Successful Tai Mitchell for girls

SUPPORT: Jayzana Shaw-Hudson is stopped by a Whakatane teammate with Honour Hudson ready for a pass. E5522-291

Sports reporter

Ōpōtiki Tai Mitchell girls team showed impressive skills, running the ball from everywhere, playing as a team and picking up a top-three finish at the annual tournament in Rotorua last week.

They had an absolute blast and played some outstanding rugby to finish in third place.

Across the five days of competition, the girls picked up victories over Tauranga East, 29-5, Rotorua Gold, 37-5, and Whakatāne, 35-15, but lost against Tauranga West, 34-5, in pool play to qualify for the semifinals in third place. In the semifinal, they suffered a 10-0 loss to Rotorua Maroon.

In their third and fourth play-off they scored a good win over Whakatāne to secure third place.

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.”

TRY TIME: Layal Waugh races away to score an impressive individual try. Photos Ngaire Tai E5522-281

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 girl’s tournament team at the conclusion of the tournament.

TEAMWORK: Layla Waugh and Shrianna Kahukiwa work together to stop a Whakatane opponent. E5522-267 

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 can still be proud of his team; they put up a good fight against eventual winners, Te Puke, and neighbours Whakatāne, who were fourth.

If he gets players back next year, there could be plenty to build on.

An added bonus was the performances of Dean Amoamo across the five-days who was  rewarded with a spot in the BOP Wasps Tournament Team.

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, their most valuable player, earn some regional recognition.

“Others to stand out across the tournament were Ty Collier who tackled relentlessly all week, and captain Harley Lee, who controlled our boys well.”

Waterson said Ōpōtiki was looking forward to next year and hosting the 2026 tournament.

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