Rotoiti and Whakarewarewa lose away in premier division

Tera Whata and his Rotoiti teammates were unable to keep up their unbeaten run in the premier division second round as they lost to Rangataua on Saturday. Photo / File

High-flying Rotoiti have received a reality check in the Baywide Premier rugby division.

After three games unbeaten they have suffered their first loss of the second round of the competition, going down 27-7 away at Rangataua.

Rotoiti coach Willie Royal said, as expected, it was a "pretty hard-fought game".

"Meeting a full strength Rangataua team at their home ground was always going to be a tough ask.

"The first half was pretty close, both teams went hammer and tongs and they led 8-7 at halftime.

"That was due to some scrambling defence from us really, it could've been a bit higher," said Royal.

At halftime the Rotoiti coaches asked their players to take better options and improve their first up tackle-making.

"Obviously we struggled, compared to other weeks.

"We made too many errors and just took the wrong option at crucial times.

"Maybe the loss yesterday will hopefully do us a bit of good - this competition is still wide open.

"It's a tight competition and for us now we have to get up and win against Greerton Marist next week to stay in contact with the top four," he said.

Meanwhile, Whakarewarewa struggled during a 54-19 mauling by Mount Maunganui.

Coach Joe Savage said Mount Maunganui had a better game plan than his side which allowed them to expose holes in the Whaka backline.

"They were more efficient than us.

"They scored the first three tries and we came back for a little bit with some sustained pressure, but we let in easy tries which allowed them to keep piling on points," said Savage.

At training this week Whaka would work on their tackling and finishing off plays more effectively, he said.

"We need to hold on to the ball for longer periods.

"Our discipline let us down as well, we got on the wrong side of the referee in terms of the breakdown.

"There were glimpses of brilliance and some guys who stood out individually, but collectively we couldn't put it together as a team.

"We were able to make breaks and we created opportunities so that's a good thing, just finishing off was a bit hard."

Next weekend Whakarewarewa travel to Te Puna and Rotoiti travel to Greerton Marist.