Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Defence report outlines changing nature of Pacific threats, DHBs unaware of staff vaccination, and visitors desecrate Lake Waikaremoana. The Defence Force has released a report which outlines their views on the most important threats currently facing the Pacific. As Politik reports, it hasn’t necessarily been about singling out … Read more
Calum Henderson’s seven step guide to adding the Beautiful Game to your summer. This story originally ran in Barker’s 1972 magazine. The best part of any match at Kiwitea Street in Sandringham, Auckland, is the five minutes after the referee blows the final whistle, before the volunteers come down from the clubrooms and start taking down … Read more
A Kiwi reporter has been caught in the first known act of World Cup-related violence to affect New Zealand, taking a pint of lager to the face live on the AM Show as England fell to Croatia in extra time. Across the UK the faithful had gathered, stuffing pubs and parks the nation over to … Read more
Isn’t it interesting how New Zealanders suddenly remember they’re football fans just as the World Cup begins? Starring Ra Pomare. The Spinoff TV screens Fridays at 9.45pm from June 22nd on THREE. Thanks to NZ on Air.
The Football Ferns are about to get equal pay to the male All Whites when they represent New Zealand. It’s a huge step for the sport, but will it lead to genuine equality across football? Read on in today’s cheat sheet. What’s all this then? For what is believed to be the first time in … Read more
Welcome to the Cheat Sheet, a clickable, shareable, bite-sized FAQ on the news of the moment. Today, Alex Braae takes a look at a comically bad season for the Wellington Phoenix, who’ve just fired their coach, Darije Kalezic. Who? Kalezic is a Swiss/Bosnian/Dutch journeyman who arrived at the Wellington Phoenix at the start of the … Read more
New Zealand’s favourite alternative flag made a magnificent comeback at the All Whites vs Peru match on Saturday. Jamie Wall talked to one of the dedicated fans behind it. Turns out the flag referendum wasn’t a complete waste of money after all. As the All Whites and Peru took to the sun-drenched Westpac Stadium pitch … Read more
Welcome to Top of the Pile, a gaming series in which the participants are forced to play a game at the top of the ‘just released’ list. This ep, watch as a cuddly Portuguese man singlehandedly takes down his hapless co-host in a contest of skill and grit: the classic just re-released football game Super … Read more
I am an early-morning commuter trying to get to work on time. I am not interested in looking at your new logo. A-League soccer club Wellington Phoenix released their new logo at a waterfront ceremony this morning, unveiling it in the form of a large metal sculpture which was ignored by everyone who walked past … Read more
It is a succinct, disquieting, apparently context-less tweet that has become a classic of the form. But why did Piers Morgan write it? Calum Henderson investigates. At 12:51pm EDT on Sunday the 2nd of September, 2012, Piers Morgan tweeted “I want to die.” Those four words typed by the divisive television personality and former newspaper … Read more
Bioengineer Albert Folch uses football to kick off children’s scientific curiosity. Charles Anderson watches the AMN8 guest work his magic at a Queenstown primary school. The children don’t seem terrified despite Professor Albert Folch just telling them that their planet will be vaporised. In a billion years or so, the sun will grow into a … Read more
Why does golf still exist, but Cricket Max doesn’t? How does Strip Date make the primetime schedule at TV2 when we can’t even get a half-hour slot for Clash of the Codes? Sam Parsons goes on a quest to restore justice to the world. Cricket Max The short-lived game was basically one day cricket on steroids and a … Read more
It’s EURO 2016 eve, the most beautiful time of the football year: a carnival of early morning starts, low-key sports betting addiction and extremely niche memes is nearly upon us. Get match-fit with James Beavis’ essential group-by-group breakdown. Group A (aka The One Where France Maybe Won’t Succumb To Infighting This Time) Teams: Albania, France, … Read more
Everyone’s hailing Leicester City’s amazing Premier League victory as a one-in-a-million sporting tale, but James McOnie argues it was plagarised from the Highlanders’ 2015 season. While everyone thinks Leicester City’s fairytale Premier League victory will be turned into a movie, let’s just remember this rags-to-riches tale involves some players* who earn more in a fortnight than many All Blacks do … Read more
Joseph Moore travels to the north of England for a first-hand glimpse of the team that has tortured his family for two generations and counting. I’m sitting alone on an empty, overpriced train plummeting deep into the heart of North West England. It’s mainly overpriced because I paid extra to get a ticket which included … Read more
In the 1970s, nothing was more important to a young Jeff Evans than Liverpool FC. Then, gradually, his passion for the club began to wither. Could brilliant new manager Jürgen Klopp resurrect his love? It’s not often I’ll start a conversation with a confession, at least a conversation that doesn’t involve my wife, but today I’m … Read more
A goal-filled Premier League weekend saw Jamie Vardy break a record, Alexis Sanchez break his hamstring, and Bournemouth break their manager in an injury time frenzy. All eyes were on Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy on Sunday morning as he looked to break Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s consecutive game scoring record against Manchester United, and his … Read more
Just an hour after his side’s 1-1 draw with Everton, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers was given the sack, effective immediately. The decision was apparently made before the game kicked off, however the club’s American owners would have felt particularly confident in their decision after another underwhelming performance was turned in by the Reds. “Ambition and … Read more
Calum Henderson watches two Premier League stars battle it out on an Xbox for English football’s least celebrated prize, the FIFA 16 Celebrity Cup. For a certain type of football person this is the biggest week of the year – the week FIFA 16, the latest instalment of the popular EA Sports gaming title, is … Read more
Amongst the Rugby World Cup fever, Don Rowe finds a gem of New Zealand sporting culture which risks going unnoticed. At the time of writing, we’re 19 hours from the opening of the Rugby World Cup and already a growing sentiment of rugby-fatigue is finding sympathetic ears across the internet (parts of twitter and r/newzealand, … Read more