A late try helped Ōpōtiki pick up a 31-28 victory over a plucky Te Puke outfit at Princess Street Reserve.

A Mana Howe line break saw him fire an offload to Tane Howe who crashed over to put Ōpōtiki in front, with Mana Howe nailing the conversion.

A couple of minutes remained but they managed to hold off Te Puke and bag their third win of the season much to the delight of the raucous home crowd cheering them on.

Coach David Te Moana said it was a great way to give back to their supporters.

“That win was for everyone who has stuck with us throughout the season.

“We wanted to finish the season on a high and we managed to do that.

“I’m proud of the guys and the fight they’ve shown all season.

“It’s really been a positive season for us as coaches.”

Te Moana and his coaching team’s goal was to create some hype and excitement back at the club, while also having a side people are proud of and want to come watch.

“We’d lost a lot of that within the club. It was heading in the wrong direction.

“We’re still not fully satisfied, but we’re happy with how things are tracking.”

Their goal on the field was a play-off spot and while they finished outside that in fifth, they can be proud.

“If you look at it. We let a win slip against Te Puna, we were right in it against Te Puke until the last 10 minutes earlier in the season and the same with Whakarewarewa, we also lost narrowly to Greerton. Turn those around and we’d have achieved our goal, so it shows we made the right decision to go up to the Baywide this season.

“It’s been nice being able to shut the negative ones up, who were against the move and great to see some old faces have returned to the club to watch again. That’s the best part.”

In the clash against Te Puke, Ōpōtiki started superbly with a try to Te Awaitaia Rolls in just the third minute, which Howe converted.

He then added a penalty before fullback Tamarau Karepa scored their second try to put Ōpōtiki ahead 17-7.

A third try just after halftime to Jye McGough had the home side sitting pretty at 24-7, before a lull period allowed Te Puke back into the contest.

The visitors scored three converted tries to hit the front 28-24, before Howe found his way over the try line late in the contest.

Te Moana said it capped off a great week in Ōpōtiki.

“It was nice to carry on the hype from an outstanding Tai Mitchell tournament. We had a sponsors day to thank them and to get the win capped off the day perfectly.”

The season is now finished for most, but for a few they’ll line up in the Eastern Bay side and hopefully Te Moana and Dean Elmiger, who are coaching the side, can shoulder tap a few to come and give Baywide Rugby a nudge.

The Ōpōtiki development team suffered a 57-0 defeat. Their games have been closer than the scores suggest with games often blowing out late in the piece.