News of New Zealanders via Global Media

All Blacks Celebrate Hong Kong Sevens Title with Haka in Thunderstorm

All Blacks Celebrate Hong Kong Sevens Title with Haka in Thunderstorm

After knocking England out of the Hong Kong Sevens with an impressive 26-7 score line, the All Blacks Sevens stripped off their shirts and performed a poignant haka in the pouring rain, which…

Diligent Coach Instills Winning Culture in Ireland

Diligent Coach Instills Winning Culture in Ireland

For those who have played under New Zealander Joe Schmidt, it was no surprise that his first campaign in charge of Ireland’s national team ended on such a high. Schmidt led the Irish to…

McGeechan picks England to beat All Blacks

McGeechan picks England to beat All Blacks

If it was anyone else saying it – a froth-filled Stephen Jones broadside, perhaps – Kiwis would ignore it. But Sir Ian McGeechan, the decorated Scotsman, respected Lions player and venerated coach, is a…

Warriors Season Full of Hope. Again

Warriors Season Full of Hope. Again

Every year it’s the same: this time could be the season when the New Zealand Warriors finally deliver on all their promise. The world’s toughest league competition, the NRL, kicks off on Thursday, with…

Meticulous Coach Adds Polish to Irish Flair

Meticulous Coach Adds Polish to Irish Flair

When 48-year-old New Zealander Joe Schmidt was being lined up to take charge of Leinster in 2010, he met the province’s captain Leo Cullen and Test fly-half Jonny Sexton at a Dublin hotel as…

What’s Not to like about Grown Men Dancing?

What’s Not to like about Grown Men Dancing?

English socialite and sister of the Duchess of Cambridge, Pippa Middleton, who prefers “rugger” to soccer, explains the game to Vanity Fair readers in the latest issue of the magazine, mentioning the “battle cry”…

Raise a Glass to the Coach of the Year

Raise a Glass to the Coach of the Year

Wales and Lions head coach Warren Gatland has been named the BBC Coach of the Year at an awards ceremony in Leeds. The New Zealander “deserves his moment in the sun, as does the…

New Zealand Trumps at Annual IRB Awards

New Zealand Trumps at Annual IRB Awards

New Zealand have made a clean sweep at the International Rugby Board (IRB) awards once more, taking away all three major end-of-season prizes, with number eight Kieran Read named player of the year, the…

An Audience with Jonah Lomu

An Audience with Jonah Lomu

Rugby great Jonah Lomu – who had sixty-three caps as an All Black and is the Rugby World Cup all-time top try scorer – was in Lomond, Ireland in November to meet with fans…

Great All Black Returns to Where It All Began

Great All Black Returns to Where It All Began

Richie McCaw returned to where his career began in Dublin for his 124th Test on 23 November, and, just like in that debut game where New Zealand were 21-7 down just after half-time, it…

How do NZ Teams Get out of Jail?

How do NZ Teams Get out of Jail?

The last seconds, last-gasp victories by the Kiwis and All Blacks at the weekend have prompted English writers to wax philosophical about fine lines and the nature of success. Make no mistake, both the…

Wales a Team Invigorated Thanks to Gatland

Wales a Team Invigorated Thanks to Gatland

Under the coaching direction of New Zealander Warren Gatland, the Welsh rugby team has “changed beyond all recognition”, according to Wales forward Ryan Jones. Gatland was at the helm of his 100th career Test…

Alone It Still Stands

Alone It Still Stands

The All Blacks are like a vampire – “you have to stick two stakes through the heart at the crossroads to make sure they are dead and buried,” says John Breen. The proud Irish…

Welsh to Kiwi: Protect us from the Tongans

Welsh to Kiwi: Protect us from the Tongans

The old canard about dangerous and illegal play by Polynesians is getting another airing in the British press ahead of Wales’s match against Tonga at the weekend. Assistant coach Shaun Edwards, who as a…

World’s Best Team?

World’s Best Team?

Ahead of the All Blacks-England test, Independent rugby correspondent Chris Hewett proposed that “Richie McCaw and his team are beginning to look like something more than merely the best rugby union team…

How Americans Perceive the Haka

How Americans Perceive the Haka

12 November 2013 – “Maori players screamed, made faces, pounded their chests and flexed their bulging muscles while chanting in unison,” writes Mike Still in a report for the Philadelphia Inquirer on the Maori…

Can Forward-Power Win it for England?

Can Forward-Power Win it for England?

The New Zealand forwards were outplayed by their French counterparts in Paris at the weekend and they will be given an even more searching examination by England, who easily dismantled the powerful Argentine forward…

All Black Greatness to be Tested

All Black Greatness to be Tested

The mantle of greatness hangs easily around this year’s unbeaten All Blacks as they prepare for a tour of Japan, France, Britain and Ireland. Not that you would know it from the demeanour and…

Talented Generation of Welsh Stars Mean Coach Could Stay

Talented Generation of Welsh Stars Mean Coach Could Stay

Wales coach New Zealander Warren Gatland, 50, has hinted he may stay with the “golden generation of stars” beyond the 2015 Rugby World Cup, according to WalesOnline. Gatland’s current deal with the Welsh Rugby Union…

Sonny Bill Faces the Fear

Sonny Bill Faces the Fear

Vulnerability, fear and palpable humbleness are not qualities normally associated with sporting star, Sonny Bill Williams. But in an interview with The Guardian, the footballer and occasional boxer opens up about recent and historic…

Kiwis: Half a Century of Points Not Good Enough

Kiwis: Half a Century of Points Not Good Enough

Much sterner tests lie ahead but the New Zealand Rugby League team delivered an encouraging start to its defence of the World Cup with a 50-0 romp over the Cook Islands. The one-sided win…

Nearly Naked Aussies Almost Pull One Over Nude Blacks

Nearly Naked Aussies Almost Pull One Over Nude Blacks

New Zealand blushes were spared in Dunedin, as the Nude Blacks narrowly edged an invitational Australian side in the annual naked rugby contest in the country’s southern-most city. To coincide with the Bledisloe test…

Bledisloe Cup Whitewash with Win over Wallabies

Bledisloe Cup Whitewash with Win over Wallabies

The All Blacks have maintained their 100 per cent record this year, beating Australia at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin 41-33 to seal a 3-0 Bledisloe Cup whitewash, the BBC reports. Having clinched the…

Penney Says Welfare of His Players Is Paramount

Penney Says Welfare of His Players Is Paramount

Munster coach New Zealander Rob Penney is so sensitive to the dangers of concussion that he applies a stringent approach to any head injuries suffered by his players – he responds with the level…

SBW: Maybe, No, Yes

SBW: Maybe, No, Yes

The first question, impolitely rhetorical, was WTF? The answer to the second question – will the Kiwis still want him? – will be decided today. Sonny Bill Williams has flip-flopped. Again. After keeping the…

ABs vs Boks: The Greatest Match Ever?

ABs vs Boks: The Greatest Match Ever?

The All Blacks retain the Rugby Championship with an epic 38-27 win over the Springboks at the South African spiritual home of rugby, Ellis Park.  Described as “a match that ranks among the greatest…

“Bleeding” Park Reveals All Blacks’ True Worth

“Bleeding” Park Reveals All Blacks’ True Worth

Apparently the English think New Zealanders can teach them a thing or two. Who knew? Of course, the thing or two is about rugby but even so. In the wake of the All Blacks’…

All Blacks Defeat Pumas in Rain-soaked Hamilton

All Blacks Defeat Pumas in Rain-soaked Hamilton

The All Blacks overcame difficult conditions to defeat the Argentina Pumas 28-13 in a rain-soaked Rugby Championship clash at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton on Saturday, extending their winning streak in the multi-nation competition. The team…

All Blacks Retain Bledisloe Cup

All Blacks Retain Bledisloe Cup

The All Blacks have retained the Bledisloe Cup after 27-16 trouncing of the Wallabies in their Rugby Championship clash in Wellington on Saturday night. New Zealand winger Ben Smith followed up on last weekend’s hat-trick…

All Blacks Crush Wallabies in Opening Test

All Blacks Crush Wallabies in Opening Test

The All Blacks were just too good for Australia, winning 47-29 in the opening 2013 Investec Rugby Championship Test in Sydney, ensuring a torrid debut for new Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie, who took over from…

Chiefs Take Home Super 15 Title in Final Seven Minute Blitz

Chiefs Take Home Super 15 Title in Final Seven Minute Blitz

The Waikato Chiefs spectacular 27 -22 win over the ACT Brumbies on the weekend’s Super 15 final have some calling the team a ‘southern hemisphere powerhouse’. The team grabbed 15 points in the space of…

Robbie Deans Steps Down as Coach of Wallabies

Robbie Deans Steps Down as Coach of Wallabies

New Zealander Robbie Deans has stepped down as couch of the Wallabies, following the 41-16 series-deciding loss to the British and Irish Lions. The former All Black broke new ground when he was appointed…

Benji’s Decision on His Future Key to Tiger’s Success

Benji’s Decision on His Future Key to Tiger’s Success

Kiwi Benji Marshall’s influence within the Wests Tigers is clearly evident with coach, Mike Potter, saying that the team will “bend over backwards trying to keep him here at the club”. Marshall burst onto…

Double the Win in Sevens Tournament Finals

Double the Win in Sevens Tournament Finals

New Zealand has completed a “remarkable sweep of rugby’s major global titles” this week with the men beating England 33-0 at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow to win the 2013 Rugby World Cup…

Gatland Rang His Chances and Triumphed

Gatland Rang His Chances and Triumphed

Hamilton-born Warren Gatland “turned a Lions travesty into a triumph” with the team’s 41-16 win over Australia in the third and deciding match, the Lion’s first Test series victory in 16 years. “Only a…

Crossing the Whitewash with Another Win over French

Crossing the Whitewash with Another Win over French

“New Zealand completed a 3-0 series clean sweep of France with a hard-fought but deserved victory at Yarrow Stadium in New Plymouth ,” the Irish Examiner reported. “Ben Smith’s first-half try helped give…

Schmidt’s in the Hot Seat with Irish Appointment

Schmidt’s in the Hot Seat with Irish Appointment

With the words, “you have to start from scratch”, New Zealander Joe Schmidt attempts to dampen down expectations around his new job as he eases his way into the hottest seat in Irish rugby….

French Left Scoreless with All Black Aerial Bombardment

French Left Scoreless with All Black Aerial Bombardment

New skipper Kieran Read has led the All Blacks to victory over France winning the Dave Gallaher Cup and celebrating their 500th Test with a resounding 30-0 full-time score. An astute kicking…

New Zealand Union Coaches Taking over the World

New Zealand Union Coaches Taking over the World

The appointment of Vern Cotter as next head coach of Scotland is testament to the quality of rugby coaches that have been developed in New Zealand, according to Steve Hansen. The 51-year-old’s appointment means…

‘Courageous’ and ‘Comical’ Ali Williams Calls Time on All Black Career

‘Courageous’ and ‘Comical’ Ali Williams Calls Time on All Black Career

New Zealand’s second highest-capped lock Ali Williams announced his retirement from international rugby, the Chicago Tribune reports. The 32-year-old had played 77 tests for the world champion All Blacks in his 10-year international career. Ian…

NZ Rugby Sevens Win 11th World Title

NZ Rugby Sevens Win 11th World Title

New Zealand crowned their Rugby World Sevens title for 2012/13 with victory in the final tournament at London. The victory came with a 47-12 ‘thrashing’ of Australia, says The Age. Coach Gordon Tietjens’ team…

Jo Schmidt Answers Irish Rugby’s Call

Jo Schmidt Answers Irish Rugby’s Call

Joe Schmidt, former Bay of Plenty ‘Steamers’ coach is the new Ireland Rugby coach. His appointment has brought a renewed ‘feel-good factor’ to Irish rugby, says the the Irish Times. Schmidt has been appointed…

Voted Top Player by His Irish Peers

Voted Top Player by His Irish Peers

Aucklander Nick Williams, 29, who plays at back row forward for Ulster Rugby, has been presented with Player of the Year at the RaboDirect PRO12 awards gala in Dublin. By beating Irish internationals, Cian…

Words of Praise for Lions Coach

Words of Praise for Lions Coach

World Cup-winning former All Blacks skipper Graham Henry believes New Zealander Warren Gatland, 49, is the perfect choice as Lions coach. “Warren is an outstanding coach with a wealth of experience,’ says Henry,…

Sean Maitland: Scotland Rugby’s Newest ‘Kilted Kiwi’

Sean Maitland: Scotland Rugby’s Newest ‘Kilted Kiwi’

Sean Maitland, ex-Canterbury Crusaders and now Scotland rugby winger has one of his two wishes. He’s just been selected for the 2013 British and Irish Lions tour of Australia. Whether he gets the other…

Pat Lam Relishes Leading Connaught Rugby

Pat Lam Relishes Leading Connaught Rugby

Pat Lam is looking forward to coaching Connaught, one of four Irish teams in rugby’s Heineken Cup, writes Gerry Thornley, in The Irish Times. In Galway for only eight days, Lam told Thornley he…

Sonny Bill Eyes Up World Cup

Sonny Bill Eyes Up World Cup

Sonny Bill Williams, New Zealand’s most versatile sportsman, may be available for New Zealand for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup says Brad Walker, in The Age. Williams plays for the Sydney Rooster rugby…

On the Wing for Scotland

On the Wing for Scotland

Tokoroa-born Sean Maitland, 24, made his Scotland debut against England in the RBS 6 Nations Championship opener against England on 2 February at Twickenham, scoring the first try of the match.  Maitland qualifies for…

Player Of The Year

Player Of The Year

All Black Dan Carter has been named player of the year in London at the 2012 International Rugby Board (IRB) awards, with Steve Hansen winning coach of the year and the All Blacks the…

Foiled By Fourth Best

Foiled By Fourth Best

New Zealand, the world’s No 1-ranked side, was defeated by England 38-21 at Twickenham, bringing the All Blacks’ unbeaten run of 20 back-to-back wins to an end. It was England’s first win over New…

Murdoch Memorialised

Murdoch Memorialised

Before taking care of business in Wales, the All Blacks made a pilgrimage to the hotel where one of their own went down fighting before disappearing without trace, the Daily Mail reports. They went…

Our Inimitable All Black Captain

Our Inimitable All Black Captain

Captain “fantastic” Richie McCaw has led the “all-conquering All Blacks” to a 20th successive match without defeat beating Wales 33-10 at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff. No player in world rugby is better in…

When in Rome

When in Rome

The All Blacks continued their European Tour, taking on Italy in Rome on Saturday. Despite winning by a comfortable 42 points to 10 the Italians made the All Blacks work hard for the win,…

All Blacks Kick the Scottish

All Blacks Kick the Scottish

The All Blacks have enjoyed a great start to their European Tour, beating Scotland 51-22 at Murrayfield on Sunday. Despite a competitive Scottish side, the experienced All Blacks team played in a different league,…

Impressive Role Reversal

Impressive Role Reversal

On 10 November New Zealander Glen Jackson will jog out at Twickenham to referee England’s opening autumn Test versus Fiji. It will be Jackson’s first tier one international and represents one of sport’s more…

Super Swap for Winger

Super Swap for Winger

Canterbury Crusaders winger Sean Maitland, 24, has signed a contract with Super Rugby side Glasgow Warriors and could be eligible for the national team immediately due to his Scottish grandparents. “We’re delighted to be…