Tauranga too slippery for brave Whaka

A hat-trick of tries by Fijian winger John Stewart sunk the chances of Whakarewarewa on a rain-soaked pitch in Rotorua.
Stacked full of Bay of Plenty Steamers, Tauranga Sports' 37-17 win showed they were too strong and too professional against a Whaka side who were taught a lesson on how to play wet weather rugby at Puarenga Park at the weekend.
The home side struggled to come to terms with the conditions making fundamental mistakes, dropping balls and failing to find touch at crucial times in the match.
On a pitch where a duck hunter's maimai wouldn't have looked out of place, it was Whaka who opened the scoring one minute into the game, thanks to a 45m penalty from Kelly Haimona.
However, Tauranga would level the score four minutes later from the boot of Chris Noakes.
The first-five was one of seven Steamers playing on Saturday. Noakes was all class kicking eight from nine attempts as well as making sure his team got good field position either by the boot or through smart back line play.
The first 40 minutes was all Tauranga, with Whaka struggling to put any phases together, when they did they knocked it on. However the Tauranga pack slowly but surely went about their work, punching it up one out from the ruck and laying a platform for their backs to work with.
It was through this work the visitors were rewarded with Stewart's first of three tries. Tauranga's forwards controlled play before Noakes spun it out wide to Stewart who found open space to score near the corner.
Whaka started to get some continuity near the end of the first half stringing together several late phases but for little reward.
Perhaps it was a sign it wasn't Whaka's day, with Haimona missing three kicks for touch from penalties which added to the frustration of the Whaka supporters. The home side went into the break 18-3 down.
Whaka coach Kevin Lee must have given the team a rark-up because they came out a different team, they held on to the ball and looked to play field position. However, it was Tauranga who scored first, while on attack inside Whaka's 22, Stewart managed to dive on to a well placed chipkick into Whaka's goal for his second try.
As has been the case this season Whaka managed a late surge scoring two tries through David Marinkovich and Aliki Kisina but all hopes were dashed when Stewart latched on to a dropped ball to dash 40m to score the final points of the game.
Although Whaka managed to beat Tauranga earlier in the season, Lee said his team were up against a team stacked full of professionals.
"I think you'll find the difference is top players against professional players and that was the difference in the game."
Tauranga Sports coach Mike Rogers said he was pleased with how his side handled the conditions.
"The first half performance especially was outstanding. We defended really well and that kind of set us up for the result. I think the forwards set a bit of a bench mark three weeks ago against Te Puke and I think we are just trying to match that every week."
The Wilbore twins, Te Amo and Te Hata, stamped their mark on Opotiki's 34-5 win against Waikite. Two tries apiece to two of the most promising emerging talent in Baywide rugby provided testament to the silky skills of the two youngsters.
Kevin Waterson re-inked his team's bonus point win with a fifth touchdown, with Sam Howe adding three conversions and a penalty goal.
The Eastern Bay side's latest victory has kept their playoff chances alive.
The third side to post a decisive result was Te Puke Sports, who scored a four tries to one win against long time Western Bay rivals Rangataua 34-7. Te Puke applied the pressure from the opening whistle and had a 22-0 advantage at halftime.
Mount Maunganui ground out a 27-17 win against Te Puna at Maramatanga Park. After leading 13-3 at the halfway stage they ran in two more tries, before Te Puna came back with the last two tries of the game.
The match-up in the Eastern Bay between Whakatane Marist and Rotoiti, which was cancelled because of the weather, has been rescheduled for tomorrow.
Te Teko had a battle with Ngongotaha in the division one top of the table clash played at the Ngongotaha Reserve. The 19-15 victory for Te Teko reflected a match that went down to the last whistle of the game.
Katikati snatched a 15-all draw with Kahukura to keep their semifinal aspirations alive, Rangiuru upset Greerton Marist 23-20, Marist St Michaels grabbed another close encounter, defeating Paroa 12-5, with Reporoa winning 13-9 at home against Ruatoki.
Colts front-runners Te Puke Sports maintained their season unbeaten record with a solid 32-6 win over Marist St Michaels in the championship title race. Greerton Marist sneaked home from Tauranga Sports 11-10, Te Puna got past Mount Maunganui 13-7 and Opotiki held off a spirited challenge from Rangataua 17-10.