Eight Western Bay teams in finals

EIGHT Western Bay of Plenty junior rugby sides will fight out the Western Bay JMC titles at Te Puna Rugby Club headquarters at Maramatanga Park tomorrow.

Over 100 teams kicked off their rugby age group campaigns in May, but now the best two teams from the Under-10, 11, 12 and 13 grades are set to do battle for the 2015 Western Bay junior rugby titles.

Players and supporters of the Under-10 division will need to be up bright and early on Saturday morning with the Western Bay title-decider kicking off at what could be a very chilly 8.30am start. Such were the player numbers in the Under-10 competition that two divisions

were played to accommodate the large numbers of youngsters.

Something will have to give in the Under-10 final, as Papamoa Orange and Arataki, who dominated their respective divisions all season with big scorelines week after week, have both reached the championship decider unbeaten. In last weekend's semifinals, Papamoa Orange and Arataki both posted over 100 points against their opponents.

The last game of JMC Finals day is always the Under-13 match-up. This season, Mount Maunganui and Greerton Black will meet to decide the last age-group title on the day. Last weekend, Mount Maunganui eliminated Arataki 31-19, while the Greerton Marist representatives had a hard-fought battle with Rangataua before prevailing 25-17.

Te Puna, the 2015 JMC Finals Day hosts for the first time, will meet Judea to decide the Under-12 championship. Both clubs are among the oldest in the Western Bay of Plenty, with Judea having celebrated their centenary, while Te Puna will reach the magic mark in a few years' time. Mount Maunganui is the only club to have two teams in the playoffs. Mount Marlins will play Rangataua for the right to lift aloft the Under-11 trophy.

To reach the title-decider, the Mount Maunganui side beat Greerton Gold 31-17, while Rangataua won a real nail-biter against Te Puke Sports, getting home 15-14.

The 1600-plus youngsters in the four age groups bridge the gap between the introduction to the game and the start of secondary school competition.