Spike in number of vehicles illegally ripping up parks
The naming of a development team to play South Africa later this month has sparked a frenzy of speculation of who's in and who's out of the Black Ferns World Cup squad. Black Ferns XV coach Willie Walker today announced a 28-strong squad for the two-game series in Cape Town. But it's the names that are missing that are generating the most discussion. Sports correspondent Dana Johannsen spoke to Melissa Chan-Green.
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RNZ News
18 hours ago
- RNZ News
NRL: Warriors' loss to Titans leaves top four hopes on shaky ground
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad reflects on the Warriors defeat to Gold Coast. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/ Analysis: The contrasts were stark. Six nights earlier, after they let a much-needed win slip through their fingers in the final minute, Gold Coast Titans coach Des Hasler hauled his players out of the showers to give them a dressing down that peeled the paint off the locker-room walls. "Every f***ing week, you keep going back to what doesn't work for you," he lamented. "That's why you're f***ing dumb!" On this night though, the Gold Coast victory song echoed through the corridors of the Mt Smart grandstand, after their shocking 24-16 win over NZ Warriors . "I don't think it had anything to do with the dressing down at all," Hasler cautioned. "They're very proud individuals and that's the kind of response we want to get, week in and week out." On the other hand, six nights earlier, the Warriors leapt about in celebration, as second-rower Leka Halasima snapped up a loose ball and rumbled 40 metres to grab a famous victory over Newcastle Knights on the fulltime siren. On this night though, they could only shake their heads, as they slumped to a third-straight defeat against a team ranked last in the NRL on all three occasions. "I think the fans and everyone got a bit more excited than we did last week," coach Andrew Webster insisted. "When we were on the bus, I didn't see anyone celebrating or carrying on - I think everyone realised we weren't at our best." If that narrow escape against Newcastle was a wake-up call, the Warriors had slept through the alarm. Here's how they let a golden opportunity to consolidate an NRL playoff position slip through their fingers. Webster pinpointed the moment when hooker Wayde Egan was left concussed on the ground, as the Titans broke upfield, with halfback Jayden Campbell putting winger Jojo Fifita into the corner. The Warriors led 10-0 at the time and seemed well in control early, but conceded the next 24 points to hand over that advantage. "I didn't feel like we dealt with that change in momentum well," he reflected. "We didn't get back into the arm-wrestle like we normally do," Webster said "We're normally really good at those type of moments and it's something for us to work on this week." The other critical juncture came, when they trailed 18-10 in the 55th minute, but winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak was sin-binned for tackling centre Brian Kelly without the ball on the goal-line. Kelly was chasing a kick through by fullback AJ Brimson and Watene-Zelezniak's reflex action could easily have yielded a penalty try. Instead, he left his team shorthanded and the Titans immediately scored anyway, with Fifita taking the ball at speed to cross for his second amid four tacklers. The Warriors performance exposed two glaring areas that needed improvement - the right-edge defence and the kicking game. The right-edge vulnerability was well known and will continue to be exploited by opposition teams. "We do our homework through the week, there's no doubt about that," Titans captain Kieran Foran admitted cagily. "We looked at areas we might be able to expose them." Left winger Phillip Sami also had a try double - his first came when makeshift centre Kurt Capewell came out of his line and slipped, as halfback Jayden Campbell floated a long pass to Sami with acres of space outside Watene-Zelezniak. Foran repeated that pass to Sami in the second half to leave the Warriors winger floundering again. "I've got complete faith in every single one of our boys," Webster said. "It doesn't matter were they are, what position or what edge - I'm completely confident that we'll bounce back to where we want to be." Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is denied a try against Gold Coast. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/ Watene-Zelezniak may have to defend his position in the team from back-up fullback Taine Tuaupiki, who deputised for him through injury at the start of the season. Tuaupiki was vulnerable under the high ball at times, but has been in good form, whether he's played first-grade or NSW Cup. On Saturday, he scored two tries and kicked eight conversions, as the reserves stretched their unbeaten streak to 14 games with a 68-6 romp against South Sydney. "Taine's an option every week," Webster said. "He's a good player, but I'm certainly not going to pick teams an hour after the game's finished." The options at centre are less bountiful, with Rocco Berry rehabbing a dislocated shoulder and Ali Leiataua suffering an calf injury in reserve grade. Webster would love to return Capewell to the second row, where he starred for Queensland at State of Origin, but right now he seems the best option in the midfield. Nicoll-Klokstad has played centre for the Kiwis, but then Tuaupiki can only spread so far. "Like I said, I'm not going to pick the team straight after the game," rebuffed Webster. After a promising Warriors debut, when he bombed Wests Tigers into submission, halfback Tanah Boyd again dominated the kicking options, but too often, his kicks seemed too deep or the chasers too slow to make them contestable. "I thought our kick chase was a pass mark," Webster said. "We actually score it and it scored OK tonight, but it wasn't dominant like it normally is or when we're good. "I didn't think we surged well on it and backed the kicks up to turn them into great kicks tonight." That might improve, as his teammates get used to Boyd's tendencies or maybe he needs to share the load more with five-eighth Chanel Harris-Tavita, or Webster could turn to Martin in the No.7 jersey. Winger Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (278) and fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad (214) both carried beyond 200 metres, while Halasima become the Warriors' top tryscorer for the season with his ninth, also breaking six tackles. Leka Halasima scores another try for the Warriors. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/ Captain James Fisher-Harris ran for 130 metres and made 46 tackles, while front-row partner Jackson Ford racked up 128 and 54 respectively. Martin came off the bench to replace Egan and made 46 tackles, but he and centre Kurt Capewell were also credited with six missed tackles each. Nicoll-Klokstad returned from a knee injury that sidelined him a month and was solid enough on his return, but the Warriors suffered another setback, when Egan failed his head check and couldn't return to the field. That will also rule him out against the Dolphins on Friday, so expect to see understudy Sam Healey in the No.9 jersey for that fixture. The Warriors may also lose front-rower Jackson Ford next week, after he was put on report for his second dangerous tackle offence this season. While the defeat was worrying for the Warriors, it was hard to begrudge Hasler his moment, which allowed him to celebrate 500 coaching games in style. He seemed a man on the edge of extinction last week, but this result should see him survive at least a little longer, despite the rumours of his imminent demise. Former Warrior Foran also marked his final NRL appearance at Mt Smart with victory. He has been a stalwart of Kiwis league since debuting for the national team in 2009, despite a body that was repeatedly let him down over the years. Neither were overly forthcoming at the post-game presser, unprepared to tip their cards before they host the Warriors again in four weeks. This result - and the Rabbitohs' later loss to Cronulla Sharks - lifts Gold Coast off the bottom of the table for now, but they have a surging Penrith Panthers next week. Since 2021, the Titans have now won six of their last seven meetings with the Warriors and inflicted a 60-point defeat on their rivals last time they met at Cbus Stadium. "It doesn't surprise me whenever I see the Titans win a game of football, because they're so talented," Webster said. "It's just frustrating that it seems to be against us - I don't have my finger on it. "I can't deny they've got the wood over us at the moment." They were in a great position to consolidate their top-four spot, with nearest pursuers Brisbane Broncos losing to Parramatta Eels this weekend. Instead, four-time defending champions Penrith have leapfrogged into fifth, just three points behind and now riding a seven-game winning streak. The Warriors are also only six points clear of ninth with six games remaining, so there is a real danger they may miss out on the post-season altogether, if they can't rediscover their mojo. The Warriors face the Dolphins, who are coming off the bye and currently sit on the playoff bubble. Only Melbourne Storm have scored more points than the Dolphins this season and another loss could see the Warriors becalmed within sight of the finish-line. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
19 hours ago
- RNZ News
Rugby: Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt slams late call in loss to Lions
Hugo Keenan of the Lions reacts after scoring a try to win the second test against the Wallabies in Melbourne. Photo: Photosport Australia coach Joe Schmidt says match officials have failed to uphold player safety and hit out at a late clear-out decision that ensured the British & Irish Lions clinched a series-sealing victory . Fullback Hugo Keenan's last-minute try put the Lions 29-26 up at the Melbourne Cricket Ground but the Wallabies players cried foul after Jac Morgan cleared out Carlo Tizzano in the buildup. After a lengthy pause as the TV match official assessed multiple angles of the incident, the try was allowed to stand, giving the Lions victory and an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. Citing rugby's Law 9.20, which says head contact and clear-outs around the neck should be penalised, an incensed Schmidt said the officials had got the decision wrong. Joe Schmidt Photo: photosport "Because they're human, match officials make errors," he said at the post-match press conference. "We felt it was a decision that doesn't really live up to the big player safety push that they're (World Rugby) talking about. "You cannot hit someone above... the shoulders. "But that's what we've seen and we've watched a number of replays from different angles so it is what it is and we just have to accept it." Wallabies captain Harry Wilson was also convinced his team were hard done by. "Obviously I saw shoulder to the neck. Carlo was pretty sore about it," he said. Lions coach Andy Farrell had a different view. "I thought it was a brilliant clear-out," he said. "Honestly, it depends which side of the fence you come from, I would have thought. I can understand people's opinions, but I thought Jac was brilliant when he came on - and so were the rest of the bench." Schmidt said he was proud of his players but gutted by the final result after the Wallabies had taken a 23-5 lead near the half-hour mark. Jake Gordon of Australia dives to score a try during the second test against the British and Irish Lions. Photo: Photosport While the Wallabies were bitterly disappointed that the clear-out decision had gone against them, they did not need to use it as motivation for the dead rubber in Sydney next Saturday. "You can't get more motivated than what the players showed tonight," he added. "You've got to keep resolve and keep going forward. We're not going to wallow in self-pity." Farrell said his players had fulfilled the ultimate dream by pulling off a brilliant comeback win from 18 points down. James Lowe celebrates Tadhg Beirne's try for the British and Irish Lions. Photo: photosport By storming back from 23-5 down late in the first half, the Lions delivered the biggest comeback in their test history and gave the tourists a first series win since beating Robbie Deans's Australia in 2013. "When you see what it means to everyone in there, you can hear them, these lads have dreamed of being a British & Irish Lion all their lives," Farrell told reporters. "And to get to the point where we come to the MCG, 90,000 people, with a dramatic finish like that to win the series is what dreams are made of. "The drama and how it unfolded, that's what makes it special. "I suppose you wouldn't have backed us at 23-5 but to find a way it adds to the story, doesn't it? It adds to the fairytale. "To be part of that is an honour." While the Wallabies were incensed that a clean-out by Jac Morgan in the build up to Hugo Keenan's last-minute try was not penalised, Farrell said the Lions were deserving winners for hanging on in the match. Bundee Aki (L) and Owen Farrell celebrate the Lions' win over Australia in the second test in Melbourne. Photo: photosport He did have some words of sympathy Joe Schmidt's team, though, praising them for their fight in a classic test that came a week after the hosts lost the Brisbane opener 27-19. "It's cruel in so many ways for Australia, but we stayed in the fight and got what we deserved," Farrell said. "Fair play to them. They turned up and they were going to turn up physically. But it wasn't just that. "They played a great brand of rugby." Farrell was defence coach when Warren Gatland's Lions won the 2013 series 2-1 by hammering the Wallabies 41-16 in the Sydney decider. He will now look to guide the Lions to an unprecedented 3-0 sweep of the Wallabies in Sydney in a week's time. "He wants us to win everything," captain Maro Itoje said, who was named man of the match in Melbourne. "Don't get me wrong, absolutely delighted with the result tonight, but we want to go again next week." - Reuters
RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
Cricket: Matt Henry guides Black Caps to Tri-Series final triumph
Matt Henry celebrates a wicket for the Black Caps. Photo: AFP New Zealand seamer Matt Henry restricted South Africa to three runs from the last over to seal a dramatic three-run victory in the Twenty20 International Tri-Series final in Harare. Chasing 181 for victory, South Africa needed eight off the last eight balls with six wickets in hand, and seven from the final over, but brilliant catches in the outfield by Michael Bracewell and Daryl Mitchell helped restrict them to 177-6. Dewald Brevis looked as though he had won the game with 31 from 16 deliveries and was an inch or two from completing the job as he launched Henry towards the square-leg boundary, only for Bracewell to juggle the ball as he stepped over the rope back into play to complete the catch. Mitchell took a superb diving effort at long off to dismiss George Linde, who looked as though he would win the game for the South Africans with a big hit down the ground. Senuran Muthusamy could not get bat to ball on the final delivery of the game from Henry, who finished with figures of 2-19 from three overs. "As a group we have been playing some really good cricket and to get over the line in a really tight game, I am proud of the guys," Henry said. "It is credit to the attitude of our team, making sure we stay in the fight and knowing that wickets can change things." New Zealand were sent into bat and amassed 180 for five. Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra both scored 47. Teenager Lhuan-dre Pretorius scored 51 from 35 balls in South Africa's reply and they looked to be coasting home before Brevis' dismissal and the excellent final over from Henry. "We played a pretty good game, it was a match of millimetres," South Africa captain Rassie van der Dussen said. "We have had guys making debuts and experimented a bit (in the series), so for the young guys to come in and get so close, we will learn a lot from this." Zimbabwe were the third team involved in the Tri-Series, but lost all four group games. - Reuters
