Pasifika Sipoti in brief for 24 June
Photo:
Fijian Drua
Fijian Drua player Isoa Nasilasila has re-signed with the franchise for the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific competition.
The Nadi-based club said the 25-year-old Nasilasila has been a major part of the club since 2022.
The Vuda native has played 50 matches for the Drua and is in the Flying Fijians squad.
The Drua have also signed former Crusader, Manasa Mataele.
Mataele has also played Super Rugby with the Western Force and the Chiefs.
Meanwhile, Moana Pasifika have re-signed fullback William Havili for the 2026 Super Rugb Pacific competition.
Havili has been part of the club since its inception in 2022.
Moana and Drua both released a number of players at the end of the 2025 Super Rugby season.
The Vanuatu table tennis team is still seeking funding to help cover participation fees for the 2025 Pacific Mini Games in Palau.
The Games begin on Sunday, 29 June.
The
Vanuatu Daily Post
reported veteran table tennis champion and gold medalist, Anolyn Lulu, confirming athletes are required to cover part of their participation costs.
Vanuatu's international football star, Brian Kaltak, says the Vanuatu Football Federation, government and all stakeholders must work on improving the state of football facilities across the country.
Vanuatu Daily Post
reported Kaltak is concerned that the current poor pitch conditions are hindering player development and increasing injury risks.
Kaltak said that pitch quality plays a crucial role in determining player performance, and injury prevention.
He urges stakeholders should view investment in sports infrastructure as a long-term development goal.
Twelve players with Pasifika heritage have been named in the Wallabies squad to prepare for matches against Fiji and the touring British Lions next month.
Rob Veletini, Filipo Daugunu and Langi Gleeson are the Fijian heritage players in the squad.
Head coach Joe Schmidt also named Japan-based Will Skelton and Taniela Tupou, who are of Tongan heritage, in the side, alongside Samoan heritage players Allan Ala'alatoa and Noah Lolesio.
The Wallabies face the Flying Fijians in Sydney on 6 July before Australia's first test against the Lions on 19 July.
The PNG Hunters rugby league team have dropped out of the top eight in the Queensland Rugby League Hostplus Cup competition following a 36-16 loss to the Brisbane Tigers.
The National
newspaper reported that having led 16-8 at halftime, the side could not contain a fired-up Tigers side that scored an unanswered 28 points to claim the win.
The Tigers now sit in eighth spot with the Hunters ninth.
The Hunters play the Blackhawks on 6 July in their next game.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
8 hours ago
- RNZ News
Origin star Kurt Capewell out, Tanah Boyd returns for NZ Warriors against Dragons
Kurt Capewell will miss the Dragons game under concussion protocols. Photo: State of Origin star Kurt Capewell will miss NZ Warriors' crucial home game against St George Illawarra Dragons on Friday with concussion, but halfback Tanah Boyd is back in the starting line-up. Boyd was a last-minute drop from the team that fell to Canterbury Bulldogs last weekend, but has been ushered back into the line-up to replace the man who replaced him - Te Maire Martin - who lasted just 23 minutes, before also succumbing to concussion. Capewell left the field in the 60th minute for a head check and was cleared to return, re-entering the game with five minutes left on the clock, but has apparently not recovered as hoped afterwards. His place in the second row will be filled by teenage sensation Leka Halasima, with rookie Eddie Ieremia-Toeava promoted to the interchange. Hooker Wayde Egan also returns from a shoulder niggle, replacing Freddy Lussick in the playing line-up. Meanwhile, the Dragons have tweaked the team that defeated Cronulla Sharks last week, with Hastings-born centre Mat Feagai returning from a groin injury to replace Moses Suli, who has injured a knee. Prop Michael Molo is back from an ankle injury, while Auckland-born youngster Loko Pasifiki Tonga is named for the first time since Round 18. The Warriors sit fifth on the NRL table, but just two points clear of Brisbane Broncos and Cronulla Sharks, with eighth-placed Dolphins and ninth-placed Sydney Roosters another two back. St George are 11th, four points outside the playoff eight, but have accounted for tabletoppers Canberra Raiders and Cronulla in their last two outings. Warriors: 1. Taine Tuaupiki, 2. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, 3. Adam Pompey, 4. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 5. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, 6. Chanel Harris-Tavita, 7. Tanah Boyd, 8. James Fisher-Harris, 9. Wayde Egan, 10. Jackson Ford, 11. Leka Halasima, 12. Marata Niukore, 13. Erin Clark Interchange: 14. Sam Healey, 15. Eddie Ieremia-Toeava, 16. Demetric Vaimauga, 17. Tanner Stowers-Smith Reserves: 18. Freddy Lussick, 20. Ed Kosi, 21. Tom Ale, 22. Kayliss Fatialofa, 25. Bunty Afoa Dragons: 1. Clint Gutherson, 2. Tyrell Sloan, 3. Hayden Buchanan, 4. Mat Feagai, 5. Corey Allan, 6. Lyhkan King-Tongia, 7. Kyle Flanagan, 8. Emre Guler, 9. Damien Cook, 10. David Klemmer, 11. Luciano Leilua, 12. Hamish Stewart, 13. Jack de Belin Interchange: 14. Jacob Liddle, 15. Michael Molo, 16. Hame Sele, 17. Loko Pasifiki Tonga Reserves: 18. Ben Murdoch-Masila, 19. Lachlan Ilias, 20. Jacob Halangahu, 21. Nathan Lawson, 22. Christian Tuipulotu Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
17 hours 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
18 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.
