In a real game of attrition, Rangataua and Tauranga Sports, battled to a 12 all draw at Te Ariki Park in round three of the BOPRU Premier Championship, played on Saturday (9 April 2011).

The closeness of the contest was shown by the half time score of 7 points apiece. Tauranga Scored the first try, with Rangataua touching down before the break to tie up the match at the half way stage. The home team drew first blood in the second spell with a second try, before the Tauranga Sports reply again locked up the game.

One of Bay of Plenty Rugby’s most loyal lieutenants, will be missing from the close quarter action of the Steamers ITM Cup campaign this season.

It is with deep disappointment, that the Bay of Plenty Rugby Union has accepted the resignation of Steamers Assistant Coach Steve Miln, as he leaves the Union to pursue new endeavors in his life.

Two Baywide Premier teams remain unbeaten after the second round of the Bay of Plenty Rugby Centennial Year competitions.

Defending Premier champion Tauranga Sports ran in seven tries on its way to a 46-6 win, over Whakatane Marist in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.

The Tauranga team’s two Portuguese players, Franciso Appleton and Nuno Penha A Costa, both touched down for tries.

Kenyan sevens star Charles Longwe is set to make his Baywide club rugby debut for Te Puke this weekend in a decent boost to the region's halfback stocks.

Longwe, better known as Chucky, will travel with Te Puke to Rotoiti tomorrow and coach Jeremy Cotter is confident the 22-year-old will get some game time.

Cotter spotted Longwe while on safari in Kenya last year, when the No 9 was loading pineapples onto a flatbed truck on a road near the city of Thika, firing the fruit 40m on the fly.