Whakarewarewa coach Boxer Smith said his side failed to make the most of their opportunities in a 36-30 loss to mount Maunganui last weekend, but he still took positives from the game.
"A slow start cost us again, the Mount were up 12-0 in 10 minutes so we were playing catch-up. But, I was very happy with our set piece, we dominated their scrum and our lineout worked well, which is something we've worked really hard on in the last couple of weeks. At the end of the day we were happy to get the two bonus points which keeps us in the hunt for semifinals," Smith said.
When Whakarewarewa travelled to Rangataua in round one they were on the receiving end of a 46-21 demolition.
"They're a team with a whole lot of quite skilful forwards who play an expansive game. Some of their big boys have good skill sets and they can actually play ball to beat defensive lines. They go wide quite often, so they can stretch you from one side to another.
"We'll be looking to shut down those tram lines and compress them through the middle. It might be an open game, but still the team that dominates at set piece to get the backline firing will probably be the team that wins the game.
"They'll be confident after beating Rotoiti by that score last week. For us it's about stamping our mark on this competition at home. We've got two home games in a row and we feel if we win those we'll consolidate a spot in the top four."
Meanwhile, Rotoiti sit seventh and take on eighth placed Greerton. Both have one win from four games.
However, they are also both only four points out of the top four, so a string of wins could see either of them playing semifinals rugby.
Last year Rotoiti won their last three games in the round-robin to finish second and book a home semifinal. However, this year they have been ravaged by injuries and play Te Puke and Te Puna in their last two games - the top two sides in the competition.
Coach Richard Francis said there was still a mathematical chance of making the semifinals and all his side could do was give their all and see what happened.
"Greerton shouldn't be there [at the bottom of the table], they've got a handy team. They'll be pretty desperate and it's over there so they'll be throwing everything at us. We're not going over there to lie down, we've got three more games and we'll give it everything.
"The injuries have had an effect. We've got the depth for if one or two go down but when there's multiple injuries it's tough. To their credit, the young guys who have come in have stepped up and it's good experience for them," Francis said.
Baywide Premier 1 Standings
Te Puke 19 points, Tauranga Sports 15, Te Puna 12, Whakarewarewa 10, Mount Maunganui 10, Rangataua 7, Rotoiti 6, Greerton 6.
Farmlands Co-operative Baywide club rugby draws
Saturday
Premier 1
(Premier kickoff 2.45pm; Development kickoff 1pm)
Whakarewarewa v Rangataua at Puarenga Park
Greerton v Rotoiti at Greerton Park
Te Puna v Mount at Maramatanga Park
Tauranga Sports v Te Puke at Tauranga Domain
Premier 2
(Premier kickoff 2.45pm; Development kickoff 1pm)
Whakatāne Marist v Marist St Michael's at Rugby Park Whakatane
Te Teko v Rangiuru at Dunderdale Park
Waikite v Arataki at Bellvue Road
Opōtiki v Ngongotahā at Princess Street Reserve
Division One
(Kickoff 2.45pm)
Murupara v Pāpāmoa at Ngati Manawa Park
Poroporo v Waimana at Poroporo Park
Kahukura v Paroa at Kuirau Park
Ruatoki v Judea at Tuhoe Park
Division Two
(Kickoff 2.45pm)
Reporoa v Katikati at Reporoa Rugby Club
Eastern Districts v Edgecumbe at Paengaroa Domain
Matata v Eastern Pirates at Richmond Park
