Category: Sport

Source: Radio New Zealand

Dalton Papali’i says becoming the 11th player to bring up 100 games for the Blues is one of the biggest honours of his career.

The Blues skipper will bring up the milestone in tonight’s Super Rugby Pacific match against the table-topping Brumbies in Canberra and admitted it has been on his mind this week.

The 37-Test flanker recently announced this season will be his ninth and last at the Blues before taking up a contract with French club Castres Olympique.

He said it would be hard to wrench himself away from Auckland and was pleased he’d become a centurion before he goes.

He joins a list topped by All Blacks great Keven Mealamu (164 games), while the most recent inductees were Test veterans Patrick Tuipulotu and Rieko Ioane, who brought up 100 games during the Blues’ title-run in 2024.

“They’re the legends of our game, they’re the ones who have paved the way for us young guys to come through,” Papali’i said.

“When you walk through a corridor at the Blues and you see the legends there that have got 100 games, you never think you’re going to rub shoulders with them and be up there with those boys.

“I don’t have the words to express how special it is. It’s a unique and exclusive group to be part of.”

Papali’i will have his mother and sister watching from the grandstand on Saturday night.

“It’s a pretty special feeling, not just for myself but for my family, especially the ones that have been there for the whole journey. And especially for my partner and little baby as well.

“It’s a pretty proud moment. Playing your debut is pretty special. You don’t think you’ll get to 50 games and once that pops up on you, 100 games still doesn’t feel real.”

Papali’i wants to exit on a high, having suffered a setback to his test career last year when largely ignored by now-departed coach Scott Robertson.

The 28-year-old responded in style by leading the New Zealand XV on their unbeaten three-match tour of Europe under the coaching eye of Jamie Joseph.

Meanwhile, Blues Vern Cotter said Papali’i’s milestone is on the minds of his players.

“I think everyone’s proud to be a part of the team that has Dalton for his 100th game,” Cotter said.

“I know he’s focused on his job but we’re on tour, we’re a tight group and being able to share that with Dalts is amazing.

“It’s that pride in the jersey and we’ll all be behind Dalts and hopefully we can give him what we’d like to have after 80 minutes.”

The Blues are coming off victory over the Force in Perth last week, having opened the season with a narrow loss to the Chiefs at Eden Park.

Prop Joshua Fusitu’a ruled out with injury, with Ofa Tu’ungafasi moving to loosehead prop while Kurt Eklund comes in to start at hooker.

Lock Sam Darry has recovered from a head knock and returns to the starting XV while the backline remains unchanged for the third straight game.

Cotter said the Brumbies have impressed in big wins on the road over the Force and Crusaders.

“The Brumbies were very good in the second half against the Force and then obviously the last minutes against the Crusaders really hurt them,” he said.

“They’ll be full of concidence. Bear in mind, they came over and beat us last year at home so we’d like to sort a few things out with regard to that. So I think the boys will be up for it.”

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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 newest national rugby side has had their schedule locked in for 2026.

The New Zealand Under 85kg team will repeat their historic visit to Sri Lanka, which last year saw two statement wins in front of massive crowds in Kandy and Colombo.

The tour will once again feature two fixtures against Sri Lanka’s full national side, with Game One in Colombo on April 25th and Game Two in Kandy on May 3rd.

The two sides will once again compete for the Sir Graham Henry Trophy, with former All Black captain Kieran Read set to make the trip as an NZ Rugby (NZR) Ambassador.

Another former All Black, prop John Afoa, comes in as an assistant coach.

Steve Lancaster, Interim Chief Executive of NZR, said that the 2025 tour had a lasting impact well beyond the field.

“We’re genuinely stoked to be able to confirm this tour and give this team the opportunity to represent New Zealand overseas again. Sri Lanka is a proud rugby nation and last year’s tour drew passionate crowds and strong community engagement. We know the Sri Lankan team will offer another strong challenge on the field and that’s exactly what you expect when you pull on a black jersey.”

The side will have a new coach, with Ben Sinnamon stepping into the role left by Ngatai Walker.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for our players,” he said.

“The Tuskers are a passionate rugby team, and we know the standard will be higher again in 2026. Playing in that environment, including the heat and conditions, places real demands on preparation, discipline and execution. This tour gives our players the chance to test themselves properly, grow as a team and experience what it means to represent New Zealand offshore.”

Tour Campaign Manager Ben Tinnelly said the matches will continue to strengthen connections between New Zealand and Sri Lanka.

“We are working closely with the New Zealand High Commission in Sri Lanka, who were thrilled with the impact of last year’s tour,” Tinnelly said.

“There is already strong interest building across sponsors, fans, schools and rugby administrators, which shows the role rugby can play in connecting communities and supporting the game’s growth in the region.”

New Zealand U85kg squad

Forwards

Callum Nimmo – High School Old Boys Light Bears, Canterbury

Matt Treeby – Poneke Wanderers, Wellington

Tom Rowland – Eden Lizards, Auckland

Frazer Harrison – University Squids, Auckland

Jeandre Du Toit – Pakuranga Panthers, Auckland

Simon Sia – Morrinsville Majestic Pukekos, Waikato

Oliver Dunn-Parrant* – Silverdale Truffle Pigs, North Harbour

Jack Laity – University Slugs, Auckland

Rory Cavanagh – Pakuranga Panthers, Auckland

Billy Sloan* – High School Old Boys Light Bears, Canterbury

Bailey Clark* – Waihora Longhorns, Canterbury

Pasia Asiata – Pōneke Wanderers, Wellington

Josh Purdon – High School Old Boys Light Bears, Canterbury

Josh Gellert – University Slugs, Auckland

Josh Evans* – High School Old Boys Light Bears, Canterbury

Sunia Vosikata* – Karaka Razzlers, Counties Manukau

Backs

Jackson Ephraims – Silverdale Truffle Pigs, North Harbour

Taine Cordell Hull – High School Old Boys Light Bears, Canterbury

Jarred Percival – High School Old Boys Light Bears, Canterbury

Toby Snelgrove* – Silverdale Truffle Pigs, North Harbour

Adam Preston – Pōneke Wanderers, Wellington

Campbell Busby – University Squids, Auckland

Mafea Taiulu Feso* – High School Old Boys Light Bears, Canterbury

Nick Robertson* – Pōneke Wanderers, Wellington

Ben Kelt* – University Squids, Auckland

Ned Milne – High School Old Boys Light Bears, Canterbury

Francis Morrison – Pakuranga Panthers, Auckland

Pieter Swarts – East Coast Bays Badgers, North Harbour

Reserves

Seamus Rowberry* – Pōneke Wanderers, Wellington

Nick Francis* – Silverdale Truffle Pigs, North Harbour

* denotes a new cap

2026 Tour Fixtures

Game One:

New Zealand Under 85kg v Sri Lanka Tuskers

Colombo – 25 April 2026

Game Two:

New Zealand Under 85kg v Sri Lanka Tuskers

Kandy – 3 May 2026

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Coach Michael Mayne says the Football Ferns won’t take their Oceania qualifying campaign in the Solomon Islands lightly, despite their traditional dominance over Pacific rivals.

New Zealand take their first step towards qualifying for next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup when they face Samoa in Honiara (3pm NZT).

Their other Group A opponents are the Solomon Islands and America Samoa, with the top two teams from the pool advancing to the semi-finals and final, hosted by New Zealand in April.

Mayne said the message to his players is that the standard is improving within Oceania.

“We know what’s at the end of this series. I think it’s good that we still feel pressure coming into these games. That’s the way it should be,” Mayne said.

“I know these other three teams are going to be all chasing the same dream. I think in terms of the women’s game in the Pacific… I’ve been around the age group. I’ve been to a number of these tournaments. I can see the gap closing.

“I know every single one of these teams that we play over the next 10 days will be well set up, well organised. That’s exciting for us, and we’re used to tough challenges.

“There’s no point worrying about the final or anything. We’ve got to get through the next week first. That’s a good place to be, I think, mentally for the group.”

Mayne said his players acclimatised quickly to the heat of Honiara.

“The first couple of days have been really good. The facilities and everything here are looking great for the way we want to play and I think probably the difference at the moment is I’m really lucky to have a squad that’s based all around the world in different clubs, different environments, playing different levels.

“To be able to sort of draw some of that experience into the team but also have some really exciting players coming into our squad for this one is a real positive, I think, for the team.”

Three uncapped players are in Mayne’s 23-woman squad.

They are teenage Wellington Phoenix forward Pia Vlok, Newcastle Jets midfielder Charlotte Lancaster and Australian-based goalkeeper Maddie Iro.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

In-form Kiwi golfer Daniel Hillier flexed his muscles in his curtailed opening round as rain played a part on the first day of the New Zealand Open in Queenstown.

Unheralded Australian Matias Sanchez was the leader after day one at Millbrook Resort on seven-under, one stroke clear of New Zealand amateur Yuki Miya, who was among nearly half of the 156-strong field still to complete their round.

Among that group who will return early to the course on Friday was New Zealand’s second-best player Hillier, who was five-under with five holes still to play.

He sat level with seasoned Australian Wade Ormsby and American veteran Kevin Na, a five-time winner on the US PGA Tour.

Early rain forced a late start, slowing the fairways and greens.

It didn’t stop Hillier unfurling an impressive 13 holes and continuing his strong form from the World Tour.

The 27-year-old has racked up three top-10 finishes, including a runner-up at Dubai, to win about $1 million and break into the world’s top 100 rankings.

He was also married on Saturday, an event that didn’t affect his game in the fading light of Central Otago.

Fellow-Kiwi and World Tour player Kazuma Kobori is a shot back on four-under, also hoping to be the first New Zealander to win the national open in nine years and just the third in 20 years.

Kobori produced the shot of the day, holing out on the 210m fourth hole of the Remarkables course, his second ace of the Australasia PGA Tour season, following on from the Party Hole at the BMW Australian PGA Championship.

“It was kind of unexpected to get (another) one so soon,” Kobori said.

“You don’t really expect to hole it on that hole, especially with 4-iron in hand in these conditions.”

Sanchez cashed in on the best scoring conditions to shoot 64 on the Remarkables course, holing his last putt just before 8.30pm.

“I was just really happy to get it done, get the round in,” Sanchez said of his bogey-free round.

“This (event) is right up there, so to do it here, it’s really special, but I know it’s a quarter of the way down. It doesn’t really mean a whole lot.”

Ormsby, whose last tournament was as a fill-in player at LIV Adelaide, could rightly claim to have produced the best round of Thursday. His 66 came on the Coronet course which played considerably the more difficult of the two, providing just 10 of the top 29 scores on the end-of-day leaderboard.

A winner of five titles on the Asian Tour, including the Hong Kong Open twice, the South Australian is still searching for a victory on his home tour.

“I’ve never won on the Aussie tour and that’s something that I’ve always wanted to try and do,” Ormsby said.

“It’s nice to put myself towards the pointy end early in the week.”

After leaving LIV Golf, Na has come to Queenstown to start a new chapter of his 24-year professional career and he negotiated yesterday’s round without a bogey.

“I haven’t played competition golf in three months or so, maybe longer, but I feel like there’s a good energy, there’s a positive energy and I’m happy,” he said.

“Mind is fresh and I feel like I have a chance to enjoy golf more.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The Tall Blacks are off the mark in their World Cup qualifying pool for next year’s basketball World Cup, overcoming the Philippines 69-66 in a tense affair in Manila.

Sam Mennenga was influential under the basket as New Zealand staved off a charge from the home side and a raucous home crowd over the closing minutes.

It follows twin losses for the 25th-ranked Tall Blacks in their two opening Asian qualifying group games against world No.6 Australia last last year which left them on the back foot in their four-team pool.

The top three teams advance to the next window, with New Zealand favoured to finish ahead of 36th-ranked Philippines and 79th-ranked Guam.

They are away to winless Guam in Mangilao on Sunday, although will field a weakened team, with some Tall Blacks players having committed to link up with their professional clubs immediately after the Philippines game.

Forward Max Darling top scored for New Zealand with 11 points but Warriors centre Mennenga produced the best overall statistics, mixing 10 points with 14 rebounds – including five at the offensive end – four assists, one steal and one block.

Adelaide 36ers guard Keanu Rasmussen was handed a late appearance on international debut.

Coach Judd Flavell was pleased his side emerged victorious in a defence-dominated affair.

“We came here to get the win, and we got the job done,” Flavell said.

“We knew it was gonna be a tough series against Australia in December. Both those games went down to the wire. We got beaten on a last-second bank shot three. There were plenty of positives, so the morale was very good.”

“The group is very connected. We’re not a big country, but that makes us stronger. Because we’re a small country we need to be together and play a connected style of basketball. And that’s the same off the court.”

Flavell said a key to victory was shutting down Philippines’ main scorer Justin Brownlee, who was held to just four points.

“He’s given us the business before and in recent games, so he was a large focal point for us. I thought that went a long way for us defensively tonight.

“It helps that we’ve played each other a lot and it obviously helps them with us too and our system. But we know he takes a lot of attention. He’s a true international scorer, so the intention was that we’ve just got to be within touching distance of him at all times.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Giancarlo Italiano’s abrupt departure from the Wellington Phoenix is the latest twist in what has become a season of upheaval for A-League coaches.

Three A-League head coaches have failed to see out the 2025/26 campaign, and fewer than half of the league’s 12 clubs have the same man in charge now that they did a year ago.

Across the football world, coaches are rarely afforded patience when results are not going their way, and the A-League has proved no exception. Since the season kicked off in October, almost every month has brought at least one coaching change.

Italiano abruptly stepped down at the weekend following his side’s heavy derby defeat to Auckland FC. Italiano had been the head coach since 2023 and left without addressing the playing group.

He joined a growing list of coaching changes: Western Sydney Wanderers coach Alen Stajcic was sacked in January, while Perth Glory appointed Adam Griffiths to a permanent role in December after firing David Zdrilic in October.

Central Coast Mariners lost coach Mark Jackson to an overseas opportunity on the eve of the season in October and promoted Warren Moon from caretaker to full-time last month.

Only five clubs have the same coach in charge at this point of this season that had at this stage last year after off-season changes to the Newcastle Jets, Brisbane Roar and Adelaide United.

Wellington were the latest to be swept up in that instability. Italiano’s sudden departure left the Phoenix scrambling for a steady hand, turning once again to a familiar figure inChris Greenacre.

Greenacre has been Phoenix head coach three times before in an interim capacity and knew well the “cut throat industry” that football coaching was.

“In the past it was needs must and I was kind of the quickest fix and this time it was certainly different,” Greenacre said of the call-up from the reserve team to main side this week.

“I’ve never been in a rush to get to wherever the end may be [in coaching] and I’m literally taking it day by day and that’s the truth.

“How this pans out who knows … the club have been really loyal to me and giving me an opportunity to grow and the club have been patient, but I think we’ve also been loyal to each other which is quite fitting.

“I want to be successful here whether I’m the long term answer or not, I don’t want to go anywhere else I want to be successful here and maybe that’s a point of difference.”

Despite having been in discussions with Phoenix’s director of football Shaun Gill for a while before Italiano left, Greenacre was wary that those who ran clubs could change their mind on appointments.

“I understand how football works and the sooner you get carried away with it it’ll bite you on the backside.”

Auckland FC’s Steve Corica has been a head coach in the A-League since 2018. He arrived in Auckland for the club’s first season in 2024/25 after being fired by Sydney FC just weeks into the season prior due a run of losses.

“I don’t like any coach getting the sack, it’s always hard,” Corica said.

Corica did not think Italiano would be the last A-League coach out before next season.

He said a change of coach always had an impact on a club.

“Sometimes for the good and sometimes not so.

“It’s like players, coaches are the same, [club owners] are looking at strengthening their squad so decisions need to be made and I’m sure there’s going to be some turnaround probably next year as well.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Young NZ Warriors forward Jacob Laban recalls the day grizzled veteran Mitch Barnett drew a line in the sand for the Auckland club still chasing its first NRL crown.

“I felt like Barney, from the start, when he first came over, he set the expectation,” Laban told RNZ. “I still remember him, I think it was 2023, walking off the field and saying how he was disappointed in how everybody’s fitness was.”

Barnett had already logged 128 first-grade games for Canberra Raiders and Newcastle Knights, when he arrived at Mt Smart, so he had a fair idea of the standards required from the Aussie league competition.

“Everyone was making bad ‘Broncos’ times, stuff like that,” Laban continued. “He said he wanted the club to be in a better place before he leaves.

“Fast forward to now and everyone’s fit so far, and he’s put massive effort into that.”

In fact, coach Andrew Webster has singled out his players’ off-season fitness regime for special praise, as they prepare for the coming 2026 season.

“Over the Christmas break, they made a pact to each other that they would go away and enjoy the break, but come back fit and hit their targets,” Webster said. “This is the first time I’ve seen every single player do so and I’m really impressed with that.”

This week, the club announced Barnett, 31, would cut short his stay, leaving at the end of the season for personal reasons – his child’s medical needs – with a year still on his contract.

“I had to put my family first and they [the club] know the detail of the situation,” Barnett said. “They have been very supportive of it, but it hasn’t made the decision any easier.”

The clock on his time at the Warriors is now ticking loudly and those around him are taking stock of how their co-captain has impacted their lives.

When Barnett first signed in 2022, he was serving a six-game suspension for raising an elbow on an opponent in a tackle and may not have seemed an ideal addition to an ill-disciplined team already lurching through its worst-ever campaign.

In his first season, he helped them to within a game of the NRL grand final – the furthest he had progressed in his career – and while subsequent bids have fallen short, on a personal note, the front-rower has earned representative honours with New South Wales and Australia during his tenure on this side of the ditch.

Regardless of how his final season here pans out, Barnett – along with fellow veterans James Fisher-Harris and Kurt Capewell – will have already left his mark through the incredibly talented forwards the Warriors now have on their roster.

Capewell’s future with the Warriors is also uncertain, with his current contract ending this season.

Over the past couple of years, they have helped develop players like Laban, Leka Halasima, Demitric Vaimauga, Tanner Stowers-Smith and Eddie Ieremia-Toeava, who have shown their abilities in first grade and earned long-term contracts with the club.

“He’s been huge,” front-rower Tanner Stowers-Smith, 21, told RNZ of Barnett. “He’s one of the players I model my game on, just being tough as and doing all the dirty stuff that some people don’t want to do all the time – he’s always someone you can rely on.

“He’s personally helped me a lot with learnings and not just me, but the other young boys in the team. He’s so knowledgeable and he shares all he knows – all the tricks around the game and ways you can get through stuff.

“He’s got a lot of tricks in his book – he’s a real master of the dark arts.”

When Barnett’s 2025 season ended prematurely with ruptured knee ligaments, Stowers-Smith was one to seize the opportunity that presented itself, debuting against the Dolphins in May, logging 13 appearances and signing a contract extension through 2028.

In two pre-season trials, he has shown his readiness to step up to the next level, leading his team in running metres and tackles against Manly Sea Eagles.

While some may seek a like-for-like replacement for Barnett on the open market, ultimately, his successor may already wear a Warriors jersey.

“It’s pretty crazy to think where I was 12 months ago,” Stowers-Smith said. “I never thought about how far I could go in a year’s time, but the team’s done a lot of work and the boys have helped me along, so I’m definitely feeling a lot more confident.

“I base my game around effort areas and working hard, but I want to bring a bit more attacking flair, which comes down to my confidence and backing my ability with the ball.

“Maybe getting my hands on the ball a bit more, which I’ve been doing in the pre-season, has helped me a lot.”

Stowers-Smith hacked 10 seconds off his 1.2km Bronco time over the summer, which also helped.

Like Barnett, Laban’s 2025 season also ended early, when he was the victim of a hipdrop tackle from Dolphins veteran Felise Kaufusi that fractured his leg.

He narrowly lost a race against time to return for the reserves’ NSW Cup championship run, but has also reported back for duty in good nick, taking 15 seconds off his Bronco and scoring a try for the Māori against Indigenous in their pre-season All Stars clash.

“I felt like I was finding my groove into first grade, getting a bit more experience behind me, but unfortunately it was cut short,” Laban, 21, said.

“I didn’t go into much of a dark place, but I felt like I missed out on a lot in terms of the boys rocking up to games and me seeing them out there.

“It just sucked – I felt left out, but my mental health was pretty good and I just pushed through it.”

Seeing his mentor going through a similar process with his knee no doubt helped that mindset.

Barnett now faces a final examination – four days of testing in Sydney – before confirming his comeback to play in the early rounds.

The Warriors open their schedule with home games against Sydney Roosters and Canberra Raiders, and Barnett’s next outing will mark his 50th for the club.

Perhaps when disappointed fans see him run out onto Go Media Stadium with his family for that milestone, they will better understand why he’s leaving.

His teammates are already determined to send him out a winner.

“If that doesn’t give you any more motivation to win a premiership, I don’t know what will,” Laban insisted.

“He’s done so much for the club, and he’s helped myself and definitely other players, we sort of owe it to him.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The greatest of all time is hanging up her black jersey, again.

Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, who came out of retirement for last year’s Rugby World Cup, has announced she is bowing out of the international stage.

She leaves an incomparable legacy behind.

Woodman-Wickliffe was a Rugby World Cup winner in 2017 and 2022, a Sevens World Cup champion in 2013 and 2018, an Olympic gold and silver medallist and Commonwealth Games gold and bronze medallist.

Whether in sevens or 15’s, Woodman-Wickliffe has lit up fields around the globe with her raw pace, power, and inexplicable eye for the try-line.

She walks away as the highest try scorer for the Black Ferns in both codes.

The Black Ferns confirmed the news on social media.

“I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to represent my country, my iwi, my hapū and my whānau one last time on the World Cup stage, a moment I will cherish forever. As I step into this next chapter of my life, I feel both excited and a little nervous, but I’m ready.”

Woodman-Wickliffe was named World Rugby’s Sevens Player of the Year in 2015, Women’s Player of the Year (XVs) in 2017 and in 2020 was named as the top women’s sevens player of the past decade.

The Woodman family name carries with it a bit of weight on the rugby field.

Not only did Portia grow up with an All Black father Kawhena, her uncle Fred Woodman played in two tests in the infamous 1981 series against the Springboks.

Arguably, Woodman-Wickliffe’s high-water mark in the 15-a-side code was during the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup, in which she scored a tournament-record 13 tries.

Eight of them came in one match against Hong Kong.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The winless Tall Blacks hit the road this week faced with the duel challenge of qualification for next year’s Fiba World Cup hanging in the balance and players leaving camp early to chase lucrative overseas contracts.

Home and away defeats against Australia late last year put New Zealand on the back foot in the Asian Qualifiers.

The Tall Blacks need a win against the Philippines on Friday or Guam on Sunday to keep hopes of finishing in the top three in their qualification group alive.

New Zealand’s road to qualifying for the world cup for an eighth time started in November and will not conclude until March next year – all things going to plan.

But the Tall Blacks’ campaign could come to a halt as soon as July if they do not start winning.

Head coach Judd Flavell said there was a “lot of urgency” to get results in this window.

“We need to win as many games as we can, it doesn’t mean that if we lose this game it is all over but there is a lot of importance on these two games in this window and the same can be said for every window after this.”

Flavell will have a strong core of players to call on against the undefeated Philippines including New Zealand Breakers teammates Reuben Te Rangi, Taylor Britt, Max Darling, Carlin Davison, Alex McNaught and Sam Mennenga as well as Brisbane Bullets trio Tyrell Harrison, Taine Murray and Tohi Smith-Milner.

Akita Northern Happinets centre Yanni Wetzell is also back for the first game while Jordan Ngatai’s return to the black singlet will see him add to his 93 appearances.

But some of those players will leave camp before the Guam game.

“We have some players who have made themselves available [for the Philippines game] but they’re moving on to [club] contracts and the thing with these international windows is they are during the seasons and the Australian NBL season has come to an end for most of the guys in our squad and so those guys have got another contract that they’re looking to go to and some of those contracts are quite lucrative.

“Guys have put up their hand to come along to this first game because they know how important this one is and we’ve got another great chance to develop our depth in the second game.”

Big men Wetzell, Mennenga and Harrison are names that are likely to be missing as they take up new club contracts.

Flavell said the unavailability of players at different times of the year, either through college seasons in the United States or club contracts around the world, was the “number one challenge” the Tall Blacks faced.

“When it comes down to it you really want to try to build as much continuity as you can and that’s going to result in taking steps forward and having progression.

“But it is what it is, it’s to no one’s fault it’s just how it works and we’ve got to do the best we can and be problem solvers.

“It effects all countries, but if you look at a some of the super power teams, and Australia is one of those super power teams, with the depth they have and some of the other countries for a smaller country like us we’re probably effected a little bit more.

“It’s a funny old season the international qualification windows where you come together for a few days and play a couple of games and then you don’t see each other for three months and then you come together and try to do it again really quickly.”

Flavell has had mixed results against the Philippines.

His first game in charge of the national team in November 2024 was a loss to the Gilas in Manila. It was the first time the Tall Blacks had lost to them.

However, last year Flavell guided the team to two wins over Philippines in Asia Cup qualifiers to take the head-to-head to six wins for the Tall Blacks.

Back in “basketball-mad” Manila, Flavell said New Zealand would face a “hostile” environment fuelled by around 20,000 Gilas supporters.

Having played a number of times over the last 12 months Flavell said they “have great familiarity” with what the Philippines will put on the floor and did not expect any surprises.

Following their showdown with the Philippines, the Tall Blacks travel to Guam.

Flavell and many of the roster had not been to Guam before.

Like the Tall Blacks, Guam are at the bottom of the Group A standings with two losses, against Philippines, in the first window.

New Zealand has taken care of Guam in their two previous match-ups, with a 125-43 win back in 1999 and more recently a 113-94 win during the 2020 Fiba Asia Cup Qualifying campaign but Flavell said the current Guam team they knew less about.

“It’s always a bit of danger when you don’t know so much about your opposition”.

Guam host Australia in the first game in this window.

The third qualifier window is in July, when Philippines and Guam both come to Auckland.

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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 National Rugby League competition kicks off on Sunday in Las Vegas, with four teams making the trip to start the season – the Knights, Cowboys, Bulldogs and Dragons.

This is the third year the NRL has taken its first round to Las Vegas to put on a showpiece for the American market.

But it’s also round one of 27 to try and make it to the much-coveted grand final.

Bulldogs winger Marcelo Montoya said they still needed to focus on the result.

“For us it’s important that we get the two points,” he said.

“I know we’re going there to play and it’s exciting but at the top of our minds when we go there – the two points is what’s important for us.”

The Bulldogs play the Dragons in Vegas, after the Knights and Cowboys open season 2026 at the 65,000-capacity Allegiant Stadium.

It’s a long way from home for all of the teams, but some fans are expected to follow them over to Sin City.

Knights centre Dane Gagai said Newcastle fans tended to come out of the woodwork in most places.

“Knights fans turn up everywhere,” he said.

“No matter where you go, up north Queensland, they’re just everywhere, so I’m sure we’re going to have a fairly good turnout over in Vegas.

“I know people have already got their tickets and they’ve been mentioning that they can’t wait to get over there and watch us play, so hopefully we cannot disappoint.”

The Vegas season opener was introduced to the NRL in 2024.

On offer this week have been the Las Vegas Nines, a signing session, a school gala, and OzFest, and Scotland will play the USA in a triple header – the under-19 youth teams, the women’s sides and the men’s teams – at Cougar Stadium.

Super League teams Hull and Leeds will kick off the match day, which is Saturday local time, Sunday for most of the Pacific.

Game one of the new season kicks off at 1:15pm on Sunday (AEDT) – Knights versus Cowboys.

Now-retired Cowboy Chad Townsend told the NRL’s Game Plan show about the players to watch in his old team.

“For me the keys to attack for the North Queensland Cowboys… Scott Drinkwater… led the Cowboys in line-break assists and try assists last year.

“Tom Deardon – obviously the show-and-go we know is elite, defensively very sound, great leader; and Jaxon Purdue.”

After the Vegas games, the remainder of round one continues in Australia – and in Auckland, for the Warriors hosting the Roosters – from 5-8 March.

The Broncos are the defending champions. They also made it to the final of the World Club Challenge earlier this month, but lost 30-24 to Hull.

The Broncos will face the Panthers in the first round.

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