Two crushing wins over England and a scratchy performance against Argentina started the Graham Henry-coached, Tana Umaga-led 2004 All Blacks. Coverage from The Independent on the victories at Carisbrook, Eden Park, and Hamilton. Next…
Ireland was “forced to acknowledge New Zealand’s continuing supremacy” at the IRB U-21 World Championships in Scotland, going down 47-19 to the junior All Blacks. NZ’s stellar performance included a hat-trick of tries by flanker Tony Koonwaiyou….
NZ held on to its world series rugby sevens crown for the fifth year in a row, despite losing 22-19 to England in the final of the London leg. The Kiwis had already reached an unassailable position…
Former All Black wing, Bruce Reihana, was named the English premier league’s Professional Rugby Players’ Association (PRA) Players’ Player of the Year in May. The 28-year-old Northampton Saints star was the English Premiership’s joint top try-scorer at the…
Rugby icon Jonah Lomu is back in the news thanks to the release of his highly-anticipated autobiography, Jonah My Story. The Age praises the “simple yet emotionally taut language” Lomu uses to portray his rise from troubled and…
NZ won its fourth title in six years at the IRB Under-19 World Championship in Durban, with a convincing 34-11 victory over France. NZ made four tries to France’s one, with fullback Miah Nikora supplying 14 points…
NZ cruised to the top of the International Rugby Sevens table with a resounding 33-15 win over Fiji in the Wellington series final. Matua Parkinson, who had assumed the captaincy due to the unavailability of both Karl…
After starting as promising co-favourites the All Blacks finished a disappointing third in the 2003 World Cup being knocked out in the semi-finals 22-10 by a more professional and committed Wallaby performance. England defeated Australia 20-17…
The Kiwis convincingly defeated the Australian Kangaroos with a rousing 30-16 victory in a rugby league test at North Harbour Stadium in Auckland. Led by the hat-trick of tries by Clinton Toopi (a trans-Tasman record) and another…
2002 women’s rugby world champions, the Black Ferns, stormed a two-test series against a World XV with two convincing wins; 37-0 in Auckland, 38-19 in Whangarei. Chief point scorers in the second match were Mere Kingi,…
The International Rugby Players Association (IRPA) presented Jonah Lomu with its discretionary Special Merit Award at a ceremony in Sydney on November 18. Lomu, described by The Star as “the face of the last two World Cups,”…
The All Blacks go into this year’s Rugby World Cup ranked second after England, yet the British press largely favours them to win. According to the Observer, “the ABs are certainties for the final stages. If…
The New Zealand Warriors fought strongly again this season, losing in the NRL Preliminary Final to eventual winners Penrith Panthers 28-20 in a match played at a cracking pace. They again earned respect for their commitment and…
Jonah Lomu has announced his withdrawal from this year’s NPC competition, and has given up any hope of making the 2003 World Cup squad. The most famed of wingers has experienced foot and calf muscle problems…
SMH: “they simply cannot beat the All Blacks”. The All Blacks join England as World Cup favourites after winning both the Tri-Nations’ Trophy and and Bledisloe Cup, making it two out of three thus…
Christian Cullen’s signing to Irish side Munster after his exclusion from the 2003 All Black squad has created controversy at home and disbelief abroad. One person happy with the outcome is Munster rugby boss, Alan Gaffney, who…
The NZ Maori rugby team emerged victorious from their 3-match tour of Canada, beating the home side 52-11, 65-27, and 30-9. Between 1994 and 2001, the NZ Maori side have beaten 12 international teams, including England, Scotland,…
The All Blacks thrashed South Africa 52 – 16 in the Tri-Nations opener in the high velt fortress of Loftus Versfeld. It was South Africa’s worst home defeat with the ABs producing a fine display of…
NZ-born rugby player, Tony Marsh, has won his battle against testicular cancer and a place in France’s World Cup squad. Marsh cites American Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong – who was also diagnosed with testicular cancer…
NZ’s “baby blacks” won the Under-21 Rugby World Cup in Oxford, beating Australia 21-10. Said captain Sam Tuitupou (above); “We knew it was our last game as a team and we pulled through. This is very special for…
The Auckland Blues emerged victorious in a NZ dominated Super 12 competition. The ACT Brumbies were the only non-NZ team to scrape into the semi-finals. The final saw Auckland beat defending champions the Canterbury Crusaders 21-17. Southern Hemisphere domination…
A signed photograph of the 1905-6 All Black “Originals” has been sold at auction for $41,000. The photo had been kept in Aucklander David Wright’s family since 1906, when it was presented to his grandfather Charles Victor…
A bid by the NZRFU to make “All Blacks” a registered trademark has been called into question after the discovery of a Welsh team playing under the same name. The Welsh club Neath has been known…
Paddy O’Brien became New Zealand’s most capped referee in Test rugby after officiating at the Six Nations game between Wales and France in Paris. The match marked O’Brien’s 27th Test and 181st first class game. O’Brien:…
“Kirwan’s crew a cut above”. All Black legend John Kirwan has been reincarnated as the golden boy of Italian rugby after coaching the game’s “perennial whipping-boys” to their second ever Six Nations victory, and first against Wales….
Former All Blacks captain, David Kirk, has been appointed chief executive of troubled Australian publishing company PMP. Chairman Graham Reaney believes the ex-Rhodes scholar and governmental advisor has what it takes to turn PMP’s fortunes around: “He…
NZ’s rugby sevens team delighted a 32,000-strong crowd in Wellington, beating England 38-26 to win their first home series in four years. NZ now lead the 11-leg International Sevens series with 68 points, followed by Fiji and…
Former All Black captain Ian Kirkpatrick was a guest of honour at the 30th anniversary of 1973’s legendary NZ vs. Barbarians match. Dubbed “rugby’s Mona Lisa,” the Barbarians’ victory is viewed by many as the most thrilling…
In a rare coup for a Kiwi, Warrior Stacey Jones has been awarded rugby league’s top honour: the Golden Boot. The trophy represents the sports media’s pick for best player in the world. Andrew Johns, Golden Boot…
A “ferocious all-around display” saw NZ win the first leg of the International Rugby Board World Sevens Series in Dubai. NZ defeated Samoa 36-0 to take their fourth straight victory in the event. The same form didn’t…
SMH enlists an outside view on recent Wallabies’ performances from All Black legend Grant Fox. The verdict? Not good: “There doesn’t appear to be a lot of blooding of new talent going on at the moment,…
“If you want a snapshot of the way rugby used to be, there is no more impressive monument to the past than Colin Meads, a man as straight as he was hard.” The Observer talks rugby,…
“Playing New Zealand means battling against the myths, legends and history of the All Blacks. In this professional era the aggression, determination and sheer ferociousness of the New Zealand game make them so hard to beat.” English…
The New Zealand Warriors averted an Australian national emergency by falling at the final hurdle in their proud and historic run to the National Rugby League Grand Final, losing to Sydney Roosters 3-8. From ruin two…
Tours to the Northern Hemisphere winter by the The All Blacks, Wallabies and Springboks saw some interesting pre-World Cup square offs with NZ, France and England (!) jostling for favouritism at the whistle. The match…
“Kiwis break a few hearts.” The New Zealand Warriors continue an impressive NRL season by finishing top of the table and taking out the minor pemiership (and a $100,000 bonus for the club) – meaning…
The heart-stopping (breaking?) Bledisloe battles are becoming enshrined in Ocker sporting lore: “Once, Australians could rattle off virtually every ball of an Ashes cricket series. Now it is Bledisloe Cup rugby.” According to Spiro Zavos, the battle…
Kiwi dominance impresses at Manchester where they prove themselves masters of the form: “New Zealand dominate seven-a-side rugby the way that Lance Armstrong lords it over cycling, Tiger Woods bestrides the world of golf and…
The All Blacks positioned themselves to take the Tri-nations title for the first time since 1999 with a gripping and eventful tussle with the Springboks (including a spectator who took the game into his own hands). The…
Crys the Sydney Morning Herald. In a great weekend for trans-Tasman rivalry the All Blacks put one hand on the Beldislode Cup with a tough 12-6 victory over the Wallabies in atrocious conditions in Christchurch and the…
Great rugby commentator Bill Mclaren names his all-time greatest XV for The Times. Featuring three All Blacks: the “New Zealand totem” Colin Meads, the legendery skills of Zinzan Brooke, and “one of the great international captains” Sean…
“It is apparently not enough that New Zealand have just waltzed away with their third successive World Sevens Series title. So complete was their domination of the Emirates-sponsored London leg of the International Rugby Board’s season-long tournament…
“New Zealand’s Crusaders put up a persuasive case as world rugby’s champion provincial team with their unbeaten sweep through the Super 12 series” … sealing the tournament with a dominant 31-13 win over the ACT Brumbies. Earlier the…
New Zealand won the World Rugby Sevens series title for the third consecutive year, wrapping up the series with a convincing 29-5 victory over South Africa in the Malaysia Sevens final. Said coach Gordon Tietjens: “I am…
All Black legend, winger John Kirwan, to take over as coach of the Italian national team from NZer Brad Johnstone – this includes touring Italy through his homeland where playing for the ABs he scored…
Irish club side Munster’s shut-out 12-0 defeat of the 1978 All Blacks proclaimed by Observer Sport Monthly as the tenth greatest shock in sport’s history. Munster playwright James Breen (Alone It Stands – about the events surrounding…
Former Kiwi rugby player centre Tony Marsh is “a major force” in French rugby’s resurgence in this years Six Nations tournament as the French take the Grand Slam for the first time since 1988.
Under question marks as to his ability to cope with the code switch from league to union, Henry Paul answers his critics with a “series of virtuoso performances” in England’s Hong Kong Cup Sevens victory. “He was…
Revered and irreverent icon of comedy ex-Goon and Bad Jelly author Spike Milligan passed away on 26 Feb. A huge rugby fan with many NZ connections, he never got his biggest rugby wish: to have Willie…
Grant Fox is named by The Guardian’s Eddie Butler as one of the ten greatest fly-halves in the history of rugby union.
Ben Willis, ex-King’s College and NZ Academy player, is carving out a career as a rugby pro playing off the bench at half back for Leinster, as well as turning out for Ireland A. Unison profiles…
“No one can decide who is the best rugby team in the world at present, largely because the two main contenders, England and NZ, circle each other without actually engaging On the evidence at Twickenham…
Former All Black captain, Todd Blackadder, takes his first step into international coaching with the announcement that he will be joining the Scotland Under 21 set-up.
Jonah Lomu talks to The Independent about growing up on South Auckland’s mean streets. “I lost an uncle; decapitated in a shopping centre, and a cousin who was stabbed. That’s when my mother said I was…
Alone it Stands, a heart-warming and hilarious re-enactment of Irish club side Munsters’ defeat of the All Blacks in 1978, plays to its 100,000th person. “Beating the All Blacks is the ultimate dream of anyone who…
Jonah Lomu, “the world’s greatest living player and rugby’s most global individual commodity”, turns to the Bible for inspiration on the rugby field. Says Lomu, “It says there, ’tis greater to give than receive’, so that’s what…
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