Eastern Bay teams showed plenty of promise and talent at the Tai Mitchell tournament held in Rotorua last week.

Tauranga West showcased their class to take out the girls’ division, while the boys’ grade was also claimed by Tauranga West after they hammered Tauranga East 48-10 in the final.

Whakatāne boys had a superb tournament, finishing third after defeating Tauranga North, 41-31, in the semifinal.

Whakatāne coach Mark Pouwhare was proud of his team.

“The team went well, losing our semi to Tauranga East for a chance to play for the coveted Tai Mitchell trophy. I’m very proud of the team; the highlight was definitely making the top four again after round robin play.”

Pouwhare said there were, again, some exceptional players at the tournament.

“Standard of play doesn’t change, however, some of the talent in each team always amazes me with some great rugby players coming through.”

He said they achieved the goal they set themselves, which was to make the semifinals.

“Hepa (Gillies) and I were very excited about our chances of making the final but we lost in a close semifinal. We were still proud and happy about our team’s efforts over the week.”

There were several boys who made the most of their time on the field.

“We had a few boys stand out in our team.

“Nixon Gillies, Te Ohaaki Hohapta-August and Liam Beeching were clear standouts throughout the tournament; however, I also thought Kobe J Amai was an unsung hero for the team.

“It was wet, cold and miserable weather, however, all teams adapted to the conditions and continued to play some great rugby.”

Whakatāne started with a 7-5 loss to Rotorua Maroon, defeated Tauranga North in their second game 24-7, and in their third game, they scored a win over neighbours Ōpōtiki, 27-14. They then defeated Rangitaiki 24-0, before falling to Tauranga West 36-5.

In their semifinal, they were beaten 24-12 by Tauranga East.

Rangitaiki found the going more challenging.

They beat Rotorua Gold, 40-7, and Galatea, 33-12, before falling 27-0 to East, losing to Whakatāne, 24-0, and then Te Puke, 10-0, in a tight tussle.

Rangitaiki coach Tunia Tupe said the team put up a strong fight, starting strongly but fading later in the campaign with injuries to a couple of key players stalling their momentum.

“The team was led by the inspirational Kaihatu Thomas, who played well despite being ill all week.

Maddox Richmond, Rawiri Nicholson, Slobodan Milosevic and Felix Edwards were also superb.

“With a number of boys eligible for next year, it puts us in a good position.

“I want to thank all the boys and whānau who persevered in the cold and rain to make this an awesome experience for our Rangatahi.”

The Rangitaiki girls’ team were relatively new and struggled initially.

“But they really found their feet in the last three games with Jahnae Savage, Kiwa Dodds Pourewa Emery and Tarci Hale, the stars.”

Savage earned a spot in the tournament team with some strong play.

The Whakatāne girls’ Tai Mitchell team played some good rugby to finish fourth.

They lost to Te Puke first up, 27-19, defeated neighbours Rangitaiki, 22-10, had the bye, then fell to Ōpōtiki, 35-15, before rebounding with a 53-0 over Tauranga North to sneak into fourth place.

A semifinal defeat to champions Tauranga West meant another showdown with Ōpōtiki in which they fell short of their quest.

Aaliyah Sexton was a standout for the team and was rewarded with a spot in the tournament team.

The Ōpōtiki girls showed impressive skills to gain a third-place finish.

Across the five days of competition, they picked up victories over Tauranga East, 29-5, Rotorua Gold, 37-5, and Whakatāne, 35-15, in pool play to qualify for the semifinals in third place, however, they suffered a 10-0 loss to Rotorua Maroon.

In their third and fourth playoff, they scored a good win over Whakatāne.

Ōpōtiki coach Tylar Papuni said the girls put in a lot of hard work for the tournament.

“This campaign has been awesome; the best so far. The build-up to the tournament wasn’t the best with numbers or game time with the girls, but we adjusted to the situation and went to the tournament with 14 players.

“We had players traveling from the Coast twice a week for training and their commitment didn’t go unnoticed.

“We all come from strong backgrounds, so I knew we would be fine with what we had. Whether it was 10 players or 14, these kids are built differently on the East Coast.”

She said they played some impressive rugby to finish third and place higher than some bigger more resourced teams such as Tauranga East, Tauranga North, Rotorua Gold and Whakatāne, to name a few.

“We’re proud of the girls for finishing third. This is history for Ōpōtiki, our first finish ever in the top three spots out of nine girls’ teams.

“We couldn’t be prouder of them. They deserved a top- three placing. They played smart and physical and won with the top two inches.”

As expected, the highlight was against Whakatāne in the play-off for third and fourth.

“My highlight would be the smile on the kids’ faces when the final whistle blew and they came running off saying, ‘we got third’, with their hands in the air cheering. That’s history made on the big stage.

“Also, a high for me was a bunch of kids from all walks of life mixing and mingling, making memories they will remember for years.”

Papuni enjoyed watching the development of the players from start to finish.

“We were there for them cheering them on loud and proud. When these girls show up not knowing how to play rugby to heading home with rugby knowledge, a third place and big smiles it’s awesome.

“There wasn’t much of a build-up for them, so we had eight weeks to prepare our team for the tournament. All in all, we did pretty amazing for our little town against big schools.”

Papuni is excited to see what 2026 will bring.

“Next year, we will lose a big chunk of our girls, but that’s all part of the rebuilding process. We will start again and build for next year and so on.”

While several of the girls played well, a standout was Mere-Kaye Te Tai, who was named in the girls’ tournament team at the conclusion of the tournament.

The Ōpōtiki boys team started off in impressive fashion with a 45-0 win over Galatea, but unfortunately then lost 55-0 to a well-drilled Tauranga East lineup, before pushing Whakatāne in their contest but going down 27-14.

The Ōpōtiki boys toiled hard and never let Te Puke get away in their 19-5 defeat, while they managed a losing bonus point in their 14-7 defeat to Rotorua Gold.

In the play-offs, they were to play Galatea but didn’t, so ended up finishing ninth.

Coach Kevin Waterson said it was a good experience for the boys.

“Not the result we were after, but the boys played some really good rugby in patches and showed some potential out there. Overall, they had a great time mingling with the best of their age across the Bay.”

He was pleased to see Dean Amoamo, their most valuable player, rewarded with a spot in the BOP Wasps Tournament Team.

Galatea struggled at the tournament and despite finishing last, turned up and competed every game.

They suffered losses to Ōpōtiki 45-0, Rangitaiki 33-12, 68-0 to Tauranga West, 55-0 against Rotorua Maroon and 29-0 to Tauranga North.

In the ninth and 10th play-off they played Ōpōtiki and lost 43-5.

Braxton Emery was rewarded with a spot in the BOP Wasps’ side.