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Te Akau Ki Primary is one step closer to defending its Bay of Plenty crown after an action-packed day in the Western Bay of Plenty's version of the Rippa Rugby World Cup

The Papamoa school and perennial Rippa Rugby powerhouses fended off numerous opponents on their way to taking out the Years 5 and 6 division at Mount Maunganui's Blake Park yesterday.

A St. Thomas More Catholic School player during the Western Bay of Plenty Rippa Rugby tournament at Blake Park. Photos: Bruce Barnard.

In the Years 3 and 4 division, Green Park Primary came out victors, in what is the ninth edition of the annual event.

The win means the two schools, plus a further two in each grade, go on to compete in the Baywide championship in Paengaroa on June 11.

The annual event sees schools from throughout the Bay – eastern, western and central – compete in their respective region, before the winners come together to find the Bay of Plenty representative for the national tournament in Wellington in the years 5 and 6 garde.

The tournaments are also a chance for many girls to take their first steps in playing rugby.

Each team must have five girls and five boys for all three tournaments.

In 2014, Opotiki Primary School represented the Bay at the national tournament winning bronze after thumping Manawatu's Riverdale School 40-10.

Bay of Plenty Rugby junior rugby development officer Mark Roberts says all participants showed 'awesome attitude” as well as plenty of talent throughout the day.

This year more than 1500 kids, in the two grades – Years 3 and 4 and Years 5 and 6 – are involved in the four Rippa Rugby World Cup tournaments.

A total of 64 teams will compete in the Western Bay of Plenty, 40 in the Central Bay of Plenty and 48 Eastern Bay sides. In total, the 152 teams involved are from 76 schools.

Mark says it was equally cool to see schools new to the game, such as Matakana Island, Waihi Beach and Paengaroa, making the trip to the event. He adds that numbers are slightly up on last year.

'We get a couple of schools that drop out and some come in,” explains Mark. 'The numbers are slowly growing and we are getting new interest.”

He says the Rippa Rugby event is a great introduction into rugby for these players, learning key skills of passing, catching, evasion and support.

Upcoming dates for tournaments:

Central Bay of Plenty – Wednesday May 20, Westbrooks Park, Rotorua. 9am – 3pm

Baywide – Wednesday May 27, Paengaroa Domain, Paengaroa. 9am – 3pm