Runit Championship League's $200k Auckland final blocked from major stadium
An Auckland stadium says it will not host the final event of controversial new collision sport 'run it straight', citing the 'overwhelming concern' the trials caused.
Australian-based Runit Championship League carried out the trials at West Auckland's Trusts Arena, with a $200,000 cash prize advertised for the winner of the
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1News
5 hours ago
- 1News
Formula 1: Liam Lawson finishes 11th at Spanish GP
Kiwi Formula 1 driver Liam Lawson narrowly missed out on a points-scoring finish at a chaotic Spanish Grand Prix, finishing the race in 11th after having qualified 13th. After a weekend of consistently strong pace, the Racing Bulls driver looked poised to finish in the points, building on last week's career-best finish at the Monaco Grand Prix. But after Racing Bulls opted to not pit for a late safety car, Lawson was overtaken by Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, on much faster tires. "From our side, it was a very strong race." said Lawson after the race. 'We just ended up in the wrong position. We missed the safety car line by half a second, and so everyone in front of us boxed and we got screwed. To have it that close after all the work we did in the race, it just sucks.' ADVERTISEMENT Lawson had several close calls on-track with Haas driver Oliver Bearman and Williams' Alex Albon during the Grand Prix but was found to not be at fault for incidents involving both drivers. The Kiwi will now turn his attention to the Canadian Grand Prix, with hopes to secure a second points finish of the season. A perfect weekend for McLaren McLaren pair Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris moved closer to making this Formula 1 season a simple question of which one of them will come out on top after finishing the Spanish Grand Prix one-two on Sunday. That sense of dominance was aided by a late-race collapse by Max Verstappen and his Red Bull team. Verstappen was bearing down on Norris until a late safety car led to him having slower tires. He was quickly passed by Charles Leclerc and George Russell before the defending champion made it much worse by colliding with Russell's Mercedes. The resulting 10-second penalty for Verstappen sent him plummeting down to a 10th-placed finish in Spain. Things got testy from there. ADVERTISEMENT Russell called the move 'deliberate" and said Verstappen set a bad example. Verstappen replied that 'next time I will bring a tissue.' The Spanish Grand Prix came to a chaotic finish after a safety car was deployed. (Source: Associated Press) Piastri won the race with poise from pole position and ended Verstappen's run of three consecutive wins at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Piastri has 186 points, 10 more than Norris. Verstappen dropped to 49 points behind the leader. Where does that leave the title race with still a long way to go? Verstappen appears ready to focus on 2026 when the F1 rulebook will be rewritten — or for McLaren to mess up big time. 'I never said that I was in a championship fight,' Verstappen said. 'First of all, I think every race so far it's been tough. You know when they get their things right, they're unbeatable. And I think that's quite clear this season.' ADVERTISEMENT Breakthrough campaign for Piastri While Verstappen was in misery, Piastri was relishing another victory in a breakthrough campaign for the 24-year-old Australian who so far is handling the pressure of being the front-runner with aplomb. 'It has been a great year and this weekend has been exactly the kind of weekend I've been looking for,' said Piastri. 'It is a lot of fun winning races at the moment.' It was the third McLaren one-two of the season and the team's seventh win in nine races, with Piastri taking five of those victories. This was the first time in a decade that a driver other than Verstappen or Lewis Hamilton won the event held near Barcelona, whose future is in question with the addition of a race in Madrid next year. Oscar Piastri extends his championship lead over teammate Lando Norris. (Source: Associated Press) Norris recovers from a bad start ADVERTISEMENT Last year in Spain, Norris had started from pole only for Verstappen to jump past him on his way to winning. This time, Verstappen slipped past Norris to move from third to second after Turn 1. But Norris only had to wait 12 laps before he closed down on Verstappen who told his team that he had 'no grip' as he was sliding on his tires. Norris screamed past with the DRS boost on the straightaway to again put the orange cars in front. 'Oscar drove a very good race today, (I) didn't quite have the pace to match him but we gave it our best shot,' Norris said about finishing second. Leclerc was third as he again bettered Hamilton, his new Ferrari teammate. Another bad outing for Hamilton Hamilton had another difficult day for Ferrari, being told to pull over for a faster Leclerc early on and then being passed by Nico Hulkenberg of Sauber on the final laps. The seven-time world champion has yet to reach the podium in a grand prix since leaving Mercedes for the Italian team. ADVERTISEMENT Hamilton was visibly disappointed by the performance, saying his car was unbalanced. 'That was the worst race I have experienced, balance-wise," he told reporters. Great drive by Hulk Hulkenberg had the drive of the day as he moved up from a 15th-spot start to finish a season-best fifth, right ahead of Hamilton. "I saw Hulkenberg finished fifth, which is pretty impressive so well done to him,' Piastri said. Lawson's Racing Bulls teammate Isack Hadjar secured a seventh-place finish, snagging 6 more points for the team and bumping them up a place in the Constructor's Championship standings. Alpine's Pierre Gasly finished the race in an impressive eighth, and Fernando Alonso finally got in the points this season to thrill home fans with a ninth-placed finish for Aston Martin. Alonso's teammate Lance Stroll withdrew due to pain in his hand and wrist. ADVERTISEMENT Verstappen's teammate Yuki Tsunoda started from last place after a disastrous qualifying session for Red Bull's second driver and managed to finish 13th. Kimi Antonelli was in the points when his Mercedes appeared to have trouble and he ended up in the gravel, causing the late yellow flag and safety car. Next up is the Canadian GP in two weeks. Additional reporting by Associated Press
Otago Daily Times
13 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Hurricanes shatter Moana playoff dreams
The Wellington Hurricanes shattered Moana Pasifika's dreams of a maiden Super Rugby Pacific playoff campaign with a crushing 64-12 victory on Saturday that sent the defending champions the Blues into this week's quarterfinals instead. The Hurricanes cemented fourth place in the final standings and will travel to Canberra this Saturday to play the Brumbies, while the Blues, who earlier beat the Waratahs 46-6, will visit the table-topping Chiefs. In the other playoff, the 12-times champion the Crusaders will host the Reds, who concluded the regular season on Saturday night with a 52-7 win over the Fijian Drua on the back of four first-half tries from winger Lachie Anderson. Moana had hoped to be there too on the back of a breakout season, but even redoubtable skipper Ardie Savea was unable to inspire them to the bonus-point victory they needed to edge out the Blues and claim the sixth and last playoff spot. No 8 Semisi Tupou Ta'eiloa gave Moana the perfect start in Wellington with a try after six minutes, but the Hurricanes were 14-7 up before a quarter of an hour had expired. Hooker Jacob Devery went over on the back of a rolling maul before flanker Devan Flanders showed his footballing skills with a chip and chase for the second try. Savea grabbed a couple of turnovers, but it only delayed the inevitable as Hurricanes scrumhalf Cam Roigard went over from an intercept and centre Peter Umaga-Jensen rampaged through the Moana defence to give the home side a 28-7 halftime lead. Umaga-Jensen barged over for his second try 10 minutes after the break before Raymond Tuputupu, Pouri Rakete-Stones, Billy Proctor, Ereatara Enari and Tjay Clarke completed the 10-try rout. "Really pleasing, not only that we got the result, but that we played the way we did going into the finals," Hurricanes co-captain Du'Plessis Kirifi said. "From next week on, you've got to just start again. Start again and go hard." Savea, who scored a consolation try against his old team in the 65th minute off a catch-and-drive, expressed his pride in what Moana had achieved this year. "We're not satisfied," he said. "Our goal was to win the thing and make top six, but that wasn't meant to be." The Blues earlier ended the slender postseason hopes of the Waratahs by running in seven tries in a bonus-point victory at Eden Park to extend their winning streak over the Sydney-based club to 11 matches. Centre Rieko Ioane scored a hat-trick and winger Mark Tele'a two tries on the back of an attack skilfully marshalled by their fellow All Black Beauden Barrett as the Blues gave the Waratahs a lesson in clinical finishing. "We just wanted to play shackle-free and have some fun and I think we did that tonight," said Ioane, who joined Doug Howlett as the Blues' all time leading try-scorer with 55. "We knew how crucial the bonus point was, and to hold them to no tries was awesome." Last week, the Chiefs locked up top spot in the standings and home advantage throughout the playoffs with a 41-21 victory over the Highlanders and the Crusaders beat the Brumbies 33-31 to win the shootout for second. The three winners from this week's qualifying finals will be joined in the semifinals by the highest-seeded losing team, coined the "lucky loser". The lucky loser will progress but drop one seeding for the semifinals, to ensure a qualifying final match-up is not repeated in week two of the finals series. The final ladder positions have determined the initial finals series seedings — from the top, Chiefs (1), Crusaders (2), Brumbies (3), Hurricanes (4), Reds (5), and Blues (6). The qualifying finals are 1v6, 2v5 and 3v4, with the higher-seeded teams hosting. The semifinals will be 1v4 and 2v3, with the higher-seeded teams to host. The two winners of the semifinals will progress to the grand final, which will be hosted by the higher-seeded team. Super Rugby Qualifying finals Crusaders v Reds 7.05pm Friday, Christchurch Chiefs v Blues 7.05pm Saturday, Hamilton Brumbies v Hurricanes 9.35pm Saturday, Canberra — Reuters/APL
Scoop
21 hours ago
- Scoop
Run It And Brain Injuries: What You Need To Know
Article – RNZ Explainer – A 19-year-old died playing a version of the controversial violent 'Run It' contest. Just how dangerous is it? , Digital Explainer Editor Explainer – A 19-year-old from Palmerston North died recently playing a version of the controversial violent 'Run It' contest. How can a knock on the head kill? Here's what you need to know about brain injuries. What is Run It? An Australian creation that has taken off in Aotearoa thanks to social media, 'Run It Straight' is a combat sport. Across a field, a ball runner and defender charge at full speed toward one another without helmets or safety gear. The participant who 'dominates' the contact is deemed the winner. Events held in New Zealand recently offer cash prizes, including a $200,000 prize advertised for the winner of the final. Many sporting groups and health experts have condemned the contests, including NZ Rugby and NZ Rugby League. What happened to Ryan Satterthwaite? The 19-year-old Palmerston North man died Monday night in hospital, after suffering a catastrophic head injury on Sunday, 25 May playing an unofficial Run It-style game with friends. Police said it was an unspectacular tackle that led to the tragedy. Manawatū area commander inspector Ross Grantham told RNZ's Checkpoint that Ryan's head didn't hit anything hard during the tackle. 'It was just an impromptu event with some mates that got together and the two men run towards each other, and from that collision, this young man Ryan has received such a terrible injury that it's been fatal,' Grantham said. 'It doesn't look like his head has hit anything hard, hasn't hit the ground, or his mate's body or head. It's the movement that has caused this injury.' Satterthwaite's family have urged people not to take part in the game, with his uncle calling it 'the most stupid thing I've ever seen'. The death comes after two other men were knocked unconscious and required medical attention during a competition at Auckland's Trust Arena. What happens to the brain with this kind of impact? People don't understand how fragile the brain really is, said Dr Helen Murray, a neuroscientist and senior research fellow at the University of Auckland's Centre for Brain Research. 'The main thing to think about is our brain is essentially floating in cerebrospinal fluid inside our skull, so every time you bump the front of your skull, the brain is moving around in your head. 'It's sort of like an egg in an eggshell – if you shake it, you damage what's inside. It's a very delicate structure.' Knocks to the head can cause bleeding or harm the careful infrastructure inside our skulls. 'All of those delicate folds of the brain are stretching and twisting, and that can cause damage,' she said. 'Blood is not supposed to be in direct contact with brain tissue.' Bleeding on the brain can cause problems such as a stroke. The exact details of Satterthwaite's injuries have not been revealed, but sudden death from a brain injury can also occur because it regulates most of our body functions. If the brain stem – which connects your brain to the spinal cord – is affected, it can result in critical injuries. 'Your brain stem is really responsible for a lot of what we call homeostatic functions, the things that keep your body alive,' Dr Murray said. 'You don't think about your heart beating, you don't think about your breathing or your blood pressure, but your brain is always making that happen all the time.' Several people are believed to have suffered concussions – a brain injury caused by a blow to the head – during Run It activities. Chief executive of the Headway brain injury support charity Stacey Mowbray recently told RNZ she found Run It Straight video footage 'horrendous and really distressing'. 'We refer to concussions as the invisible injury, so you don't have to see anything initially to have had one.' Can you be hurt and not realise it right away? Even if the injury isn't immediately fatal, brain injuries can also develop over years. 'Your brain is so precious and a brain injury affects, not only your life, but your friends, your family and the people around you, and it can last a long, long time,' Dr Murray said. Haven't there been concerns about brain injuries in contact sport for a while? Absolutely, and the particularly stark nature of Run It events has drawn attention to long-standing research about sports players developing life-changing injuries. Brain injuries in sport cost New Zealand millions every year. Some former athletes have been diagnosed with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy or CTE, a progressive brain disease that can cause dementia-like symptoms. Former All Black Carl Hayman has spoken out about living with the disease, which he was diagnosed with in his early 40s. Dr Murray is one of New Zealand's leading experts on CTE and an ice hockey player herself. She said contact sports can be played safely, but events like Run It lacked safeguards. 'There are some unique factors in this Run It event that just make it a really, really heavy risk – the fact that no-one is trying to avoid a collision, for starters. 'You instantly have this high-force component, the lack of regulation, people just kind of doing this without safe tackling technique. Someone's judging the collision, so there's an incentive for high damage. 'So many sports have been doing a fantastic job about learning to play more safely… but this is a big step backwards.' What is the future of Run It? West Auckland's Trusts Arena cancelled plans to host the final event for the Runit Championship League after holding trials there. 'Safety of all participants at our venue is paramount and this activity presented safety considerations that we could not overlook,' Trusts Arena's general manager of community engagement Lynette Adams told the New Zealand Herald. Should it be illegal? After Satterthwaite's death, police said it was not considered a criminal matter, but they would continue to make inquiries on behalf of the Coroner. 'We need people to stop participating in activities where the intention is to hurt someone,' AUT professor of human performance Patria Hume told the Science Media Centre. 'Why is this not considered assault?' Sports and Recreation Minister Mark Mitchell is seeking advice on what could be done about the game. He told RNZ's Nine To Noon last week he had asked Sport NZ for advice to see if there was anything that could be done at a government level. Mitchell said it would likely require a response from several agencies.
