Midday Sports News for 4 August 2025
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RNZ News
15 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Will rugby league's State of Origin series come to New Zealand?
Will rugby league's State of Origin come to local shores? Photo: AAP / Photosport The government appears receptive to supporting a move to bring rugby league's State of Origin to these shores in two years' time. Speculation has resurfaced over the weekend of potential plans by the game's administrators to bring a game to New Zealand in 2027, with the government and tourism officials here reportedly involved in talks with the NRL. Rugby league legend Sir Graham Lowe has raised the matter with Sports and Recreation Minister Mark Mitchell, Auckland's Eden Park and Christchurch's forthcoming One New Zealand Stadium (Te Kaha) contenders to host a game. It comes as efforts to flesh out the future events calendar for Christchurch's new $683 million central city stadium continue ahead of its scheduled opening in eight months time. Whether its modest 30,000 capacity would appease rugby league administrators for an Origin game, as opposed to Eden Park, is doubtful. Lowe, who coached Queensland across consecutive Origin series in 1991 and '92, told RNZ both venues were worthy of consideration. "The stadium in Christchurch I think would be absolutely fantastic. The NRL might say there's not enough seats in there because they like the bigger stadiums for that kind of event. "There's always more than one way to skin a cat. I think the NRL make more revenue from Origin in Brisbane, than they do from the one in Sydney." As reported by The Courier Mail , Australian Rugby League Commission (ARL) chairman Peter V'landys said an "Anzac Origin" clash in 2027 would be timely, marking the 40th anniversary of the 1987 Origin match played in Long Beach, California. V'landys said a neutral venue for 2027 was yet to be confirmed. "Next year we're going to the MCG and then 2027 is available, so Origin in New Zealand is on our hit list," he said. Mitchell said he had spoken to Lowe about the idea. "We are a great destination for games and events and any proposal brought forward to host a State of Origin match here would be worked through the Major events team." The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has been approached for comment. Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston said she had not been part of talks, but the government was open to the possibility. "The government is always open to considering opportunities to host major events across sports and the arts from local and international organisers and will support them where appropriate," she said. "Any prospective events must meet the Major Events Fund criteria and deliver outcomes aligned to the Government's Major Event Strategy." As its imminent opening draws nearer, venue operators for Te Kaha have been toiling to secure events amid a highly competitive entertainment market. Te Kaha photographed in July. Photo: Christchurch City Council RNZ spoke to several locals in central Christchurch about what they were most looking forward to. Alongside big concerts, the Crusaders, Warriors and the long-awaited return of All Blacks tests to Christchurch were popular drawcards for the arena. Red-and-black clad Canterbury rugby fans would be catered for, with the Crusaders and the Canterbury NPC team the main anchor tenants once the arena opened. There could be less NPC games played at Te Kaha long-term, as the cash-strapped provincial competition explored more games in the regions, at smaller venues. There were also plans for Te Kaha to host a rebooted Super Rugby Super Round over Anzac weekend. For other codes, the Wellington Phoenix and Warriors were bringing one of their respective away games to Christchurch, with multi-year agreements ensuring both franchises would play at least one game at Te Kaha until 2027 and 2028 respectively. When asked if he felt his club was worthy of Te Kaha's first event, Warriors chief executive Cameron George said the honour should go to the Crusaders. "Out of respect, I think the Crusaders should be afforded that opportunity." Venues Otautahi chief exeuctive Caroline Harvie-Teare said the scrap for other events, including concerts, remained a big task. "We're obviously working on attracting other guaranteed and consistent content, which would be bringing other teams' away games here," she said. Photo: Christchurch City Council A total of five All Blacks tests have been played at Christchurch's makeshift Addington venue since the earthquakes, including two in the past decade . Although the bidding process for All Blacks tests remained competitive, Harvie-Teare expected "one to two" tests in Christchurch each year. "There's a desire to return the All Blacks to Christchurch, we've had a limited amount of games here. "I know New Zealand Rugby are excited about the venue and excited about them being back here in Canterbury." It is understood the All Blacks calendar for next year and 2027 is still being finalised. In a statement, New Zealand Rugby said it was "incredibly excited" about potentially returning tests to Christchurch with Te Kaha being considered. "Canterbury is a passionate rugby region, and we know fans are incredibly eager for international rugby to return." There have been multiple bids to set up a second New Zealand NRL club based out of Christchurch. At least three of the bids were rejected last year with new teams out of Perth and Papua New Guinea green-lit. Amid a geo-political backdrop, the Papua New Guinea proposal was bankrolled to the tune of $600m by the Australian government. Lowe, who was leading one of the South Island bids, said nothing more could have been done to make their proposal more compelling. "It's basically on hold at the moment. "We're super confident, totally confident. "[The NRL is] still 100 percent commited to having another team out of New Zealand. It's just obvious that Christchurch is the place." A separate bid led by former Kiwis coach Frank Endacott previously forecast an annual boost of $50m for the city if an NRL club was founded. A strength in numbers approach appeared to be off the table with no plans for the consortiums to unite. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
11 hours ago
- RNZ News
RunIt: From backyard collision game to a cultural lightning rod
Experts have called for RunIt to be banned. Photo: RNZ Pacific / RunIt / Supplied RunIt, originally a backyard variation of bull rush, involves two players sprinting and colliding, and it has evolved into a global phenomenon, albeit a controversial one. Experts have called for RunIt to be banned and a 19-year-old from Palmerston North died during a backyard RunIt-style event . RunIt safety spokesperson Billy Coffey told RNZ earlier this year that the two people who got concussion at an Auckland event used "illegal" techniques . "We had two concussions out of our eight runners, and those two concussions, the first one was from a guy who was an American-based and he led with his head, and the second one was the same concept." Competitors were required to wear mouthguards, he said, but headgear was optional. RUNIT Auckland. Trusts Stadium. Photo: Andrew Cornaga / Photosport "We've got an ambulance on site. We've got liability. Everything's covered. There's waivers, medicals beforehand, medicals after. There's an ambulance on site." Veteran sports commentator and former rugby league player Fauono Ken Laban told Pacific Waves he thought RunIt was a "dreadful event". "I think the so-called courage and toughness that they try to sell the event on, I think, is fake," he said. "Those kind of contacts and those kind of tackles in rugby union and and in rugby league were outlawed years ago. "I'm not even going to call it a sport, because it's not an established sport." But not everyone agrees. Auckland-based Pacific community leader Pakilau Manase Lua said he could see the attraction for Polynesian males in particular. "It's the attraction of being able to use their God-given natural abilities to be explosively impactful and physical in a sport. And I'll call it a sport - that lends itself to big guys that can run fast and are willing to put their bodies on the line," he said. "We can talk about the ethical stuff around possible injuries and all that sort of stuff. But there's an element of risk in any sport, even rugby league, we all know - they're all well governed. They're all structured and have policies, protocols, procedures, and all that sort of stuff around head injuries. "But the attraction is also the money." He said his personal view is "you can't ban it". He said he does not condone the backyard ones that don't have a lot of safety precautions. "But those that are well organised, that have medical staff in place and that people know the risks - I think if you ban it, you'll make it go underground. "These are things that a lot of young people should be educated about, the around particularly head injuries, because at the end of the day, you see the same collisions in the NFL, in the NRL and rugby union, across any sport, boxing. "And then you've got other sports, like the Nitro Circus, where they've got guys doing three double somersaults on motorbikes that you can instantly get killed, break your neck, crush your spine if it goes wrong. So there's element of risk in anything. "But I think it's about education, organisation and safety." Auckland-based Pacific community leader Pakilau Manase Lua says RunIt allows Pasifika men the opportunity "to use their God-given natural abilities to be explosively impactful and physical in a sport". Photo: Andrew Cornaga / Photosport Niu FM broadcaster and social media personality Regan Foai said he is supportive of the organisation running it. "We've been doing this for a long time - it just hasn't been put on the scale that it is now," he said. "Some of us just enjoy the competitiveness of who is the stronger person on the field, I guess, and it's entertaining for us to watch. "It's just, I guess, part of our nature especially when it comes to the rugby scene as well." Foai recently spoke with New Zealand RunIt heat winner Robbie Tuluatua on-air and asked about the safety debate. "I was like there's a lot of people in the media saying about safety and all that stuff. "He said, 'man, we got briefed well before we got put onto the field; everyone was checked prior, and there was paramedics there; everything was put into place'. "I think a lot of people just jumping in the gun and not just think that we're just running it straight in to each other, and that's it." Associate Professor Lefaoali'i Dr Dion Enari, an expert in sports management, now serves as the Associate Professor of Pacific Heritage at Unitec. He warned that banning the sport could lead to unintended consequences. "You only have to look at it similar to the laws that ban gang patches in public. Doing that hasn't removed gangs from society; in fact, it's actually made it harder for the public to identify who's in a gang and who's not. "So I do believe that it runs the risk of making RunIt Straight go underground, and it being done in even more unsafe circumstances, with no medical personnel there, no sanctions, no safety rules of engagement in place." He said anything can always be improved, but it's about having conversations with the different experts to get advice on safety measures and how it could be done more safely. He said for Pasifika born and raised in the 90s, it was a pastime a lot of them had done as kids. "Especially those of us who had limited resources, a lot of us would then go and make our own fun by playing this, by partaking in RunIt Straight. "It has a childhood nostalgia for a lot of Pacific people. And the physicality aspect of it is also what draws a lot of Pacific people to want to participate in it." New Zealand Management Academies south campus manager John Loau works closely with rangatahi and said they are always looking at clips online. "They're quite entertained with that, with the clashes and when the bodies collide, and the impact that that makes. "You just can't help it when some of the younger ones who are attending training at NZMA that when they look at the thing - well, what do you think, sir? "I said, 'Well, those are some tough bodies. Those are some tough hits. Do you understand the impact on that?' And we just try to walk them through the conversations of how that impacts them physically, and then some of the other injuries that could manifest themselves. And from a mental health standpoint as well." He said Pacific people are physical athletes - built for travelling across the oceans, climbing trees without any aid, or even digging in warfare. "It's really built in our DNA and as our evolution as a people." He also said it's compared with bull rush and able to be organised in a backyard. "Because of that low entry point, it makes it unfortunately accessible to many people to try to take that on. I guess everyone thinks it's a bit harmless until someone actually gets injured. And that's one of the reasons why it's not just prevalent in our communities, but just throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, that people are very entertained by it, because they can participate in this activity, because there is a very low entry point. "So is it an acceptable sport? If people think it is, I challenge those who support it to show us how one trains for this particular sport. "I haven't seen much of that which is one of the biggest criticisms we see with established sports like the UFC, like in the NRL, like in the rugby union space and others."
RNZ News
12 hours ago
- RNZ News
Penrith Panthers coach forced to apologise for team trainer
Penrith Panthers coach Ivan Cleary has been forced to apologise for the actions of a team trainer. Corey Bocking has been labelled a disgrace for disrupting a Titans conversion attempt, costing them a potential victory. Sports reporter Jonty Dine spoke to Lisa Owen. Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
