Touch rugby: Final heartbreak for Te Arawa men (+video)

The Te Arawa men's touch team suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the premier final of the 2016 Maori Touch Nationals Tournament.

The open men's local team disappointingly lost 7-5 against Wairere in a thrilling title match at Puarenga Park today. It was a tough loss for the side to take after being 4-1 up at half-time thanks to tries from Josh Taylor, Te Tuhi Tuuta and a double from Jake Tautari in a dominant first period.

But Wairere, who were runners-up last year, stepped their play up a level in the second half, sliding over for an impressive six tries - including a double touch down from Tamatoa Ropati with teammates Eugene Hepi, Nehe Milner-Skudder, Te Aorere Pewhairangi and Ash Robinson all diving over.

Te Arawa open men's captain Shaquille Stone was disappointed with the result and said his side had let an "opportunity slip".

"Obviously we are disappointed letting our lead slip from halftime, especially on home turf. We wanted to do our home crowd proud. But at the end of the day it is what it is and we let the opportunity slip.

"They [Wairere] got a bit of momentum really early in the second half. They got their tails up and we dropped and lost our momentum a bit. But big ups for them for their fightback."

Wairere captain Mita Graham said a "calm meeting" at half-time was the key to his side's success.

"We had to work bloody hard for that win. We knew we were a bit flat in that first half. We knew we weren't playing well and we just needed to keep to our structures. We had belief in the team and individuals and it paid off.

"I'm very proud of the boys because it was always going to be tough against a talented Te Arawa side with their home crowd and on home turf. We pipped them by one in pool play so we knew they would come out firing and they did just that."

In the women's premier grade, Tainui retained their title from last year after a thrilling 4-3 win over Tamaki Makaurau.

However, there was local success for the Te Arawa under-21 women's side. They took home the title in their grade after thumping Tamaki Makaurau 9-0 in the final.

The under-17 boys, coached by Steve Hudson, also did well. They finished runners-up in their grade after a narrow 8-6 defeat to Australian Maori outfit South Queensland.

It was the third time in a row the popular annual tournament was held in Rotorua after it had been hosted by Tainui, in Hamilton, for the last 16 years.

There were nine divisions in total including the senior mixed (over-30s), men's open, women's open, mixed open, under-21 mixed, under-21 men, under-21 women, under-17 boys and under-17 girls. About 4000 players and supporters from New Zealand and Australia attended the tournament.

2016 Maori Touch Nationals Tournament results:

Senior mixed (over-30s): Tauranga Moana 7 Taranaki 5
Open men: Wairere 7 Te Arawa 5
Open women: Tainui 4 Tamaki Makaurau 3
Open mixed: Raukawa Ki Runga 8 Tauranga Moana 7
Under-21 men: Ngati Raukawa 9 Tamaki Makaurau 4
Under-21 women: Te Arawa 9 Tamaki Makaurau 0
Under-17 boys: South Queensland 8 Te Arawa 6
Under-17 girls: Ngati Raukawa 7 Te Rarawa 1

2016 Maori Touch Nationals Tournament awards:

Male player of the tournament: Tama Wanakore - South Queensland
Female player of the tournament: Te Aomai Hudson - Ngati Raukawa
Referee of the tournament: Greg Scott
Youth referee of the tournament: Kurt Harrison
Rohe of the tournament: Te Rarawa