Ōpōtiki senior men’s and senior reserves rugby teams have stepped away for the Eastern Bay competition this year, opting to test their skills in the Baywide.

Following their emphatic finals victory last year over Paroa, players floated the possibility of turning out in the Baywide competition, which begins this weekend.

Coaches David Te Moana, Dean Elmiger and Tuterangi Te Moana checked the requirements and with the players’ go-ahead, the decision to move was straightforward.

“For the management group, we were looking at 2027, but an email came back about giving it a nudge in 2026,” Te Moana said.

“It’s very exciting but we’re also anxious as we have to find our feet. It brings a bit of a spectacle back to Ōpōtiki rugby.

“It had to be something the players bought into and, fortunately, we had a really keen group of players eager to give it a crack, so we thought, why not.

“We know it’s not going to be like last year and we could suffer some big losses.

“But we’ve got to find ways for our group to stay motivated and improve, and winning games by big margins in the EBOP competition wasn’t something we wanted to do.”

Te Moana, a former Western Force prop, knows there will be teething issues but is confident his troops are up for the test.

“We had a few warm-up games to test where we are at and how things might look.

“They were also a good opportunity for us to try certain things and see where we were against some top opposition, like blooding players, getting continuity.

“We don’t want to limp through the competition.”

They played Mount Maunganui, Ngatapa, Taupō Marist and Whakarewarewa to see how they fared. We set it up this way to see where we are at. It’s a good way to get video footage and see where we are at.”

It’s a big step up for Ōpōtiki, who are one of seven teams in the Baywide division with Arataki and Rangataua missing this year.

Te Puke Sports, Greerton Marist, Tauranga Sports, Mount Maunganui, Whakarewarewa and Te Puna are the other teams lining up this year.

First up, Ōpōtiki will face Te Puna away in what will be a challenging contest.

Te Moana’s squad has plenty of talent throughout with the likes of Kalin and Braeden Elmiger, Mana Howe, Tane Howe, Tamarau Karepa, Rori McGough and several others.

Te Moana said the players’ fitness had improved since they began pre-season in January.

“Some of them have come a long way and are really leading the way and stepping up.

“There is a real core group of boys who have been leading the way since last season.”

They have been joined by a few players from other Eastern Bay clubs, who want to test themselves at premier level.

Te Moana said numbers had been great.

“We have had 42 at a training this year and our smallest training this year has been about 30. Last year, we were lucky to get 16.”

He said looking forward, they would consider taking trainings to Whakatāne if it meant they grabbed a few more players, and wanted their Baywide presence to last more than a season.

“We need to grab players where we can.

“We always knew commitment would be the challenging part.

“We’re going to be okay,” said Te Moana.