Big Man in Front
Hawke’s Bay prop Clint Newland, 3, has signed a three-month deal with Irish side Leinster. “He’s a big man,” Leinster coach Joe Schmidt said. “He’s 6ft 3ins, 130 kilos, so we think he’s pretty…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
On the Astral Express
Sailing legend Aucklander Graeme Kendall, 63, has completed a 51,856km solo round-the-world voyage, including the first ever non-stop solo passage through the Arctic Northwest Passage, sailing the 37km over 12 days on the purpose-built…
On the Cusp of History
Could the current All Blacks squad be the finest of all time? Scotland on Sunday sports columnist Iain Morrison thinks so writing that “their success over the years in terms of statistics and the…
English Physicality
New Zealand striker Greg Draper, who is currently under contract with Hampshire team Basingstoke Town, “has had a big hand in recent good form, finding the back of the net eight times…
Rugby Takes Off in US
New Zealander Craig Knight is the recruiting co-chairman of the University of North Carolina (UNC) Rugby Club and tells the University’s student newspaper that he initially expected American rugby to be a little primitive,…
Professional Profile
Hamilton-born professional triathlete Keegan Williams, 3, is profiled by online triathlon magazine Slowtwitch. Perhaps the best sign Williams might yet follow in the footsteps of legendary New Zealand ironman Cameron Brown was his 21…
In Memory of a Mother
Auckland weightlifter Stanislav Chalaev won a silver medal in the under-15kg class at the 21 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. Russian-born Chalaev lifted 15kg in the snatch and 184kg in the clean and jerk. The…
Strength in Numbers
Shot put champion Valerie Adams took gold in Delhi with a winning throw of 2.47m and her coach Didier Poppe predicts Adams is capable of yet another metre. She destroyed a decidedly average field…
Medals on Wheels
Dunedin cyclist Alison Shanks, 26, claimed New Zealand’s first gold medal in the women’s 3m individual pursuit final at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi earning glory over the strong Australian team. The 29 world…
Indian on Show
Burt Munro’s world famous Indian Scout motorbike, used to set land-speed records in the 196s, was on display at October’s Oildorado Days Rails to Trails Car Show in Taft, California. In 1967, on the…
Spirited Win for NZ
The Black Caps have been awarded the Spirit of Cricket Award at the recent LG ICC Awards celebration in Bengaluru, India. In total, this is the third time New Zealand has won this award…
Los Angeles Win
New Zealander Bevan Docherty, 33, has won the 11th annual Los Angeles Triathlon finishing in 1 hour, 5 minutes and 21 seconds, which was 13 seconds ahead of runner-up Javier Gomez of Spain. A…
On Board Solo
Rob Thomson, 28, a Canterbury University arts graduate from Christchurch, has completed the longest unassisted skateboard journey ever made, travelling for 462 days over 12,000km from Leysin, Switzerland across Europe, North America and China…
Common Goal in Delhi
Gymnast Misha Koudinov, 19, hopes he can help New Zealand take its first ever men’s team medal at the 19th Commonwealth Games in Delhi. “My goal is to make all of my routines as…
Wooing the shuttle
Auckland badminton player Joe Wu, 24, who currently holds the triple national title holder in the sport, is representing the country at the 21 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. Originally born in Taiwan, Joe immigrated…
Woods’ Own Hill
New Zealand entrepreneur Nick Wood, co-creator of internet service provider iHug, which sold for NZ$82 million in 23, is currently in the United States where he has purchased Teton Pass Ski Resort in Wyoming…
Peak Performance
New Zealand has paid tribute to Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay with their Commonwealth Games logo and unique team-identifier, ‘2928 Hillary and Tenzing’, the figure being the height of Mt Everest. “It’s…
On Loan to Barnsley
Eighteen-year-old Aucklander Chris Wood has signed with South Yorkshire’s Barnsley Football Club on a three-month emergency deal. The 6ft 2ins tall New Zealand international, who is a striker for West Bromwich Albion, played in…
Future Focus
The “All Blacks looking good, and that’s a problem” headlines a New York Times story profiling the team ahead of the 211 Rugby World Cup. Despite all the team’s previous upsets, New Zealand…
Exciting Appointment
Huntly-born rugby league half-back Jeremy Smith, 29, who currently plays for the UK team Salford City Reds, has signed a one-year contract with another British club, the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats. Smith, who can play…
Peak to Break
Four of New Zealand’s top ski and surf personalities have completed a first, travelling the length of the country in five days, skiing a different summit and surfing a different break every day. Coming…
Cycling the Peninsula
The Otago Peninsula was recently included in a Lonely Planet list of the world’s top ten cycling routes, alongside the San Juan Islands in Washington, The Luberon and Mont Ventoux in Provence and…
Brazil on the Cards
Ricki Herbert has signed a new two-year contract as coach of the All Whites. Herbert, 49, took New Zealand to the World Cup championship for the first time since 1982 guiding the squad through…
Winning ways
Champion jockey Rotorua-born Michael Walker, 26, has won the $AU7, Sphinx Hotel Handicap (12m) on Venus World at Moonee Valley in Melbourne. Walker started his riding career 11 years ago and in his first…
Close Call in Sydney
New Zealand narrowly beat Australia 23-22 in the final Tri-Nations match sealing an unprecedented clean sweep in the southern hemisphere rugby championship with a record 1th consecutive win over the Wallabies in Sydney. New…
Without Peer
Wallabies coach New Zealander Robbie Deans says there is no doubt Richie McCaw is the greatest modern skipper in All Blacks history. McCaw has led New Zealand in more rugby Tests than any other….
Player of the Year
Black Caps captain Daniel Vettori, 31, has won New Zealand Cricket’s top award: Player of the Year. Vettori also won the Walter Hadlee trophy for being the best ODI bowler. “Daniel is and has…
Powell Wins Burghley
Christchurch equestrian star Scotland-based Caroline Powell, 37, is the first New Zealand woman to win the prestigious four-star Burghley Horse Trials held in Lincolnshire. Riding 17-year-old grey Lenamore, Powell held off local favourite William…
Ferns Win Again
The Black Ferns have won their fourth Women’s Rugby World Cup beating England 13-1 at Twickenham Stoop in front of a crowd of 13,253. Guardian sports writer Robert Kitson declared the match “the most…
All the Better for Pero
First the Tall Blacks beat Canada 71-61 at Halkapinar Arena in Izmir, Turkey, and then France 82-7 in the knockout round of the FIBA World Championship. The team now faces Russia (the TBs went…
Will They Be Drinking Their Tea Out of Saucers?
From Wellington to Wagga Wagga it’s Bledislode time again. The All Blacks come to July’s Tri-Nation series against Australia and South Africa with a string of wins under their belts, some less than convincing. They’d better…
Oklahoma Appointment
Emma Gresson, originally from Hamilton, has joined The University of Oklahoma rowing staff as an assistant coach. Gresson previously worked with the Orlando, Florida Area Rowing Society (OARS), assisting with the junior girls’ programme…
More Than Tiger’s Caddy
Golf caddy Steve Williams always wanted to carry someone else’s golf clubs, and he ended up carrying them for Tiger Woods. Williams could always see that the golfers he caddied for did well. “I…
Ah Van Switches Sides
New Zealand Warriors utility Aucklander Patrick Ah Van, 22, has signed a one-year contract with West Yorkshire rugby league team Bradford Bulls. Of Ah Van’s switch, Warriors chief executive Wayne Scurrah told the club…
International Expertise
Palmerston North midfielder Nick Roydhouse, 22, who transferred from Hartwick College to play football for Syracuse University in New York, is profiled by local publication The Daily Orange. In 27, Roydhouse was part of…
Mudgway then Melbourne
Cambridge jockey James McDonald, 18, has became the first apprentice to win a Mudgway Stakes with Keep The Peace winning in the group one feature at Hastings. It was the third group one win…
Rugby and Much More
The arrival of a 25 metre-long New Zealand rugby ball on Circular Quay “within cooee of the Sydney Opera House” marks one year until the 211 Rugby World Cup kicks off. As a conspicuous…
Speed Queen on Salt
Christchurch-born Miriam MacMillan is the third New Zealander and first New Zealand woman to earn a “2 MPH hat”, which she claimed driving a 2.1 litre Honda CRX at the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah,…
She Wants to Go to Chelsea
New Zealand women’s football captain Hayley Moorwood, 26, has joined English club Chelsea FC. Moorwood, who was also attracting interest from Chelsea’s London rivals Arsenal, was thrilled at the signing. “Joining a club like…
Smeltz to Turkey
New Zealand striker Shane Smeltz, 29, is leaving Australian football team Gold Coast United having signed a two-year deal with Turkish Süper Lig club Gençlerbirligi S.K. The reigning A-League Golden Boot played in United’s…
Hero at the crease
“It’s remarkable that a biography had not been written on one of New Zealand’s most distinctive sports figures before now,” writes The New Zealand Herald’s David Leggat after the launch of Richard Boock’s The…
Tri-Nations Clinched
New Zealand has won the Tri-Nations series beating South Africa 29-22 in Johannesburg. The hosts had led 22-17 up until the 78th minute when All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw scored a controversial try in…
Medals and a Record
Seventeen-year-old swimmer Sophie Pascoe has won four medals at the 21 IPC Swimming World Championships in Eindhoven, Netherlands, with her first gold in the women’s 1m butterfly and in world record time. She knocked…
Olympic gold for Barclay
Southland teenager Aaron Barclay has won gold in the men’s individual triathlon and silver with Australasian team-mate Maddie Dillon in the team race at the first Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. Barclay, 17, who…
Thrill-seeker Flips
With this “insanely-extended Hart Attack backflip” (above), Palmerston North daredevil Levi Sherwood, 19, won the fifth stop of the Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour, held at Battersea Power Station in London. This is Sherwood’s…
Calm in Victory
Scrabble master Nigel Richards, 43, has won the National Scrabble Championship in Dallas. The Malaysia-based security analyst played 31 games, winning with a 25-6 record. Richards is known for his photographic memory and for…
Search for Sutcliffe
Attempts to find and relocate the ashes of cricketing great Bert Sutcliffe have failed because no-one recorded where they had been buried nine years ago. Sutcliffe’s ashes were buried at the Carisbrook ground in…
Relentless Finish
Gisborne surfer Jay Quinn, 27, has taken second place at the ASP Relentless Boardmasters competition in Newquay, England. Quinn said of his placing: “I’m happy because it’s a career best result for myself…
Watch This Space
Eighteen-year-old superheavyweight boxer Joseph Parker has been invited to compete at the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore this month. Parker, who stands at 1.95m, recently pummelled Pan-American champion Cuban Yuniel Castro Chavez in the…
They’ve Done it Again
New Zealand have secured their 13th consecutive Test win beating Australia 2-1 in Christchurch, securing the Bledisloe Cup for the seventh straight year. After their 48-29 hammering when the teams met in Melbourne last…
Avalanche Highlight
The 8th Annual New Zealand Heli Challenge was recently held in Wanaka. The two-day Heli Challenge involves a “freestyle” day, while the other is reserved for “freeride” stylings. The highlights of the contest included…
Hammers Signing
Auckland-born Winston Reid, 22, who scored the memorable last-minute equaliser for New Zealand at the World Cup against Slovakia, has signed a three-year contract with English Premier League club West Ham United for an…
Snowy Did it All
“So remarkable was the sporting life of Eric Tindill, who has died in Wellington at 99 years and 226 days, that being the longest lived of all the 2600 men who have played test…
Walker Makes Podium
Whakatane-born Sarah Walker, 22, has won silver at the UCI BMX World Championship in Peitermaritzburg, South Africa. Racing in the elite women’s category, Walker, the 29 world champion, took second place after a hard…
All Blacks dominate
“Dan Carter inspires as freewheeling New Zealand crush Australia,” headlines the Guardian. “The All Blacks gained their third successive five-pointer in the tournament at a sandy Etihad Stadium in Melbourne beating the Wallabies 49-28…
Our pick for ICC
Chairman of New Zealand Cricket Alan Isaac, 58, has trumped former Australian Prime Minister John Howard as the region’s nominee to take the ICC’s vice-presidency, which after a two-year term leads to the top…
