Samoan rugby players lay down their challenge.RAUL ZAMORA/PHOTOSPORT / AFP
Samoa have clinched a place at the 2027 Rugby World Cup after a dramatic finish to the final qualifying tournament in Dubai.
Samoa finished top of the four-team tournament after drawing 13-13 with Belgium in the last game.
It is the tenth time the Pacific Islanders have qualified for a World Cup, but they did it the hard way.
Belgium, who were hoping to attend their first World Cup, led 6-3 at half time.
Abraham Papali’i scored a try for Samoa in the 63rd minute, but Belgian captain Jean-Maurice Decubber touched down in the 72nd minute to set up a tense finish.
Knowing a draw was good enough for them to qualify, Samoa managed to safely play out the last few minutes.
They are the 24th and last team to secure their place at the tournament in Australia.
Samoa finished on 12 points, Belgium 11, Namibia 6 and Brazil 2.
The 17th ranked Samoans have played in every World Cup, except the first in 1987, and have twice made the quarter-finals.
The draw for the 2027 World Cup will be made on 3 December.
The 12 teams that finished in the top three of their pools at Rugby World Cup 2023 automatically qualified for Rugby World Cup 2027.
They were France, New Zealand, Italy, Ireland, South Africa, Scotland, Wales, Fiji, Australia, England, Argentina and Japan.
The 12 remaining places were reserved for teams that qualified through various tournaments … they were: Georgia, Spain, Romania, Portugal, Tonga, Canada, United States, Uruguay, Chile, Zimbabwe, Hong Kong China and now Samoa.
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Ox Nche of South AfricaAndrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
No All Blacks have been named among the finalists for World Rugby Player of the Year.
Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Kieran Read, Brodie Retallick, Beauden Barrett and Ardie Savea have all won the award since it was first introduced in 2001.
However, this is the second successive year that New Zealand has not had a finalist.
The finalists for World Rugby Men’s 15s Player of the Year are: Louis Bielle-Biarrey (France), Pieter-Steph du Toit (South Africa), Malcolm Marx (South Africa) and Ox Nche (South Africa).
All Black lock Fabian Holland is nominated for Breakthrough Player of the Year, while Tupou Vaa’i’s try against France in July is up for Try of the Year.
The voting panel included former legends of the game: Jacques Burger, Fiona Coghlan, Victor Matfield, Drew Mitchell, Ugo Monye, Sergio Parisse, Kieran Read and Blaine Scully.
The winners will be announced this weekend.
The women’s winners were announced after the World Cup with Sophie de Goede of Canada taking the top honour and New Zealand’s Braxton Sorensen-McGee named Breakthrough Player of the Year.
World Rugby Men’s 15s Player of the Year
Louis Bielle-Biarrey (France)
Pieter-Steph du Toit (South Africa)
Malcolm Marx (South Africa)
Ox Nche (South Africa)
International Rugby Players Association Men’s 15s Try of the Year
Santiago Cordero (Argentina, v British and Irish Lions – June)
Santiago Pedrero (Chile, v Samoa, South America/Pacific Play-off, RWC 2027 qualifier – October)
Lekima Tagitagivalu (Fiji, v Australia, men’s international – July)
Tupou Vaa’i (New Zealand, v France, men’s international – July)
World Rugby Men’s 15s Breakthrough Player of the Year
Fabian Holland (New Zealand)
Ethan Hooker (South Africa)
Henry Pollock (England)
Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii (Australia)
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Jesse Ryder goes on the attack for the CD Stags in 2022.Photosport
Following his departure from the international cricket scene, former Black Cap Jesse Ryder will make a comeback for the T20 Black Clash.
Daniel Vettori’s Team Cricket takes on Kieran Read’s Team Rugby at Tauranga’s Bay Oval on the 17 January.
A left-handed batsman, Ryder scored all three of his test centuries against India and was one of New Zealand sport’s more colourful figures.
“The Black Clash looks like awesome fun so that’s definitely a bit of me,” he said.
“I can’t wait to get out there. I reckon I’ve still got a bit to offer!”
Ryder’s penchant for being part of record-breaking occasions carried over into shorter forms of the game – in 2014, he scored what still stands as the ninth-fastest ODI century of all time, smashing 104 off 46 balls in a rain-shortened match against the West Indies in Queenstown.
“On his day Jesse was without doubt one of the most destructive batters the game has seen,” captain Vettori said.
“It’s going to be great catching up with him again. I’m sure he’ll be going all out to put on a show for the fans.”
Now 41, Ryder played professionally as recently as 2023 when he appeared in a T20 legends series for the Southern Superstars.
Event director Carlena Limmer is delighted to have secured Ryder for the 2026 Black Clash.
“The T20 Black Clash is all about having a great time and celebrating Kiwi sport’s finest athletes and biggest personalities,” Limmer said.
“Jesse certainly ticks all the boxes – I’d say he’s the ultimate Black Clash player. I know the fans will all get behind him and hope he produces some of his trademark massive hits.”
Ryder joins other Black Caps stars, with Tim Southee and Neil Wagner adding some world class pace bowling to what is perhaps the strongest Team Cricket line-up yet.
However, Read’s ever-competitive Team Rugby have countered by signing Aussie legend Michael ‘Mr Cricket’ Hussey to play alongside a cast of rugby stars who just happen to have elite cricketing skills.
It’s the third time the event has been held in Tauranga, with the sold out 2022 and 2024 editions drawing sports fans from across the country to the picturesque Bay Oval.
Confirmed players
Team Cricket
Dan Vettori (Captain), Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, Hamish Marshall , Kyle Mills, Nathan McCullum, Jesse Ryder
Team Rugby
Kieran Read (Captain), Michael Hussey (Wildcard), Ruben Love, Joey Wheeler, Andy Ellis, Jason Spice, Kaylum Boshier
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Michael Campbell is looking fit and healthy, and he’s feeling it too.
At least, he’s feeling an awful lot better than he was earlier this year, after undergoing heart surgery.
“I had atrial fibrillation, which means my heart was racing out of rhythm,” the 56-year-old said from his home in Marbella, Spain.
“I had felt terrible for about 4-5 years. I had an operation two months ago and I feel great now.
“I’ve lost a lot of weight, and feel strong and healthy.”
That surgery and recovery co-incided with the anniversary of the greatest day in Campbell’s career and one of the most memorable in New Zealand sporting history.
On 19 June, 2005, he strode up the fairways of Pinehurst in North Carolina, on his way to winning the US Open. While it’s seen as an out-of-the-blue sporting moment, winning a golf Major is no fluke.
“I must have been pretty focused, because I can remember every single shot on the last round of the US Open, 20 years ago. Those shots are unforgettable, it’s just life-changing stuff.”
Michael Campbell walks up the 18th fairway during the final round of the 2005 US Open.S. Badz/Getty Images
Especially when one of the players chasing Campbell down on the final round was a bloke named Tiger Woods.
“What he brings to golf, it transcends it as a sport,” said Campbell. “He’s just incredible – the presence, what he did for the game and what he achieved is just an incredible thing.
“To beat him in is in his prime and his height makes it even more special – there were 50,000 watching him and 10,000 watching me.
“He was there with me at the prizegiving, which is very unusual. I asked him, ‘Why are you here, Tiger?’, and what he said to me was the biggest compliment you could ever get from anyone.
“He said, ‘I know where you came from, how much resources back in the day, this is to show my respect’. That was the coolest thing ever.”
Michael Campbell shares a laugh with Tiger Woods after the final round of the US Open.Sean Meyers/Getty Images
While he was putting together an ultimately tournament-winning one-under-par round of 69, Campbell had only one thing on his mind – what was he going to do with the US $1.7 million winner’s prize?
“My original goal was a second-hand Porsche, but then after three rounds, it was a brand new one,” he said. “I put 997 on my ball to mark it, because that was the new Porsche model number that year.”
Campbell still has that ball, along with the US Open trophy that sits proudly in his living room.
All of this is captured in Dare to Be Different – The Michael Campbell Story. Premiering on 30 November on Sky Sport, the documentary tells Campbell’s story from when he was growing up, through to the US Open win and up to the present day.
Campbell returned to Pinehurst for the first time since lifting the trophy.
The film talks to legends like Ernie Els and Colin Montgomerie, as well as New Zealand icons Sir Bob Charles, Steve Williams and Ryan Fox, but mainly, it focuses on Campbell coming to terms with his legacy, after a career that’s dominated by one massive moment.
Michael Campbell at the 2011 NZ Open.Photosport
“Golf has taught me discipline, perseverance and the possibility to dream. It’s more than just a game – it’s all about creating moments.”
The documentary also shows Campbell doing it the hard way, as a young Māori trying to break the mould of how New Zealand society in the 1970s and 80s saw him.
Golf was not a particularly ‘brown’ pastime when Campbell was growing up. In fact, his schoolmates and teachers laughed at him, when he announced that his dream was to one day become a professional player.
“I stood there, staying up proud and thinking, ‘You know what, you’re laughing now, but I’m going to have the last laugh’.”
With his heart now in the right place, both literally and figuratively, Campbell is eyeing up the PGA Legends Tour, now that he is qualified to play on it. He’s looking at Steven Alker for inspiration, after Alker’s huge pay days since joining the over-50 circuit.
“It’s just incredible, but he’s so hard working. I’ve known Stevie since I was like 15 years old, it’s a great story.”
Before he even steps on the course again, Campbell is already mindful of the powerful trail he’s blazed. Thanks to him and Phil Tautarangi, as well as significant youth programmes by Golf NZ, Māori participation in golf is now much more of a given than it was a few decades ago.
Recent stats point to eight percent of registered club members identifying as Māori, something Campbell is proud of.
“It was tough, people laughing at me and being told there’s no Māori professional golfers on tour,” he said. “So why not?
“We can make it. If you think you can do it, you can.”
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All Whites attacking player Sarpreet Singh.www.photosport.nz
All Whites v Ecuador
Kickoff 2.30pm, Wednesday, 19 November
Sports Illustrated Stadium, New Jersey.
Live blog updates on RNZ Sport
The All Whites will play their final game of 2025 against unfamiliar opposition in an unfamiliar venue.
World No. 85 New Zealand have never played the world No. 23 Ecuador.
While the South Americans will feel at home in Sports Illustrated Stadium, after playing there 11 times before, the NZ squad will played for the first time at the venue that hosts Major League Soccer side New York Red Bulls.
Both teams have already qualified for next year’s Football World Cup and come into this game after playing friendlies last week – the All Whites faced Colombia and Ecuador took on Canada.
Form
Ecuador are on a hot streak of form.
Unbeaten in their last 14 games, Ecuador’s defence has been largely impenetrable. The South Americans regularly record scoreless draws, with seven during that run, including against Canada.
The All Whites kicked off the year with a 7-0 win over Fiji, followed by a 3-0 win over New Caledonia in March that booked their World Cup berth, but since then have not scored more than one goal in a game.
After three wins to begin 2025, including victory over the Ivory Coast in June, the All Whites then lost four in row and drew against Norway, before Sunday’s 2-1 loss to Colombia.
Ecuador’s Piero Hincapie playing against Canada.INDRAWAN KUMALA/AFP
What they are saying
All Whites coach Darren Bazeley said his understrength squad were feeling the effects of the first game in the November international window before the Ecuador clash.
“Everybody’s got little bit of fatigue and a few knocks, but nothing too serious that would rule them out of the game,” he said. “We’ll make a couple of changes to freshen it up, and give ourselves some extra energy and legs, but we’ll balance that with consistency as well.”
Bazeley was looking for an improvement on the Colombia game.
“The challenge is that we go again and we become consistent, while improving as well in an attacking sense and defending, and keep building.
“Every game we’ve played in the last three windows, we’ve created chances. It’s something we’ve been trying to work on through the year… I think, at some stage, we are going to get three or four in a game.”
Attacking player Sarpreet Singh has returned to play regularly for the All Whites, after a long time out injured, and helped set up New Zealand’s goal on Sunday, but he has high standards for himself and the team.
“I’m pleased with how it’s going on the pitch. I still know that I can give a lot more and do a lot better.”
Squads
All Whites: Max Crocombe, Kees Sims, Nik Tzanev, Tyler Bindon, Michael Boxall, Francis de Vries, James McGarry, Storm Roux, Tommy Smith, George Stanger, Finn Surman, Bill Tuiloma, Joe Bell, Matt Garbett, Ben Old, Owen Parker-Price, Alex Rufer, Sarpreet Singh, Marko Stamenić, Kosta Barbarouses, Andre de Jong, Eli Just, Jesse Randall, Ben Waine.
Ecuador: Hernan Galindez, Moises Ramirez, Cristhian Loor, Angelo Preciado, Piero Hincapie, Felix Torres, Willian Pacho, Cristian Ramirez, Joel Ordonez, Jhoanner Chavez, Leonardo Realpe, Moises Caicedo, Alan Franco, Gonzalo Plata, Kendry Paez, Alan Minda, John Yeboah, Pedro Vite, Jordy Alcivar, Yaimar Medina, Denil Castillo, Patrik Mercado, Enner Valencia, Kevin Rodriguez, Leonardo Campana, Nilson Angulo, John Mercado, Jeremy Arevalo.
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Daniel Hillier has had an outstanding season on the DP World Tour.GIUSEPPE CACACE
Four leading Kiwi golfers have announced they’ll play in the New Zealand Open at Millbrook Resort in February.
World-class talents Daniel Hillier and Kazuma Kobori, PGA Tour Champions star Steven Alker, and Ben Campbell, who has come close to lifting the trophy, are returning.
Local favourite Ben Campbell returns with unfinished business, having recorded multiple podium finishes at the New Zealand Open.
“The New Zealand Open is the one we all want to win,” said Campbell. “I’ve had a few really good runs at it, and I’d love nothing more than to get across the line. Millbrook Resort is my home course, and the team always delivers a world-class event. Playing in front of the home crowd gives me that extra bit of drive.”
This week Alker, a standout on the PGA TOUR Champions circuit, only just missed out on a third Charles Schwab Cup title in four years.
He is once again making the journey back home to chase the championship.
“It’s always a privilege to come home and play in the New Zealand Open,” said Alker. “This event means a lot to all of us who’ve represented New Zealand around the world. It would mean the world to me to lift that trophy in front of my friends and family.”
Hillier returns to Queenstown following another outstanding season on the DP World Tour, highlighted by his runner-up finish at the Dubai Desert Classic, and a top-five in Abu Dhabi.
His consistency across the year saw him finish 18th on the Race to Dubai rankings. A DP World Tour winner and Olympian, Hillier is currently New Zealand’s No.2-ranked male golfer.
“The New Zealand Open is always a highlight of the season. No matter where we are in the world or how busy the schedule gets, I always make time to come home and play this event. Competing in front of a home crowd, with family and friends around, is something you just can’t replicate. Winning the New Zealand Open is a massive goal for me,” Hillier said.
Kobori, who also competes on the DP World Tour, has confirmed his return after a rapid rise through the professional ranks.
Kobori won three times in the 2024/25 season to claim the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit, and then delivered a superb rookie campaign on the DP World Tour that earned him a place at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.
“Coming back to play the New Zealand Open is always special. I love being home, playing in front of our supporters, and competing alongside so many of New Zealand’s best golfers. It’s a tournament I’ve dreamed of winning for a long time, and I can’t wait to be back at Millbrook,” Kabori said.
Tournament Director Michael Glading said while the NZ Open was an internationally recognised event, having New Zealand’s best players on display was exciting.
The 105th New Zealand Open in Queenstown starts on the 26th February 2026.
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Four-time world champion Max Verstappen is the only driver in the Red Bull stable contracted through until 2028, however the other three seats (in Red Bull and Racing Bulls) are unconfirmed for 2026.
Commentators have said that Frenchman Isack Hadjar is likely to be promoted to Red Bull, while current Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda, New Zealand’s Liam Lawson, and Red Bulls F2 driver Arvid Lindblad are the contenders for the two Racing Bulls seats.
It had also been suggested that the delay might be because of the new regulations coming in next year. The team has to decide which drivers would be best suited to adapt quickly to the new cars. But Permane told Motorsport.com that was not the issue.
“We are in a very tight battle ourselves [for sixth], but also, Red Bull are in a very tight battle in their constructors’ championship [battle for second],” Permane said.
“We just want to have some stability, and that may well go on right until the end of the season. So you may not find out until Monday morning after Abu Dhabi (the final round).
“I don’t know exactly when it’ll be, but that’s the reason. It’s nothing to do with next year’s rules.”
Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar of Racing Bulls, 2025.ALESSIO MORGESE / AFP
The regulation changes for 2026 may count against Lindblad, who is currently seventh in the 2025 F2 standings.
Lawson and Hadjar have so far scored 82 points for Racing Bulls in 2025, with the team sixth in the Constructors’ Championship.
Continuity as teams go through extensive simulation work in the off season is likely to be key.
“You always want the experienced driver. We see with James [Vowles at Williams] and his two super-experienced drivers, they hit the ground running pretty much every weekend,” Permane told Motorsport.com.
“And that’s not to take anything away from our guys, but experience always counts. Nothing beats pace, obviously. So you have to have that pace there. It will undoubtedly help for next year.
“On the other hand, you could look at it and say, well, everyone’s starting from a clean sheet of paper.”
Formula 1 heads to Las Vegas this week. The last two rounds are in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
Lawson is 14th in the driver standings, seven points behind Hadjar and eight points ahead of Tsunoda.
All Blacks back Will Jordan dejected following defeat to England.www.photosport.nz
Former New Zealand Rugby chief executive David Moffett believes World Rugby’s new Nations Championship will be a flop.
The 12 team tournament will be held every two years, with teams competing for points during the existing July and November windows.
There will be a finals weekend in London in late November, culminating in a title decider between the top ranked Northern Hemisphere team and the top ranked Southern Hemisphere team.
All Blacks hooker Codie Taylor in action against England.ActionPress
Next year, the All Blacks will host France, Italy and Ireland in July, before away tests against Wales, Scotland and England in November.
The venues for the All Blacks home tests are yet to be confirmed.
Moffett told RNZ it would not be the financial boon World Rugby hopes it would be.
“I’m not overly blown away by it,” Moffett said.
“It’s just another dressed-up competition that World Rugby has come up with. Let’s not kid ourselves that this is going to be the solution to all of rugby’s ills.
“I’m not so sure that too many people are going to care about it. International rugby today I liken to the Melbourne Cup. The Melbourne Cup is a carnival that comes around once a year and a whole lot of people go and watch with no real interest in racing.
“That’s what we’re seeing happening around the world with rugby events.”
David Moffett.Photosport
Moffett believes the Nations Championship could lose money and used the Sevens World Series as an example.
“Look at Sevens, we don’t have a (international) Sevens tournament in this country anymore because they (World Rugby) decided there was going to be nine rounds and they’re going to be played in these great venues all around the world and everybody’s going to race out and want to play Sevens.
“Well none of that’s happened, the only thing that really happened is I think they’ve lost about 40 million euros this year on the Sevens tournament alone.”
However, New Zealand Rugby’s Cameron Good is confident fans will get behind the concept.
“I think it just means that every game in July and November matters,” Good said.
“We’re creating a competition that’s played outside of World Cup and Lions years. It creates that real jeopardy around every fixture, building up to what will be a new final series at the end of November.
“New Zealand rugby, if you look at what we’ve built for the next five years, we’re trying to introduce really fan-centric (games), what the fans want.
“We have the Greatest Rivalry Tour (2026 All Blacks tour of South Africa) and the Nations Championship, meaning there’s no talk now of friendlies. Every single game in July and November will matter. You’ll see it on a table. You’ll be following your team and seeing who they’ll match up against in that finals weekend.
“The All Blacks are now going to play every six-nations team, either home or away, in these Nations Championship years and then the final series is something completely new. So we’ve added a weekend to the international calendar.”
And Good is confident it will be a financial success.
“The fact that you’ve got all Six Nations teams, all Sanzaar teams, and we’ve invited Japan and Fiji in, we think this will resonate with fans, but also with broadcasters and commercial partners.
“We’re already pretty advanced with a lot of those conversations. It’s something new and different, but we think it’ll heighten what happens in those July and November windows and then give us something completely new with that finals weekend.”
ActionPress
He believes the Northern and Southern hemisphere rivalry is something fans want more of.
“You will find out who the best team in the world was in that year and you’ll also get to definitively decide or know which hemisphere is the better hemisphere,” Good said.
“There’s always a lot of speculation about North vs South in rugby. This will actually allow us to say who came through as the hemisphere in that year.”
Moffett believes the Nations Championship could detract from the four yearly World Cup, but Good isn’t concerned.
“Ultimately, in a World Cup, you’ve got to go through a round of 16, a quarter, a semi and a final, so there’s a uniqueness about prevailing at a World Cup.
“This (Nations Championship) is quite a different format, obviously less teams involved. Certainly in those World Cup years, that will be the pinnacle event. There is no Nations Championship in those years.”
One of the criticisms of the Nations Championship is that it only serves the world’s top teams and isn’t doing a lot to help grow the game or help tier two nations improve.
Good said a second competition which mirrored the Nations Championship was in the pipeline for the lower ranked sides.
“We’re working with World Rugby to help them create, I guess, the second tier of the Nations Championship. That will include the next 12 ranked teams in the world and will run in the same July and November windows.”
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Black Ferns Ruahei Demant.Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
Black Ferns co-captain Ruahei Demant is heading to Britain to help develop her game.
Demant will play for the Bristol Bears on a four month deal starting later this month.
A former World Player of the Year, Demant is one of just three players to have won 50 caps for the Black Ferns
Bristol head coach Scott Lawson said Ruahei was a “genuinely world-class player”.
“Her vision, leadership and ability to influence games at the highest level set her apart and we can’t wait to welcome her into our group later this month.
“You don’t become World Player of the Year without being something truly special, and her experience with the Black Ferns will bring immense value to our environment both on and off the pitch.
Lawson said Demant’s arrival would help ease a number of injuries they were dealing with.
The 30-year-old heads to Britain with the full blessing of New Zealand Rugby.
“This is a great development opportunity for Ruahei to spend time in a different environment and experience a different competition and style of play,” NZR Head of Women’s High Performance Hannah Porter said.
“We believe it will be highly beneficial to her both as a player and person and look forward to seeing those benefits when she returns to New Zealand for international duty with the Black Ferns in April’s Pacific Four tournament, and the upcoming Super Rugby Aupiki season in June.”
Demant was named World Player of the Year in 2022 after helping the Black Ferns to the 2021 World Cup title.
She was a part of the side that finished third at this year’s World Cup in Britain.
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Black Cap Daryl Mitchell takes a catch.Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.nz / Photosport Ltd 2025
Black Caps batter Daryl Mitchell will miss the rest of the ODI series against West Indies because of injury.
Mitchell experienced discomfort in his thigh while scoring his seventh ODI century in Sunday’s seven-run win over West Indies at Hagley Oval.
He didn’t field in the Windies innings.
Mitchell remained in Christchurch on Monday as the rest of the squad travelled to Napier for the second game on Wednesday.
The scan revealed a minor groin tear which will require two-weeks rehabilitation.
A New Zealand Cricket statement said the prognosis means that Mitchell should recover in time for the three-Test series against West Indies starting at Hagley Oval on 2 December.
Canterbury batter Henry Nicholls, who was called in as cover, will remain with the squad for the remainder of the series.
“He has been our standout performer in the ODI format so far this summer, so he’ll be missed for two important matches,” said coach Rob Walter.
“Henry has been in top form in the Ford Trophy and is an experienced international cricketer, so it’s great to welcome him back into the side.”
The third game is in Hamilton on Saturday.
West Indies then play a tour match against a selection side in Lincoln next week before the first Test.
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