Two tries in five minutes have given Whakarewarewa an unlikely draw with arch-rivals Tauranga Sports in the opening round of the PGG Wrightsons Baywide club rugby premiership on Saturday.
Whaka coach Kevin Lee said his side showed plenty of ticker to steal what had looked like a sure-fire win for Tauranga Sports.
The home side were 22-10 down with five minutes left but scored two tries to gain a 22-all-draw in a drab, mistake-riddden game so typical of the opening rounds.
"I thought we gutsed it out really well, which is the main thing. We could've dropped away with the forward domination they had, but we stuck in there and stuck in there and kept working hard," Lee said.
Like most opening games of the season, combinations on both sides looked rusty - flashes of brilliance mixed with dropped balls and ill-directed kicks.
One of those flashes of brilliance was Whaka's first try. From a scrum at halfway the ball was spun wide to right wing Maurice Stone who kicked over the defence, sprinted through, regathered and scored in the corner with first-five Tyson Ripia converting for a 7-0 lead.
But the warning signs were there early at scrumtime for Whaka, with Tauranga often getting the shunt on and putting early pressure on their opponents.
Tries to right wing Ken Tupuola and openside flanker Matty Bru and a penalty and conversion from Nic Evemy gave Tauranga a 15-7 lead at the break.
Tauranga's lead jumped to 22-7 early in the second half before the tank emptied, with the smaller and more mobile Whaka pack picking up the pace and starting to run their bigger opponents around. Whaka did something you wouldn't expect from a premier side - they started to play ruck and run rugby, keeping the game away from set plays to run and pass at every opportunity.
Two tries, one of them converted, and the scores were level.
Tauranga Sports captain Adam Robinson said he was disappointed his side let a win slip away.
"Coming to Whaka is always tough and to come away with a draw, generally we would be pretty happy about. But we let them in. We were on top and they came right back at us and that's something we need to learn from."
Reigning Baywide champions Te Puke Sports prevailed in a close fought encounter against long time rivals Mount Maunganui at Blake Park.
The visitors ran up a 15-5 lead in the first spell with ace goal kicker Nick McCashin slotting five penalties. The sole try of the encounter came from Mount's Scott Bradley late in the first half, with Bradley also adding two penalties as Te Puke, who finished with 14 players, held on for a 15-11 win.
Western Bay side Te Puna decisively won their battle with Rangataua at Te Ariki Park. After leading 15-3 at the break, the visitors posted another 20 points in the second spell to take out the encounter 35-8.
New Te Puna recruits Daniel Quate and Lance MacDonald grabbed tries, with Joseph Connal, Daniel Schuster and Tapene Mika also dotting the ball down. Daiyu Ishimori scored the sole Rangataua try.
Opotiki's 53-12 win over newbies Greerton Marist was achieved with ease while Rotoiti waltzed away from Waikite 57-18.
The first real upset of the season came when defending colts titleholders Te Puke Sports were beaten by Mount Maunganui 31-10, who also took the Oliver Cup.