"I wasn't sure what to expect because I haven't worked with the players much but the attitude and commitment from everyone was great," he said.
"I'm very pleased because Waimana improved as the tournament progressed and put in a battling performance.
"But we were too strong in the final - we showed good link play and had the right mentality."
Bay of Plenty Rugby Union operations manager Neil Alton said they had record entries, huge support for the teams and the successful introduction of a second tier competition.
"The Manawa Whenua grade went brilliantly. We had teams like Matata, Ruatoki, ED, who are smaller clubs and want to play sevens but don't have the personnel of the premier teams. So having them here has added an extra dimension to it."
Meanwhile, in the premier sevens competition Rangataua Sports are revelling in a run of success that shows no sign of ending any time soon.
Following their first Baywide title in the premier division this winter, the boys from the Maungatapu Peninsula have won three sevens tournaments in succession.
It started with the Greerton Marist Sevens, followed by cleaning up the cream of Waikato's clubs at last weekend's Hamilton Suburbs event, before they took out the Bay of Plenty Clubs Sevens at Paengaroa yesterday.
With sevens maestro Ruki Tipuna in vintage form, Rangataua never gave Mount Maunganui a chance in the open grade final, winning 38-12 to reverse the result from last year's final and take home the Gordon Tietjens Trophy.
Mount Maunganui had seven leading players away in Rarotonga at a sevens tournament but still fielded a strong team with Isaac Te Aute, Jesse Dodunski, Andy Devoy and Danny Kayes helping the team to the final past Poroporo in the semifinals.
But two tries to Tipuna and one each to livewire Adam McGarvey and captain Matt Clutterbuck had Rangataua out to a 24-7 halftime lead they never looked like relinquishing.
Clutterbuck is understandably proud of how well his team has performed in recent weeks.
"It is just years of playing together and understanding the game. We have those experienced players who know how to buy time with the ball and never panic," he said.
"We had a bit of a rebuilding year last year and this year we are really getting the benefits. We brought some young guys through and obviously we still have some old warhorses in there, so we have a good mix and good coaching."
In the women's final Rangiuru defeated Rotoiti 19-5 and Mount Maunganui beat Te Puna 26-21 in the Tight 5 final.
"In the women's grade, the quality of games has been great and has improved. Tauranga Sports, Rangataua, Rotoiti and Rangiuru having their teams in shows the growth of women's sevens," said Alton.
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