There will be motivation aplenty for both teams tomorrow when the All Blacks face the Springboks at Albany, but the most motivated of all might be the only guy in the All Blacks team who remembers what it is like to lose to South Africa in New Zealand. They’ve pretty much all gone now, by … Read more
The All Blacks have chosen to share the love in the selection this weekend – that’s good news for one man who continues to graft away in the background, and would be just as happy hunting pigs in the Canterbury high country, writes Scotty Stevenson. Luke Romano no doubt feels he deserves a test start … Read more
It should be New Zealand provincial rugby’s greatest rivalry, but the Battle of the Bridge barely rates a mention on the list of great contests. Is 2017 the year to change all that? Scotty Stevenson certainly hopes so. I have a soft spot for North Harbour. I really do. I once captained an under-19 grade … Read more
At least one person will have a bob each way when the Black Ferns take on England in the final of the women’s World Cup on Sunday morning, writes Scotty Stevenson. Rob Jones just can’t help it. He has women hanging off him wherever he goes. He’s surrounded by them. Hell, he lives with five … Read more
New Zealand and Australia have always enjoyed a well, special, sporting relationship. But if this week has proved anything it is that the Wallabies and the All Blacks barely have a relationship at all any more, writes Scotty Stevenson. Once upon a time this was the contest that defined rugby in this part of the … Read more
The All Blacks have lost Jordie Barrett to injury, so they have simply called up another kid with a bottomless bag of tricks – the Crusaders’ David Havili. This is how he got there. David Havili has had quite a day, which nicely caps off quite a week in what has been quite a year. … Read more
Home advantage is a very real thing in the history of Super Rugby finals, but the Crusaders don’t mind a road trip, and won’t be worried about being away from home this weekend. I hate to break it to you, but I can guarantee the Crusaders are completely okay with playing in Johannesburg this weekend. … Read more
It’s only fair that most of the focus ahead of this weekend’s Super Rugby semi-finals will be on the players but, as Scotty Stevenson writes, both crucial clashes will also be defined by a battle between the old and new schools of professional coaches. Dave Rennie has never been one to mince his words. To … Read more
For the first time in NZ school sports history, players at this year’s National 1st XV semi-finals will be subject to anti-doping testing, reports Scotty Stevenson. The New Zealand Secondary School Sports Council (NZSSSC) and Drug Free Sport NZ (DFSNZ) have advised school principals of their intention to carry out anti-doping testing at this year’s … Read more
The Super Rugby finals kick off this weekend with the best attacking teams in the competition favoured to have it all their way in the first round. That’s all well and good, but finals footy is finals footy, and as Scotty Stevenson discovers, we may need to have a conversation about discipline, too. You never … Read more
The weirdest schedule in all of professional sports naturally gets a weird ending this week. Maybe it’s just time to admit that the system is too weird for everyone, writes Scotty Stevenson. The Chiefs and the Hurricanes both will be in action in the final round of Super Rugby’s regular season on Saturday with no chance … Read more
As the 2017 British and Irish Lions tour draws to a close, opinion will be divided on whether rugby’s last traditional travelling circus has a future in professional rugby’s congested schedule. The proposed trip to South Africa in 2021 will see the Lions play just eight matches instead of ten. But, as Scotty Stevenson ponders, … Read more
As the weather closes in on Wellington and the vultures circle the conceptual carcass of the British and Irish Lions, the second test against the All Blacks shapes as perhaps one of the most important in the history of this great touring party. The Lions need to win, and their chances of that will not … Read more
Scott ‘Razor’ Robertson took the reins as the Crusaders head coach at the end of last season. So far his Super Rugby coaching record reads: 12 wins, no draws, no losses. Scotty Stevenson caught up with him in Fiji last week to talk about his coaching philosophy ahead of the Crusaders’ Friday night match against … Read more
A change has come at the top of Scotty Stevenson’s power rankings after the Crusaders dethroned the Hurricanes in a New Zealand conference classic. 1. Crusaders (up 1) I am a man of my word. Last week I suggested the Crusaders were “the only team you would actually back right now to have the defensive … Read more
Gordon Hunter was a detective – a very good one, according to everyone who worked with him and not a few who were put away by him. He was also one of the most memorable rugby coaches of his, or any, era. This weekend the Highlanders and Blues will contest the trophy named in his … Read more
Scotty Stevenson’s Super Rugby Power Rankings make a triumphant return for 2017. 1. Chiefs The Chiefs played like they were on dial-up for the best part of 70 minutes last week and still managed to win a game of footy by 13 points. There is nothing at all special about the style of the Chiefs, … Read more
With Super Rugby about to kick off for 2017, Scotty Stevenson picks some rising stars in the New Zealand squads who could make their mark on the competition this season. Sio Tomkinson – Highlanders You don’t need to be a madly passionate Highlanders fan (is there any other kind?) to know this team is well … Read more
Scotty Stevenson spent the weekend in the company of rugby players who’d just been on the receiving end of heartbreaking losses, and he loved every minute of it. I sat and drank with losers all weekend. Absolute losers. They had given their all for their teams, and their provinces and they had come up short … Read more
As the goalposts are taken down and cricket pitches mowed across the country, Scotty Stevenson reflects on the continued importance of provincial rugby in New Zealand. A lad had a question for me this morning. He asked: “How do we make provincial rugby important again?” I looked at it and sighed. I sighed for two … Read more
The weather at North Harbour Stadium on Wednesday afternoon was almost as bleak as the Wallaroos’ first performance against the Black Ferns at Eden Park – a 67-3 hammering that would have sent a lesser team packing. But a four-day break makes a massive difference it seems, and the home side were made to work … Read more
The new breakdown laws currently being trialled in the Mitre 10 Cup have found little favour with World Rugby’s law committee, according to sources close to the latest meeting. Scotty Stevenson assesses their impact on the numbers after six weeks of competition. First trialled in club rugby competitions earlier this year, new breakdown law interpretations … Read more
The 2017 Super Rugby draw is out today. To mark the occasion Scotty Stevenson has power ranked every round of the upcoming season, from 1 to 16(B). Click here to see the full 2017 Super Rugby season schedule 1. Round 14 I like this round. All 18 teams are playing and it is the Pascall … Read more
The Ranfurly Shield contest between the Waikato and Manawatu men’s teams may have been a dud, but the warm-up match was a game for the ages, says Scotty Stevenson. Michelle Montague lay on the halfway line at Waikato Stadium, in the rain, in agony. Her braided hair rested on the wet grass, her leg rested in the hands … Read more
The New Zealand men’s sevens Olympic campaign was given a raw deal by a rugby union which still sees the seven-a-side game as a poor relation to 15s, writes Scotty Stevenson in Rio de Janeiro. It was a salty old hot take-o-rama after the New Zealand Men’s sevens team was bundled out of the Olympic … Read more
Lions coach Johan Ackermann watched his gamble of resting his best players for their final round trip to Buenos Aires blow up in his face on Saturday night. The fact he took that gamble in the first place highlights some major problems with the expanded Super Rugby schedule, writes Scotty Stevenson. Split Enz famously sang … Read more
Todd Blackadder is leaving to coach Aviva Premiership side Bath after eight seasons in charge of the Crusaders. Will his tenure be remembered as a success? Scotty Stevenson looks back on the career of a Crusader Man. Langford’s Store is rusting away in the summer heat of Golden Bay. The remaining paint clings to the rough-sawn … Read more
Where will the Super Rugby semifinals be won and lost? Scotty Stevenson breaks down the strengths and weaknesses of each of the four remaining teams. How do we judge which of the four Super Rugby semifinalists put up the best performance last week? For sheer scoreline, it’s hard to look past the Hurricanes who, in … Read more
A team who lost to the Jaguares last weekend remains the team to beat in the Super Rugby playoffs – at least according to Scotty Stevenson’s final playoffs edition power rankings. 1. Lions Last week: 1 (N/C) You can’t judge the Lions playoff team on the result of last week’s game against the Jaguares because … Read more