As the Hurricanes held off the Chiefs on Friday night, Scotty Stevenson had a chance to reflect on the simple joy of watching a game. This is how it began on Friday night in Wellington: Hurricanes openside flanker Sam Henwood was knocked into next week by Chiefs centre Anton Lienert-Brown, Chiefs hooker Nathan Harris was … Read more
Sir William Gallagher has been called a massive, massive racist… but what if all the people saying that are wrong? As the country enjoyed the clement spring weather this past weekend, word broke that manufacturing magnate Sir William Gallagher had addressed a group of Hamilton business people in a somewhat controversial manner. As well as … Read more
Wellington Rugby seems determined to say the bare minimum about Losi Filipo’s assault case. Jamie Wall says it’s time for rugby to stop looking the other way. It was somewhat telling that the Wellington Rugby Football Union’s official statement regarding the Losi Filipo assault case and subsequent discharge without conviction was released at 10pm Monday night. … Read more
NZ Rugby hoped this week to draw a line under the scandal around the Chiefs behaviour at an end-of-season function. Fine, but we just have a few nagging, planet-sized questions, writes Hayden Donnell. Where is the report? Does it exist? Where is it? Just about all we’ve heard about this extensive report is from a … Read more
Yesterday, NZ Rugby held a press conference in relation to the Chiefs scandal, wherein they barely said anything at all. Today, the Human Rights Commission invites you to add your name to a letter calling for a change New Zealand rugby culture. The NZ Human Rights Commission has this afternoon published an open letter to … Read more
Alex Casey and Leah Damm recap the hellish events for women in New Zealand last week, including the Kuggeleijn case, The Chiefs’ behaviour and the curious case of Kevin Roberts. Last week sent an incredibly scary sexist snowball through the country, trampling all of the women in New Zealand in its mighty wake. In less … Read more
Alex Casey reminds Andrew Flexman that a woman who takes her clothes off professionally is still a human. Yesterday, a stripper named Scarlette spoke out about her experience at a Chiefs end-of-season function, where she was subjected to inappropriate licking and touching without her consent. Flexman, the Chief Executive of the Chiefs, responded to the … Read more
Appearing every few years when New Zealand needs him most, Stephen Donald once again struck fear into the hearts of our enemies last night. Don Rowe considers the Beaver’s leadership, and places him amongst the finest we’ve ever seen. Last night Stephen Donald drew a line in the turf over which the entire nation of Wales … Read more
Highlanders fans’ campaign of bullying against Scotty Stevenson finally pays off with a top ranking in the latest Super Rugby power rankings. 1. Highlanders Rd 12: 34-26 v Crusaders Last week: 2 (up 1)) Okay, okay! Here’s why everyone loves the Highlanders: every time they have the ball, they think they can score a try. I blame Tony Brown … Read more
The Blues hold their breath for a win against the Rebels and the Hurricanes come back with a vengeance in South Africa. Scotty Stevenson brings us the latest Super Rugby power rankings. 1. Chiefs Rd 10: 24-22 v Sharks Last week: 2 (up 1) You have to hand it to the Chiefs – they have … Read more
New Zealand teams claim the gold, silver, bronze, and fourth place medals in Scotty Stevenson’s latest Super Rugby power rankings. 1. Chiefs Rd 5: 53-10 v Force Last week: 4 (up 3) For most of the first half against the Force, the Chiefs chased the ball like it owed them money, but when they finally settled into … Read more
Scotty Stevenson welcomes Mark Stafford, radio host and sports commentator, to the Spinoff podcast bunker. This week Scotty gets heated up about the place of the TMO in refereeing decisions; Nehe Milner-Skudder’s exit from the competition; the Chief’s “killer” schedule and the continually woeful story of the Reds. Listen to the whole thing right now, or save … Read more
It’s Super Rugby opening weekend and a few fresh faces are taking to the field. James McOnie does his best to describe just who the hell they are. Super Rugby opening weekend is almost upon us and no-one is really ready but too bad, it’s happening. Post-Rugby World Cup is always a big changing of … Read more
Joseph Harper power ranks the latest crop of Super Rugby uniforms. Summer is headed to its zenith in Godzone, so it only makes sense we start yakking about rugby. And what better way to get chins wagging than a rugby fashion parade featuring the new Super Rugby uniforms. They’re pretty yuck. They haven’t gone full HRV, … Read more