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
There’s not a lot of hope for Australian rugby ahead of tonight’s test, says Scotty Stevenson. Despite the usual cork floats of confidence bobbing about in the sea of indifference that constitutes the vast majority of planet rugby in Australia these days, the third and final Bledisloe test in Brisbane is likely to go the … 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
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
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
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
From his first encounter as an 11-year-old kid in Te Awamutu to yesterday’s funeral service, James McOnie remembers some of his favourite Pinetree stories. He didn’t want to be called “Sir”, but Colin Meads deserved it. Sir Colin will always be remembered as perhaps our greatest ever rugby player but now, as so many stories … Read more
The next women’s Rugby World Cup should be defended by a team named the All Blacks, argues Jamie Wall. The Black Ferns won the World Cup on Sunday, beating England 42-31 in a highly entertaining advertisement for women’s rugby. Not only did it spark celebrations for an unprecedented fifth Rugby World Cup title, it also … Read more
Three All Blacks who were there the day Sir Colin Meads famously played on with a broken arm recall the game for RNZ Eyewitness producer Justin Gregory. This story was first published in 2016. All Blacks first five-eighth Earle Kirton has always blamed himself for the broken arm that Sir Colin ‘Pinetree’ Meads suffered on the … 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
Leaked texts and sordid details have brought the Aaron Smith scandal roaring back into the news. Lawyer Natalya King assesses the fallout and its legal implications for Smith, the All Blacks and the media. Aaron Smith and the toilet tryst is back in the news, but this time around we’ve got all the detail we … Read more
The All Blacks will be featured in an in-depth eight part documentary series for Amazon Prime. New Zealand Rugby CEO Steve Tew talks to Duncan Greive about what the partnership means for the brand – and for their relationship with Sky. US tech giant Amazon’s Prime video on demand service is well into production on an … 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
Former Auckland Grammar School headmaster Sir John Graham has died. His successor, John Morris, pays tribute. Sir John Graham was a great New Zealander whose impact and legacy extended well beyond his 20 years as headmaster of Auckland Grammar School. John’s time at Grammar was what he was particularly known for but his involvement in … Read more
Is it fair to say the 25-year-old former All Blacks midfielder never quite lived up to his potential? Jamie Wall looks back on an abbreviated career in New Zealand rugby. Full time blew on the Highlanders’ season on a wet and miserable Saturday night in Christchurch. The weather was so bad that the uncovered stands … Read more
A week after the melodramatic ending to the Lions tour and the “controversial penalty, that wasn’t a penalty, that could have been a penalty, that wasn’t a penalty,” the rugby world is none the wiser. Former All Black Mils Muliaina is still pissed that no clarity has been provided around that final decision. We all … Read more
The All Blacks’ attempt to start a parochial New Zealand rugby chant has been embraced wholeheartedly… by Lions supporters. The last month has been a pretty long and interesting time. I’ve been to every game of the British & Irish Lions tour of New Zealand, from Whangarei to Dunedin. I’ve listened to a lot along … 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
Labour MP for Wellington Central Grant Robertson recalls the day he stalked the Carisbrook touchline in an oilskin parka. Thirty-four years ago this weekend, I reached my sporting peak. Given that I was 11 years old, you’ll realise this was not exactly Everest, but for me, it was just about everything. I got to be … Read more
Gareth Shute delved into the history of All Blacks songs, found them wanting, so wrote his own. New Zealand is a rugby-mad nation but, despite many attempts, there has yet to be a song written for our national team that’s had any staying power. But how hard could it be to write a song about … Read more
Calum Henderson talks to Yuko Inaba, the rugby-loving artist behind the delightful internet presence Nadegata Penguin. In the cutthroat world of art it is important for an artist to find their niche. Yuko Inaba’s niche is painting rugby players as cute penguins. The Tokyo watercolourist is prolific, sharing a new painting on Facebook, Twitter or … Read more
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today: Calum Henderson plugs into the All Blacks’ new official podcast. Some All Blacks news: the all-powerful New Zealand men’s rugby team now has its own podcast. Something about this is extremely funny to me, but I can’t quite put … Read more
On playing fields, in classrooms and at workplaces across the country, the colloquial Kiwi nickname once ruled the roost. But now, writes John ‘Nick’ Harnett, those who go by a nickname are members of a dying breed. What happened to nicknames? Almost everyone had one when I went to school and, most of the time, they … Read more
What do you see when you look at the Canterbury logo? If you’re one of the estimated 50% of New Zealanders who are oblivious to its true meaning, sit down, take a deep breath, and prepare to have your world turned upside down. Hayden Donnell reports. You’ve probably looked at the Canterbury logo thousands of … Read more
Aaron Smith’s career is in a steep decline. Hayden Donnell takes a deep dive into the toll having sex has taken on the once-masterful halfback’s career. Aaron Smith was dropped from the All Blacks’ starting line-up yesterday. The announcement felt inevitable. A long time coming. A mercy delivered to a broken man. It’s easy to … 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
What really made the pugnacious Wallabies coach lose his rag after the Bledisloe Cup loss to the All Blacks on Saturday? Surely it can’t have just been that cartoon. Guy Montgomery investigates. It has now been four sleeps since the All Blacks set a new world record for consecutive test match wins by beating the … Read more
When rugby players make catastrophic screw ups, their bosses like to smooth things over with the public by taking away key learnings. We stole their method and took some of our own lessons out of the Aaron Smith sex toilet scandal engulfing New Zealand. 1. Having sex in a toilet is a romantic experience Nothing … Read more