"Any team can tip anyone up on their day but today was a good win for us against our arch-enemy in the Baywide comp."
It was a quality 80 minutes of footie at the Domain in front of a big crowd, with expected niggle bubbling just under the surface for much of it as Te Puke grabbed the initiative playing into the first half breeze and Tauranga Sports playing the bulk of the rugby after the break.
Tauranga first-five Nic Evemy nudged over three successful penalties in the opening 40 but it was Te Puke No8 Ryan Lambert who had the GPS co-ordinates locked on the tryline, with the hard-grafting loosie twice going over as ball was recycled expertly and spread across the park.
First-five Nick McCashin converted both tries and landed a third kick from the sideline after fullback Sipa Moimoi scored after the break, although that was Te Puke's last sniff at the opposition 22 as Tauranga dictated the outcome with ease.
First prop Pingi Talaapitaga went over, five phases after Evemy's close range penalty attempt hit the upright, and then, with Te Puke flanker Luke Perrott sinbinned, lock Keepa Mewett was mauled over after easy yards up the other side of the paddock, cutting the margin to 21-19.
Hohneck set up the match-winner with quarter of an hour left, brushing past several tacklers as he revelled in freedom he once enjoyed as a loosie before switching to the frontrow five years ago. His pass found Jeremy Cave, who made light work of Gideon Uelese down the right.
Tauranga's pack never stopped working, ruling the scrums, although both sides' kick-off reception was an embarrassment, with two clean takes the whole game.
Te Puke's issues, however, run deeper than just their wobbly set piece - their forward pack was AWOL in the last quarter and they copped a 13-6 caning in the penalty count. The backs also need to conjure a better trick than using second-five Simon Rolleston on the crash every second or third phase.
Tauranga, on the other hand, now have momentum after a less-than-convincing start to their campaign, although it was the slow start to their games Hohneck said needed attention.
"The start was a disappointment again. We didn't panic though and slowly built a foundation to open up in the second half. In some ways that's a good thing, coming back after giving the opposition a reasonable head-start, but we need to start stepping up that first 40 a bit."
Hohneck is spending most of his week in Hamilton as part of the Chiefs' wider training group and does not forsee a profitable future at No8, although with props Talaapitaga and Kane Hames doing the business he could be there for a few weeks yet.
"I'm getting heaps of scrummaging in training with the Chiefs and it would be a shame for that to go to waste. I'm looking forward to getting back into the frontrow and even had my eight-sprig boots floating around on the sideline just in case there were any blowouts up front."
In other matches in the division, Whakarewarewa broke a five-week drought with an emphatic 31-10 win over Greerton Marist at Puarenga Park, keeping Greerton scoreless in the second spell after being down 10-6 at halftime.
It appears Rotoiti have used up one of their get-out-of-jail free cards with a narrow 8-7 win over Rangataua, requiring a Jope Gotz try on fulltime to get home.
Te Puna were too strong for Mount Maunganui at Maramatanga Park, coming away with a 36-22 win while Opotiki showed they are still hard to beat at home with a 52-5 win over Waikite.
In division one, Rangiuru downed Te Teko 26-12.
