Baywide Club Sevens on Saturday

Adam McGarvey is one of the senior core players for Rangataua Sports. PHOTO/FILE

A place in the Middlesex Sevens finals is up for grabs for Baywide men's teams tomorrow.

The annual Baywide Club Sevens will take place at Eastern Districts grounds at Paengaroa in the epicentre of the Bay of Plenty union. The tournament is used by the Bay of Plenty coaches to identify talent ahead of the 2018 National Sevens Tournament in Rotorua.

Defending champions Rangataua Sports know what it is like to win the Middlesex Cup and then try to defend it at home, which is exactly what they hope to do this summer.

Team manager Brad Ririnui says winning the Bay of Plenty title is very important to the team and the club.

"It is a direct entry into the Middlesex Cup which we have won before [2014] so that is basically what we work towards year in, year out.

"This weekend we are throwing everything that we possibly can into doing that."

Rangataua are in good form after winning last weekend's Mount Maunganui Sevens at Blake Park but expect no easy games at Paengaroa.

"It was a bit of a lighter tournament than we expected, with not as many games but they were pretty good quality which I suppose puts us in pretty good stead for this weekend," Ririnui said.

"We played Tauranga Sports twice, one after the other last weekend and they had a really good turnaround from the first game. They played really well against us in the final and the boys had to come from behind and find some ticker to win that. We were down 14-7 at halftime.

"But everyone is dangerous in that [Baywide] Premier grade so I guess it is anyone's to win."

Rangataua will be coached by Matua Parkinson, who has come back into the fold with Nathaniel Walker moving to Hawaii.

Ririnui says having a consistent core of seven or eight players in recent years has helped make them such a consistent team.

"With having that core there we are able to blood in some of the younger players starting to come through now. There are some younger players who have been with us the last three or four years who are really starting to shine."

But it is not just the Rangataua men who were winners last weekend.

The women's team went down to Taranaki and defended their title at a tournament there. They will be up against defending champions Rangiuru and Rotoiti, who are expected to be in contention.

There is free entry to the sevens at Paengaroa tomorrow

Gordon Tietjens Trophy Winners - Men's Open Grade
2016: Rangataua Sports Club
2015: Mount Maunganui Sports Club
2014: Mount Maunganui Sports Club
2013: Te Puna Rugby Club
2012: Te Puna Rugby Club

Exia Edwards Trophy Winners - Women's Grade
2016: Rangiuru Sports Club
2015: Waikite Rugby Sports Club
2014: Arataki Sports Club
2013: Mount Maunganui Sports Club
2012: Opotiki Sports Club

Te Manawa Whenua
2016: Waikite Sports Club

Tight 5
2016: Mount Maunganui Sports Club
2015: Arataki Sports Club

Colts
2016: Te Puna
2015: Whakarewarewa