Category: Sport

Source: Radio New Zealand

Wellington Phoenix have answered coach Giancarlo Italiano’s call for more intensity in their home matches, with a pulsating 2-1 upset victory over Adelaide United at Sky Stadium.

The result was their first win at home since their round two 2-1 triumph over Brisbane Roar on 26 October and only their second home victory for the calendar year.

Recent Phoenix form was poor, while in-form Adelaide beat defending champions Melbourne Victory 4-1 last weekend.

In the lead-up, Italiano said slow starts by the Phoenix in their home matches were inexcusable.

The message certainly got through this time, with the hosts peppy in their earlier attack and captain Alex Rufer slotting in a goal from a Kazuki Nagasawa corner in the 13th minute.

The Wellington side then held it together, as Adelaide mounted promising raids in the late stages of the first half.

Ramy Najjarine converted a penalty in the 52nd minute, after Bart Vriends’ clumsy challenge on Carlo Armiento.

A big moment came in the 58th minute, when a penalty against Phoenix defender Lukas Kelly-Heald for a challenge on Yaya Dukuly, with was overturned, after the referee reviewed the call on the pitchside monitor, ruling no contact and giving Dukuly a yellow card for simulation.

After tat setback, fresh substitute Ben Garruchio gave Adelaide hope, when he scored with his first touch.

They might have levelled in the 86th minute, when Dukuly’s attempt was thwarted by a brilliant save from Josh Oluwayemi.

The Phoenix win should give them plenty of confidence heading into their NZ derby match against Auckland FC next weekend.

Dan Edwards, who looked sharp in his starting debut for the Phoenix, said the preparation for the match had been great and he was happy to get his chance.

“Everything went well for us today,” he told Sky Sport. “We wanted to surprise them, be really on the front foot and see what we could create early doors, and it paid off.”

Adelaide United captain Craig Goodwin lamented a “sloppy” performance from his side, saying the result was “disappointing”.

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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 Black Ferns Sevens have their 2025/26 World Rugby sevens campaign off to a winning start, overcoming France 24-21 in their opening game at Dubai.

Without try scoring superstar Michaela Brake, pregnant with her first child, the NZ women jumped out to an early advantage through tries from Jorja Miller and Risi Pouri-Lane, who were last seen at the Rugby World Cup 15s tournament.

The French closed the margin with a converted try before half-time, but Alena Saili answered for the Ferns after the break.

Alycia Christiaens kept France close, but Miller put the contest beyond doubt with her second try, converted by debutant Braxton Sorenson-McGee.

Teenage newcomer Mariama Tandiang also secured a try double after the final siren, but her team were still short of victory in a cut-throat tournament format contested by just eight teams, with the top two from each pool progressing to semi-finals.

New Zealand face United States later on Saturday NZT, then Fiji early Sunday morning. The Fijians accounted for USA 19-7 in their opening encounter.

Meanwhile, the All Blacks Sevens open their account against Great Britain on Saturday, then Australia and Spain on Sunday.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A slow finish has scuppered the Tall Blacks in Hobart, going down 84-79 to Australia after leading for much of their tense World Cup qualifying game.

Chasing a first-ever back-to-back win over the Boomers, New Zealand looked on track after opening up a 48-42 halftime lead and still having their nose in front going into the final stanza.

However, turnovers and missed shots proved costly down the stretch, with the visitors combining for just 12 points while a clutch Davo Hickey three-pointer pushed Australia four points clear with 34 seconds remaining.

The teams meet again in Wellington on Monday.

Coach Judd Flavell lamented his team’s high turnover count.

“That’s probably the key stat right there. You know 15’s not a lot, but they scored 12 points off [turnovers]. In international basketball, that’s too many,” said Flavell, who also said the Tall Blacks needed to improve their three-point shooting, which had a lowly 25 percent success rate.

“They sat out there and shot 12 threes. We would’ve liked to have done that, but it just means you have to be very precise and execute more – and I don’t think we did that tonight.”

Centre Sam Mennenga topped the scoring for New Zealand with 19, to go with a game-high 10 rebounds, helping the visitors win the rebound count 49-36.

Flynn Cameron came off the bench and continued his impressive FIBA Asia Cup form, setting the tone on both ends, compiling eight points, five assists and two steals.

Fellow gaurd Izayah Le’afa said there were reasons to be confident of reversing the result on Monday night.

“There was definitely some positives for us, rebounding gave us a good chance but it was just little hiccups during the game that Aussie punished us for. I think we’ll go back to the drawing board, look at the film and make the little adjustments,” he said.

“For the majority of it – very happy, and I think we can just do a lot better to close out possessions or just entering our possession and being on the same page a little bit more and just tidying up a few things there.

Taylor Britt was in doubt for the rematch after suffering an apparent knee injury.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Black Ferns superstar Braxton Sorensen McGee will become a dual international at the Dubai Sevens, with a familiar face alongside her.

McGee has lit up the 15-a-side code in her professional debut year, winning a Super Rugby Aupiki title and starring in an unsuccessful World Cup bid with the NZ women.

She will now debut in the Black Ferns Sevens jersey, with another teenage sensation and childhood friend, Danii Mafoe, also playing in her first tournament.

“I was injury cover in LA last season, but this is my proper first season with the team,” Mafoe, 19, said. “I’m still coming to terms with being here and knowing that I get to run out in a black jersey.

“I think I’m still buzzing out at that.”

Mafoe has enjoyed a similar trajectory to Sorensen-McGee in their first year out of high school, where they both made several age grade sides.

“I started my rugby journey the same as Braxton in high school,” she said. “We both started as league players, but converted to rugby union and, from there, went to play for the Auckland Storm in our last year of school.

“We also got picked up for the Blues and I’ve made my way to sevens now.”

Mafoe said the UAE reunion had been special.

“It’s been unreal, having her here, having a little familiar face. She’s been an unreal talent in the team.

“Her skill that she brings to the team, as well as her young energy, it made such an impact on the team, both onfield and off-field.”

As both Olympic and world series champions, Mafoe admitted the Black Ferns Sevens felt the weight of expectation.

“There is definitely that pressure, but I think it’s been a focus that we just look at ourselves and ground ourselves,” she said. “This is the start of the world series and, while those accolades have been made, it’s all starting over again.

“We need to keep going.”

Also a quality 15s player, Mafoe said her future may lie in either game.

“For now, the sevens journey is somewhere where my heart is, but I still have a lot of love for the 15s code.”

Another first for the Ferns this weekend will be the official trial of size 4.5 balls, slightly smaller than the standard, a move criticised by some players.

“We had our first time using the smaller balls,” Mafoe said. “It was definitely different.

“I think that my team-mates take it more as an ego thing. I don’t think really anyone noticed a difference, until it was said.

“I can’t speak on behalf of the team, but I feel like, for me and gripwise, the 4.5 size ball is good.”

After a series win last season, Mafoe said the Black Ferns Sevens won’t complicate the formula.

“Be simple, but be strong in what we do,” she said. “Whether a right or wrong, just being strong in our minds and just committing.”

The Black Ferns Sevens kick off their campaign against France just before 8pm Saturday NZT, while the men meet Great Britain at 9.26pm.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A spectacular long range effort from Kyra Cooney-Cross has helped Australia’s Matildas to a dominant 5-0 win over the Football Ferns in Gosford.

Cooney-Cross, who was incisive and creative all night in central midfield, lobbed New Zealand goalkeeper Anna Leat from near to halfway in an effort reminiscent of her similarly audacious strike against Germany in October last year.

The Arsenal star’s second international goal came in the 71st minute and only moments after Ellie Carpenter had put the Matildas 3-0 up.

Playing their penultimate game before hosting the Asian Cup in March, the Matildas were dangerous from the first whistle on Friday night, pushing high and circulating the ball confidently against a Kiwi outfit still stinging from a 6-0 loss to the US in late October.

Attacking midfielder Amy Sayer opened the scoring in the 13th minute, side-footing from the left hand side of the penalty area after a deft pass from the excellent Katrina Gorry.

Eleven minutes later, Hayley Raso, playing in a fluid forward three alongside Sayer and Caitlin Foord, doubled Australia’s lead with an opportunistic curler from outside the box.

New Zealand’s Maya Hahn, who was industrious in central midfield but culpable for a number of errors on the edge of her own penalty area, gave the ball to Raso, whose left-footed effort snuck in off the foot of the post with Leat well off her line.

The Football Ferns were better to begin the second half, forcing Australian goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold into action and muddying the contest in midfield.

However, New Zealand’s good work was all undone by the Carpenter/Cooney-Cross sucker punch and the result made even more emphatic when Gorry poked home from close range after a deft give and go with substitute Holly McNamara.

Captain Steph Catley had a late penalty saved after the lively McNamara was brought down by a desperate Leat in stoppage time.

Sam Kerr, still easing back to full fitness after a 20-month injury lay-off, was an unused substitute and made to wait further for her first appearance on Australian soil since 2023.

The sides conclude their two match friendly series in Adelaide on Tuesday, in what will be Australia’s final hit-out before the Asian Cup in March.

See how it all unfolded in our liveblog:

– ABC

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The Football Ferns have been beaten in a convincing 5-0 win by the Matildas.

The 33rd-ranked Ferns took on the 15th-ranked Matildas at Polytec Stadium in Gosford, Australia, on Friday night.

They faced an Australian side brimming with stars and a nation they had not beaten in more than 30 years.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The Football Ferns will end the year against an Australian side brimming with stars and a nation that they have not beaten in more than 30 years.

The 33rd-ranked Ferns take on the 15th-ranked Matildas at Polytec Stadium in Gosford, Australia, on Friday night.

Kickoff is at 9.30pm NZT.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Auckland FC coach Steve Corica reduced the number of training days this week before a clash with last-placed Newcastle Jets in the A-League on Sunday.

Disappointed that the players looked “flat” in last week’s 1-all draw against Brisbane Roar, Corica said he may have “overcooked them” in training the previous week and opted for three days on the training pitch, rather than five.

“Definitely should be going into the game fresher, but I think the boys have taken responsibility as well,” he said. “We all have.

“I didn’t enjoy the performance – I think we’ve got to do a lot better.

“The real positive coming out of it, though, is we’re still unbeaten. We’re the only team unbeaten in the competition at the moment and we’ve got a real chance to pick up three points against Newcastle.”

While Corica did not like what he saw at Go Media Stadium last Sunday, he did like the way the players responded.

“I can see from what we’ve done at training, they’re switched on, they’re ready. Maybe we lost a little bit of focus in the international window, so there is no excuse this week.

“It’s a massive game for us. It doesn’t matter that they’re down the bottom, they’re still a very good attacking team.

“They’ve scored nine goals, they’ve conceded 14, so there’s areas that we think we can score goals and we want to be at our best to do that.”

Auckland’s goal against the Roar came from Lachlan Brook, who scored for the first time for his third A-League club.

The goal was one he would put on a highlights reel and, for all the jubilation he felt from scoring, he agreed with Corica’s disappointment over the team’s overall performance.

“That wasn’t our best performance,” Brook said. “Everyone was a little bit behind what their usual self is.

“Sometimes a player can have a bad day, but if 11 players are having a bad day, it’s just not ideal.

“Even as a group, we went into that changingroom and it felt like a loss. I think that just says a lot about how we are as a team.

“You can sort of turn that into a positive and say we drew a game we weren’t happy with. We felt like we got spanked 6-0, so I think, going forward, we’ve won a lot of games, we’re not far off the top of the table, so it’s more motivation to get one up again.”

Brook said, each week, Auckland were confident they could win.

“When you’re high in confidence, you’ve already got an advantage, when we look around the room and… we know that we’ve got the team that can win everything. For us, it’s about going out every week and just proving it.”

In the absence of the injured Hiroki Sakai and Jake Brimmer, defender Francis de Vries captained Auckland against the Roar. He started the game after arriving back from All Whites duty in the United States, where he played 167 minutes of football, two days before the game.

“The body is OK,” he said. “Obviously, physically, you’re always playing with some sort of fatigue, when you’re a professional footballer.

“The last couple of weeks, the fatigue has been a little bit more than normal, but amazing experiences.

“Mentally, I’d say I’m in a very good space, enjoying the process of working hard and improving, and taking those next steps, both here with Auckland and away with New Zealand.”

De Vries said there was a lot of expectation on Auckland, after last season’s run to the Premiers Plate, and despite their good place on the points ladder, they wanted to do better, so he could understand Corica’s reaction.

“As a football player, it’s part of your job to accept criticism and learn from feedback.”

While the Jets, who won the pre-season Australia Cup, have had one win and four losses this season, compared to Auckland’s three wins and two draws, de Vries said it was too early in the season to read much into the standings.

“Teams go through patches of form and you don’t really know what to expect in the first 10 games. It’s not as if they’re in bad form.

“They maybe haven’t picked up the results yet, but their performances have been good, so we’re taking nothing for granted and we’ll treat it like a game that we usually do.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Netball Australia hopes to expand its Suncorp Super Netball (SSN) league and is open to an expression of interest from Netball New Zealand.

While any league expansion is still subject to Netball Australia board approval, it has endorsed exploring opportunities for growth as early as 2027 and invited expressions of interest for two additional licences.

The process is open to private-ownership groups, existing SSN licence-holders, entities affiliated with other sporting codes and/or consortia, or hybrid ownership models.

Netball Australia has confirmed to RNZ that Netball New Zealand meets the criteria to submit an expression of interest for a new team-owner licence in the SSN League.

Chief executive Stacey West said the league had gained considerable momentum since its inaugural 2017 season.

Netball New Zealand and Netball Australia decided to set up their own domestic leagues to replace the former trans-Tasman competition, which ran from 2008-16.

The SSN adopted an unlimited import policy, as it aimed to become the best netball league in the world. It attracts many of the sport’s best netballers, including international stars from Jamaica, England, South Africa and now New Zealand.

In July, Netball NZ finally secured a broadcast deal for next year’s ANZ Premiership, but the national body will already be thinking about the future of the domestic league from 2027, with the deal only locked in for a year.

Netball New Zealand has been approached for comment.

West said a growing fanbase drove strong viewership audiences and record-breaking attendances across all women’s sports leagues in Australia.

“The 2025 season reached new heights, with a record 388,455 attendees throughout the season, including a soldout and record Grand Final crowd of 15,013 at Rod Laver Arena,” Est said.

“The season was also the second-highest streamed of all time across the Foxtel Group, with a 23 percent increase in viewership across the drama-filled finals series.

“As we look toward the next era, it is vital that any expansion is strategic, sustainable and aligned with the long-term vision of Australian netball.

“We look forward to engaging with interested parties, as we consider the next stage of evolution for SSN.”

This year, Netball New Zealand changed its strict eligibility policy, prompted by Grace Nweke’s decision to sign with the New South Wales Swifts.

That left Nweke ineligible for the Silver Ferns, until the Netball NZ board backed down on its longstanding position and loosened its criteria. Next year, nine current and former Silver Ferns will bib up for the SSN league.

The appetite in Australia for a New Zealand franchise may be low, given how many import players already compete in the league and the lack of opportunities for local players.

The proposed SSN expansion aligns with Netball Australia’s recently released ’10 Year Strategy.’

Netball Australia is negotiating a new broadcast deal from 2027, as its current deal with Fox Sports runs until the end of 2026.

Board chair Liz Ellis recently told the Australian Financial Review that the sport was eyeing a return to free-to-air television, arguing reach was critical for its plans to attract more players and fans.

Netball NZ’s broadcast deal with TVNZ for next year’s ANZ Premiership marked a full return to free-to-air television for the domestic league. Sky Sport had been the major broadcast partner since 2008.

Netball Australia said the expression-of-interest process would evaluate, among other things, the commercial viability of prospective licensees and their preferred team locations.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Two of the biggest names in the Black Caps have backed a proposed T20 franchise competition in New Zealand.

RNZ understands a bid by a private consortium to establish a new T20 competition has led to a power struggle over the future shape of the domestic game.

New Zealand Cricket this week played down any internal rifts over the proposed new league but it’s clear where the players stand.

Black Caps white ball captain Mitch Santner told The Cricketers’ Network podcast it would be a great opportunity.

“We’ve seen it kind of work around the world already…we’re the kind of the last country,” Santner said.

“It’s a really exciting opportunity especially domestic players …you still have Ford Trophy, Plunket Shield, and then you’ve got a franchise league where, you know, you can show your skills against some of the best – obviously our domestic players and you get some good overseas and a lot of people watching.

“I think it’s a great opportunity if we can kind of get it going and it sounds very promising so hopefully we can get it all go ahead.”

Santner believed it would push the quality of the players coming through.

“[In the] IPL for example, you know, you see all these young guns coming through that you’ve never heard of and they stand up on that stage and then they, you know, they’re ready for international cricket.”

One of New Zealand’s most explosive batters Daryl Mitchell told The Cricketers’ Network podcast, that it needed to happen.

“We as a playing group are really excited about the opportunity of NZ20. We think the growth that it will bring here in the game in this country would be amazing,” Mitchell said.

“To think that we are probably the only major test playing nation that doesn’t have a franchise tournament is something that needs to happen. It needs to I guess continue to help grow the game not only for us international players but for domestic players and for the next generation of Kiwis that want to play cricket.

“…[It’s] only going to help make not only our own domestic players better but our New Zealand team as well. So I think it’s a great concept and I’m really looking forward to see it happening.”

While cynics might argue New Zealand doesn’t have the population base to make a franchise competition work, Mitchell believed world class players would sell out grounds.

“You only need to see how much Kiwis love sport and love cricket in New Zealand. I think you know if you can have city against city taking on each other and you watch the Kiwis get behind NZ20, it’s going to be a short four-week tournament over January. I just think it’s a great concept that’s going to help improve infrastructures around the country as well.”

Mitchell said the proposed competition would be great for up and coming players.

“When I was starting out… HRV Cup is what it was called then, we’d get overseas players and the likes of Chris Jordan and Ben Laughlin and those guys when I was 19/18. The knowledge that they passed on to me was invaluable… it’s something that with franchise cricket and NZ20 you learn so much.

“Imagine a Phil Salt or someone like that coming into our environment and helping teach the next lot of opening batters I think it can only help in that sense as well so yeah it should be pretty cool.”

NZ Cricket said the organisation was “considering the merits of the NZ20 proposal”, along with other options, as part of broader work looking at the future of domestic T20 cricket in New Zealand.

Among the options being considered as part of ‘Project Bigger Smash’ is exploring ways to monetise the existing Super Smash competition, or entering New Zealand teams in Australia’s men’s and women’s Big Bash competitions.

The independent assessment was expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2026.

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