
First XV: A rugby agent's advice for young players aiming to go professional
The transition to professional rugby can be difficult, and any First XV player considering a future playing contract should get independent advice.
That's the word from Daniel Kane, an Auckland-based rugby agent with Wasserman, a company that specialises in the management of rugby union and league talent from junior players

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Techday NZ
21 minutes ago
- Techday NZ
The Evolution Platform: Empowering businesses to thrive in a dynamic digital world
In today's fast-paced digital world, agility is paramount. But many businesses struggle to keep up, facing challenges in rapidly deploying new services, scaling resources efficiently, and securing their networks. Understanding these pressures, Orange Business developed our NaaS-based Evolution Platform, a pivotal advancement that offers a more flexible and efficient approach to consuming network and security services. It's a strategic shift, empowering clients to achieve their business objectives in a market that demands constant adaptation. According to Omdia, there is a projected 66% annual increase in AI-related network traffic by 2030, with 75% of organisations accelerating transformation plans. This has been identified as a leading concern amongst technology executives worldwide, with 69% concerned about the growing amount of technology investment needed to remain competitive. The Evolution Platform is designed to directly address these concerns, providing a cost-effective path to digital transformation, helping customers achieve their transformation goals while reducing overall network investment by up to 60%. Designed to address key market concerns The Evolution Platform is proving invaluable to large enterprises, representing 80% of the platform's user base. Within this segment, financial services benefit from its compliance features and secure data handling, crucial for navigating stringent regulations. Mining and resources leverage its robust connectivity to maintain operational efficiency in remote locations and navigate a complex mergers and acquisitions (M&A) environment. For businesses expanding globally, the Evolution Platform ensures consistent performance and reliable connectivity, regardless of location. In reimagining the customer experience, the platform transforms how customers access critical services, providing a unified experience that streamlines operations. It delivers both commercial flexibility and operational efficiency through a comprehensive suite of services, including sophisticated SD-WAN, robust SASE offerings, Cloud Connectivity, Cloud Networking, and VNFaaS (Virtual Network Function as a Service). Already, hundreds of customers globally are leveraging its power to simplify network management and accelerate digital transformation. At Orange Business, we understand that integrating new platforms can be complex and time consuming, particularly during M&A. By leveraging native integration with our network partners and offering customisable services deployed on-demand via the platform interface or APIs, the platform streamlines technology integration, enabling organisations to rapidly onboard acquired networks and enforce consistent security policies. This accelerates the consolidation process and minimises disruption to business operations, proven in industries like mining where integration time during M&A is reduced from a typical 6-12 months to just weeks. Building a scalable and secure foundation for growth A scalable, responsive, and secure digital infrastructure is now within reach with the Evolution Platform. It empowers work from any location with optimal performance, supporting growth and security needs, whether a business is just beginning its digital transformation or adapting to new challenges. Its blueprint approach allows for rapid replication across multiple locations without significant investment, a key benefit during acquisitions where consistency and speed are critical. The platform's virtualised nature eliminates the need for costly physical assets, allowing organisations to avoid the challenges of recovering the full Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) on acquired hardware. Further, the platform provides a robust and secure connectivity platform for digital workspaces and cloud-based applications, supporting a global workforce. It maximises uptime and resilience, contributing to operational excellence, and offers multi-cloud visibility via Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) automation, amplifying the quality of the user experience. As indicated by the name, the Evolution Platform is designed to continuously evolve. We are committed to adding new capabilities and expanding our reach, ensuring it remains a valuable asset for businesses seeking to streamline operations, guarantee performance, and shape the future of their networks. As Gartner has recognised, positioning Orange Business at the highest level of the "Ability to Execute" axis of their Magic Quadrant for Global WAN Services for the 23rd consecutive year, we are committed to delivering on this promise. The Evolution Platform is a strategic enabler, empowering businesses to thrive in a dynamic digital world, innovate with confidence, and achieve their full potential. To learn more, visit Evolution Platform Catalog | Orange Business

RNZ News
28 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Midday Sports News for 4 June 2025
The Football Ferns coach Michael Mayne was pleased with the response of the players after making some personnel changes for this morning's second game against Venezuela, which New Zealand won 2-1 to tie the two match series 1-all. Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.


NZ Herald
31 minutes ago
- NZ Herald
Prolific Tauranga shoplifter jailed on 37 convictions
A 45-year-old woman was arrested in February and charged with offending dating to September 2024. She appeared in Tauranga District Court on May 21 and was sentenced to two years' imprisonment. 'This was the result of meticulous and painstaking work by the officer in the Tauranga Retail Crime Unit,' said Chambers. 'The exceptional work of the officer has meant a serial shoplifter has been held to account for her actions.' He said it highlighted the importance of monitoring and following up on what might initially seem like low-level offending. 'We know how devastating this type of offending is for our retail community, and holding people to account for shoplifting and retail theft remains a priority for NZ Police.' Police Commissioner Richard Chambers. Photo / Dean Purcell The Tauranga-based Retail Crime Unit is a fulltime team comprising a sergeant and five constables put together in 2023 after more than 5000 offences were reported to police the previous year. It was the brainchild of Senior Sergeant Scott Merritt, who still oversees the unit. 'The Retail Crime Unit focus is on a group of recidivist offenders committing a disproportionate amount of these reported offences and causing the most harm to Western Bay of Plenty businesses,' he told the Bay of Plenty Times in 2023. The team made more than 200 arrests and laid more than 1200 charges in their first six months, earning praise from retailers. The retail crime unit earned praise from retailers in Tauranga's CBD. Photo / NZME In recent weeks, police faced criticism after RNZ revealed a directive sent to staff in March setting national value thresholds for investigating theft and fraud files, such as $500 for shoplifting. After backlash, including concern it could impact the work of initiatives like Tauranga's retail crime unit, Chambers canned the 'confusing and unhelpful' directive. He highlighted Tauranga's unit as an example of successful approaches to retail crime. 'The convictions in this case were a result of not only outstanding investigative work, but also of the great rapport that the officer has built with local retailers,' said Chambers. He said districts had leeway to decide how their resources were best used, and what their priorities needed to be. 'However, the case does highlight just how effective the dedicated retail crime unit in Tauranga can be. 'It provides a good model for other districts to consider when deciding how to tackle retail crime.' RNZ reported last week police were reviewing cases that may have been impacted by the directive. Retail NZ estimates that retail crime costs New Zealand retailers $2.6 billion each year, and about 40% of incidents are not reported to police.