Sideline Sid - Sports blogger Sideline Sid is a local sport fanatic. Not only is he a classic rugby bloke but he has views, opinions and knowledge on all sports played in the Bay of Plenty.

Just when the Bartercard Baywide Premier rugby championship appeared to be drifting along a predicable pathway - last weekend's results breathed new life into the race for the semi-finals

Three of the top four sides were upset by teams below them on the points ladder, with the biggest upset provided by Rangataua which defeated defending champions Tauranga Sports.
Two factors played a big part in the defeat of the reigning champions. The first was the vocal and enthusiastic crowd support at Rangataua headquarters for the home team.
Few Bay of Plenty club fans support their side with the fervour and passion that Te Ariki Park supporters muster on chilly winter days. The colder the weather, the more the Rangataua followers turn up to yell and scream for their side.
A multitude of referee experts are always on hand at Te Ariki Park to point out to the ref the error of his ways and offer advice on how to control the game. Most comments suggest decisions in favour of the home team.
The second reason for the Rangataua triumph was a considerable number of changes in Sports' starting line-up. However, the changes could be part of a cunning plan - to make up for loss of the Tauranga Sports' Steamers players, who will be required for representative duty in the coming weeks.
A determined Rangataua unit stormed out of the blocks to score a point a minute for the first quarter to lead 21-nil. Such was the early Rangataua domination, that a well known Sports supporter up and went with Rangataua leading by 28 before the halftime break.
However, a Tauranga second half resurrection turned the game into a competitive contest. The visitors roared back into the game in the second half with three well executed touchdowns, which still wasn't enough as the home side triumphed 36-27.

A second Western Bay side to receive a reality check was Te Puke Sports, which journeyed to Opotiki to meet the home side. The Eastern Bay side belied their place on the points ladder to shut Te Puke out of the game.
While the match turned out to be a real arm wrestle, Opotiki came from a 5-6 deficit at the break to score two further tries and take out the match 15-6. Their superiority was shown in the three tries to nil victory.

There were plenty of raised eyebrows after the result of the Whakatane Marist encounter with Rotoiti was posted. The Marist side came from near bottom of the points tally to grab a 17-11 win from the early season front-runners.

While the upsets didn't change the standing on the points ladder, it has given Whakarewarewa and Rangataua a sniff of making the semi-finals - where prior to the weekend they had both been ruled out of top four calculations.

On the local scene Katikati celebrated its 130 year celebrations, when they ran riot beating Rangataua seconds 71-5 at Moore Park. A win over Judea this weekend will give Katikati a home game in the Western Bay of Plenty final to be played on July 17.

Seeya at the Game.