Rugby Australia’s Raelene Castle on Equality
In a perfect world there would be no need for this conversation and the role women play in sport would not be addressed as a separate issue, “but we’re still about 10 years away…
Warren Gatland’s Wales Reflect Image of Its Leader
“For all his success in his coaching career, Warren Gatland is no José Mourinho peering into the mirror all the time and trading on past glories. He looks ahead rather than back, plotting the…
Kieran Read to Play for Japan After World Cup
“All Blacks captain Kieran Read has signed up to play with Japanese club Toyota Verblitz after this year’s World Cup, bringing an end to 13 seasons as a professional…
Rugby Star Sene Naoupu Takes Strength from Family
Spend any length of time with New Zealander Sene Naoupu, 35, and her love for friends and family will be palpable. But she doesn’t just value that ancestral bond, she cherishes it and is…
Upbringing Helped Turn Barrett Trio Into All Blacks
Running around frost-covered coastal Taranaki fields in their bare feet was indicative of the sort of grounded upbringing that former captain Richie McCaw believes helped the three Barrett brothers – twice World Player of…
New Zealand Twice Victorious in Sevens Final
For the second time this season, New Zealand got the better of the American Eagles in a World Rugby Sevens Series gold medal encounter. The 21-5 victory for the All Blacks sees them tie…
Why Dan Carter Is Still the Main Man in World Rugby
Dan Carter led Japanese team, the Kobe Kobelco Steelers to victory in the Top League final recently, and with that victory the former New Zealand fly-half wins over the hearts of yet another nation….
England Crazy Not to Hire Warren Gatland
“At the end of Rugby World Cup 2019, we can expect a fascinating merry-go-round of experienced Test coaches,” according to the Telegraph’s Charlie Morgan. “Should England underperform, Eddie Jones’ two-year contract extension will be…
Warren Gatland Potential Successor to Eddie Jones
Britain’s Rugby Football Union (RFU) interim chief executive, Nigel Melville, is planning to speak to New Zealander Warren Gatland OBE as part of his search for Eddie Jones’s successor as England head coach, The…
Steve Hansen to Step Down After 2019 World Cup
“Steve Hansen’s all-conquering reign as the New Zealand coach will end after the 2019 World Cup. The 59-year-old, who has been in charge of the All Blacks since 2012 and has had 16 years…
Rugby Star Jordan Roberts Wins Plaudits in Canada
New Zealander Jordan Roberts’ play on the pitch for the St. Albert Rugby Football Club (SARFC) spoke volumes as the modest and unassuming captain of the Labatt’s Cup provincial champions was honoured as this…
Why Tyrel Lomax Chose the ABs over the Wallabies
Tyrel Lomax, 22, grew up with a dream to play for the ACT Brumbies and Wallabies. But the closer he got, the more he realised he couldn’t ignore the black feeling in his stomach….
All Blacks Sevens Clinch Emirates Trophy
Clark Laidlaw, the All Blacks Sevens coach, said the team’s success at the Emirates Airlines Dubai Rugby Sevens was an achievement that ranks alongside winning the World Cup and Commonwealth Games last season. The team…
Sean Fitzpatrick’s First View of Twickenham
Former All Black captain, Auckland-born Sean Fitzpatrick, 55, looks back at the games he played at Twickenham, in a piece for the Guardian. “I remember arriving at Twickenham for the first time, for a game…
England Denied Victory over All Blacks
“The All Blacks looked a shadow of their usual selves in the first half but eventually fought back as Damian McKenzie and Beauden Barrett cut the deficit,” the Independent’s deputy sports editor Jack de…
Joe Schmidt Shares Wisdom with Limerick Students
When New Zealander Joe Schmidt, 53, talks, people sit up and listen. So when a group of aspiring rugby stars got the chance to hear Ireland’s greatest ever coach speak, you could hear a…
Secrets Behind the World’s Most Successful Team
The All Blacks jersey carries with it an aura of invincibility. Their starting 15 could be injured and the next 15 would still stand head and shoulders above the rest of the world. How…
Kieran Read Suggests Retirement Plans
All Blacks captain Kieran Read, 33, has said he is likely to quit international rugby after next year’s World Cup in Japan, his third Webb Ellis campaign, and take a contract overseas. “So for me…
Steve Hansen Suggests 16-Week Off-Seasons
“Steve Hansen has called for a mandatory 16-week off-season, days after an 11-month campaign was announced in England. The New Zealand head coach said England were still counting the cost of having 15 players…
All Blacks Complete Sweep of Australia in Japan
World champions New Zealand crushed old foes Australia 37-20 at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama, Japan, where the 2019 Rugby World Cup final will be held, to complete a 3-0 Bledisloe Cup series whitewash win,…
England Announce John Mitchell in Defence Role
England have appointed New Zealander John Mitchell as their defence coach until the end of the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Mitchell was England’s assistant coach under Clive Woodward between 1997 and 2000 before he went…
All Blacks Win Over Pumas in Nelson
Coach Steve Hansen gave his rearranged All Blacks a pass mark after their 46-24 victory over a much-improved Argentinian side in Nelson, but conceded they weren’t as good as they…
ABs Lift Bledisloe Cup for 16th Consecutive Year
New Zealand has won the Bledisloe Cup for a 16th consecutive year with a 40-12 victory over Australia at Eden Park in Auckland. Beauden Barrett scored four tries and kicked five conversions, while Joe Moody…
All Blacks Dismantle Stunned Wallabies
New Zealand delivered a clinic of counter-attacking in Sydney, scoring five second-half tries to blow away their hosts in this season’s Rugby Championship Bledisloe Cup opening encounter, rugby reporter Charlie…
Raised on Rugby
“In sports, few teams have dominated their competition the way the New Zealand All Blacks of rugby union have,” writes David Maurice Smith in an article for The New York…
Blues Man John Mitchell Favourite for England Role
New Zealander John Mitchell, Blue Bulls executive of rugby, has emerged as the latest candidate to become England’s new defence coach, The Telegraph reports. Last week, England head coach Eddie Jones confirmed that he wants…
Portia Woodman Makes Top 10 Most Influential
Black Ferns winger Portia Woodman, 27, has made the top 10 on a list of rugby union’s most influential people, ahead of any of her male All Blacks counterparts and two spots below All…
Double World Champions: Men Match Women’s Achievement
For only the second time in world rugby sevens history, the New Zealand men’s and women’s teams have won their respective World Cups, with the men sealing the rare accomplishment with a 33-12 win…
Finding Keith Murdoch Four Decades On
His closest friends in a remote town in the Australian outback had no idea who he was. Now that former All Black Keith Murdoch is dead at 74, the story of the man who…
Why New Zealand “Still Rules the High Seas of Rugby”
“The flag which flutters highest on the masthead of world rugby is still all black in colour. It does not have a skull-and-crossbones on it, but when it hoves into view everyone knows its…
Wayne Pivac to Succeed Warren Gatland as Wales Coach
“Scarlets head coach Wayne Pivac will succeed Warren Gatland as Wales coach on a four-year deal.” BBC reports. “Gatland is stepping down after the 2019 World Cup in Japan and…
Raelene Castle Riding the Wave
In Raelene Castle’s six months at the helm of Rugby Australia, Australia’s men and women sevens teams triumphed on home soil, Israel Folau plunged the sport into controversy with a single Instagram comment, Super…
Rugby Player James Lowe on Food for Performance
He’s played for the Māori All Blacks and he’s currently signed to European champions Leinster, so if there is anyone who can talk about fuelling their body for optimal performance it is 25-year-old professional…
Scots 20 Years Behind NZ in Rugby Psychology
Scottish rugby is 20 years behind New Zealand when it comes to sports psychology, according to Glasgow Warriors assistant coach New Zealander Jason O’Halloran, 46, who has also found that players in Scotland are…
New Zealand Wins Kitakyushu Sevens
“New Zealand won the women’s Kitakyushu Sevens for the second straight year Sunday, beating France 24-12 in the final on another disappointing day for host Japan,” as reported in an article in
Why Wayne Pivac Is Most Sought-After Coach in Rugby
Under New Zealand-born coach Wayne Pivac, there is a resurgence in Llanelli rugby. The Scarlets have been flying, according to Sunday Times rugby correspondent Stephen Jones. Recently, Stradey Park was packed to the rafters and…
Joe Schmidt Turns Ireland into Formidable Machine
During this year’s Ireland Grand Slam tournament, Joe Schmidt has been the master of almost everything he has surveyed. At times during his five-year tenure as Ireland head coach, the New Zealander has been…
World Cup-Winning Coach Graham Henry Joins Auckland
The mastermind of the 2011 Rugby World Cup success, Sir Graham Henry, has returned to the side where he first came to prominence joining provincial side Auckland to assist head coach Alama Ieremia, the…
Raelene Castle Named New Rugby Australia Chief
Former Netball New Zealand and Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs National Rugby League chief executive Raelene Castle is excited by the challenge of turning around rugby’s fortunes in Australia, but doesn’t believe her appointment as Rugby Australia…
Sunwolves Coach Jamie Joseph Eyes Top Five
The new coach of the Tokyo-based Sunwolves Super Rugby side, New Zealander Jamie Joseph has said he was targeting a top-five finish next season, despite the team being on the wrong end of multiple…
How Wayne Pivac Transformed the Scarlets
There were moments early on in Wayne Pivac’s time at the Scarlets when he wondered if he had made the right choice in leaving behind his Auckland world to head to west Wales. “There…
New Zealand Women Thrash England in World Cup Semis
England’s women were beaten 52-4 by New Zealand in the 2017 Rugby League World Cup semi-finals at the Southern Cross Group Stadium in Sydney. Tara-Jane Stanley ran over England’s only try in the 21st minute…
All Blacks Inflict More Pain on Wales
“There was little solace to be found around the streets of Cardiff as the city’s population set about anaesthetising painful memories of yet another valiant loss to the All Blacks,” Irish Independent sports reporter…
Scots Impress But NZ Class Tells
“A moment of New Zealand magic denied Scotland a famous victory in a pulsating contest” at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium with the All Blacks narrowly winning 22-17, The Scotsman reports. “With the game firmly in the…
Wales Coach Warren Gatland Talks Safety
Taking the Lions to New Zealand should have been Warren Gatland’s proudest moment but now back with Wales the coach believes the welfare of rugby’s elite players is a more pressing concern. “I’ve been on…
All Blacks Prevail Against Barbarians at Twickenham
“New Zealand were always going to be the winners of this frolicsome day out at Twickenham, no matter how the scoreline panned out,” the Telegraph reported after the All Blacks beat the Barbarians 31-22. “The…
All Blacks Beat Springboks 25-24
The New Zealand “All Blacks completed a clean sweep of the Rugby Championship while the Springboks restored pride in their jersey in one of the great Test matches in front of 50,000 fans at…
New Zealand Cap Fifth Rugby Championship Victory
New Zealand has capped their fifth Rugby Championship victory in six years with a 36-10 win over Argentina in Buenos Aires. The earlier 27-27 draw between South Africa and Australia in Bloemfontein had already ensured…
Charles Piutau: “I Felt Invincible As An All Black”
Former All Black Charles Piutau speaks to The Guardian’s Donald McRae about abandoning his Test career with the All Blacks to play for Ulster and, from next season, Bristol. When…
New Zealand Secure Record Win Over South Africa
World champions New Zealand ran in eight tries as they thumped South Africa 57-0 in Auckland, their biggest winning margin against the Springboks, BBC Sport reports. Victory extended their lead in the four-team Rugby Championship…
Vaea Fifita Rescues All Blacks with Solo Try
“New Zealand needed a second-half surge, inspired by Vaea Fifita’s stunning solo try, to shake off Argentina and record a bonus-point win in New Plymouth,” sports reporter Charlie Morgan writes for the Telegraph. “With just…
All Blacks Ruthless in Epic Bledisloe Victory
The finishing thrust that All Blacks coach Steve Hansen had been seeking all season finally returned during the weekend as Beauden Barrett scored a last-gasp try to give them a 35-29 victory over Australia in…
Black Ferns Blitz Red Roses to Take World Cup Crown
“New Zealand are world champions again. ruthlessly snatched the cup from this immensely talented yet ageing English side (seven of them are 30-plus) in a style that must have made the…
Kieran Keane Happy with Connacht Chemistry
Kieran Keane has just arrived in Galway, Ireland to take up his new post as Connacht coach, replacing fellow New Zealander Pat Lam who has moved on to a role with Bristol. Known as a…
New Zealand Thrash Australia in Sydney
New Zealand “hammered” Australia 54-34 in their 2017 Investec Rugby Championship opener. According to the BBC, the All Blacks “were exceptional in the first half in Sydney and, with the help of three tries…
Alaskan Rugby Grounds Impress Mangatainoka Team
Hamish Clentworth, the chairman of the visiting Mangatainoka Barbarians Rugby Club of New Zealand, was almost at a loss for words when he came upon the Alaska Mountain Rugby Grounds. Overlooking Anchorage is a rugby…
