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Sports correspondent & historian with |
While Covid changed the world, it also brought a myriad of small changes throughout society.
Bay of Plenty senior club rugby adapted, then took another approach in providing the game to its stakeholders.
Prior to 2020, 24 teams played Baywide rugby, spread over Eastern, Western Bay of Plenty and Rotorua.
There was plenty of grumbling about the cost of bus travel but little action to change the status quo.
Rugby was far from a priority in mid-2020, however, as the borders shut down to contain the virus, attention turned to getting the players back on the paddock.
The answer was localised competitions administered by the Western and Eastern Bay of Plenty and Rotorua sub-unions.
Played under a host of protocols, the three premier and development regional competitions reintroduced the participants to weekly local rivalries.
Many of the smaller Bay of Plenty clubs’ appetite for Baywide rugby, with all the travel, disappeared with the return of mate v mate in local rugby competition.
The lead-up to the 2023 season featured a one-division, 12-team Baywide title race, which reduced to just 10 teams last year.
This year, Te Puke Sports, Greerton Marist, Tauranga Sports, Mount Maunganui, Te Puna, Rangataua and Rotorua entry Whakarewarewa are contesting the Baywide Premier competition.
One of the lead-ins to the 2023 season involved concerns being expressed that there was no longer an identified pathway from the secondary school game to senior club competition.
After considerable discussion, the Bay of Plenty Rugby Union put in place a Colts/Under 85kg grade competition, which attracted six teams.
Mount Maunganui, Greerton, Te Puna and Te Puke Sports were joined by Rotorua’s Kahukura and a Taupō combined team in the inaugural age group/weight-restricted contests.
A strategic goal of providing the game pathway throughout the regions was met this season, when Eastern Bay’s Te Teko and Marist St Michael’s from Rotorua joined Te Puke Sports, Pāpāmoa, Greerton, Mount Maunganui, Tauranga Sports and the Taupō representatives.
With just three weeks to the playoffs, Te Puke Sports sit at the top of the points ladder with seven straight victories, while Tauranga Sports, Greerton Marist and Mount Maunganui round out the top four.
The aim of keeping teenage players in the game is being fulfilled and providing a competitive environment for lightweight players is also an important principle in keeping players in rugby.
To this end, a Western Bay of Plenty Under 85kg side has received entry to the NZR Under 85kg National Club Cup title race.
Playing under the banner of Tauranga Sports, the side has secured the services of Fiji Drua coach and former Chiefs star Glen Jackson as head coach.
Jackson said: “I can’t wait to see the Raptors attack from all areas and enjoy seeing the growth of Under 85kg rugby. The recent New Zealand Under 85kg tour of Sri Lanka showcased some outstanding rugby and we would love to promote some of our players into national contention.”
Initiatives such as the New Zealand Rugby national weight-restricted team provide an additional avenue for another group to play rugby at the highest level.