Touch: Bay lads surge past powerhouse in final

Tai Solomon (with ball), Bay of Plenty boys under-11 player, up against Waikato at Puarenga Park on Sunday. Photo/Ben Fraser

Bay of Plenty claimed a major title at a touch competition in Rotorua which attracted about 900 young players to the city.

The annual Northern Region Junior Inter-Provincial Series was held at Puarenga Park at the weekend with the best under-9, under-11 and under-13 touch players from the upper North Island competing.

Seven provinces took part. The young players competed in girls', boys' or mixed divisions for each age group.

Bay of Plenty's best result at the two-day tournament was a gold medal in the under-13 boys' elite competition.

Coach Mike Tekurapa said it meant a lot to the team to win their division: "Our goal was to make the semis at the minimum and try and get a medal."

They did just that, defeating powerhouse province Counties Manukau in the final on Sunday.

The team beat Counties Manukau in qualifying play on the Saturday as well.

Tekurapa said there was no national event for players under 13 so this was the biggest tournament on offer for the children.

Tekurapa said the tournament was mainly about developing players and building base skills. However, he said by the time they hit the under-13 age group, it was already pretty competitive.

"This is like a fruition of what they have learned from the under-9s and under-11s," he said.

"We think we have the best players in the Bay for their age group.

"A lot of the kids are touch kids, they come from touch families and this is the last year for a lot of them in the juniors."

The under-13 boys' Bay team includes seven young Rotorua players who have been together since the under-9s.

The team was captained by Rotorua's Jordan Tuakana-Hudson, 12.

Bay of Plenty Touch and Rotorua Touch Association junior co-ordinator Ira Te Kani, who helped organise the tournament, said they had about 900 kids at the event.

"It is great. It is all about developing these younger players and we take our hats off to all those people who volunteer to be coaches and managers," she said. "It's a real family sport ... and it is fun in the sun."

Hundreds of parents and supporters were also down at Puarenga Park on Saturday and Sunday.

Despite Sunday's rain, all scheduled matches were played.

Counties Manukau had the most teams, with 23.

Junior inter-provincial touch series results:

Under-9s

Boys: 1st Auckland, 2nd North Harbour

Girls: 1st Counties Manukau, 2nd North Harbour

Mixed: 1st Auckland, 2nd Counties Manukau

Under-11s (elite)

Boys: 1st Counties Manukau, 2nd North Harbour

Girls: 1st Counties Manukau, 2nd North Harbour

Mixed: 1st Counties Manukau, 2nd Te Tai Tokerau (Northland)

Under-11s (development)

Boys: 1st Counties, 2nd Bay of Plenty

Under-13s (elite)

Boys: 1st Bay of Plenty, 2nd Counties Manukau

Girls: 1st Auckland, 2nd Counties Manukau

Mixed: 1st Thames Valley, 2nd Counties Manukau

Under-13s (development)

Boys: 1st Bay of Plenty, 2nd Counties Manukau

Girls: 1st Bay of Plenty, 2nd Counties Manukau