Mount Maunganui Sports have scored a convincing victory over rivals Tauranga Sports in this weekend's ‘Battle of the Bridge' rugby match.

The 35-18 win on Saturday means the Mount side takes the Jordan Cup home.

Mount Maunganui Sports coach Rodney Voullaire says the rain held off, ensuring a great game was played at Blake Park.

'Both teams went quite well. We played a lot of width on both sides. It was just a typical battle of the bridge game – it was great.”

He says there were some ‘mixed emotions' for him yesterday, having played for Tauranga Sports when he was younger. So although he's pleased with the win, he's ready with praise for the Tauranga side's performance as well.

'It's definitely an even battle all the time. Tauranga Sports have won the premiership most years in the last decade, so they're an outstanding side.”

He says his Mount players have done consistently well throughout the season.

'Our captain Aaron Carroll has been an outstanding player all year, and our first-five Matt Golding did well also with a couple drop goals in this match.”

Tauranga Sports coach Zane Winslade feels his team put up a good fight in the annual tussle.

'I think our preparation was pretty good. We were confident after our performance against Te Puke, when we defended really well. We worked on our attack this week and thought we could combine that defensive effort with a better attacking mode,” he says.

'However, we lost the ball at crucial moments, and were penalised at key points in the game, which stopped us getting any real flow.”

The Tauranga side still scored two tries, however, with the rest of their points coming from penalties.

He singled out fullback Steve Honey as a great player from the match.

'Steve had a really good game. He's a quality player and he showed that in the game.”