logo
Crusaders to show off new roofed stadium in Christchurch 'Super Round'

Crusaders to show off new roofed stadium in Christchurch 'Super Round'

CNAa day ago
Super Rugby Pacific champions Canterbury Crusaders will host the return of the competition's 'Super Round' in Christchurch next season and show off their new home stadium.
Super Round, which sees all teams descend on a single city for a weekend of matches, was scrapped last season following the demise of the Melbourne Rebels, who hosted previous editions at their home stadium.
The concept's return will see the Crusaders open the 11th round of the 2026 season on the Anzac Day weekend (April 24-26) at the new One New Zealand stadium.
Anzac Day is a public holiday celebrated in Australia and New Zealand, commemorating military service members who fought and died during wartime.
The One New Zealand stadium, which boasts a roof and 25,000-seat capacity, has long been in the making following a 2011 earthquake that devastated Christchurch and ruined the Crusaders' old home ground, Lancaster Park.
The Crusaders have played out of Rugby League Park since the earthquake.
"This event is bigger than rugby, it's a celebration of One NZ Stadium coming to life," Crusaders boss Colin Mansbridge said in a statement on Monday.
Super Rugby Pacific have yet to confirm the full draw for the weekend but the Queensland Reds will play the Auckland Blues and the ACT Brumbies face the Wellington Hurricanes on April 25.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

PREVIEW-Heavyweights begin 2027 World Cup squad build in Rugby Championship
PREVIEW-Heavyweights begin 2027 World Cup squad build in Rugby Championship

CNA

time6 hours ago

  • CNA

PREVIEW-Heavyweights begin 2027 World Cup squad build in Rugby Championship

CAPE TOWN :With two years to go until the Rugby World Cup in Australia, this year's Rugby Championship offers an early glimpse into the plans of the southern hemisphere heavyweights as they start shaping their squads for the 2027 tournament. South Africa and Australia open this year's championship at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on Saturday, while Argentina and New Zealand clash in their round one opener in Cordoba later in the day. South Africa are the current world champions and Rugby Championship holders, and look the team to beat again despite a tough two-test visit to New Zealand, including their nemesis Eden Park in Auckland, where they have not won since 1937. The All Blacks swept their three-match July series against an under-strength France and will have eyes on regaining a title they have won for a record 20 times, boosted by facing their bitter old rivals at home. Australia finished their British & Irish Lions series on a high with a victory in the rain in Sydney as coach Joe Schmidt continues their rebuild until he hands over the reins to Les Kiss in mid-2026. Argentina, a threat to any side on their day but also prone to inconsistency, start again as underdogs but with plenty of bite. With the new Rugby Nations Championship to start in 2026, this will be the last southern hemisphere tournament until a likely shortened version ahead of the 2027 World Cup. Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus has used close to 50 players this year in easy wins over Italy (twice) and Georgia, but it will be a step up in quality against Australia in tests in Johannesburg and Cape Town in the opening two rounds. Erasmus has continued to innovate tactics and the influence of attack coach Tony Brown on their style of play has become evident. This Springboks side is vastly improved from the one that lifted the World Cup in 2019, and is arguably also superior to the winning side in 2023. But Erasmus admits a concern as to their battle-readiness after their July canter. "You can look at battle-readiness in two ways," he said. "We haven't lost a player to injury, which bodes well for the Rugby Championship, but none of the matches we played were close. "We could pick from a full squad, and we weren't challenged tactically by Italy and Georgia, but those were physical matches." New Zealand may have swept France, but the general consensus is they are still a work in progress for coach Scott Robertson after he took over from Ian Foster following the last World Cup. They have talisman Beauden Barrett back from a hand injury and it will be interesting to see who gets the nod at flyhalf with Damian McKenzie also in the mix, and ahead of the return of Richie Mo'unga next year. "You've got an Aussie team that played some great footy at the back of their Test series (against the Lions)," Robertson said. "You've got the South Africans. We know how strong they are and the Argentinians on their day are so creative. It's a hell of a competition, very tight and just what we need." Schmidt is juggling several injury concerns for Australia, whose last Rugby Championship title came in 2015, but expects the key trio of loose-forward Rob Valetini, lock Will Skelton and prop Taniela Tupou to be fit for Saturday. Flyhalf Tom Lynagh and prop Allan Alaalatoa remain longer-term casualties. Argentina have several injury concerns too, but welcome back Juan Cruz Mallía, Santiago Chocobares, Marcos Kremer, Bautista Delguy, Mateo Carreras and Ignacio Ruiz from the squad that lost their July series 2-0 to an under-strength England.

Women's Rugby World Cup players to wear mouthguards that light up on heavy impact
Women's Rugby World Cup players to wear mouthguards that light up on heavy impact

Straits Times

time7 hours ago

  • Straits Times

Women's Rugby World Cup players to wear mouthguards that light up on heavy impact

Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: Rugby Union - Women's World Cup - Final - England v New Zealand - Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand - November 12, 2022 New Zealand celebrate winning the Women's World Cup with the trophy REUTERS/David Rowland/File Photo Players at the upcoming Women's Rugby World Cup will sport high-tech mouthguards that light up red when they suffer heavy head impacts, in a move aimed at improving player safety and reducing concussion, British media reported. The smart gumshields will send an alert to the match-day doctor warning of possible concussions during the August 22 to September 27 tournament in England, while referees will be advised to stop play upon seeing the red flash. The LED mouthguards are set to be implemented in top-flight rugby next season following the Women's Rugby World Cup, British media reported. The technology builds on World Rugby's introduction of smart mouthguards as part of the Head Injury Assessment (HIA) process in October 2023, which debuted in the WXV women's competition that year before being integrated into the HIA from January 2024. "If you want to be involved in the off-field assessment, you need to be wearing the mouthguard, so there are male players who opt out of getting an off-field HIA because they don't want to wear an instrumented mouthguard," Dr Eanna Falvey, chief medical officer at World Rugby, was quoted as saying by The Times. "We've had players who decided that they don't like the fact that it's a Bluetooth device, we've had players that feel it's uncomfortable, we've had players who don't want to know. "The women's leagues and teams and competitions, I don't know the reason for it, but they're much more likely to collaborate, they're much more accepting and excited about opportunities in technology. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Power fault downs MRT service on stretch of North East Line; recovery may take 2-3 hours Singapore Live: NEL MRT disruption Business Singapore raises 2025 economic growth forecast but warns of uncertainty from US tariffs Singapore Circle Line to close early most Fridays and Saturdays, start late most weekends from Sept 5-Dec 28 Business Goh Cheng Liang, Nippon Paint billionaire and richest Singaporean, dies aged 98 Business StarHub buys rest of MyRepublic's broadband business in $105m deal; comes after Simba buys M1 World After tariff truce extended, a Trump-Xi summit in China? Asia Death of student in Sabah raises hurdle for Malaysian PM Anwar as he faces tough state polls soon "We have full opt-in for the World Cup now. There are two people wearing braces so they physically can't wear it, but other than that we're full opt-in." Reuters has contacted World Rugby for comment. REUTERS

'Big boys' Barrett, McKenzie can handle Mo'unga return, says NZ coach Robertson
'Big boys' Barrett, McKenzie can handle Mo'unga return, says NZ coach Robertson

CNA

time10 hours ago

  • CNA

'Big boys' Barrett, McKenzie can handle Mo'unga return, says NZ coach Robertson

New Zealand coach Scott Robertson has welcomed the internal competition Richie Mo'unga's return will bring while offering cold comfort to the players who may lose the race for the All Blacks' coveted number 10 jersey. After a trophy-laden stint in Japan, Mo'unga will come home to New Zealand next season and bid to recover the starting flyhalf position in the leadup to the 2027 World Cup in Australia. That could see Beauden Barrett and Damian McKenzie make way for a player who won seven championship trophies under Robertson at the Canterbury Crusaders. Robertson said everyone was just "really, really pleased" with the return of Mo'unga. "New Zealand rugby is pleased in general that he's coming back into our game," he told reporters on Tuesday. "He's going to be around for a Rugby World Cup. He's served our country for a long time and he's going to come back and do it again." Mo'unga left New Zealand for Japan on a lucrative, three-year deal with Brave Lupus Tokyo after helping the All Blacks reach the 2023 World Cup final in France under former coach Ian Foster. Robertson used McKenzie initially as starting flyhalf in his first season last year but twice World Rugby Player of the Year Barrett has since supplanted the Waikato Chiefs playmaker. Asked about how Barrett and McKenzie might be affected by Mo'unga's return, Robertson said the team came first. "They're big boys," added Robertson.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store