Rugby: Whaka woes continue

A hat-trick of tries to flying Rangataua winger Ross Taupaurima has handed Whakarewarewa its seventh straight loss.

Rangataua who were previously second-to-last on the Baywide rugby premier points table have leapfrogged Whaka with the 32-27 win at Puarenga Park at the weekend.

The home side struggled to handle the strapping right winger whose pace and power gave him the edge over the Whaka defence.

He was joined on the points' table by tryscorer Te Moti Gardiner with Dan Groot kicking three conversions and Mark Roberts two late penalties.

Whaka managed to score three tries to John Ririnui, Darrell Pereira and Akira Mako, with Ririnui kicking three conversions and two penalties.

The visitors went into the halftime break with a 19-10 lead but were outscored in the second half 17-13.

With 15 minutes to go, Whaka were leading 27-26 but up stepped Roberts to kick two late penalties to give the red-and-blacks their seventh straight loss.

Rotoiti also suffered a loss to Te Puna 32-17. The loss means Te Puna moves ahead of the lakesiders. However, they cannot be discounted despite losing their first match in more than a month. They will fancy themselves to pick up four-try bonus point wins against Rangataua and Paroa, but will probably also need some points from their match against Tauranga Sports in week 17 to qualify for the post-season.

In the other matches in the round, Tauranga Sport continue to lead the pack with a 33-14 win over Te Puke, Opotiki beat Paroa 38-20 and Mt Maunganui were too strong for Greerton beating them 43-20.

Division one saw Whakatane Marist beat Marist St Michaels 20-19, Te Teko draw with Kahukura 17-17, Rangiuru thrash Ruatoki 39-17, Poroporo narrowly beat Waikite 17-15 and Ngongotaha beat Katikati 20-10.

Scorers:

Rangataua 32 (T Gardiner, R Taupaurima 3 tries; D Groot 3 cons, M Roberts 2 pens) Whakarewarewa 27 (J Ririnui, D Pereira, A Mako tries; J Ririnui 3 cons 2 pens) HT: 19-10

Results for Bay of Plenty Rugby; Premier One:

Tauranga Sports 33 Te Puke Sports 14, Opotiki 38 Paroa 20, Te Puna 32 Rotoiti 27, Mount Maunganui 43 Greerton Marist 20, Rangataua 32 Whakarewarewa 27.

Premier Two:

Whakatane Marist 20 Marist St Michaels 19, Te Teko 17 Kahukura 17, Rangiuru 39 Ruatoki 17, Poroporo 17 Waikite 15, Ngongotaha 20 Katikati 10.