Talks about the future of men’s rugby have dominated rugby news during the Covid crisis, but ex-Black Fern Melodie Robinson says it’s crucial New Zealand Rugby starts considering how the women’s game will fare with equal urgency. Sports organisations around the world are scrambling to figure out ways their codes can viably continue into the … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: How the budget has been received, Auckland light rail on hold, and more media merger shenanigans. So that’s what it looks like when Grant Robertson decides to open the purse strings. The relatively cautious spending of his previous budgets has been replaced by an absolute … Read more
In the second part of our series looking at the state of rugby in New Zealand, Scotty Stevenson and a panel of insiders look to the future of the sport, and ask what can be done to make that future more secure. This content has been made possible by the support of The Spinoff Members. If you … Read more
Prove your patriotism and test your knowledge of New Zealand’s rugby heroes, by seeing how many recipes from the NZ Rugby Stars Cookbook you can match to the correct culinary code-head. What do you reckon All Blacks eat? McDonald’s in a stranger’s flat? The flesh of their vanquished enemies? Bunless burgers? Fruit cake? The answer is all … Read more
From an erratic flailing of limbs to the psychological powerhouse we know today, little is known about how haka developed into a steadfast tradition in New Zealand sport. Leonie Hayden talks to post-grad student Nikki Timu about how it all started and how Māori can shape its future. Kapa haka has always been important to Nikki … Read more
The Bingham Cup, known as the ‘gay rugby World Cup’, took place in Amsterdam earlier this month. Aucklander Jack Cottrell was there as a referee – until a devastating injury reminded him that rugby can be as cruel as it is beautiful. On an unseasonably hot afternoon in Amsterdam, the Southern Barbarians are practicing for … Read more
Rebecca Wood is a force of nature in a striking new Rebel Sport commercial. But ‘how many lives you live is up to you’? Nah, not for female rugby players. There’s a lot to like about Rebel Sport’s latest foray into the world of selling stuff. A powerful Black Fern is seen charging through a … Read more
There are more problems than solutions when it comes to the integration of Sevens World Series events, but, as Scotty Stevenson discovered in Sydney, it is clearly the way forward for the sport. They crushed it in front of their home fans. The Australian women’s sevens side, in a prime afternoon spot, hammered New Zealand 31-0 to … Read more
The Black Ferns recognition as the World Rugby Team of the Year is a big deal for women athletes around the world. Let’s just say it out loud for those in the back of the room: World Rugby, the body charged with running the game of rugby union around the globe, just handed its Team … Read more
With New Zealand’s rugby-playing women cleaning up at today’s World Rugby Awards, the head of New Zealand’s largest sports management agency outlines why pay parity is a red herring and the Black Ferns are the steak knives of our generation. 2017 might just be remembered as a breakout year for women’s sport. A capacity of … Read more
At least one person will have a bob each way when the Black Ferns take on England in the final of the women’s World Cup on Sunday morning, writes Scotty Stevenson. Rob Jones just can’t help it. He has women hanging off him wherever he goes. He’s surrounded by them. Hell, he lives with five … Read more
As the 2017 British and Irish Lions tour draws to a close, opinion will be divided on whether rugby’s last traditional travelling circus has a future in professional rugby’s congested schedule. The proposed trip to South Africa in 2021 will see the Lions play just eight matches instead of ten. But, as Scotty Stevenson ponders, … Read more
The weather at North Harbour Stadium on Wednesday afternoon was almost as bleak as the Wallaroos’ first performance against the Black Ferns at Eden Park – a 67-3 hammering that would have sent a lesser team packing. But a four-day break makes a massive difference it seems, and the home side were made to work … Read more