Rugby: Maroon eye final berth

Rotorua Maroon player Nikki Jacobs on a charge as his side defeated Whakatane 32-7 yesterday at the Rotorua International Stadium. Photo/Ben Fraser

Rotorua Maroon are through to the semifinals of the Tai Mitchell rugby tournament at the Rotorua International Stadium.

They defeated Whakatane 32-7 yesterday to gain a semifinal berth at the under-13 rugby competition.

Maroon will face off against Tauranga East today at 11am in a rematch of their round four encounter on Sunday.

There was nothing to separate the two teams in that match with the game ending 22-all.

The winner of the Rotorua and Tauranga East semifinal will most likely meet Tauranga West in the grand final tomorrow.

It will be a big ask for Whakatane to topple the defending champions, Tauranga West, today in the second semifinal.

Tauranga West have gone through the tournament undefeated, winning all five of their games so far.

In the other matches today, teams finishing in fifth to eighth place will play-off against each other.

Te Puke will play against Opotiki and Rangitaiki will play Rotorua Gold.

The Tai Mitchell tournament is a long-standing rugby tournament for the best under-13 players in the Bay of Plenty.

The competition features 10 teams from across the Bay.

Semifinals today:

Tauranga East v Rotorua Maroon, 11am (field 1).

Tauranga West v Whakatane, 12.15pm (field 1).

Final standings after five rounds: Tauranga West 25, Tauranga East 23, Rotorua Maroon 18, Whakatane 16, Rangitaiki 14, Te Puke 12, Opotiki 11, Rotorua Gold 7, Galatea 1, Apanui 0.