Following the All Blacks’ tense victory over the Springboks early on Sunday morning, the New Zealand prime minister did what he does, and, let’s be honest, what many of us would do were we the New Zealand prime minister: he sauntered into the team’s dressing room and chewed on a beer with The Boys. Photographer … Read more
The All Blacks kicked themselves to the Rugby World Cup Final with a masterclass of tactics and the effectiveness of the clever kick. In the end, it was a matter of control – but in the middle this was less a test match than an organised and carelessly sanctioned game of chicken in which the combatants, blinded by … Read more
The All Blacks quarterfinal victory over the French was the most dominant in Rugby World Cup finals history, a 62-13 hammering that left the world in awe. All it took, says Scotty Stevenson, was a re-imagining of rugby’s geometric boundaries. The Springboks need only to watch the opening ninety seconds of the All Blacks in their quarterfinal against … Read more
We thought about doing a Rugby World Cup drinking game, but, let’s face it, that would be kind of seedy for games that kick off at 4am and 8am. So instead, in a breakfast mood, The Spinoff presents a (Non) Drinking Game, in which the penalties involve the consumption of dry breakfast cereal biscuits (such … Read more
Conrad Smith sat down with Alexander Bisley ahead of the Rugby World Cup to discuss rugby’s global growth, reverse colonialism, anthems and collective contracts. AB: In Cory Jane’s biography, he say the All Blacks’ Rugby World Cup nemesis the French, likely opponents in the Cardiff quarter-final, are hard to analyse because, well, they’re hard to … Read more