Sideline Sid Sports correspondant & historian www.sunlive.co.nz

In today's world it is easy to keep up with rugby in the Bay of Plenty, when enjoying the sun in Queensland.

Text updates from my mates and the weekly results on SunLive keep a holidaying Sideline Sid in touch with the winners and losers in the Baywide premier title race.

While Te Puke Sports continue their see-saw battle with Mount Maunganui at the top of the table, and Rangiuru vie for premier survival at the foot of the ladder, there have been a number of upsets raising the eyebrows of the old fellow in the second round.

Mount Maunganui thrashing Tauranga Sports was a beauty, then Greerton Marist upsetting the Mount was another to upset the form book.

While Rangiuru took some time to adjust to their promotion to the top echelon, after earning promotion by way of winning last year's Division One title, they've found their stride in the second round with two solid victories.

The Rangiuru Brains Trust – of former Bay stars in Peter Woods and Mark Basham, has instilled self-belief in their team – however they'll need plenty of luck to avoid relegation at this season's end.

While Sideline Sid is a fan of the current Baywide format, he has reservations about the automatic relegation of the premier wooden spooners each season.

Since Greerton won promotion from the second echelon in 2011, Waikite and Paeroa have followed in their footsteps, only to return to Division One after just a solitary season playing in the top grade.

My solution is to return to an end of season playoffs, whereby the Division One champion challenges the last-placing finisher in the premier competition for the final spot in the following season's top division.

While really missing the Baywide action each weekend, Sid has been getting his regular rugby fix on the Sunshine Coast each Saturday.

His brother-in-law, who played for Arataki in their inaugural season in the 1970s, has turned Sid into a Caloundra Rugby Club follower.

After two home games, which resulted in a win and a loss, we were on the road to follow ‘our' team's fortune when they played Maroochydore further up the coast last weekend.

A stunning come-from-behind one-point victory reversed the first round loss to the defending champions.

The standard of rugby on the Sunshine Coast is a little behind Baywide premier rugby, being closer to Division One in the Bay.

The coast was represented in the Brisbane top grade by the Stingrays, but the collapse of the side this year has seen a return to a focus on club rugby.

With just five teams in the premier division, the teams play each other several times in the season.

However, all five teams are competitive and all in the mix for championship honours at the half-way stage of the 2014 title race.

Next Saturday's home game should be an entertaining afternoon, both on and off the field, with the club hosting its annual ladies day.