Latest news with #AllBlacks
eNCA
6 hours ago
- Sport
- eNCA
Springbok Wiese banned for four matches over head butt
DURBAN - South Africa No 8 Jasper Wiese has been banned for four matches after head-butting Italy prop Danilo Fischetti in last weekend's Test victory in Gqeberha, World Rugby announced on Tuesday. The 29-year-old back-rower will miss a one-off Test against Georgia in Mbombela this Saturday and three Rugby Championship matches -- two at home to Australia and one against New Zealand in Auckland. Wiese will be available for selection when the Springboks face the All Blacks in Wellington on September 13, seven days after the first meeting between the sides. South Africa then face Argentina twice to complete their Rugby Championship schedule. They meet France, Italy, Ireland and Wales during a November tour to Europe. Wiese was red-carded after 22 minutes of the first half in the second Test against Italy when South Africa were leading by 10 points. The Rugby World Cup title-holders went to win Saturday's game 45-0. His place in the team to face Georgia this weekend will be taken by his younger brother, Cobus Wiese, who made his Test debut last Saturday. Jasper Wiese played for the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein and Leicester Tigers before joining Japanese outfit Urayasu D-Rocks last year. dl/iwd
Japan Today
6 hours ago
- Sport
- Japan Today
Springbok Wiese banned for four matches over head butt
rugby union South Africa No 8 Jasper Wiese has been banned for four matches after head-butting Italy prop Danilo Fischetti in last weekend's Test victory in Gqeberha, World Rugby announced on Tuesday. The 29-year-old back-rower will miss a one-off test against Georgia in Mbombela this Saturday and three Rugby Championship matches -- two at home to Australia and one against New Zealand in Auckland. Wiese will be available for selection when the Springboks face the All Blacks in Wellington on September 13, seven days after the first meeting between the sides. South Africa then face Argentina twice to complete their Rugby Championship schedule. They meet France, Italy, Ireland and Wales during a November tour to Europe. Wiese was red-carded after 22 minutes of the first half in the second test against Italy when South Africa were leading by 10 points. The Rugby World Cup title-holders went to win Saturday's game 45-0. His place in the team to face Georgia this weekend will be taken by his younger brother, Cobus Wiese, who made his test debut last Saturday. Jasper Wiese played for the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein and Leicester Tigers before joining Japanese outfit Urayasu D-Rocks last year. © 2025 AFP
News.com.au
7 hours ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
‘Wouldn't return calls': All Blacks twist in Ponga exit saga amid Roosters rumblings
Knights captain Kalyn Ponga doesn't want to play for the All Blacks, even if he does switch to rugby union, it has been revealed. Reports emerged on Monday that Ponga wanted out of his Knights contract, which runs through until the end of the 2027 season. It was reported a New Zealand rugby union agent was shopping Ponga around to international rugby clubs. Journalist Dean Ritchie says there are growing concerns at the Knights that Ponga will soon depart the club with France and Japan the most likely destinations. 'Certainly the suggestions out of Newcastle today were that the fears are increasing that Kalyn Ponga won't be there next year,' Ritchie said on NRL 360. 'Some Newcastle officials desperately tried to find this mysterious New Zealand manager today. They found out his identity but they couldn't find him. 'He wouldn't return calls. 'Certainly there's a growing speculation that he will end up in French rugby or Japanese rugby but I am told quite categorically that he will not at all be interested in playing for the All Blacks. 'I think Kalyn Ponga wants a change. I think he wants to head overseas, and I think somewhere in France would suit Kalyn.' Ritchie believed the Knights would only grant Ponga a release on the condition that he was going to rugby union, and not to another NRL club like the Roosters, with whom he has been linked. 'I think they would release him to go to rugby, if that's Kalyn's wish, given the service that he's given to Newcastle and the Newcastle community, but I don't think there would be any release to go to the Roosters,' Ritchie said. When asked whether the Knights were getting value for money for Ponga, journalist Paul Crawley gave an honest response. 'No, they're not,' Crawley said. 'We all know what a great player Kalyn is when he's at his very best, but value for money. 'He hasn't aimed up for what his talent and what his pay grade suggests.' Ritchie agreed with Crawley. 'He's clearly an elite player but $1.4 million, I don't think he's given them consistent value for money,' Ritchie said. 'He has the odd game here or there where he looks like one of the all-time great players but consistently, over a sustained period, they just don't get the value.'
RNZ News
11 hours ago
- Health
- RNZ News
Watch: All Blacks using blood biomarkers to improve performance
All Blacks v France Kick-off: 7:05pm Saturday 19 July FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton Live blog updates on RNZ The All Blacks were in for a surprise after starting a blood biomarker programme last year, finding out that around the third of the squad is lacking in Vitamin D. Patrick Tuipulotu, one of the affected players, said he was "being a bloke" by not even being aware of what a vitamin deficiency was before he was told. "I think as men we really get sucked into just saying everything's okay, but I think it was quite a shock when we found out. You don't think of those things much, so [it's] very good just to get on top of it ... Staying healthy is the right thing." The 52-test lock addressed the issue by taking supplements, as well as thinking about his overall diet. "I was trying to eat well as well, to make sure I was doing things naturally. Anything I can to stay healthy," the father-of-two said, mindful that seeking medical advice was something New Zealand men are not great at. "Getting checked, just having blood tests is a simple ... easy process. If we can do that early, find stuff, maybe then obviously we'll be around for families a lot longer." Tuipulotu said that having a job that has a full time medical staff looking after its employees is something he's not taking for granted. "When we come into the camp, we're pretty privileged. We're well looked after. We've got a talking nutritionist, trainer and a few other staff who stay on top of things for us. Everything's provided." Patrick Tuipulotu. Photo: supplied Blood biomarkers, which work in the form of regular blood tests, have emerged as accessible and cost-effective way of identifying health issues. Eight New Zealanders a day die from preventable illness, with men often delaying health checks until symptoms interfere with daily life. The blood biomarkers the All Blacks have been using are in response to the growing need for tools that encourage early intervention and proactive health management, however, they can be used as self-testing kits for the general public at home. Biomarker testing benefits for elite level athletes like the All Blacks include early detection of potential issues, identifying nutritional deficiencies and hormone imbalances, and injury prevention - by tracking markers related to muscle damage and recovery. Team nutritionist Kat Darry said that they'd had some "incredible results". "They were really, promising for us to really help a player optimise their performance and their health. So that was the whole ethos behind it all was, how can we make the player be the very best in performance and recovery, but also through health?" Patrick Tuipulotu of New Zealand, New Zealand All Blacks v France. Photo: Kerry Marshall/ Darry said that Vitamin D deficiency is caused by not enough exposure to sunlight, but it's not as simple as just going outside more. "The darker your skin, the less Vitamin D you absorb. And so that was primarily the players that had the lower Vitamin D … a lot of it is down to the sort of sunscreen. But there's also different types of foods that we can eat to help supplement that a small amount. It was really putting them on a course of supplements, really helping them with the nutrition around how they can help with that absorption and just making some subtle changes over the course of the year." Darry said that the lessons learned from the blood biomarkers was part of the evolving nature of sports medicine and nutrition. "I guess one of the key things is that we're not just looking at individual blood (tests) in isolation. What we're trying to understand is, are the relationships appearing? So for example, if you're low on Vitamin D, are we seeing high cholesterol, are we seeing a higher cortisol? Are we seeing relationships of all these bloods together as opposed to in isolation? And so it really just made us consider our recovery processes." Tuipulotu certainly wasn't deficient on Saturday night at Sky Stadium in Wellington, playing a big role in a dominant All Black forward effort that set up a 43-17 win over France . With Scott Barrett out of the series with a calf injury, it's likely he'll be returning to the field when the teams meet in the third test in Hamilton this weekend. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
1News
18 hours ago
- Sport
- 1News
Junior All Blacks into U20s World Cup final after gritty win over France
The New Zealand will face South Africa in the final of the Under-20 Rugby World Cup in the Italian city of Rovigo after the junior All Blacks beat France 34-26 in their semifinal this morning. In an open game in Viadana, New Zealand raced out to a 14-0 lead but were reeled back twice in the first half as France made them pay for 28 missed tackles to only trail by five at the break after Fabien Brau-Boirie's late slice through the defence. The second half was a much tighter affair, New Zealand's defence keeping France at bay for the first 20 minutes before two yellow cards in quick succession for centre Jack Wiseman and wing Frank Vaenuku looked to open the door for Les Bleuets. However, New Zealand did not concede a point while they were two men down and ultimately ran out the winners to reach a first final since they won the championship for a sixth time in 2017. Stanley Solomon, Mosese Bason and Wiseman were first-half try scorers, with replacement lock Aisake Vakasiuola scoring a crucial try near the end. ADVERTISEMENT The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including Trump's deadline for Russia, legal action against a supermarket giant, and an unusual marathon record. (Source: Breakfast) First-five Rico Simpson kicked four conversions and two penalties. It was a mature and gritty performance from a side whose head coach Milton Haig resigned on the eve of the tournament. "We talked about this game being our final," halfback and vice-captain Dylan Pledger said. "I think the boys played it like a final out there and now we've got one more game to go." South Africa, beaten by New Zealand in the U20s Rugby Championship this year, were 48-24 victors over Argentina in the other semifinal this morning. The junior Boks last won a world championship in 2012.
