xavier Kaweroa will be one to watch from Mount Maunganui College this season.Photo/John Borren

The Mount Maunganui College rugby programme has made a dramatic statement of intent ahead of the coming season by dismantling Katikati College, John Paul College and Western Heights High School in an abbreviated format at Blake Park.

The Mount side, who were relegated to Division Two of the Bay of Plenty schoolboy competition following a string of poor results last season, are a different beast entirely in the second year under head coach James Woodford.

They ran out comfortable 24-7 winners against Katikati in the final of the 10-a-side tournament yesterday - mixing flair with some seriously big cattle - and look likely to run riot with the likes of touch representative Xavier Kaweroa and Daniel Pushart pulling the strings.

The school now has a colts programme in place and look at least 30-40 points better than they did last season, and with Bethlehem College and Otumoetai College in rebuilding mode will be very frisky in the second half of the season.

The Katikati school was brave and won the mullet count comfortably, but the four-tries-to-one scoreline perhaps flattered them.

Bay of Plenty Rugby Union rugby operations manager Neil Alton said the tournament was designed to lead into the under-15 boys and girls and under-19 girls sevens tournaments to be held at Blake Park tomorrow and Friday.

"This is the first time we've run this tournament and it's aimed at kids who aren't involved in summer sport or the sevens tournaments that are coming up," Alton said.

"It's a toe in the water really to see how the 10-a-side game goes, it certainly is a great conditioning game and a chance for the schools to have an early hit-out."

Earlier, Western Heights beat a youthful John Paul College side 12-5 in the playoff for third place.