Category: Sport

Source: Radio New Zealand

Crusaders utility Braydon Ennor will move to France at the end of the Super Rugby season.

The nine-test All Black has signed with French side Perpignan, where he will link up with former Crusaders team-mate Sevu Reece.

Ennor said the decision came with a lot of emotions.

“I love this place and the people here, but I’m really excited for what’s next. I’ve done so much growing in this place, and I owe so much to the red and black jersey. I’ll always call this place home.”

Ennor joined the Crusaders Academy in 2015 after moving from Auckland on a scholarship.

He arrived in Christchurch as an 18 year old, and spent the next decade establishing himself as one of the club’s most reliable midfielders.

In 2018, he made his Crusaders debut and just one year later he would earn All Black selection.

“To be able to call this a job and turning up to Rugby Park every week with my mates to go to work, it’s the best thing in the world. This is a chapter I’ll treasure for the rest of my life.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Fresh off finishing an often dramatic tenure as NZ Rugby CEO, Mark Robinson has found a new role with World Rugby. The sport’s governing body has hired Robinson as their chief of rugby, which will focus on growing rugby’s global appeal.

“The game is evolving rapidly, and the way players and fans engage with rugby is changing,” said Robinson via a World Rugby press release.

“I’m excited for the chance to help shape a future that enhances the spectacle for fans, supports unions and protects rugby’s core values on a global stage. I look forward to contributing to a strategy that ensures rugby continues to grow in relevance, reach and impact.”

Robinson has long been an advocate for change in rugby, notably brokering the controversial deal between NZR and the US private equity firm Silver Lake. He also attempted to reshape the make up of the NZR board, which was ultimately unsuccessful after major resistance by a number of provincial unions.

Part of the Silver Lake deal involved increasing the All Blacks’ brand presence through digital media, something that Robinson had targeted in the long sought-after US market.

“We are a tiny, isolated island on the other side of the world with a leading sports brand. So we’re trying to grow value so we can invest in all levels of the game,” he said in October in Chicago as the All Blacks prepared to play Ireland at a sold-out Soldier Field.

“I think the positioning of the (All Black) brand now through digital reach and the fact that we’re in markets like the US with such a strong following, shows that our strategy in terms of the work we’ve done overseas is definitely worth it. Now we’ve got a handful of global partners, and we’ve got a growing fan base and much more strategic connection than we’ve ever had.”

The challenge ahead for Robinson will be to maximise the commercial potential for World Rugby in what is still a very scattered global landscape. This year will see the first edition of the Nations Cup, which is the closest the sport has been to a global season since the dawn of professionalism three decades ago.

However, outside of its World Cups, World Rugby is currently facing challenges in getting the fresh eyes on the game. Despite being a popular Olympic event and a format that has been a door opener into non-traditional markets, Sevens is now a significant cost centre, with the rebranded SVNS circuit incurring estimated losses of between NZD $70-120m since 2023.

World Rugby chair Brett Robinson said: “Mark’s appointment comes at a pivotal time for rugby…and as we embark on the delivery of a bold new five-year strategy, his leadership, rugby intelligence and knowledge will be instrumental in reimagining how our great game grows and thrives.”

Robinson will officially join World Rugby in May, after conducting a sport-wide review of game philosophy and match official alignment, which will be presented at the 2026 World Rugby Shape of the Game conference taking place in late February.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

New Zealand’s fastest sprinters have taken their international ambitions into their own hands – and they’ve found an unlikely source of support for their endeavours.

Less than a month after watching national recordholder Eddie Osei-Nketia change allegiances, many of his former rivals have joined him across the Tasman to participate in an Australian national sprint camp focused on relays.

Under a community-driven initiative known as ‘Black Batons’, the Kiwi speedsters have joined forces to push for Commonwealth Games and world championships selection this year.

Seventeen sprinters paid their own way to attend the week-long camp on the Gold Coast this month, tapping into Athletics Australia resources, as they try to qualify for the world stage.

The scheme has been masterminded by local coaches Nuree Greenhalgh and Sonia Waddell.

Greenhalgh was a junior champion over 400m/800m, but has found her niche as an up-and-coming mentor for sprinters, guiding Lex Revell-Lewis to a men’s national 400 metres record (45.88s) and Kendra Scally Tu’i to a women’s junior 200 metres mark (23.52s) last summer.

Waddell is simply a part of Kiwi sporting folklore. Daughter of All Blacks flanker Alistair Scown, she was a junior 400m hurdles champion on the track, before switching to rowing, where she reached two Olympic single sculls finals and won world championship silver in the quad.

As a cyclist, she won a national time trial title and then piloted partially sighted Jayne Parsons to para-cycling world championship gold.

She’s married to former Olympic rowing champion and America’s Cup winner Rob Waddell. Daughter Madeline is the current national women’s 400 metres champion and junior recordholder (52.62s), and is about to take up a track scholarship at prestigious Duke University in the United States.

“We reached out to David Reid at Athletics Australia, just to find out about his relay programme, because after three years, it’s been really successful,” said Greenhalgh. “We’re just building out knowledge and Athletics Australia invited us over, as coaches, to come into camp with them.

“Then they reached out and said, ‘Why don’t you bring a relay squad and run against us at the end of the week… you’re helping us’.”

The Aussies have recently used their relay programme to catapult their sprinters to new heights. Vindication of that effort came, when their women’s 4x400m team won world indoor bronze at Nanjing, China last March.

In May, their mixed 4x400m – two men and two women – finished second at the world relays championships at Guangzhou, China, as Australia qualified teams in all six events contested.

For qualification, record and ranking purposes, races must feature at least two international teams. The Aussies have previously hosted Papua New Guinea at their camps to fulfil that requirement, but having a competitive Kiwi contingent on board suited them perfectly.

“They went above and beyond helping,” Greenhalgh reflected. “They imparted all their knowledge.”

The NZ athletes trained alongside their trans-Tasman counterparts, attended tactical and video analysis sessions, and at the end of the week, a men’s 4x100m team of Tiaan Whelpton, Hayato Yoneto, Shay Veitch and Revell-Lewis came within one-tenth of a second of a national record, almost running down old mate Osei-Nketia in the process.

A mixed 4x100m combination clocked 43.29s, which would have ranked 28th-fastest nation last year. Twenty-four teams will qualify for the world relays at Gaborone, Botswana, in May.

Homegrown sprinters have long been frustrated at the lack of international opportunities afforded them and Osei-Nketia’s non-selection for the Paris Olympics, despite breaking his father’s NZ 100 metres mark at the world championships, was undoubtedly a factor in his switch of nationality.

While New Zealand has a long and rich record of distance-running success, the last sprinter to make an Olympic final was more than a century ago, when Arthur Porritt took bronze over 100 metres at Antwerp 1924.

Forty-seven men broke 10 seconds over 100 metres last year alone – the first man dipped under that barrier 58 years ago.

New Zealand has never had one. Top Kiwi Whelpton clocked 10.10s – good for second on our all-time list – and ranked only 120th in the world.

Although New Zealand struggles to turn out top-class sprinters – Zoe Hobbs is the lone exception in recent times – its depth over 100 metres, especially among men, has probably never been better.

Throughout the years, only 25 NZ men have equalled or beaten 10.50s, admittedly a very modest time by world standards. In 2025, NZ had seven – not counting Osei-Nketia – more than the country had ever had.

“In the past, relays have not worked in New Zealand,” Greenhalgh said. “They haven’t taken off.

“Athletes have been more individual based and not committed to the relay.

“After seeing Australia competing their teams on the world stage and creating opportunities, we saw a little gap. We just wanted to create a way to get our athletes out there.

“Realistically, some won’t make it internationally as individuals, so their chance is the relay space. We want to keep athletes in the sport and give them results for all their hard training.”

When Greenhalgh and Scown first floated the proposal, they achieved buy-in from about 30 athletes across men and women, senior and junior.

South African-born Whelpton, 25, admitted he was sceptical about the idea. He had represented New Zealand at world indoor and outdoor, and last weekend came as close as any Kiwi to that 10-second benchmark, clocking 10.02s at Whanganui, with the aid of an excessive tailwind.

“My initial reaction was, ‘Here we go again’,” he said. “This is not the first time someone’s tried to get a relay going – there’s been quite a few failed attempts in the last few years.

“Initially, I didn’t pay as much attention as I probably should have. I thought this would be another one that didn’t get anywhere.

“After talking to Sonia and Nuree, and seeing how many people were getting stuck in and grabbing the bull by the horns, I’ve been 100 percent on board.

“I think we’ve got an unparalleled level of depth in the sprints that we’ve not had in previous years. We could genuinely have quite a competitive team – we might not have the speed some other countries have, but if we nail our changes, there’s no reason we can’t be competitive.”

New Zealand sport is famous for fielding teams that perhaps lack the raw talent of their opponents, but make up for that by performing above the sum of their parts. In relay running, the great leveller is the requirement to get the baton safely around the track, while transferring it from one runner to the next within designated zones.

Inability to perfect this has derailed many fast teams throughout history, but the Kiwis can improve their standing considerably through mastering the intangible.

“That’s what we’re trying to work towards,” Whelpton said. “It’s going to take a while to get there.

“The Aussies have been doing it for a number of years now and, watching them, they are on another level. They are an Olympic final relay team and our goal is to get to the level they’re at.”

Whelpton insisted the Gold Coast camp was one of the best he’d attended in his career.

“We had access to their physios, their bio-mechs… they were filming us and giving us all our data. They were really holding our hand along the way and you could see they really wanted us to be better.

“If we can get to the point where we’re faster and competitive with them, that will be better for their relays too.”

The most notable absentee so far has been Hobbs, who also missed out on Tokyo Olympic selection, but used that setback as motivation to establish herself among the world’s fastest women.

In 2024, she became the first Oceania female to crack 11 seconds for 100 metres (10.97s) and has lowered her national record twice since. She has reached semifinals three times at world championships and again at the 2024 Paris Olympic, while narrowly missing a world indoor medal over 60 metres.

Hobbs, 28, has the least to gain and the most to lose from diverting her attention towards a relay programme.

“It’s really important Zoe focus on her individual [goals] at the moment,” Greenhalgh said. “She hasn’t said she’s in or out.

“We’re just letting Zoe do Zoe, because she obviously has a Commonwealth Games campaign and world champs indoors.

“The goal of these relays is to get athletes competing on the world stage and growing in confidence. Zoe’s already there.”

For its part, Athletics NZ has expressed its backing for the initiative, even if its material contribution is limited.

“Athletics NZ is supportive of community-led initiatives that help move our sport forward at all levels and it’s been great to see the work going into the recent independent relay programme,” it told RNZ. “We’re fortunate to have passionate coaches all over the country, who make a huge contribution to athletics at all levels, every day.

“Although we’re not able to allocate funding to these types of development initiatives, we’ll offer support where we can and have worked with our meet promoters this season to make sure there are relay opportunities available at our domestic events.

“Some of the athletes and coaches involved also recently attended an Athletics NZ performance development camp, organised as part of our wider performance-development programme.

“Looking ahead, the Oceania Championships are a significant international competition opportunity for these teams, with qualifying for the 2026 world relay championships and the 2026 Commonwealth Games as aspirational goals for many of our athletes.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

If this is to finally be the NZ Warriors’ year, the recipe for success seems simple enough.

“If you’re asking me what needs to happen, we need to do what we do better for longer,” coach Andrew Webster teased, as he addressed media for the first time in 2026.

“That’s a pretty similar response from me for a long time now. When we do it well, we do it really well – that’s why we’ve made the playoffs twice in the last three years – but we’re not here to do that.

“We’re here to win the whole thing.”

Last sighted, Webster painted a forlorn picture, reflecting on his team’s one-and-done exit from the NRL playoffs against four-time defending champions Penrith Panthers.

“I just feel we’ve built some great stuff, but that last piece is missing.” he lamented last September. “I feel like we’ve handled adversity and stayed really tight, but there’s a piece missing.

“We could launch, if we take those lessons and go to the next step, or we could stay exactly where we are, which is just a top-six team. I just think we can be better.”

With the benefit of four months to review last year’s effort, Webster isn’t making any bold predictions about the upcoming campaign, which begins with a pre-season trial against Manly Sea Eagles at Napier on 14 February.

His response to the ‘how’ question acknowledges that his Warriors were one of the form teams early in the 2025 competition, when they came out of the blocks 8-2 and sat second on the table after Round 11.

Injuries and fatigue inevitably eroded their performance, as they lost co-captain Mitch Barnett and star half Luke Metcalf in quick succession mid-season, and never really recovered.

“We’ve got to improve what we do and do it for longer,” emphasises Webster. “We can’t have those periods where there are big momentum shifts and we give teams those opportunities.”

Barnett and Metcalf still aren’t up to full speed, as they continue to nurse their respective knee injuries, although they are back out on the training field. Both seem likely to miss the pre-season.

“Barney is expected around Rounds 0-4, anywhere in that range,” estimated Webster. “Luke would be Rounds 7-10.

“In the last month, they can start doing a lot, but they can’t give everything, so you have to see how they progress in that period. It looks like they’re flying up to this point, but this is the point where you actually see how they go.

“Luke definitely won’t be in pre-season trials or early rounds, that’s for sure.”

Centre Rocco Berry was another who could not stay on the field through a series of niggly injuries and he will again miss early rounds, after more off-season shoulder surgery.

Back-up fullback Taine Tuaupiki, whom many expect to press hard for the starting jersey this season, also suffered a leg injury during “an incident on his farm” and made a later start to training. He’ll be touch and go for the opening round.

Bolstering the squad are the additions of newcomers Morgan Gannon (second row/lock), Jye Linnane (half), Haizyn Mellars and Alofiano Khan-Pereira (wings), whom Webster expects to push for first-grade spots this season.

Meanwhile, the Warriors coach is not a fan of proposed rule changes designed to enhance the competitiveness of games.

One would give teams the option of either kicking off or receiving the ball, after conceding a try. The current format sees the conceding team kicking the ball back to their opponents.

“Whatever they give us, we’ll take it,” Webster said. “I thought it’s pretty good how it is, really.

“I think they’re trying to stop that big momentum, where someone can score three tries in a row, but if you’re conceding those, you’re probably not good enough.

“One of the most frustrating things, as a coach and player, is to be conceding off a kickoff, but if you’re getting scored against, the good teams make sure they stop the bleeding right there and then.

“I’m happy with the current rule, but if they change it, we’ll come up with ways to use it tactically to our advantage.”

Another change could see the interchange bench expand from four to six players, although the number of substitutions would stay at eight each game. Most coaches wrestle with the composition of their four-man benches, either carrying a utility player or relocating forwards out of position to cover injuries among the backs.

This amendment would allow them to cater for all contingencies.

“Any of the 19 could play and that would give clarity to the fans early in the week,” said Webster, who is renowned for making late changes to his gameday squad. “You guys are laughing at me, I can tell.

“I’m frustrated by this rule – I think it’s going to be hard to give guys gametime in reserve grade, because you’re carrying an extra two players.

“The beauty of our game is resilience and the ability to adapt, so if you’ve got particular players on the bench and someone goes down, that changes quick.

“I think now you’re always going to carry two hookers and a half, and a fullback/outside back on the bench, plus your forward rotation, which won’t change.

“If you lose the halfback and put him on, someone else doesn’t get a game. Come 10-12-16 games into the season, you could find these guys aren’t getting gametime in reserve grade and aren’t getting any better.”

Webster argues, if the rule change is designed to cater for concussions, this could be covered by activating the ’18th man’ quicker.

Current rules require three players failing head injury assessments or a match-ending injury caused by foul play, before the extra reserve can take the field.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Outgoing Blues coach Vern Cotter revealed today that his deal with the Queensland Reds was too far advanced for him to consider the now vacant All Blacks head coaching role. Cotter will leave the Blues for Brisbane at the end of the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season and said he was as surprised as anyone when he heard the news of Scott Robertson’s sacking earlier this month.

“I was a bit blindsided by the Razor thing,” said Cotter.

“Probably nobody thought that was coming. There was a review, and after two years and two years before the World Cup, that’s what happens.”

Cotter, who originally agreed to a two-year contract with the Blues and extended for this season, said that he had committed to the move to the Reds to replace Les Kiss by the time NZ Rugby (NZR) had made their decision regarding Robertson.

“We were so far down the track with the Reds, it would have been hard to make myself available for the All Blacks. It’s timing and it didn’t work out.”

The 64-year-old, who has had an extensive coaching career at both test and domestic level, admitted that things could’ve been different had they lined up better.

“I’d love to coach All Blacks – I applied in 2011. That’s a long time ago, but, but once again, I had given my word and I don’t want to go back on it. I’m not letting people down.”

Cotter said he hadn’t discussed the end of season player review, that proved so critical in Robertson’s fate, with any of his All Blacks squad members.

“What we can gather from it is that there’s a very clear idea of what they want to happen next. The (NZR) board, David Kirk and whatever. So we’re not privy to it the players aren’t really either… we certainly don’t like asking and that belongs to them and that (All Blacks) environment.

Cotter ruling himself out of contention seemingly narrows the field to Jamie Joseph and Dave Rennie as likely leading candidates for the All Blacks role.

New Blues CEO Karl Budge said the process to find a replacement for Cotter was already underway.

“This has been part of planning for quite some time,” said Budge.

“So we’ve had loads of chats with Vern. He’ll tell you that timing is always pretty important, and this is a club that’s well planned out. We wanted to look out to the future and I think the work with Vern has allowed us to do that.”

Budge praised Cotter for “teaching us how to win” after guiding the Blues to the 2024 title, their first in a full Super Rugby format in 21 years.

Meanwhile, Cotter remains focused on the upcoming Super Rugby Pacific campaign, as they try and repeat that 2024 championship run. He confirmed today that All Blacks Beauden Barrett and Patrick Tuipulotu will be missing from the first few rounds, with Barrett on mandatory rest and scheduled to return in round four against the Crusaders.

Tuipulotu is still recovering from a shoulder injury and is expected back by round six.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

New Zealand driver Liam Lawson admits to a cautious start to pre-season Formula One testing.

The first day of the behind closed doors Barcelona Shakedown has been completed with a number of drivers having their first outings in their new 2026 cars.

Cars this year are smaller and lighter and no longer use the Drag Reduction System. Fifty percent of the power output will be from battery with the other half from the internal combustion engine.

Lawson got to drive the new Racing Bulls car today.

“I definitely haven’t got my head around it fully yet,” Lawson said afterwards.

Racing Bulls are using the new power unit developed by Red Bull along with Ford.

“It’s something that we’ll keep learning over the next few days and weeks when we go to Bahrain as well. But it’s very, very different,” the 23 year old said.

“It feels like there’s a lot more we can do as drivers potentially to make a difference, which is good.

“But right now, it’s very early days. So it’s very hard to know where we are. But for now, just trying to learn how to optimise the car. I’m enjoying it so far.”

Lawson’s former team-mate Isack Hadjar was quickest of the seven drivers which took part.

Lawson was fourth fastest and completed 42 laps.

McLaren and Ferrari did not take part today.

There is another day of testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya before the teams head to Bahrain for two testing sessions ahead of the season opening Grand Prix in Australia in early March.

“The main thing is reliability at the moment. We’ve done a good number of laps today, only a few little things. And honestly, the only issues we really had today were safety precautions, not really any actual issues,” Lawson said.

“So far, honestly, on the power unit side, it’s been very, very good. But again, it’s hard to know compared to everybody else where we’re at.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Vern Cotter will leave the Blues at the end of the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season. He confirmed a move to the Queensland Reds from 2027, therefore ruling himself out of the current search for a new All Black coach.

Cotter was an outside chance to replace Scott Robertson, as he fits all the criteria set out by NZ Rugby for the successful applicant. The news comes hard on the heels of Joe Schmidt and Tony Brown both reaffirming their commitments to the Wallabies and Springboks, respectively.

“Timing is always important in this game, and it feels like the right moment for both me and the club to plan for what comes next,” said Cotter.

New Blues CEO Karl Budge said the decision to announce Cotter’s future ahead of the season was important, with the coach finishing his original three year deal with the team. Cotter had immediate success with the Blues, guiding them to a landmark title win in 2024. The 2025 season was initially rocky, with the Blues struggling through the first half, before a massive resurgence saw them make the semi-finals.

“This has been part of a long-term strategy, and both Vern and the club felt it was the right thing to be open and clear before the season begins,” said Budge.

“We hugely appreciate everything Vern has done and continues to do for the club. He has delivered exactly what he was brought in to do. The Blues have a strong performance environment, clear DNA of how we want to play and know what it takes to be champions.”

Budge said that the process to find Cotter’s replacement was well underway, while Cotter was proud that his initial goal was achieved at the Blues to establish a winning culture.

“Over the past few years we’ve had a lot of mature, honest conversations about where the club was and where it needed to go,” Cotter said.

“The landscape has changed significantly since I came in, and it genuinely feels like the club is well set up for its next phase of evolution. There has been a lot of good during my time here, and I’m proud of what we’ve built together. This club has a proud history and a special connection with its people. Right now, my focus is firmly on the 2026 season and doing everything I can to help this team perform at its best and leave the club in a strong position.”

Cotter said he was focused on repeating the Blues’ 2024 success.

“People should expect my full commitment to the Blues this season,” he said.

“I’m 100 percent locked in for this season. My focus is on this group, this campaign, and making sure we finish strong. Other clubs should be watching closely.”

The Blues open their Super Rugby Pacific campaign against the Chiefs at Eden Park on Saturday 14 February.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

England all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt has made history by scoring the first ever century in the Women’s Premier League in India.

Sciver-Brunt’s unbeaten ton helped the Mumbai Indians to a 15 run win over the Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

After being put into bat Mumbai scored 199/4 with Sciver-Brunt finishing unbeaten 100.

Her century came off 57 balls and included 16 fours and one six.

The 33-year-old’s innings broke the previous highest WPL individual score of 99 held by New Zealand’s Sophie Devine and Australian Georgia Voll.

Devine’s innings came from 36 balls for Gujarat Giants against RCB during the competition’s debut 2023 campaign.

RCB were restricted to 184 for 9 in their 20 overs with Richa Ghosh scoring 90, while White Fern Amelia Kerr took two wickets.

RCB remain top of the table with Mumbai in second position.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

As far as announcements of announcements go, NZ Rugby’s (NZR) press conference regarding the hiring process for the next All Black coach was a bit more interesting than first thought.

It’s probably not what interim CEO Steve Lancaster thought he’d be having to do when he agreed to bridge the gap between Mark Robinson and whoever comes next, but the former Crusader lock was fairly well prepped for the questions that were lobbed at him.

Notably, the announcement that NZR had commenced the search for the new coach made a couple of points up front. First, whoever gets the job will need to have test coaching experience, which is an indirect admission that they got it wrong by overlooking that gap on Scott Robertson’s career when he was appointed halfway through 2023.

Lancaster pointed to the looming All Black schedule as the main reason why that stipulation had been spelled out.

“We’re midway through a World Cup cycle, two years out from the next World Cup, and we simply don’t have time for someone to find their way to international rugby,” he said.

“We need someone that could hit the ground running and know exactly what we’re going into.”

It is worth noting that Robertson’s success at Super Rugby level, plus the promotion from within of Ian Foster, had made the experience part of the equation somewhat out of sight for most NZ rugby fans. Steve Hansen and Graham Henry’s stints with Wales were both over two decades ago now, so the idea of an All Black coach coming in after earning their stripes in the Six Nations feels somewhat antiquated at best.

Then there was the clear spelling out that the head coach had to be a New Zealander, something that’s basically been an unwritten rule till now.

“This is the All Blacks,” was Lancaster’s forthright answer around the issue.

“As a matter of principle, we want a New Zealander coaching that team. But we’re also really fortunate in New Zealand that we have an incredible amount of amazing coaches. So we don’t believe at this point in time that we need to go outside of New Zealand candidates.”

There is a bit more to that than just patriotism, though. Considering an Englishman or Australian would completely devalue the coaching pathway that exists in New Zealand, which is not just relevant to the All Blacks. It’s a pathway that is sought after around the world as much as the one for players is, so to have suddenly reversed would make it difficult to set back in the other direction.

This is just for the head coach, though. There’s nothing stopping whoever gets the job from going and asking Shaun Edwards or Ronan O’Gara to come and be an assistant, but that’s a conversation for a later date. That’s because, like the test experience stipulation, NZR have course corrected themselves by only hiring a head coach at this time after two messy appointments of full staffs.

So while Robertson is no longer employed by NZ Rugby, Scott Hansen, Jason Ryan and Tamati Ellison very much are. Lancaster said how long they stay that way is up to whoever gets the job though.

“Once we’ve appointed the head coach, then we’ll start discussions with them and we’ll make decisions with them about the make up of their coaching and management group.”

A cleanout of management would seem unlikely, given that it’s taken them until now to simply get their feet under the desk after the long tenure of the previous regime.

In any event, that will be something to be looked at later on.

“For now we’re very clear on what the task is. It’s in front of us,” said Lancaster.

“We need to appoint a head coach and then we will cross those bridges when it comes to them.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Just two weeks out from the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, New Zealand has had its best Winter X Games ever, with Finley Melville Ives bagging another gold for the team.

Melville Ives delivered across three jaw-dropping runs to dominate the competition in the men’s ski superpipe at the X Games in Aspen on Monday (NZ time).

His performance brought the total haul by the New Zealand athletes to two gold and four silver.

Melville Ives led from the start scoring 89.33, then improving in his second run to score 93.33, then laying down a fearless run to score a 95.00.

No-one could touch the Wānaka-based athlete who impressed the judges in showcasing both amplitude and difficulty, his last run giving 6m of air in his first trick, a switch right 9. As a rookie last year, he narrowly missed the podium with a fourth-place finish.

Melville Ives won silver at the 2024 Youth Winter Olympics and in March last year was crowned the 2025 FIS Freeski Halfpipe world champion at his debut World Champs. This year he has scored two World Cup podiums, coming first in freeski halfpipe at Buttermilk and second in Calgary.

Melville Ives said conditions were tricky, but the crowd vibe was electric – “It’s been super surreal. I’m just so grateful to have put down these runs in front of all the fans,” Melville Ives said.

The 19-year-old ski star said landing the switch 14, which he’d never done before in competition, was a highlight.

Snow Sports NZ head coach high performance park and pipe Tom Willmott said it was an epic night to wrap up New Zealand’s most successful X Games.

“Fin placed fourth at last year’s X Games and was keen to get on the box this time around. Fin did not have the luxury of a victory lap with the new format, which moves the current leader to second to last in the final run.

“Fin dropped in super-fast and executed a massive switch right 9 landing at the top of the wall into a switch left double 14 into back-to-back 16s and finishing with an allyoop double 9. It was the first time he had landed this combination, and the judges rewarded him with a score of 95.00 and X Games gold.”

Luke Harrold came sixth in the men’s freeski halfpipe.

Also competing today were yesterday’s silver medallist Rocco Jamieson, who narrowly missed the podium in the Men’s Knuckle Huck, finishing in fourth.

Dane Menzies, an X Games rookie, came 11th in snowboard slopestyle.

The Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games will take place from 6-22 February 2026 across iconic Italian alpine venues.

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