Rugby: Ngongotaha put Katikati to the sword

ROUT: Ngongotaha's second five-eighth John Ririnui during Saturday's's 107-7 win over Katikati on Saturday.PHOTO/BEN FRASER 200517bf10.JPG

Ngongotaha have had some big wins in Baywide Division 1 this season, but there have been none bigger than the 107-7 thrashing of Katikati on Saturday.

Coach Jodie Wharekura said they were setting their stall out with the goal Baywide Premier rugby in 2018.

And while such large wins are not always beneficial, Wharekura was pleased with the way his side played.

"What I'm really happy about is, we are trying to play quite an expansive game that we can take into and compete with in the premier grade, so what I am really happy about is, once the boys start getting a few points on the board, they are not going away from the structure I want them to play," he said.

He had sympathy for yesterday's opponents who are winless and pointless in this season's competition.

"They've had a lot of good Bay of Plenty players in the past and have a good history, but we were in the same situation not that long ago.

"To their credit, they keep turning up every weekend and they are fielding a team and a lot of their scores have probably done them an injustice given that those boys never stop trying for the whole 80 minutes."

The gulf between the two sides on the table was possibly behind a relatively slow start to the game for Ngongotaha.

"I think our boys did take a little bit of time to get into the game, but they certainly ran away with it in the later stages."

Second year coach Wharekura was the last Ngongotaha captain to lift the Baywide trophy back in 1998 and said the goal was to get the team back into the Baywide premier division after 13 years away to be able to challenge for the trophy again.

"It's been a long, long time between drinks for us," he said.

Ngongotaha are unbeaten in Division 1 and are seven points ahead of nearest rivals Waikite with two more games to play before the end of the first round of games.

They will be one of the four Division 1 sides that will join the bottom four from this year's Premier division in the second round Premier 2 division. A top-four finish in the second round will secure Baywide Premier rugby in 2018.

"It's been a real building time for us and to date the boys are really responding well."

Part of the resurgence in fortunes has come from the return of several Premier Division players to the club, with back row forward and former Bay of Plenty and Waikato player Zak Hohneck.

"His contribution to our team has been huge and, in saying that, the younger guys surrounding him have really responded to the way he plays and what he brings to the team.

"The majority of team all played at high school with Zak, so they are all good friends, and he's got a cousin [CJ Hohneck] who has always played for Ngongotaha so that was another reason for Zak to come back and play for us. It's been a real family affair for us and we are building that culture back into our club, and it's working."

Next weekend Ngongotaha travel to Tauranga to take on Judea.

"They are always hard at home - but our feet will certainly be on the ground and we'll be ready to play.

Results
Baywide Division 1:
Waimana 20 Judea 19, Opotiki 20 Papamoa 0, Te Teko 20 Kahukura 15, Marist St Michael's 44 Ruatoki 12, Ngongotaha 107 Katikati 7, Waikite 52 Rangiuru 12.