THE Eastern Bay senior men’s rugby competition was back in action last weekend, following a weekend off to celebrate Matariki.

Ōpōtiki’s two senior men’s teams produced winning performances to earn themselves a spot in their respective finals.

In the main game at Princess Street Reserve, Ōpōtiki blew away 2023 runners-up Paroa, 62-28, to earn themselves a spot in the premier final against Whakatāne Marist.

Ōpōtiki came out firing and blew Paroa off the park with their strong ball carries and pace out wide.  

The blue-green-and-whites found plenty of holes in the visitors’ defence and exploited them perfectly.

Ōpōtiki coach Tuterangi Te Moana said he was incredibly happy with their performance in the knockout game.

“The guys put in a huge performance at home, putting points on early and being able to continue that lead heading into the second half.”

Te Moana said although they played some attractive rugby and put on points, winning was the focus, ugly or not.

“The team is really happy to see their hard work paying off, but I think the whole club is stoked that both senior teams have made it through to the final.”

He expects a tough physical battle against an impressive Whakatāne Marist outfit, who are unbeaten heading into the final.

“I think getting ahead early this weekend will be very important again but we’re also expecting 80 minutes of pressure from Marist, as has been the case with previous finals from experience.

“We know what we need to do this weekend and the boys are really eager to get it done.”

There will be plenty of exciting battles across the park, but none more so than opposing number eights Lemeki Cagialau and Luke Morris, while the battle of talented halfbacks Jordy Fleming and Cole Scott will also be exciting.

Ryshawn Vercoe will dictate proceedings at first five for Marist, while Tane Howe gets the job for Ōpōtiki.

Ōpōtiki lock forward Rene Kapa has been in outstanding form and could well be a key, while the front row battle looks set to excite.

Both teams have plenty of pace out wide and victory could come down to a line break from either side, with Braeden Elmiger and Tamarau Karepa lethal finishers for Ōpōtiki, while Meli Salatagane and Ro Deco are speedsters for Marist.

In the other premier semifinal, Marist did it tough, overcoming Te Teko in an extra-time thriller, earning a spot in the final with a 50-33 victory.

Marist had the chance to win it in regulation time but pushed their penalty goal wide.

It was 26-all at the end of regulation time, before Marist’s superior fitness shone through.

Te Teko have had a challenging season, often being down on personnel, however, for the semifinal, coach Don Te Maipi had too many players to pick – something that’s been few and far between this season.

Fullback Gavin Causer was a standout and created havoc for Marist by scoring four tries, including a couple from deft little kicks in behind.

Aki Pulu and Esala Bala both bagged a brace of tries for Marist, while Josaia Vuadreu, Cole Scott, Sitiveni Uitalia and Hamuera Hudson also dotted down in the victory.

At one stage it looked as though Te Teko might take the clash up 26-14 with less than 10 minutes to go, however, Marist scored a couple of superb tries to take the contest to extra-time.

In the last round robin matches for the senior reserve grade, Tāneatua defeated Kawerau 17-12 and Matatā outmuscled Edgecumbe 17-7.

Their final will be Tāneatua facing Kawerau in what should be a cracking contest as there is little that separates both teams.

A contest that will be exciting is the loose forward battle between both teams, while they will look to spread the ball when possible.  

Meanwhile, the Ōpōtiki senior reserves side made it through to the development grade final with a hard fought 30-24 victory against Poroporo B. They have been outstanding all season and deserve their spot in the final at Rugby Park, where they will take on Rūātoki B in a repeat of the 2023 decider, which Ōpōtiki B won in extra time.

The development final kicks off at 12.30pm on field 2 at Rugby Park, the reserves start at 1pm on field 1 and are followed by the main game at 2.45pm.