New Christchurch stadium to host Super Rugby's Super Round
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RNZ News
13 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Samoa, NZ off to under-17 FIFA World Cup
Samoa and New Zealand will compete at the 2026 FIFA Under-17 Women's World Cup in Morocco Photo: OFC Media via Phototek Samoa and New Zealand will compete at the 2026 FIFA Under-17 Women's World Cup in Morocco, following their semi-final wins at the OFC Under-16 Women's Championship in Apia on Monday. The two countries have already booked their spots also for this year's age grade world cup, scheduled for November, after also finishing as the top two teams from last year's Oceania competition. Samoa defeated Solomon Islands 5-0 at the Samoa Football field in the first semi-final on Monday, before New Zealand held off New Caledonia to win their clash 4-2 in the second semi-final. The wins means the two teams will clash in Apia on Thursday in the championship finale, to decide number one and two from the region, which is a repeat of last year's final. Meanwhile, OFC said Juan Chang Urrea's Samoa side played to the delight of a passionate home crowd, who were cheering for them throughout their semi-final clash against the Solomon Islands. Samoa dominated possession and territory early, with the midfield trio of Taimane Devoux, captain Kitiona, and Macey Tuiolosega dictating play. With an abundance of possession in their control, they were able to release attackers Cali Willis, Aaliyah Johnson, and Jayde Sagapolutele. Captain Kitiona said it was a tough match but she was proud of the players pulling through in the end. "It was so great seeing everyone connecting on the field," she said after the game. "I think we put so much work into this and it did show today." Player Aaliyah Johnson said the players got it done in the end. "I am so happy the team could come together again this way," she said. On qualifying for the World Cup, Johnson said it is going to be exciting. "It's amazing and I am so proud," she stated. "It's going to be my first World Cup." Captain Kitiona said they are proud to be representing Samoa. "It's so great representing our country and I think it's gonna be a great experience." The players also thanked all their families and fans for the support they have received as a team during their campaign. The breakthrough for Samoa came in the 9th minute when Tuiolosega's cross took an unfortunate deflection off Solomon Islands captain Teisika Rotoava and into the net. Johnson saw a goal ruled out for offside in the 28th minute, but moments later Kitiona doubled the advantage, heading home unmarked at the far post from a corner. Samoa struck the woodwork before the break but took a 2-0 lead into halftime. The second half followed a similar pattern, with Johnson scoring in the 59th minute, before Devoux added her name to the scoresheet in the 69th, with substitute Tova Auvaa claiming the last goal of the match. Alana Gunn's NZ side were stretched by a gallant New Caledonia side that kept fighting back until the end of the game. OFC media reported it took two goals in quick succession early in the second half from Amelia Hitchcock and Mia Humphrey to break New Caledonia's resolve. Up until Hitchcock's 52nd minute strike, the Kiwis had largely been second best. Players Charlotte Summers and Lexi Hedington shared their excitement after the game. Summers said New Caledonia gave them a tough run. "It was a good game and quite tricky, quite different from the other games," she said. "New Caledonia really put up a fight for it," Hedington said. "We knew they were going to come out strong and give everything they got but we did our best to try and defend that, which we did really well. So we ended up getting there." The players said the message to them at half-time, when the teams were tied 1-1, was clear. "We had a clear message in our head," Hedington said. "It was either don't win and don't go to the World Cup, or we win and go on the plane to the World Cup next year, so that brought our confidence back." The duo said qualifying for the World Cup was special to both of them and the team as a whole. "It's so exciting and someting new to work towards," Summers added. New Zealand's first goal came via Isla Robson in the 15th minute but New Caledonia struck back with Kinë Hmaen in the 29th minute. That had the scoreline at 1-1 after the first spell. New Zealand regrouped at half-time and after withstanding concerted New Caledonia pressure early in the second spell, Amelia Hitchcock's strike from 25 metres out turned the match. Three minutes later Mia Humphrey burst down the right and calmly slotted the ball past Kessyna Nyipie in the New Caledonia goal. But New Caledonia kept applying the pressure and Emmanuelle Buama scored a consolation goal in injury time. Solomon Islands and New Caledonia will play-off for third spot on Thursday, before the final.
RNZ News
43 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Grassroots sport volunteering becoming complex
Measures and policies put in place to safeguard children from harm, abuse and exploitation during sport are confusing and turning people off volunteering, according to an Auckland University researcher. Blake Bennett is a senior lecturer in Sport Coaching and Pedagogy and researched more than 200 coaches on their perceptions of child safeguarding rules, and the changes they deemed necessary to comply. It found most coaches were misinterpreting the procedures - and were often overly cautious - which could be unhelpful and detrimental to the development of children through sport. It comes as grassroots sports clubs increasingly struggle for volunteer numbers. The most recent survey from the New Zealand Amateur Sport Association, reports the number of active volunteers in sport clubs has dropped from 31 to just 18 per club over the past five years. And that coaching roles, so often filled by volunteers, are increasingly vacant or stretched. Photo: Photosport
RNZ News
2 hours ago
- RNZ News
Mouthguards that flash red with head impacts to be used at Rugby World Cup
Kaipo Olsen-Baker of the Black Ferns clashes heads with Emily Chancellor of the Wallaroos. Photo: DAN HIMBRECHTS Mouthguards that light up when a player sustains a significant head impact will be used at this year's women's Rugby World Cup, which starts next week. The mouthguards, which use LED lights, will flash red if the impact is severe enough to potentially cause a concussion. The referee will then stop play with the player sent off for a head injury assessment. The mouthguards will be introduced to the men's Rugby Championship next year. Waiaria Ellis sized up against Jorja Miller who scored a stellar try in the O'Reilly Cup, Black Ferns v Wallaroos match Photo: Kerry Marshall / The technology was trialled in this year's Major League Rugby and is the latest version of "smart mouthguard". World Rugby science and medical manager Dr Lindsay Starling said the new system was better than the current one, which uses Bluetooth to flag severe impacts. Under the current system the alerts can take several seconds to reach the match day doctor. "Match officials and players will be able to see that this player has sustained a big head impact because their mouth guard is flashing red," Starling said. "It will create awareness about head injuries and concussions in the stands and for fans at home, being able to see it on TV." Starling said the mouthguards would highlight moments of high impact within "split seconds". World Rugby chief medical officer Dr Eanna Falvey said all but two players at the World Cup, who had braces, would wear the new mouthguards. Starling believed the technology could also help identify instances of foul play. "There is a world in which the data from the mouthguard can start to come into play a little bit more with foul play, but what everybody needs to understand that in the same way a player can get concussed from a pretty small head impact, foul play [can have occurred] without registering anything substantial," Starling said. "What we need to be careful not to do is over-rely on the data or put too much power in the hands of the data. Data is incredibly powerful, but in this case the data might not tell 100 percent of the picture." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
