‘Am I really hearing this in 2016?’: The NZ gay rugby team’s captain on why the All Blacks should boycott terrible sports radio

Hayden Donnell spoke to the captain of New Zealand’s only gay rugby team – the NZ Falcons – about the worst 10 minutes of sports radio in history, and what the NZRU and the All Blacks can do to make things better. On Monday, Mark Watson announced Controversy Corner is no more. By all accounts, … Read more

Steve Hansen and Warren Gatland both hate rugby and maybe life itself

In sport, there are winners and losers. Joy and disappointment. But in the coaching boxes for the Welsh and All Blacks sides, there is only darkness, misery, and despair. Hayden Donnell reports. The All Blacks cruelly trashed Wales’ dreams for the second time running on Saturday, allowing their opponents a sliver of hope before crushing … Read more

We found the Usain Bolt of world rugby, and he is a lowly touch judge

The fastest man in world rugby was on the field as Wales played the All Blacks on Saturday. He just wasn’t where you’d expect. It all happened in 15 seconds. Ryan Crotty, a bank teller moonlighting as an All Black, was tackled. The ball burst free. A Welshman kicked it upfield, sending a stampede of professional … Read more

An Englishman confesses: ‘Your rugby is better than ours’

Complaining about the boring Super Rugby season? An English rugby fan writes in to remind us how lucky we are. Southern Hemisphere rugby is, usually, the best rugby on planet. There, I’ve said it. Often, as a person from the Northern Hemisphere and an Englishman to boot this is not an easy thing to let pass your … Read more

Politics: Of Princes, PMs and Nan – Political Power Rankings for October 2015

According to a range of sources the month concluded some days ago, but let’s face it you were so high on All Black hysteria you’d not have noticed the Spinoff Politics Power Rankings had we published them any earlier. So without any further delay: the Power Rankings for the month of October and up until … Read more

Politics: A Good Sport – A Guide to the Use of Metaphor in Parliamentary Debate

Economics and politics can be hard, so to make it easier for us to get the hang of things, our elected representatives oftentimes turn to metaphor. Here is a selection of examples from this year, drawn from Hansard, the official record of parliamentary debate. Bill English, National, 22 July 2015: “The fact is that if … Read more