Basketball is growing massively in popularity around the country, led by thousands of youngsters picking up the game every day. To the Line looks at what it’s like for New Zealand high school kids with hoop dreams. If there’s been a narrative rumbling away in the sports pages, it’s that of basketball’s seemingly unstoppable momentum … Read more
Jamie Wall reviews 2nd Chance Charlie, where lower grade rugby players compete to have another go at rugby stardom and success. Here’s a show for all the battlers: one of the oldest male traditions in New Zealand, the “had it not been for [insert reason here] I would’ve been an All Black” story, has been … Read more
The arrival of Dan Carter is far from the first time the ever-struggling Auckland team has hoped to turn around its fortunes with a star signing, writes Jamie Wall. New Zealand rugby Twitter is a generally desolate place, especially lately given that there’s been nothing to talk about ever since the season was suspended back … Read more
Yesterday Ian Foster was announced as the new coach of the All Blacks, having already spent eight years as part of the coaching setup. Here, Jamie Wall recounts first meeting Foster in Buenos Aires, and how he marks a departure from Steve Hansen. It was a Friday night earlier this year in Buenos Aires when … Read more
By changing the logo, the Super Rugby side is admitting that the brand is problematic – but they haven’t actually changed the crucially problematic bit, writes Jamie Wall. OK, so there’s finally been a bit of movement in one of the biggest rugby issues of the year. The only problem is it hasn’t gone very … Read more
The process to appoint Steve Hansen’s successor looks increasingly like a farce as quality candidate after quality candidate rule themselves out. Was it all preordained, asks Jamie Wall. For an awful lot of 2019, I was one of the select few that sat in a room with Steve Hansen several times a week. There’s something … Read more
Jamie Wall reviews Jonah, the two-part Three telefeature that follows the life of our most famous All Black, and finds it an effective but mixed retelling of the legend. Honestly, it’s a wee bit disappointing that the only notable on-screen dramatisation of the All Blacks in recent years was centred on replacement first five Stephen Donald. … Read more
Brothers Fred and Kawhena both wore the black jersey 40-odd years ago, and now their achievements have been outdone in some style by the next Woodman generation, writes Jamie Wall in this extract from his new book. “All I heard growing up was: oh, is your dad Kawhena or Fred? Ohhhh, I played alongside your … Read more
The Hurricanes’ and All Blacks’ talismanic No 10 is heading north to Auckland in the biggest Super Rugby shift for a long time. Hurricanes true believer and NZ’s leading rugby fraternity authority Jamie Wall does his best to hold it together to analyse the move. They say the first stage of grief is denial. That’s … Read more
Last week Trevor McKewen wrote of his epiphany about Real Men Wear Black, the bestseller he wrote in 1992. It didn’t sound like the book I read a long time ago as an impressionable young rugby fan, writes Jamie Wall. I mean, I get what Trevor was saying, that we need to address toxic masculinity … Read more
In the wake of the terrorist attacks on Friday, people are aruging that the Crusaders name is now problematic, writes Jamie Wall for RNZ. Let’s face it, though: it always was. ‘Problematic’. It’s a word that gets bandied around a bit these days, usually about something someone has said on social media, or something they’ve … Read more
The swoop by Spark to secure rights to screen the rugby world cup in Japan means a decision to make about the combo in the commentary box. So who are the runners and riders to call Beaudy’s World Cup winning drop goal, asks Jamie Wall While it probably won’t be remembered as a particularly memorable match, … Read more
God Defend New Zealand is terrible. It got exactly what it deserved, argues Jamie Wall for RNZ. Crystal Collins certainly has the name of someone who can sing, and for all we know, she might be able to. It’s just the learning the lyrics part of her repertoire that needs a lot of work. Her … Read more
If someone pitched you the idea of using a contentious event in New Zealand history that resulted in land confiscations, hundreds of deaths and years of intergenerational trauma as a marketing idea, what would your response be? Down in Wellington at the Hurricanes rugby HQ, the answer was ‘great idea, go with it!’ Let’s examine … Read more
This week the All Blacks launched their ad campaign to boost the June test series with France, labelling it The Battle For The Gallaher Cup. But ‘battle’ is the wrong word for the wrong situation, writes Jamie Wall for RNZ. Dave Gallaher was the captain of the Originals, the first New Zealand rugby team to … Read more
What’s in a name? Once again not much, if you’re an NRL commentator. The 2018 edition of the NRL kicked off last night, with a new look St George-Illawarra Dragons drawing a packed house for their clash with the Brisbane Broncos. Things have changed down in the land of the famed Red V, with a … Read more
A resurgent New Zealand pro wrestling scene is seeking another shot at TV stardom. Jamie Wall heads to Mt Roskill to watch the return of the Bushwhackers, and the generation they’ve inspired. There’s a girl, aged about 10, sitting a few feet away from me. She’s living and dying on every single thing happening in … Read more
NZ rugby needs to act, and act fast. While it is financially the most dominant code in New Zealand, it could lose the attention of potential athletes fast if they can see that there’s money to be made elsewhere. What will 2017 be remembered for by rugby fans? There’s a couple of strong narratives, neither … Read more
Police conducted a ‘major operation’ in the aftermath of Tonga’s loss to England in the RLWC. Jamie Wall was there, and reports on what many in the community felt like overkill. Last night, in the wake of Tonga’s 20-18 loss to England in the Rugby League World Cup, thousands of locals took to the streets … Read more
The success of Tonga and Fiji in the Rugby League World Cup is a marker of what might happen if clubs gained more power in rugby, writes Jamie Wall. In a week where World Rugby revealed a bit more of its agenda than it probably wanted to, the controversy of the awarding of the 2023 … Read more
The best rugby team in the world facing down Australia’s league team in Tokyo? All it takes for the ‘might’ to turn into a ‘will’ is someone to stump up with the cash, writes Jamie Wall. This time of year really is the silly-season for the rugby rumour mill. Just last week we were subjected … Read more
New Zealand’s favourite alternative flag made a magnificent comeback at the All Whites vs Peru match on Saturday. Jamie Wall talked to one of the dedicated fans behind it. Turns out the flag referendum wasn’t a complete waste of money after all. As the All Whites and Peru took to the sun-drenched Westpac Stadium pitch … Read more
Billy Idol’s bizarre 2002 performance in Sydney was a seminal moment in NRL grand final history. Now, 15 years on, a Sydney journalist has commemorated the event by having Idol’s hovercraft performance tattoed onto his leg. Jamie Wall talks to Steve Zemek about his courageous move to immortalise this piece of rugby league history. The Warriors … Read more
Despite media reports concentrating on sporadic violence in the leadup, the Tonga-Samoa RLWC international on Saturday was one of the best live sporting atmospheres in recent New Zealand history, writes Jamie Wall. And one that could have happened nowhere else on earth. I was excited to see the most stacked Tongan and Samoan rugby league … Read more
There are plenty of reasons why the Wallabies scored an upset, none of them involving random sexist slurs, writes Jamie Wall. This morning, for some reason, the New Zealand Herald decided to float the idea that the new, still to be sworn in prime minister Jacinda Ardern “cursed” the All Blacks, leading to their defeat … Read more
Jamie Wall chats to Manu Samoa veteran Dan Leo about unfairness, welfare and the myth of ‘poaching’ in Pacific Island rugby. It’s the same depressing tale we hear every year: a Pacific Island nation tours, plays tests against tier one nations and the players receive a pittance in return. Add on to that the fact … Read more
Inspired by Augustine Pulu’s goal post antics this weekend, Jamie Wall counts down his favourite moments of rugby cheating. One of the good parts about the Mitre 10 Cup, aside from the often frivolous attempts at defence, is the opportunity for a lot of players to try new things. Counties-Manukau’s Augustine Pulu certainly got in … Read more
Jamie Wall looks back at the years in which the rugby may or may not have changed the course of our political history. It’s no secret that rugby means a lot to New Zealanders. There’s been studies on how our obsession for the national game affects society off the field, for example how a single … Read more
An eye-catching performance against Argentina on Saturday night has made All Blacks loose forward Vaea Fifita the talk of the rugby world. Jamie Wall was there for an equally spectacular moment in the Mitre 10 Cup last year. If you’ve ever come to Auckland, you’ll know about the traffic. It’s so bad it often dictates … Read more