It was a case of close but not quite enough for Ōpōtiki’s two men’s rugby teams in their Baywide matches on Saturday.

The premiers, who led for most of their clash against Greerton, fell to a 19-12 defeat at Princess Street Reserve, while the development team showed significant improvement on opening week, going down 42-31, thanks to a late Greerton try.

Ōpōtiki premier coach Dave Te Moana said the side left some points on the park.

“I think we were held up at least twice and bombed about three other opportunities. Execution is a big thing, and I think on Saturday we probably needed to be a bit more patient. We probably rushed ourselves a bit.”

Te Moana cannot fault the effort of anybody in the team.

“They’re all working incredibly hard and the best thing is we haven’t even played that well yet. We definitely haven’t hit our straps. I think if we do, I’d like to think we can feature in the top four or five teams.”

He said kicking for goal was more important for them in this grade.

“Last year, we could take a scrum, or a tap, or even a lineout, and more than likely the guys would score from it. This year, we have to look at taking the points more if they’re on offer.”

There are little things the side are working on at training during the week but overall, Te Moana is happy.

“We need to be better at completing things. Control things a bit better.”

He said they were stoked to have a good spectator turnout.

“About a year and a half ago, we were getting crowds but not the atmosphere we have now. The club is really starting to thrive for good reason.

“It’s satisfying for the players who have put in all this hard work since January to see a crowd there supporting them.”

David Whyte and Luke Morris have added some leadership credentials since joining the side and Te Moana said that really helped.

He is pleased for the development side and the big improvement on week one.

“At home they obviously had a lot more players available, but after getting spanked the week before and then coming out like they did and testing Greerton, is positive. We train together and will continue to do so. We want to be one tight-knit club.”

This weekend sees a trip to Rotorua International Stadium where they face defending champions Whakarewarewa.

“I have told the boys there’s no reason we can’t start picking up some wins away from home. We want to make our ground a bit of a fortress, and I think we can definitely grab an away win or two.”

The team has the bye the following week, before a tough stretch where they have two further away games before returning to Princes Street Reserve.

The Ōpōtiki women start their competition next weekend.