It was a tough weekend as three of the Eastern Bay’s four women’s rugby teams suffered losses.

Poroporo met competition favourites Ngongotahā and lost 43-10, Rūātoki showed plenty of fight but went down to 43-31

The Ōpōtiki women can be proud of their most recent showing, despite losing 31-10 to the unbeaten Whakarewarewa, while Waimana, playing in the plate section of the championship grade, scored a 22-20 away win over Arataki.

Against Mount Maunganui, Te Urupounamu McGarvey was a beast and scored two of their five tries while several others also showed they belonged in this grade.

Poroporo were light on personnel, and it showed as they struggled to contain the tough Ngongotahā side.

Coach Geri Paul said it was a tough loss for the team.

“We lost big against Ngongotahā. Although Ngongotahā is a good side, we weren’t doing ourselves any favours.

“Positives to come out of the game – well I guess it’s a positive due to another team’s misfortune, but our team is secure in the premiership for 2026, which was our main goal of the season.

“I think the girls are just happy to be in the premier grade again for 2026 and are more looking forward to next year, to be completely honest.”

Ōpōtiki were well-beaten by the unbeaten Whakarewarewa for the second time this season but it was a super effort from a side light on personnel who hadn’t trained in three weeks to manage workload and injuries.

They never stopped battling for the entire contest and despite the early loss in their new top four, still have two more games where they can hunt for wins and hopefully play some finals rugby.

Ōpōtiki women’s player-coach Helena Coughlan is proud of her team no matter the result on the field.

“Our ladies actually played really well against Whakarewarewa with the limited numbers we had. We really made Whakarewarewa work hard for their tries.”

Coughlan said no matter what the upcoming results were, the ladies had already exceeded expectations for 2025.

“I am very proud of the ladies. They did what they could, and it was awesome to see them push themselves. The score doesn’t reflect just how well we played.”

The final is still a realistic chance for the team, although they are taking things one game at a time.

“Winning wasn’t really a goal at the start of the year.

“We were just focused on getting a team on the paddock and doing our small town proud. Just to make it through the season with no major injuries and an awesome bunch of ladies is the real win.”

This weekend, they are away to Te Puna and know it’s going to be a physical contest.

“They will be just as hungry to win as we are. But for us, we just need to turn up to training, nail our game plan and connect with each other on defence. We have plenty of room for work-ons.”

Their clash is on Sunday in Tauranga.

Waimana do battle with Greerton at the Waimana Domain, while Poroporo travel to face Rūātoki with the winner odds on to gain a spot in the top four.