Greerton Marist will head into the Baywide Premier rugby semi-finals with momentum after securing the Jordan Cup and a home playoff after a commanding 45-14 win over Te Puna during the Matariki weekend.

The result confirmed Marist’s place in the top four and ensured the historic challenge trophy will remain at Greerton Park, with the club officially crowned Jordan Cup holder for 2026.

After a scoreless opening 25 minutes on Friday, Greerton Marist broke the deadlock and surged to a 19-0 halftime lead before running away with the contest to collect maximum competition points.

The final pieces of the semi-final puzzle were completed across the weekend, with Whakarewarewa producing a spirited performance to hold Tauranga Sports to a 24-24 draw at Tauranga Domain.

Despite trailing 17-7 at halftime, the Rotorua side rallied in the second spell, crossing for three more tries to deny Tauranga Sports an outright victory.

In the Eastern Bay of Plenty, Ōpōtiki capped an impressive return season to premier rugby with a 31-28 upset win over Te Puke Sports. While the result secured Ōpōtiki a fifth-placed finish in the standings, Te Puke had already done enough the previous week to guarantee a semi-final berth.

Provisional standings show Tauranga Sports on top with 49 competition points, ahead of Greerton Marist (42), Mount Maunganui (35) and Te Puke Sports (33).

Subject to confirmation by Bay of Plenty Rugby, the premier semi-finals are expected to see Tauranga Sports host Te Puke Sports, while Greerton Marist welcome Mount Maunganui to Greerton Park.

The Baywide Development competition also finalised its playoff line-up over the long weekend.

Tauranga Sports secured top qualifying position with a 58-5 victory over Whakarewarewa, while Te Puna overturned a halftime deficit to beat Greerton Marist 24-7. Te Puke Sports rounded out the results with a 57-0 win against Ōpōtiki.

The provisional ladder has Tauranga Sports first on 56 points, followed by Te Puna on 42 and Mount Maunganui on 41.

Next Saturday’s development semi-finals will see Tauranga Sports meet Greerton Marist in a rematch of their final-round fixture, while Te Puna host Mount Maunganui at Maramatanga Park.

In the Western Bay of Plenty Championship, semi-final match-ups have also been confirmed.

Katikati will take on Arataki, while Rangataua face Rangiuru after the final round of regular season action.

-Content supplied by Tauranga Sports writer Barry Leabourn