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RNZ News
15 hours ago
- Sport
- RNZ News
Pasifika Sipoti in brief for 30 July
Timoci Tavatavanawai and Emoni Narawa. Photo: Kerry Marshall / A number of All Blacks with Pasifika heritage will be in action for their provincial teams when the National Provincial Championship (NPC) kicks off this week. Queen Victoria School alumni from Fiji, Emoni Narawa and Timoci Tavatavanawai, will be on opposite ends when Bay of Plenty meets Tasman in Tauranga on Sunday. Narawa joins fellow All Black and Samoan heritage player Pasilio Tosi in the Bay of Plenty squad, while Tavatavanawai is contracted to Tasman. A number of Manu Samoa and 'Ikale Tahi reps are also expected to be in action during the NPC. Samoan-Tongan Phillip Fatialofa is set to play for New Zealand's Futsal Whites at the Continental Futsal Championship in Thailand. Oceania Football says the player is set to make his debut for Aotearoa, with the team scheduled to meet Chinese Taipei on Thursday in their first game. Fatialofa says his selection is a dream come true. With a Samoan dad and a part-Tongan mother, the 21-year-old grew up playing football in Wellington and represented Samoa at the OFC Under-19 Men's Championship in 2023. The Futsal Whites meet Thailand on Friday in their second pool game. The 'Ikale Tahi rugby squad started their preparation for the upcoming Pacific Nations Cup in Auckland at the weekend. Head coach Tevita Tuifua said the camp brought players together for the first time this year. Missing were some players who are currently committed to the NPC in New Zealand. Former All Black Salesi Piutau and France-based Ben Tameifuna are two of the senior players in the squad who were present at the camp. Around 400 RSE workers in the Bay of Plenty area will compete at the second annual RSE Sports Festival in Mount Manganui on 23 August. Led by the Bay of Plenty Rugby Union, with support from BOP Volleyball and BOP Football, the day is a collaboration between the kiwifruit industry and the local sporting groups to provide a day off the tools for hard working RSE workers. Bay of Plenty Rugby manager Ati Aaifou-Olive said the RSE Sports Festival is a new way in which the sport can give RSE workers a positive experience while in New Zealand. In 2024, 11 packhouses entered 39 teams, featuring 350 RSE workers from Fiji, Samoa, Vanuatu and Tonga at the event.
The 42
21-07-2025
- Sport
- The 42
Jono Gibbes replaces Clayton McMillan as Chiefs head coach
FORMER ULSTER HEAD coach Jono Gibbes has been appointed as head coach of the Chiefs where he replaces the now Munster boss Clayton McMillan. Gibbes, who was forwards coach with Leinster when the province won their first three European Cups, has been at the Super Rugby club for two years as an assistant coach. 'Being part of the organisation for the past two years has given me a real appreciation for what's been built here and how this team has grown into a consistent, competitive unit,' says Gibbes. Advertisement 'My job now is to help maintain that consistency and keep pushing to unlock the full potential of this team. We have a strong foundation and a lot of talent, so I'm excited about what we can achieve.' Gibbes captained both Waikato and the Chiefs as a player and gained eight caps for the All Blacks. After retiring from playing in 2008, Gibbes transitioned into coaching, taking on roles with clubs including Leinster, Clermont Auvergne, La Rochelle, and Ulster. In 2018 he left Ulster and returned to New Zealand for family reasons and led Waikato to a National Provincial Championship title as head coach, before being appointed to lead the New Zealand U20s in 2023. He returned to the Chiefs ahead of the 2024 season as an assistant coach. Former Chiefs head coach McMillan, who is now Munster head coach, said: 'Jono brings a wealth of experience, leadership, and a strong connection to the region. 'The coaching, management and playing group has a lot of continuity and cohesion, which is a strong foundation to build from.'
Otago Daily Times
09-07-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Stags tee off 2025 season
Alaya, 3, and her dad Southland Stags player Isaac Te Tamaki putt off at the Southland Stags season launch at Jump 'N' Climb Invercargill. PHOTO: NINA TAPU The 2025 SBS Bank Southland Stags team chose to kick off the NPC (National Provincial Championship) season with rounds of mini golf and games of laser tag at Jump 'n' Fun in Invercargill on Monday. Sponsors and supporters of the team got to pair up with a Stags player for a friendly dual and a chance to grab some "bragging rights". Rugby Southland and Southland Stags commercial marketing manager Jack King said the games were an informal way for the team to show their gratitude towards their sponsors and supporters. "This [launch] was a chance for us to say thank you to our national supporters and partners for their continued support," Mr King said. "It's less formal and more fun and we just wanted to acknowledge all of the new partners to the group." The 2025 squad were introduced to the gathering including a new addition to the coaching team. Rugby Southland chief executive Hua Tamariki said outgoing coach Matt Saunders was critical in bringing the new squad together but he was also looking forward to what Nathan White would bring to the team. "He's a really knowledgeable man, very experienced, and we're looking forward to what he brings into the staff squad this year," Mr Tamariki said. A promotional video was played at the launch which conveyed how the team would attack the season and get the community buy-in. "We want to get the whole community behind you and we believe that you've [team] been set up to do something really special," he said.
Scotsman
04-07-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
Ex-Scotland squad man set to face Gregor Townsend's side in tour opener
Cole Forbes of Maori All Blacks scores the team's first try during the win over Japan in Tokyo. | Getty Images Versatile in back in try-scoring form for Māori All Blacks Sign up to our Rugby Union newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Covid denied Cole Forbes a Scotland cap back in 2021 and now the versatile back looks set to line up against Gregor Townsend's side on their summer tour. New Zealand-born Forbes was a try-scorer in the Māori All Blacks' 53-20 win over Japan in Tokyo on Saturday and is expected to play again this weekend when the Māori host Scotland in Whangārei. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad If circumstances hadn't intervened the 25-year-old could have been wearing dark blue in the tour opener at Semenoff Stadium. Forbes arrived in Scotland in February 2021 and spent almost two-and-a-half years with Glasgow Warriors. He was called into the Scotland squad after just five matches for the Scotstoun club. Cole Forbes of Maori All Blacks scores the team's first try during the win over Japan in Tokyo. | Getty Images The full-back/wing from Pukekohe was one of 17 uncapped players selected four years ago for a summer series which was supposed to begin with an A international against England and continue with Test matches in Romania and Georgia. All three games ended up being cancelled as Covid spread through the Scotland camp. Forbes, who qualifies for Scotland through his grandfather from Aberdeen, was released by the Warriors at the end of the 2022-23 season and returned to his former club, Bay of Plenty, on New Zealand's North Island, to play in the National Provincial Championship. He flourished back home, was called up by the Blues and helped the Auckland-based franchise win last season's Super Rugby Pacific final. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Representative honours have followed, with Forbes selected for the Māori All Blacks. He is of Ngāti Awa descent, a Māori iwi (tribe) centred in the eastern Bay of Plenty region. Cole Forbes playing for Glasgow Warriors against the Sharks during a URC match at Scotstoun in October 2021. | Getty Images 'It was a dream come true playing for that team, representing your heritage and culture,' Forbes said after his Māori debut last year. 'It's something I'm proud of.' Forbes said he struggled with the Scottish winters during his time at Glasgow and he also believes his game better suited to southern hemisphere rugby but he didn't entirely rule out a return north.
The Irish Sun
01-07-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Munster Rugby continue major shake-up as another Kiwi joins Clayton McMillan in being appointed to key role
MUNSTER Rugby have announced the appointment of New Zealander Martyn Vercoe as the province's new Team Manager ahead of the 2025/26 season. He will join the province next month subject to being granted a valid work permit. Advertisement He will be taking over from Niall O'Donovan having previously worked with Vercoe is the current Team Manager and Head of Teams at Super Rugby side Gallagher Chiefs and Team Manager for the All Blacks XV. He has been an experienced team manager in a number of environments over the past 12 years. The New Zealander was manager of the Kiwi Under-20s side from 2016 to 2021, winning the Under-20s World Cup in 2017 with a 64-17 win against England in the final. Advertisement Read more on Irish Sport His U-20s team consisted of now senior internationals such as Tupou Vaa'i, Caleb Clarke and Will Jordan. He also managed New Zealand National Provincial Championship side Tasman Makos from 2013 to 2020, taking them to three finals in his first five years before winning back to back titles in his last two seasons with the club. Vercoe was also a Personal Development Manager and Commercial Manager at Tasman Rugby, and Head of Faculty at Marlborough Boys' College in New Zealand prior to his management career. He will have big boots to fill as he steps into the void left by the beloved Niall O'Donovan who has been working with the province for 28 years. Advertisement Most read in Rugby Union Along with his 28 years as a coach and manager with Munster and Irish Rugby, he also represented the province as a player in the 1980s. O'Donovan joined Munster Rugby in 1997 as an assistant coach and reached two European Cup finals during his tenure in 2000 and 2002. 'Jack Crowley he's coming for you' jokes Peter O'Mahony's wife Jess as son practices his rugby skills He left the province to become Ireland's forward's coach in 2002 but returned in 2010 as Munster A Team Manager. The Shannon man coached the likes of Peter O'Mahony, Dave Kilcoyne, John Ryan and Stephen Archer in his time with the Munster A, winning the British and Irish Cup in 2012. Advertisement Following the cup win, 'Niallo' moved into the team manager role he is now leaving. He has overseen defining moments such as the move to a single training base in the High Performance Centre in UL in 2016, and enjoying the province's first trophy success in 12 years when winning the URC title in 2023. 1 The 68-year-old had an impressive cricket career before moving into rugby Credit:
