Rugby: Luckless Whaka face another tough exam

Pride and an outside hope is all that is left for the Whaka faithful as their premier side look to break a five game losing streak.

Lady luck can be an ugly beast when she wants to be. Just look back to Round 10, when Whaka took on Rotoiti at Emery Park. Whaka seemed to be on track to making the semifinals and Rotoiti were in disarray.

With the match in the balance, suddenly Rotoiti lock Kaiwana Waititi breaks an ankle - you'd think something like that would spell the end to Rotoiti and for Whaka to shift to another gear and put the lakesiders away.

Instead, the Puarenga boys left Rotoiti under a cloud, with a 17-3 defeat resting heavy on their shoulders.

And it appears Rotoiti have gone from a nightmare start to the form which saw them go all the way to the finals last year.

Fast forward to this Saturday and Whaka haven't felt the sweet taste of success for five games and now face last year's champions Te Puke at Puarenga Park.

However, Whaka are never a team to be taken lightly and with a wily old fox like Maurice Stone (senior) as the coach you can't count them out yet.

Sure, they will now have to win their next five games, with a bonus point but the side is stacked with talent.

The only thing lacking in the side is confidence and a belief in themselves to do the impossible.

A losing streak can do that to any good sports team.

Stone will be looking to his senior players like Trent Sweeney, Greg Gillies and Liam Coleman in the forwards as well as Chris van der Vlught, Chris Miller and Doug Edwards to lift the boys.

Whaka have power and speed to burn and with guys like Chanse Perham, Akira Mako and James O'Neill on the outsides it's just a matter of faith. But it's not just the 22 on the paddock Stone will be looking to. It's the Whaka faithful, people like "Bolo", Colin "Sandy" Sanders, Johnny Mitai and rugby historian Brent Drabble who have stuck by the team in their darkest hours, who turn up wind, rain or shine.

Meanwhile, Rotoiti are on a high after beating Te Puke and will be looking to continue that success when they take on Greerton at Emery Park.

Rotoiti coach Kevin Lee has fashioned a strong challenge with Rotoiti thanks to his lead-from-the-front captain Jessie Acton.

Both teams are within striking distance of a semifinal place although they will be reliant on teams above them dropping games.

Whaka and Rotoiti have home games this weekend with kick-off at 2.45pm.

Points ladder: Tauranga Sports 62, Te Puke Sports 44, Greerton Marist 39, Te Puna 34, Mount Maunganui 33, Rotoiti 30, Opotiki 30, Whakarewarewa 26, Paroa 13, Rangataua 13.