'Historic occasion': Whakarewarewa host Tauranga Sports in Bay of Plenty Premier 1 final

Whakarewarewa will host the Baywide Premier final. Photo / Supplied

Whakarewarewa will host Tauranga Sports in the Premier 1 final for the first time in the club's history this weekend.

Eight teams will go head to head in four Farmlands Co-operative Baywide Premier Men's club rugby finals across the region this Saturday.

Whakarewarewa head coach Jeremy Hikuroa said the Rotorua community was "thrilled ... but also saddened by the nature of alert level 2 restrictions which mean a large vocal crowd cannot attend and support the historic occasion".

Level 2 means the public can't attend and the game-team bubbles cannot be more than 100 people.

"At the end of the day, the team is really excited that they get to play rugby and play for the chance at a championship," Hikuroa said.

"We are looking forward to what will be a great battle against Tauranga Sports."

He said his team has done all they can to prepare given the circumstances.

"Luckily for us, we have a self-driven and self-led team who have gone out of their way to keep themselves active and in good physical shape during the lockdown," he said.

"The boys had to band together over that time to keep motivated. When we were finally able to get back to training that definitely helped."

Tauranga Sports head coach John Haynes-Dodd said they were "really pleased and relieved we get the opportunity to finish the season with a final".

"The lockdown was really unlucky timing to kick in just before the final was meant to be played, but from all we've heard and seen, it's been an exciting buildup despite the limitations.

"Both teams are pumped for the opportunity."

Neither coach would let earlier-season form play much of a role in their preparation for the match. With the nationwide lockdown putting a halt to all sport, teams have essentially had to hit the reset button.

Whakarewarewa and Tauranga Sports won their respective semifinals in August.

Whakarewarewa defeated Greerton Marist 31-22, while Tauranga Sports jumped from their fourth-place standing after beating top qualifier Te Puna 20-14.

The Premier 1 final will be live-streamed for free on the Bay of Plenty Rugby Facebook page through Local Gecko Productions.

2021 Farmlands Co-operative Baywide Premier Men's club rugby finals

Premier 1 Development Final: Te Puke Sports v Tauranga Sports, 1pm
Premier 2 Development Final: Rangataua v Marist St Michael's, 1pm
Premier 1 Final: Whakarewarewa v Tauranga Sports, 2.45pm
Premier 2 Final: Rotoiti v Rangataua, 2.45pm

- Supplied content