Wily fox leads Tauranga to trophy
by Jamie Troughton
 
On a day when  even ducks were running for cover and  fish in the harbour were putting on wetsuits, Tauranga Sports decided to break out their Swamp Fox one last time.

Kyle O'Brien played five seasons for Thames Valley before moving to Tauranga in 2003. He grew up on a peat-infused dairy farm halfway between Paeroa and Thames and saw his fair share of shin-high mud.

Though he's lurked in limbo between retirement and senior reserve rugby most of the season, when the heavens opened for Saturday's Baywide championship final, it was only a matter of time before O'Brien burst off the bench.
Just under an hour later, he was holding the Baywide Trophy aloft for the fifth time in eight seasons, more than any other player in the competition's history.
A dejected Mount Maunganui team trudged off Tauranga Domain after losing 19-10, having 19 unanswered points scored against them in the time O'Brien was on the field.
As Tauranga Sports celebrated their fourth title in as many years and looked ahead to a drive for five, No8 Kent Rae saluted his halfback's performance as both players look to quit on top.
"He had a huge impact - he's probably the best halfback in the Baywide competition and to have him come on was brilliant," Rae said. "If he'd stuck with it and wanted it, he would have been a bloody good player for the Bay but it's not for everyone - we're just glad he stuck with the club."
The home team won the toss and opted to play into a strengthening wind. Mount's pack caused headaches but after a Sam Jurisich penalty after 12min, it took a further 20min for them to cross the line.
Wing Troye Elvin scooted across after Tauranga coughed up possession metres from their own line, with Mount halfback Steven Wallace providing the impetus.
Jurisich nailed a superb sideline conversion to make it 10-0 but it wasn't a comfortable margin by any means.
"It was an 18 to 20-point wind and we knew if we could hold out in the first half and limit their scoring, we'd be all over it," Rae said. "We just kept knocking them over in defence, leaving the ball alone and not giving away penalties and we did what we set out to do. The rest is history I suppose."
It was, but only after the Tauranga pack stepped up. They grew as the second half went on, with O'Brien keeping them moving forward with deft box kicks and probing assaults.
The 31-year-old is more mongrel than pure-bred hound these days, greying around the ears and sagging in the middle, but he spent 45 invaluable minutes barking at his forwards and chewing up metres.
Tauranga first-five Nick Evemy chipped over two penalties, before openside flanker Bruce Olsen burst through after 61min and fullback Steve Honey scored in the corner.
Evemy emulated Jurisich's sideline conversion with one of his own, added a penalty with 10 minutes left, then slammed over the match-winner from 50m in the last minute.
The Mount players were left hollow and dejected, none more so than prop Ted Tauroa who also had to farewell his brother last week after he was killed in a car accident.
"We should've got more points with the wind behind us, plugging the corners and setting ourselves up," Tauroa said. "They came back and did exactly what we did to them in the first half, only a little bit better."
Tauranga props Noa Lolohea and Pingi Talaapitanga toiled hard, Olsen and blindside Adam Robinson were industrious but Rae, an unsung hero for the side this year, gave every inch of his big frame to the cause and was the pick of the pack.
"I'm 32 now - it's all over. I'm 14 years older than some of the boys now and that tells me they can do it by themselves next year."

Tauroa plays final despite tragedy
by Jamie Troughton
 
The bravest effort in Saturday's Baywide club rugby finals wasn't a match-saving tackle or a courageous clearing kick under pressure.
Mount Maunganui prop Ted Tauroa won that honour hands down, simply by running out  on to the field for the championship final against Tauranga Sports.
The 2009 Steamer had a tragic buildup to the premier final, with his half-brother, Shannon Hepi, one of two Otorohanga Rugby Club teammates killed in a car accident in Kihikihi a week earlier.
Tauroa had a funeral to help organise on Thursday for his brother, then attended Friday's burial of Justin Aikman, the other player killed.
But he told Mount coach Marty Bourke there was no way he was going to miss Saturday's final, which Tauranga Sports won 19-10.
"Nothing was going to stop me playing - I was trying to send Shannon a message with a win, but unfortunately it wasn't to be," Tauroa lamented.
"Win or lose, my heart was still with him, though."
 Hepi and Aikman had been returning from the Waikato club rugby finals, having beaten Hautapu in Cambridge 17-12 for the Premier B competition.
They were passengers in a car which  was in a collision with another  and rolled.
Otorohanga-born Tauroa said the deaths had thrown Saturday's loss into sharp perspective and that he'd drawn strength from his team.
"A couple of carloads of Mount boys turned up at the funeral on Thursday, which I really appreciated, and we wore armbands today as well," Tauroa said.
"Today was a new day - we had to put all the emotions aside and get on with business but they got the bounce of the ball today.
"It's been a sad week and a slow week but the family has pulled each other through - I guess the Mount Maunganui family are going to pull each other through this loss over the next few days, too."
Mount Maunganui had a small consolation on Saturday when their senior reserve side held off Whakarewarewa in the senior reserve final.
Tauranga Sports' premier win gave them four championships in a row and a record fifth title overall.

Finally, a finals win as Te Puke break hex
by Jamie Troughton
 
Could the jinx finally be broken?
Te Puke Colts captain Tukahau Carter reckons so, after leading his team to the first Baywide title - in any grade - in the club's history.
Years of agony, the pain of countless chokes and the desperate tears of supporters were washed away in the Tauranga Domain rain as Te Puke beat Tauranga Sports 19-3 in the age-grade finale.
"It's the first one in our history and we did it by winning 20 games on the trot, so it doesn't get much better than that," Carter said.
"We don't have that pressure anymore and we can just get on with playing now."
Unbeaten throughout the season, Saturday's miserable conditions played right into Te Puke hands, with props Carter and Jamie Callaghan leading the charge.
Callaghan scored two tries, adding to one by right wing Nick Lekkimlim, while first-five Steve Munro added two conversions.
Most of the team were backing up from last year's final when Te Puke suffered a 42-3 humbling at the hands of Ngongotaha at the same venue.
"The final last year woke us up to what it was all about. It's another step up and the boys have been training hard every week, especially on Tuesdays when we knew we were going to get run around. That extra fitness and heart got us through today."
The fairytale also continued for Katikati rugby although skipper Troy Davy has all but ruled out a remarkable three-peat.
Katikati grabbed the Baywide division two crown after a grinding 14-3 win over Poroporo.
It was a win only sealed in the last minute when flanker Heath Haua scored out wide, coming a year after the club won the now-defunct division three title.
Former Steamers hooker Davy has urged the town's passionate supporters - who were again out in force - not to expect miracles next year, however, if Katikati is promoted  to division one as expected.
"I think we're ready but I don't think we're going to win it or anything," Davy said. "We need to take the next step and if we can get middle of the table, we'll be happy. We'll just try and build the team slowly and do things properly."
That's pretty much how they won on Saturday, turning at 3-all at halftime and beating a plucky Poroporo into submission.
"We just had to grind them down. It was pick and go, pick and go and that's all that was really on. We knew they'd have quite fast backs so we kept it in the forwards and only spun it when we had front-foot ball."
Wing Richie Earl kicked three penalties, while the winning team also featured the four Petersen brothers in their ranks, Graeme, Mike, Steve and Ian.

BAYWIDE RESULTS
(Tauranga Domain)
Premier: Tauranga Sports 19 (Steve Honey try; Nick Evemy 4pen con) Mount Maunganui 10 (Troye Elvin try; Sam Jurisich pen con). HT: 0-10.
Division one: Waikite 22 (Anthony Flint, Keanu Apply-sue, Carlos Putaranui tries; Apply-sue 2con pen) Rangiuru 10 (Sasu Wihapi try; Wihapi pen, Ngatai Kingi con). HT: 17-10.
Division two: Katikati 14 (Heath Haua try; Richard Earl 3pen) Poroporo 3 (Chris Kilgariff pen). HT: 3-3.
Colts: Te Puke Sports 19 (Jamie Callaghan 2, Nick Lekkimlim tries; Steve Munro 2con) Tauranga Sports 3 (Kayne Blackie pen). HT: 19-0.
Senior Reserve: Mount Maunganui 24 Whakarewarewa 15.