Category: Sport

Source: Radio New Zealand

NRL: NZ Warriors v Cronulla Sharks

Kickoff 4pm, Sunday, 5 April

Ocean Protect Stadium, Sydney

Live blog updates on RNZ website

NZ Warriors coach Andrew Webster has stuck with an unchanged starting line-up to face Cronulla Sharks in Sydney on Sunday.

With co-captain Mitch Barnett nursing a broken thumb, the biggest change comes on the interchange where Demitric Vaimauga will likely fill that spot in the rotation and Eddie Ieremia-Toeava joins the bench.

Vaimauga did not take the field last week, as Webster tried to spread playing time among his reserves.

Last week, against Wests Tigers, the coach reshuffled his named backline, with Taine Tuaupiki filling fullback, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad moving to centre and Ali Leiataua dropping out of the gameday squad.

Nicoll-Klokstad scored a try double against the Tigers and Webster has stuck with that same configuration, while also retaining Tanah Boyd and Luke Metcalf as his halves combination.

After jumping out to an early 10-0 lead, the Warriors squandered their advantage to trail 16-10 at halftime and eventually tumbled to their first defeat of the season, 32-14.

Englishman Morgan Gannon is among the extended reserves, after clearing the concussion suffered during his short-lived NRL debut against Newcastle Knights.

Warriors: 1. Taine Tuaupiki, 2. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, 3. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 4. Adam Pompey, 5. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, 6. Luke Metcalf, 7. Tanah Boyd, 8. James Fisher-Harris, 9. Wayde Egan, 10. Jackson Ford, 11. Leka Halasima, 12. Jacob Laban, 13. Erin Clark

Interchange: 14. Sam Healey, 15. Marata Niukore, 16. Demitric Vaimauga, 17. Tanner Stowers-Smith, 18. Chanel Harris-Tavita, 20. Eddie Ieremia-Toeava

Reserves: 21. Morgan Gannon, 22. Alofiana Khan-Pereira, 23. Ali Leiataua

Meanwhile, Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon has stuck with the same starters that toppled Canberra Raiders last week, but adds Taranaki-born Mawene Hiroti to the bench, with Kiwis star Briton Nikora listed on the extended reserves with his broken nose.

Sharks: 1. Will Kennedy, 2. Sione Katoa, 3. Jesse Ramien, 4. KL Iro, 5. Sam Stonestreet, 6. Braydon Trindall, 7. Nicho Hynes, 8. Addin Fonua-Blake, 9. Blayke Brailey, 10. Tony Rudolf, 11. Billy Burns, 12. Teig Wilton, 13. Jesse Colquhoun

Interchange: 14. Sione Talakai, 15. Tom Hazelton, 16. Oregon Kaufusi, 17. Braden Uele, 18. Mawene Hiroti, 19. Hohepa Puru

Reserves: 20. Jayden Berrell, 21. Michael Gabrael, 22. Briton Nikora

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Tourism and Hospitality Minister intends to have “a chat” with ACT’s tourism spokesperson after he criticised the government’s funding of a football game between two “billionaire-owned” clubs.

English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur is set to play Auckland FC in a friendly at Eden Park in July.

The match, part of the International Football Festival, will be supported through the government’s $70 million major events and tourism package, although the government will not disclose the specific funding amount for the event for commercial reasons.

ACT’s tourism spokesperson Todd Stephenson took to social media to criticise the funding.

“Why are taxpayers subsidising an event featuring billionaire owned football clubs?” he posted.

“Tottenham and Auckland FC aren’t charities. They’re backed by owners worth billions. Good luck to them, but they don’t need help from Kiwi taxpayers.”

Why are taxpayers subsidising an event featuring billionaire owned football clubs?

Tottenham and Auckland FC aren’t charities. They’re backed by owners worth billions. Good luck to them, but they don’t need help from Kiwi taxpayers.

This funding is coming from the Government’s… pic.twitter.com/GDbpwuRS4D

— Todd Stephenson MP (@toddmstephenson) March 30, 2026

Stephenson said the package was “just a slush fund”, accusing politicians of “picking winners and spraying public money around in the hope of a headline”.

Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston said New Zealanders were “wildly excited” about Tottenham coming to New Zealand, and she would speak to Stephenson.

“People are entitled to their views. Normally, I would have thought in coalitions that we talk to each other about it, so I’ll be making sure I have a chat to that MP,” she said.

“I’m the sort of person who has conversations to someone’s face. If you’ve got something to say, bring it on.”

The match would be the first time a top-flight English club has played in New Zealand since 2014, when Newcastle United and West Ham United both toured.

Upston was not concerned that the marketing of Spurs as “Premier League icons” was in jeopardy if the club was relegated to the Championship, English football’s second tier.

Tottenham currently sits in 17th place on the Premier League table, just one point above the relegation zone with seven games still to go.

“Oh look, I think AFC, for them to be playing a team of that calibre will be exciting, will be great for the fans,” Upston said.

“And I think playing it on a Sunday afternoon is a really good move, because we know that football is a really big family sport. So I think it’ll be really positive.”

Stephenson’s post also said that previous visits from the likes of West Ham, Wrexham, Boca Juniors, and LA Galaxy did not need a “government hand out.”

But Upston said the point of the fund, which was also being used to support Robbie Williams’ upcoming tour and State of Origin, was to help New Zealand compete harder to attract big events.

Asked why the government could fund $70m for major events, but only $15m for food banks in the last Budget, Upston said the package was about increasing economic activity and economic growth, which would boost incomes.

“When you provide more customers, and support business activity and economic activity, then actually you further down the track stop having to fund things like food banks.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Mitch Barnett’s return to the Warriors has lasted just a couple weeks.

The team’s co-captain broke a thumb in last weekend’s 32-14 loss to Wests Tigers in Auckland.

Barnett had only just returned from injury the week prior after suffering a season-ending knee injury last June.

A Warriors statement said Barnett had surgery this week with a return to play date yet to be determined.

The Australian forward played 52 minutes against the Tigers.

The Warriors are second on the table with a three win-one loss record.

They are away to the Sharks on Sunday.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Teenage star Braxton Sorensen-McGee will chase glory in both sevens and fifteens after recommitting to New Zealand Rugby to the end of 2027.

The 19-year-old’s primary focus will be with the Black Ferns Sevens, but the new deal gives her the chance to also represent the Black Ferns.

Sorensen-McGee is in her debut season for the Black Ferns Sevens, who successfully defended their World Series title earlier this month.

She will make her return to fifteens through Super Rugby Aupiki, with the aim of joining the Blues Women’s squad from round two.

She will be available for the Black Ferns, who kick off their year with the O’Reilly Cup Test against Australia in Auckland in August.

She could also be selected for the historic clash against the Springbok Women’s team in Johannesburg in September, October’s three-Test home series against France and an end of year Northern tour.

Sorensen-McGee said she’s stoked to be able to continue in both codes.

“I’ve been loving my first season with the Black Ferns Sevens and the opportunity to play on the world series with my sevens’ sisters. This environment has helped me grow so much as a player and as a person, and I’m excited about what’s still ahead.

“But I’ve also set some goals in fifteens and feel like I’ve got more to offer in the Blues and Black Ferns jerseys. I’m looking forward to challenging myself in both formats and doing everything I can to contribute to those teams.”

Sorensen-McGee debuted for the Black Ferns in 2025 and was one of New Zealand’s best players at the women’s Rugby World Cup, where they finished third.

She won World Rugby’s Women’s 15s Breakthrough Player of the Year award, before going on to make her Black Ferns Sevens debut during the 2025-26 World Sevens series.

Black Ferns Sevens Head Coach Cory Sweeney said Sorensen-McGee’s re-signing was great news.

“Braxton is an exciting athlete and an important member of our environment, so we’re thrilled to have her recommit through to the end of 2027.

“She has a strong skillset, a real competitive edge and a huge appetite to learn. What’s especially pleasing is her desire to keep growing, and this contract gives her the ability to do that while maintaining her core focus with the Black Ferns Sevens.”

NZR head of women’s high performance Hannah Porter said it was nice to be able to come up with a deal that allowed Sorensen-McGee to play both sevens and fifteens.

“Braxton’s re-signing is great example of how we can provide flexibility for our leading female athletes to pursue their goals across the year.

“Her primary commitment remains with the Black Ferns Sevens, but we’re delighted we can also create opportunities for her to contribute to the Black Ferns programme during an important international season and reconnect with the Blues Women in Super Rugby Aupiki.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Teen running star Sam Ruthe headlines a 12-strong New Zealand athletics team to contest the World Under-20 Championships later this year.

Ruthe has been selected in his first international team and will contest the 1500 metres at the meeting in Eugene, Oregon in August.

The competition is a week after the Glasgow Commonwealth Games which Ruthe is also hoping to compete at.

Ruthe has enjoyed a headline-grabbing past year, culminating in breaking John Walker’s New Zealand mile record and running a world Under-18 best of 3:48.88 in Boston.

The 16-year-old is currently the number one-ranked athlete for 2026 in the U20 men’s 1500m.

Boh Ritchie who is an 800m specialist, alongside 400m star Madeleine Waddell, return for their second World U20 Championships, having both competed at the 2024 edition in Peru.

The 2026 World Under-20 Championships return to Hayward Field, Eugene, for the first time since 2014.

The 2014 Championships saw Eliza McCartney break onto the global stage for the first time, earning bronze in the women’s pole vault. Since the 2014 championships, Hayward Field has been completely rebuilt and in 2022, hosted the World Athletics Championships.

The NZ Team for the 2026 World Athletics Championships

• Kendra Scally-Tu’i – 100m & 200m
• Madeleine Waddell – 400m Coach: Sonia Waddell
• Boh Ritchie – 800m Coach: Angela Russek
• Scarlett Robb – 1500m & 3000m Coach: Graeme Holden
• Bronwen Rees-Jones – 3000m Steeplechase Coach: Steve Rees-Jones
• Karmen Maritz – Shot Put & Discus Coach: Mike Schofield
• Sam Ruthe – 1500m Coach: Craig Kirkwood
• Joe Martin – 800m Coach: Ian Moini
• George Wyllie – 1500m Coach: Craig Kirkwood
• Connall McClean – 800m Coach: Hamish Meacham
• Manaia Christiansen – Shot Put Coach: John Eden
• Austin McDougal – Shot Put & Discus Coach: Mike Schofield

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Chiefs lock Josh Lord has a couple of big international events on his radar which helped in his decision to stay in New Zealand.

Lord has extended his contract with New Zealand Rugby, the Chiefs and Taranaki through to the end of 2029.

The 25-year-old second rower said it was an easy decision.

“It’s a big few years coming up with the All Blacks, we have the South African tour, the World Cup and the Lions as well,” Lord said.

“And Hamilton, the Chiefs and Taranaki are home. This is where I’ve had the opportunity to grow and get better as a person. Four more years here is going to be good for my family and my footy.”

Lord debuted for the Chiefs in 2021 and became an All Black the same year with a Test debut against the USA.

An ACL injury ruined his 2022, but returned the following year to play Super Rugby and for the All Blacks.

He has played 12 Tests, 37 games for the Chiefs and 34 games for Taranaki since his provincial debut in 2019.

Chiefs head coach Jono Gibbes said it was terrific to have Lord re-commit to the club as he has a promising future.

“He is a player with a great range of skills and with his physical abilities has shown that he is comfortable at the international level. To have someone like him in our team for the upcoming seasons is exciting. His was an important signature for us and our region.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Canterbury pace bowler Will O’Rourke returns to the Black Caps’ white-ball set-up for the upcoming tour of Bangladesh but his aim is to be playing test cricket again.

O’Rourke’s last game was for New Zealand against Zimbabwe in a test in Bulawayo in late July last year when he suffered a back stress fracture.

The 24-year-old has been named in a 15-player squad for the three ODI and three T20I series in April.

Also returning from injuries are fellow pace bowlers Matt Fisher and Blair Tickner.

O’Rourke will play the three ODIs, Fisher (shin) returns for the T20Is, and Tickner (ankle) has been named in both squads.

O’Rourke, who has played 11 tests since his debut in 2024, is hoping to get to England for the test series in July and the test series in Australia next summer.

“I obviously love the test cricket stuff, it is special to be a part of the test group,” O’Rourke said.

“It is so tough to win test games so we put a high price on that.”

He said the tour of Bangladesh will help.

“Put a decent performance out in Bangladesh and hopefully put my name forward for England.”

Head coach Rob Walter said it was pleasing to see the return of several players.

“With the amount of cricket being played in the modern game, having depth in our bowling stocks is key. Having players of this quality come back is great for our side.”

Off-spinning allrounder Dean Foxcroft has earned his recall to the white-ball side since his most recent T20I cap in April 2024.

Test captain Tom Latham will lead the side, with regular white-ball captain Mitch Santner unavailable due to his IPL commitments.

Black Caps ODI Squad to Bangladesh

• Tom Latham (C) – Canterbury
• Muhammad Abbas – Wellington Firebirds
• Adithya Ashok – Auckland Aces
• Kristian Clarke – Northern Districts
• Josh Clarkson – Central Stags
• Dane Cleaver – Central Stags
• Dean Foxcroft – Central Stags
• Nick Kelly – Wellington Firebirds
• Jayden Lennox – Central Stags
• Henry Nicholls – Canterbury
• Will O’Rourke – Canterbury
• Ben Sears – Wellington Firebirds
• Nathan Smith – Wellington Firebirds
• Blair Tickner – Central Stags
• Will Young – Central Stags

Black Caps T20I Squad to Bangladesh

• Tom Latham (C) – Canterbury
• Katene Clarke – Northern Brave
• Kristian Clarke – Northern Brave
• Josh Clarkson – Central Stags
• Dane Cleaver – Central Stags
• Matt Fisher – Northern Brave
• Dean Foxcroft – Central Stags
• Bevon Jacobs – Auckland Aces
• Nick Kelly – Wellington Firebirds
• Jayden Lennox* – Central Stags
• Tim Robinson – Wellington Firebirds
• Ben Sears – Wellington Firebirds
• Nathan Smith – Wellington Firebirds
• Ish Sodhi – Canterbury Kings
• Blair Tickner – Central Stags

*Potential format debut

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Source: Radio New Zealand

If the All Whites did not have bigger challenges on the horizon a history making win over Chile might have been more than a footnote in the broader plan.

Wanting a statement victory on home soil during a send-off ahead of the Football World Cup, a 4-1 win over a team from a region as strong as South America was a way to do it. Even if the visitors were down to 10 men after 27 minutes.

The All Whites had not beaten a South American team in 19 previous attempts.

New Zealand had not beaten any team in their last eight games.

The last time the All Whites scored more than three goals was a year ago.

While Chile failed to qualify for the World Cup, a win over the world number 55 side is a scalp that Darren Bazeley’s side can take confidence from as they look ahead to a group at the World Cup that includes Iran, Egypt and Belgium.

Immediately after the game at Eden Park, Bazeley had mixed feelings about how the Fifa Series had played out after a disappointing loss to Finland on Friday.

“We wanted to win both games,” Bazeley said.

“We don’t get too carried away with tonight, we didn’t get too carried away with the Finland result. We know these games are what they are and we still know we’ve got a lot of work to do before the World Cup.”

Timing can be everything and winning can be a habit and experienced midfielder Joe Bell believed the All Whites were going to peak at the right moment.

“It takes time changing that mentality when you play against teams like Chile and these top opponents to recognise that it’s beyond an expectation to perform against them and maybe get a draw, it’s the drive to try to get wins and results.

“We’re going to take confidence from it. I think we’ve been building in confidence, and it’s been a long journey that we’re trying to time correctly going into the World Cup, that we’re a little bit more result-focused now than the performance.”

Goal scoring had been one of the All Whites’ challenges in recent times. So to get four different players’ names on the scoresheet – Kosta Barbarouses, Eli Just, Ben Waine and Jesse Randall – was not only good for the individuals who were wanting to make an impression ahead of the naming of the World Cup squad but also for a team playing without their injured captain and leading goalscorer Chris Wood.

“I’m not expecting some magic pill that suddenly we’re going to start scoring four goals every game, but I think we’re going to take a lot from this game,” Bell said.

“I think we can all agree that we looked far more aggressive, we were creating more chances, and that’s been something that we’ve been focused on for a long time now.

“So we’re going to have to stay focused, take the learning points, and just continue it.”

The memory of the upset win over Chile on a drizzly Monday night in Auckland in front of over 13,000 fans, many of whom were supporting Chile, will be fresh in the players’ minds when they reconvene with the national side in June.

Bazeley points out that whenever the team goes into camp they look at their last performance. Even though he thinks the team will have learnt more from the Finland loss than the Chile result, the win will still get plenty of video review time.

“It’s not easy playing against 10 men. Sometimes that becomes even harder, especially against a South American team that’s probably got the ability to play with 10. So I thought we were pretty comfortable doing that,” Bazeley said.

But not every player who will be part of the review will have played in the victory.

By mid-May Bazeley has to have finalised his 26-man World Cup squad and with six players missing the Fifa Series through injury, some players who were involved in the two games in Auckland will not be at the World Cup.

Bazeley said all players were getting the same message when it came to World Cup selections.

“We’re in contact with the wider group of players that we monitor.

“These guys were here with us but they’re not receiving different messages to players that are not here, including Chris Wood and other players on that long list.

“We’ll be close to confirming our pre-World Cup schedule soon, because we’re close to confirming another [warm up] game.

“Then we’ll get the dates of when the squad needs to be selected by and obviously get that out to the players so everybody knows.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The All Whites upset a 10-man Chile 4-1 to score a historic victory in their final home game before the Football World Cup.

A goal from Kosta Barbarouses on the half hour mark, a second from Eli Just 10 minutes later, one for Jesse Randall on the hour mark and a goal for Ben Waine in the 71st minute set up New Zealand’s first win over a team from South America in 20 attempts.

The All Whites thought they had the opening goal of the game at Eden Park in the 12th minute when Tyler Bindon headed the ball into the back of the net from a set piece but he was off-side.

Fifteen minutes later Chile went down to 10 men when Dario Osorio got a red card for his second yellow in four minutes and then the All Whites took advantage.

Barbarouses’ goal, finished off an inswinging ball from Tim Payne, was his first for the All Whites since he scored in the final of the World Cup qualifiers a year ago.

Just, who has been in good goal-scoring form for his club side Motherwell, recorded his ninth goal for the national team but had to wait close to four minutes for confirmation by VAR to check if he was off-side.

After the break, Randall’s second goal for the All Whites and Ben Waine’s finishing at a second attempt sealed a win that will give fans confidence of what this group can achieve at the Football World Cup.

Chile’s Gonzalo Tapia scored the consolation goal in the 83rd minute.

See how the match unfolded here:

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The All Whites will play Chile in their second match of the Fifa Series at Eden Park in Auckland on Monday.

New Zealand lost their opening game 2-0 against Finland on Friday.

Kickoff is at 7pm.

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