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

The promotion/relegation format of two Baywide rugby competitions have created several winner take all matches in Premier and Division One in the last qualifying rounds to be played this Saturday.

With the two divisions of 12 splitting into three grades of Premier One, Premier Two and Division One, there are some cut-throat encounters scheduled on the weekend to decide the final composition of the Baywide Rugby Championships.

Greerton Marist, Rotoiti and Whakarewarewa will battle to secure the last two Premier One spots.

Greerton had an arm wrestle with Whaka at Greerton Park over the weekend, before snatching a vital 22-20 victory, to move slightly in front of the two Rotorua sides on the standings.

Lurking two points behind the Western Bay side is Rotoiti. In what is likely to be a sudden death match-up, Greerton will travel to the cauldron of Emery Park on the outskirts of Rotorua.

The winner will take a place in the Baywide top eight, with the loser likely to be relegated to the second tier of Baywide rugby.

While Whakarewarewa are currently in ninth place, they could grab the last top-division place, with a big win over cellar-dwellers Paroa at Whaka headquarters.

To add to the weekend drama, there is also a logjam in the Division One race for the four Premier Two positions on offer.

While Ngongotaha, Poroporo and Rangiuru have earned Premier Two places entering the last qualifying round, there is a dogfight on the cards for the last spot.

The final Prem Two place will be taken by either Judea, Waikite or Te Teko who currently hold down fourth to sixth positions on the standings.

Judea faces a big task meeting competition leaders Ngongotaha, while Waikite and Te Teko square off in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.

Baywide Development teams will follow their Premier counterparts into their respective Premier competitions, with the Baywide Development Championship likely to be fought out by the defending titleholders Te Puke Sports, Tauranga Sports and Mount Maunganui.

This wizened sports commentator likes the current Baywide format where two divisions of 12 teams begin the season, before splitting into three divisions in the second half of the rugby year.

The four Division One teams, who contest the Premier Two championship, have the opportunity to advance to the top grade the following season, by finishing in the top four.

Western Bay of Plenty Rugby Sub-Union should be commended for fostering Colts rugby in our region.

The advent of the Baywide Development grade two seasons ago effectively ended Colts rugby, with Bay of Plenty clubs putting all their resources into the Baywide competition.

While there was attempt to form a Colts competition earlier this season, regular available player numbers saw the competition fall by the wayside.

Mount Maunganui and Greerton Marist, who took up the challenge of forming a age group side apiece, had the youngsters, but no competition to play in.

The solution was the Western Bay Sub-Union giving the two Colts teams the opportunity to play in the Senior Reserve competition.

In spite of a few cynics, who said that the Colts would be out of their depth, the trial has been an outstanding success.

Greerton Colts have been unbeaten, albeit with a draw against ED, with the Mount Maunganui youngsters also extremely competitive.