Come Together: Live Rust Tour
The Come Together: Live Rust tour kicks off next month, bringing together the raw energy of Neil Young's iconic Live Rust album. Jon Toogood and Dianne Swann are joining a group of New Zealand's finest artists for the tour that will recreate one of the biggest selling albums ever. Jon and Dianne spoke to Jesse ahead of the tour that will visit Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland.
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RNZ News
7 hours ago
- RNZ News
NRL: NZ Warriors young gun Demitric Vaimauga ready to shine in Barnett's absence
Demitric Vaimauga is signed with the Warriors through 2028. Photo: David Neilson/Photosport About half-an-hour after losing co-captain and kingpin Mitch Barnett for the season, NZ Warriors fans got a glimpse of how their team might fill that void this year and into the future. Barnett hobbled off with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee after 20 minutes against South Sydney Rabbitohs, and - although nobody knew it then - his 2025 NRL campaign was over . Soon after halftime, hooker Wayde Egan ran from dummy half inside Souths territory and found young second-rower Demitric Vaimauga on the 30-metre line. He fended off one tackler and rolled away from another, before offloading back to Egan from his knees. Fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad sliced towards the posts and passed back to Egan - his third touch of the ball in the same movement - before teenager Leka Halasima propped off his right foot and found a yawning path to the tryline. The NRL proclaimed the sequence 'Try of the Week' and it was certainly reminiscent of the entertaining Warriors of yesteryear, when Stacey Jones and Ali Lauiti'iti were in full flight. His contribution only lasted a couple of seconds and gained about five metres, but this cameo by Vaimauga suggested he had far more to offer his team in their moment of need. "I think they gave Leka the try," he deflected. "I don't really like to look into it, but it is good to see us on the Instagram page, I guess." A common thread through the Warriors 9-3 start to their season has been 'next man up'. Another has been harnessing a fresh wave of talented young forwards to provide the nucleus of the roster moving forward. While Halasima, 19, has captured the headlines and - along with Jacob Laban - earned a contract extension through the 2029 , Vaimauga, 21, has quietly come off the bench for every game this season and is starting to pick up momentum. In 29 minutes against Souths, he ran nine times for 83 metres, offloaded three times and made 17 tackles - good for 43 fantasy points, if you're that way inclined. Last month against St George Illawarra Dragons, he was even better, logging 39 minutes, running nine times for 108 metres and making 29 tackles. That's 45 fantasy points and, at this point in the season, he may be worth a quick pick-up while his price is still right. Coach Andrew Webster has been at pains to stress no one player can make up for Barnett's loss and it will take a collective effort . Still, the skipper's absence leaves a gaping hole in the rotation and Vaimauga seems best placed to take advantage of the opportunity, as Halasima did when NZ Kiwis captain James Fisher-Harris went down earlier in the season. "I feel like I'm going well, but there's a lot more to come," he reflected. "I've just scratched the surface. "I'm still adapting to game speed, still a bit raw and new to it. I'm trying to build my minutes and my engine for NRL. "I feel like my understanding of the game is there and my physicality, but adapting to the game speed... "I'm just happy to be on the field. The coach has put trust in some of the young boys and I'm glad to be one of them, so I want to put my best foot forward whenever I can." Vaimauga played the first seven games of his Warriors career as Demitric Sifakula, but adopted his mother's surname during this past off-season, when he re-signed through 2028, so he has at least three more seasons alongside Halasima and Laban. "It's good to have a crop of boys that I grew up playing with and to be on the big stage with them," he said. "It's a lot for our up-and-comers, especially at grassroots footy as well… giving them someone to look up to." This is the perfect time for the young guns to learn from hardened veterans like Barnett, Egan, Fisher-Harris and Origin veteran Kurt Capewell. "I think their footy brains… to be so young, but mature in footy sense," lock Erin Clark enthused. "I'm pretty blown away - when I was that age, I had no idea. "With Leka, you see his footwork and strength, but we see out on the field how smart he is and Demitric as well. Good to see them doing well, and Demi and Leka played good games on the weekend, "They're going in the right direction, and hopefully, they'll just get better and better as games go on." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
13 hours ago
- RNZ News
Popular Labubu dolls being swiped by scalpers
Sophia Ibbetson's collection of Labubu dolls. Photo: Sophia Ibbetson Labubus are the latest collectable toy craze to hit the market. But frenzied fans are becoming increasingly frustrated by how much they are having to spend to get them. The dolls, sold by Chinese toy company POP MART, are being snatched up by scalpers and re-sold online for hundreds of dollars. Labubu dolls are roughly hand sized - they have nine teeth and look like a cross between a fluffy rabbit and a monster from the children's book Where the Wild Things Are . After K-pop star 'Lisa' was seen with her own Labubu late last year, the fluffy dolls became a pop-culture sensation . They've even featured in Lizzo's song 'WHIM WHAMIEE'. Kate Sabatin has six Labubus and explains her attraction to the dolls. "They're ugly to the point that they are cute. Like they are so ugly they are cute" she said. Aucklander Sophia Ibbetson is the proud owner of 10 dolls, which she has been collecting since late last year. At first they were relatively easy to buy, but Ibbetson explained now it was nearly impossible. Last month she visited POP MART in Newmarket where she saw roughly 200 people queuing for a doll. "There was a huge line that wrapped around Newmarket." According to Ibbetson scalpers have quickly taken control of the market. "They'll launch it at 1:15pm and then by 1:45pm they'll send a message saying it's sold out. "You'll see just a bunch of resellers reselling the same collection that they just launched at Newmarket for like double the price," she said. Labubu dolls for sale on Facebook market place. Photo: Troy Matich Speaking under the alias 'Adam', a self-described 'religious scalper', said he transitioned from sneaker flipping to Labubus when the hype peaked at the end of last year. He's part of a syndicate of around 12 re-sellers who call themselves 'Link', buying box sets to flip for profit. "You can buy one box which is six items they retail for about $230 for the newest set - and you can flip them from anywhere from 5-to-600 bucks. Most of us will get, like two to three [boxes] each which is 12 to 18 [dolls]." Adam is a university student and he hoped to get out of scalping when he finished studying. "You know, it's not exactly honourable, so I would hate to be doing it once I'm all qualified and everything." Australian re-seller Jordan Caruccio believed the surprise factor was a major reason why the dolls were so popular. Rare dolls, known as secrets, go for big bucks. "I think it's one in every 75 boxes they have a secret one, so you've got to be super lucky. "But that secret one is worth like $500-$600, and if you have that, everyone looks at you like you're the Labubu god." Ibbetson has given up trying to buy one of the newest Labubu releases and was collecting other POP MART figurines instead. "It's kind of made it unenjoyable for someone like me, just fighting to enjoy them, because I can't, because I now have to pay the reseller price." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
18 hours ago
- RNZ News
Crusaders v Reds: what you need to know
Photo: LIAM SWIGGS Crusaders v Reds Kick-off: 7:05pm Friday 6 June Apollo Projects Stadium, Christchurch Live blog updates on RNZ Sport Are the Crusaders back? It certainly seems that way as we head into week one of the Super Rugby Pacific play-offs, with the perennial champions ending the regular season just one win off top spot. It means they host this match and go in with not only that advantage, but the return of a big name and the relief of last weekend's very tight result against the Brumbies. Meanwhile, the Reds finished their regular season with a big win over the Drua, which they will hope has them trending upwards after some rather inclement form over the last few weeks. Crusaders: 1. Tamaiti Williams, 2. Codie Taylor, 3. Fletcher Newell, 4. Scott Barrett, 5. Antonio Shalfoon, 6. Ethan Blackadder, 7. Tom Christie, 8. Christian Lio-Willie, 9. Noah Hotham, 10. Rivez Reihana, 11. Sevu Reece, 12. David Havili, 13. Braydon Ennor, 14. Chay Fihaki, 15. Will Jordan Bench: 16. George Bell, 17. George Bower, 18. Kershawl Sykes-Martin, 19. Tahlor Cahill, 20. Cullen Grace, 21. Kyle Preston, 22. James O'Connor, 23. Dallas McLeod Reds: 1. Sef Fa'agase, 2. Richie Asiata, 3. Zane Nonggorr, 4. Josh Canham, 5. Ryan Smith, 6. Joe Brial, 7. Fraser McReight, 8. Harry Wilson, 9. Tate McDermott, 10. Tom Lynagh, 11. Filipo Daugunu, 12. Hunter Paisami, 13. Josh Flook, 14. Lachie Anderson, 15. Jock Campbell Bench: 16. Josh Nasser, 17. Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, 18. Nick Bloomfield, 19. Angus Blyth, 20. John Bryant, 21. Kalani Thomas, 22. Dre Pakeho, 23. Tim Ryan Will Jordan. Photo: Martin Hunter/ActionPress Will Jordan is back from injury and goes straight in at fullback, with the only other change to the backline seeing skipper David Havili return as well at second five. Four out of the starting tight five are All Blacks, with the in form Tom Christie and Christian Lio-Willie in the loose forwards. Harry Wilson in action during the Super Rugby Pacific Round two match between the Hurricanes and the Queensland Reds at AAMI Park in Melbourne. Photo: Photosport A big boost for the Reds during the wee with Harry Wilson passed fit to play after an arm injury forced him from the field against the Drua. The only change to that side sees Filipo Daugunu come onto the wing with Tim Ryan dropping to the bench. Tom Lynagh of the Reds charges forward during the round six Super Rugby Pacific match between Highlanders and Queensland Reds at Forsyth Barr Stadium, on 22 March 2025, in Dunedin. Photo: Joe Allison / Getty Images The Crusaders have won 13 of their last 14 Super Rugby Pacific games against the Reds. The Reds have lost 12 of their last 18 away games in Super Rugby Pacific including three of their last four and have lost 25 of their last 28 games in New Zealand. Reds first five Tom Lynagh has kicked 87 percent of his 47 goal attempts this Super Rugby Pacific season, the highest success rate of any player to make more than one attempt and has been successful with both of his two penalty goal attempts. "The boys have appreciated the extra week that you earn. It's on us to go out there and earn another week. This time of year is when you want to be playing. There's a huge amount of excitement being at home for it. Having the home advantage is great for us." - Crusaders fullback Will Jordan. "Winning in Christchurch last year was an important game for the club. It gives us clues and confidence to put our best foot forward on Friday. In finals footy, playing to the 80th minute is very important. We've done that well over the past four weeks or so." - Reds coach Les Kiss. Crusaders 43 - 19 Reds This round four match marked the first sign that the Crusaders had shaken off whatever had been plaguing them last season, with a comfortable win over what was at the time a very impressive Reds side. This one was over at halftime, with Jordan and Sevu Reece scoring first half doubles. It's a real stretch to see the Reds pulling off an upset here, they would need a lot of things to go their way and are up against a hostile Christchurch crowd as well as a confident home team. Expect Jordan to be heavily involved in the backline, as well as Reece in and around the ruck. If the Reds are to have any chance, it'll be by establishing a lead early and then clinging on.
