Rugby: Te Puke have Mount to climb

Mount Maunganui fullback Andy Devoy takes on the Te Puke defence in round 16.Photo/Andrew Warner

On a late summer afternoon on March 29, the opening round of the Bayfair Baywide competition kicked off, as the cricket season was coming to a close.

Undoubtedly, the rugby played since then is a few levels up from last year, with the even battle to make the top four producing intense and competitive matches; unlike the massive score blow-outs in Auckland and Waikato.

This has meant the Bay of Plenty selectors have trusted the players from the club competition for the bulk of the ITM Cup squad - a move warmly received by rank and file Steamers fans.

And now we have reached the semifinals.

Tomorrow, leader's Te Puke Sports host Mount Maunganui Sports at Murray Salt Stadium, while Whakarewarewa take on defending champions Tauranga Sports at the Tauranga Domain.

Both games will be tight, fiercely fought and may well come down to discipline and goal kicking. Avoiding yellow cards will be a goal of all four coaches.

Te Puke lost 53-10 to Mount Maunganui in round 6 at Blake Park, when former Auckland centre Teddy Stanaway cut them to ribbons, but on home turf won the rematch 24-18 in round 16. Stanaway has not played since that match, when he suffered a head knock, and is in doubt for Saturday's game.

Te Puke have two former NZ Under-20 team-mates in centre/winger Junior Tofa-Va'a and halfback Jono Kitto, but games of this magnitude are often decided up front. The forwards battle will feature Steamers' Tim Bond and David Whitecliffe-Davies (Te Puke) against Josh Sole and Johan Bardoul (Mount Maunganui), but the benches will be vital in the final 20 minutes.

It will be another pressure test for Te Puke's new Steamers first-five Dan Hollinshead.

Elsewhere, Whakarewarewa will look to unsettle Tauranga Sports with a typically brutal approach. How the home team deals with that may dictate the outcome.

The two goalkicking first-fives have much to prove. Tauranga's Paul Morris got the nod for the Steamers ahead of Whakarewarewa's Te Rangi Fraser, who has Heartland Championship experience for East Coast. The round robin games have been close , with Tauranga Sports winning both - by 24-17 at home in round 5 and 34-26 away in round 14.

Premier semifinals, tomorrow: Te Puke v Mount Maunganui at Te Puke Sports, 2.45pm; Tauranga v Whakarewarewa at Tauranga Domain, 2.45pm.

Development semifinals, tomorrow: Tauranga v Mount Maunganui at Tauranga Domain, 1pm; Te Puke v Greerton at Te Puke Sports, 1pm.

Premier Women's final, Sunday: Arataki v Waikite at Arataki Park, 1pm.