Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Rugby world gets fired up at government over tournament loss, cabinet to make new alert level decision today, and police commended for not arresting protesters. The weekend saw an interesting event in the cultural history of this country: The government had a clear opportunity to try … Read more
Listen to all four episodes of the series in which Scotty Stevenson and a panel of rugby insiders discuss the state of the sport in New Zealand, and what needs to be done to ensure it has a strong future. This content has been made possible by the support of The Spinoff Members. If you … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Showdown today for the leadership of National, climate change commissioner lashes budget failings, and Fonterra picks up earnings amid uncertainty. It’s all going down in the National caucus today, and we’ll see later on who will emerge victorious. The party again suffered a very poor polling … Read more
In the first of a wide-ranging three-part series looking at the state of rugby in New Zealand, Scotty Stevenson asks where the sport is at, where is it going and how will we get there? This content has been made possible by the support of The Spinoff Members. If you can, please consider donating here. Find the other … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Report puts abortion law reform back on the agenda, housing shortage likely to worsen despite Kiwibuild, and are the Taxcinda attacks on Labour fair? A Law Commission report has put abortion law reform firmly back on the agenda. The report outlines three potential approaches to reform, based on the … Read more
The young rugby player at the centre of last year’s biggest news stories, Losi Filipo made his Mitre 10 Cup debut for Wellington last night. It’s a chance at redemption, but not just for him, writes Jamie Wall. It was a wet, greasy game last night at the grandly-named Rotorua International Stadium. The weather and … 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
Is it possible to sense a rugby player’s future from their name and name alone? Watch these players closely this Mitre 10 Cup season to find out. There are 14 teams in the Mitre 10 Cup. This week, each of these teams released their squad list for the 2017 season. Each list included approximately 32 … 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 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 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