The Ōpōtiki premier men’s rugby team have picked up where they left off following a bye.

Ōpōtiki continued their strong winning ways with a 73-0 drubbing of Rūātoki. The win guarantees them a spot in the top two and they will be looking to cement top seed over the next couple of weeks.

Coach Tuterangi Te Moana said it could be tricky following a bye, but they played well and picked up a good win.

“It was good to get that win under our belt. It was a physically challenging match which is what we were expecting from them.”

Keeping the players focused when it’s been a bye week is the biggest challenge.

“Preparation over the bye weeks has also been challenging for us in terms of the motivation for our boys to keep training through the break. There’s a core group who continue to show up consistently and it really shows with their performances on the field.”

Ōpōtiki aren’t looking too far ahead despite having locked in a top two spot.

“We’re still taking it week by week and taking all the opportunities we have left to refine our game so when it does get to the business end, we are as prepared as we can be. We still have a little bit to tidy up.

Te Moana knows Te Teko will come fired up and ready for revenge following their round one defeat.

“Expecting another physical game from Te Teko. They’re a side who we respect having had plenty of epics with. So, taking that into account, we’re looking forward to this coming game.”

Te Teko coach Sasu Wihapi said they were excited at the challenge ahead this weekend.

“The men are always excited, after an 84-0 demolition to Ōpōtiki in round one, we know there’s an opportunity for us to improve and we have nothing to lose.”

Meanwhile, the Ōpōtiki women fell to a 34-19 defeat to Te Puna in their clash in Tauranga.

Te Puna, who had plenty of players for the clash, were challenged the entire time by a gallant Ōpōtiki side.

Ōpōtiki player-coach Helena Coughlan said they’d done well with limited players.

“Despite the numbers and having a new back line, our ladies did well. We were missing a lot of our ladies due to injuries and unavailability

“The game was very physical with strong runs from both sides and awesome defence. Te Puna played a similar game structure as us, but their backs had more speed than us to finish off tries. We made Te Puna work as a majority of their tries were scored out wide.”

Coughlan said they were looking forward to a bye to freshen up a few bodies.

“We have bye this week and next week we have semifinals against Te Puna over there.”

She is proud of the team dynamics and atmosphere they have created.

“The culture we have built with each other, having each other’s backs on and off the field, watching each player grow and improve each week, seeing their confidence grow in themselves and playing some awesome games of footy, has been awesome.

“So has the amount of support women’s rugby has received from our whānau and community showing up at every home game to tautoko the ladies.”

This weekend, the premier men’s team host Te Teko and so do the B teams, who play in the earlier games at Princess Street Reserve.