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Age-group clean sweep

Last year's New Zealand schools' captain Carl Axtens continued his recovery from a serious knee injury, helping the Bay of Plenty under-18 rugby team to a 37-3 win over Northland over the weekend.

It was a red letter day for Bay teams, with all four sides winning.

No8 Axtens scored a try and was a dominant figure around the field as his side scored six tries in windy conditions in Auckland.

The Bay of Plenty development team also beat their Northland counterparts, winning 34-10 in Whangarei, as wing Matt Hodson collected two tries and Steamers squad member Nick McCashin also crossed.

The Bay of Plenty under-18 team had to survive a strong challenge from Auckland B at Blake Park. Down 17-5 at halftime, the under-18 side scored three times in the second half to win 24-20, with Matt Axtens, Fergus McCool, Timoti Marr and Ngatai Kingi all crossing.

The Bay of Plenty under-16 led 10-0 at the break, playing into a strong wind against Thames Valley in Paeroa, before cruising home to win 50-0. Mason Walker and Beau Williams grabbed two tries each.

Scores:

Development: Bay of Plenty (Matt Hodson 2, Wayne Hughson, Nick McCashin tries; McCashin 4con 2pen) Northland 10.

Under-20: Bay of Plenty 37 (Carl Axtens, Nick Evemy. Te Amo Wilbore, Steven Honey, MaNasa Bole, Elijah Wilson-Haira tries; Keanu Apply-Sue pen, Evemy 2 con) Northland 3.

Under-18: Bay of Plenty 24 (Matt Axtens, Fergus McCool, Timoti Marr, Ngatai Kingi tries; Jordan Ngamata-Poi 2 con) Auckland B 20. HT: 5-17.

Under-16: Bay of Plenty 50 (Mason Walker 2, Beau Williams 2, Liam Haehae, Tom Jackson, Josh Simmkins, Tawhiri Kaa-Wharehinga tries; J Simpkins 5 con) Thames Valley 0. HT: 10-0.

Rovers made to sweat

Claudelands Rovers were odds-on favourites to take maximum points when they met Te Awamutu in Waikato-Bay of Plenty Federation football on Saturday.

They had won the first encounter 5-0, they had home advantage and were on top of the league table, while Te Awamutu were 11th and in danger of relegation.

But Rovers had to come from behind for a narrow 2-1 win, leaving Claudelands coach Jim Keaney a relieved man when the final whistle blew at Galloway Park.

"That was too close for comfort. Te Awamutu really played well and pushed us all the way. Without taking anything away from Te Awamutu, our guys were still basking in the glory of last week's win over Whakatane.

"With two games to play it was a good wake-up call."

Rotorua United stayed in the title race with a 2-0 win over Te Puke. Whakatane Town retained third place despite losing 1-0 to Taupo, Otorohanga were beaten 3-2 by Melville United, Otumoetai beat Tauranga Boys' College 3-0, while bottom of the table Hamilton Wanderers upset Ngaruawahia 2-1.

The Litt Park surface is atrocious, and as long as it stays in this condition spectators will continue to witness sub-standard games like the Rotorua United v Te Puke clash on Saturday.

Neither side mastered the hard, bumpy ground, which resulted in a gamefull of errors. United, thanks to two goals from Steve Turner, led 2-0 at the break, but it could have been five or six as they dominated a Te Puke side who were bereft of skill.

The second half was a ho-hum affair, and while they didn't create any clear chances, United were never in danger of losing.

As usual there was a steady wind blowing down Fergusson Park, and playing with the wind, Otumoetai went ahead after 20 minutes through Daniel Miller. After a week of secondary school tournament play it would have been understandable if Tauranga Boys' had wilted in the second half, but although Darren Ward doubled the home team's lead in the 50th minute, it was a late penalty by Miller that sealed the win. Russell Wakely and Jack Farey, along with player of the day Daniel Miller, were Otumoetai's best.

In Division two, Ngongotaha beat Hamilton North 5-0.

Federation 1 points: Claudelands played 20, 50pts, Rotorua (19) 47, Whakatane (19) 38, Tauranga Boys' (18) 32, Taupo (20) 31, Otorohanga (18) 29, Te Puke (20) 24, Otumoetai (20) 23, Ngaruawahia (20) 21, Melville (21) 21, Te Awamutu (19) 15, Hamilton (20) 11.

Rose Bowl retained

Rangataua opened its Ratana Maramatanga Rose Bowl defence with a 45-10 thrashing of Te Puna on Saturday in the first of three Maori rugby challenges.

Wing Ash Mason crossed twice in the seven-try mauling, which was Te Puna's first crack at the 80-year-old trophy.

Rangataua's backline had too much gas for their traditional rivals, complemented by a fast and mobile loose forward contingent.

The Rose Bowl has been played for between North Island Maori clubs since the 1930s and has spent the past few decades in the Bay of Plenty region.

Rangiuru, who held the trophy for a decade until 2005, have the second challenge this week, while Judea - who took it off Rangiuru that year - have the last one in a fortnight.

Result:

Rangataua 45 (Ashley Mason 2, Matua Parkinson, Quentin Gardiner, Roha Dalton-Reedy, Norm Tapara, Whakakauika Ririnui tries; Whakakauika Ririnui 2con, John Ririnui 3con) Te Puna 10 (Campbell Bidois, Simon Weti tries).

St Kents victorious

Auckland's St Kentigern School emerged top as 21 teams and 330 schoolboys from throughout the North Island, as well as Christchurch's Burnside High, converged on Papamoa for football's Rex Dawkins Cup.

Only Aquinas College and Tauranga Boys' College second XI represented Tauranga schools, with Tauranga Boys' first XI away at the premier schoolboy tournament in Napier and Bethlehem College at a satellite event in Taranaki.

It was apparent early on that the toughest competition would come from the Auckland schools, with Glendowie, Rosmini, Massey, St Kentigern all prominent in section play.

Only Paraparaumu College was able to make much headway against this trend, defeating Aorere in a tight quarter-final to advance to a semifinal against Rosmini, who squeaked into the semis with a controversial penalty for handball 15 seconds from the end of their quarter-final against Massey.

Rosmini then overcame Paraparaumu in another close encounter to make the final against St Kentigern, who played attractive football to down Glendowie in the other semi.

The final saw St Kentigern score early in each half to hold a slight edge over Rosmini, showing a keener edge in front of goal. But Rosmini fought all the way and were rewarded about 10 minutes from time with a penalty, which narrowed the gap to 2-1 down.

Aquinas finished a creditable 10th, while Boys' College seconds were 16th. Most entertaining match was for the wooden spoon, where Whakatane defeated Taita College 8-4.

Final results: 1 St Kentigern College, 2 Rosmini College, 3 Paraparaumu College, 4 Glendowie College, 5 Massey High School, 6 Botany Downs Secondary College, 7 Burnside High School, 8 Aorere College, 9 Fraser High School, 10 Aquinas College, 11 Reporoa College, 12 Wanganui Collegiate, 13 Kerikeri High School, 14 Matamata College, 15 Whangaparaoa College, 16 Tauranga Boys College, 17th Aotea College, 18 Campion College, 19 Taupo Nui-a-tia College, 20 Albany Senior High, 21 Whakatane High School, 22 Taita College.

Mount crew third

Mount Maunganui guns Jason Watts and Sven Hodkinson grabbed a podium finish at the 90 Mile Beach surf lifesaving IRB Classic that finished at Ahipara on Saturday. Together with patient Chad Wheeler, the Mount crew led until the last leg, then clung on to finish third in the epic race.

The west coast put on typical wild surf, forcing the 30 crews to hug the shoreline as they passed through four check points before the finish line at Ahipara west of Kaitaia.

Muriwai relished the familiar conditions, with crews from the west Auckland club grabbing the first two spots.

Winner and older brother, Matt Buswell was on the throttle with his crew of Jason Harvey and Blake Ingram, while his brother Scott drove the boat with Brad Pearce and Tom Clark into second place.

The winning time of the Muriwai A crew was 2 hours 30 minutes 7 seconds for the 90 mile race, with its C crew just 55 second behind, while Mount finished in 2h 44m 57s.

"We faced three to four-metre surf, which forced one change to the course," said Northern Region Sport Manager, Travis Mitchell.

"The original course saw a diversion out around Motupia Island, but for safety we cancelled the route around the island."

Stallions off to flyer

Waicoa Bays Stallions are up and running in the national rugby league competition after a lopsided 36-18 win over Heartland at Hamilton's Resthills Park on Sunday.

Otumoetai Eels and Coastline representative siblings Sam and Doug Graham were in devastating tackling mode, with Eels fullback Mike Johnston in bullocking form at centre, scoring two tries and being denied a third after being bundled over the corner flag.

Waicoa Bays looked a lot better organised side after their bumbling display in a wet and windy Wellington the week before. With big prop Brendon Anderson succumbing to a back injury early in the second half, Heartland came back strongly.

But Ngongotaha hooker Raymond Luke carved big yards around the ruck and Waikato's Simon Beale was outstanding at loose forward.

Waicoa Bays were never going to let this game slip away and can be well satisfied going into their next game this weekend against South Island in Christchurch.

In the under-15s game, Tauranga Whalers prop Clayton Williams was in his normal block-busting form, scoring a try in helping the team also record a good 22-10 win over Heartland.

Stallions under-17 couldn't complete a hat-trick of wins, going down 16-12.

In the big match of the round, Wellington Orcas upset heavyweights Auckland 24-18, with Counties Manukau proving far too strong for the hapless Northern Swords 86-0.

Scores:

Premiers: WaicoaBays Stallions 36 (M Johnston 2, J Kutia, Z Milliken, S Beale, R Luke tries; J Taituha 6 goals) Heartland 18 (T Peneha 3, Z Tangira tries; Tangira goal), Wellington Orcas 30 Auckland 24, Counties-Manukau 86 Northland Swords 0.

Under-17: WaicoaBays 12 Heartland 16, Wellington Orcas 30 Auckland 24, Counties Manukau 96 Northland Swords 0.

Under-15: WaicoaBays 22 Heartland 10, Auckland 24 Wellington Orcas 18.