Category: Sport

Source: Radio New Zealand

Mark Robinson thinks that an opportunity for the government to attract international business is right under its nose. The outgoing NZ Rugby (NZR) chief executive said that the sport is “an amazing opportunity for our country” and should be used far more broadly with government support.

“It’s something we’re good at as a country, it’s something that’s in our DNA. It’s something we’re passionate about and care about, and it’s something that we’re on the international stage. It provides really unique, offerings to the country at multiple levels,” said Robinson.

“I think the government’s been quite clear. They’ve got priorities … one of those is apparently about attracting international business. I’m not close enough to know where the sport’s on that agenda in terms of taking international investment.”

In September, the government launched the Sport Diplomacy Strategy 2025-2030 to coordinate efforts of nine agencies and “focus resources where they can have the greatest impact”. The initial focus is on India, the Pacific, and the United States, with Associate Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop saying that “these are markets where we can deliver strong diplomatic, and economic results”.

The All Blacks’ recent visit to Chicago was an example of what Robinson says the All Blacks brand power can achieve in one of them, with the revenue generated from the fixture against Ireland the highest for any test since the 2017 Lions tour.

Robinson’s walk to the door

It’s fair to say that Robinson is leaving NZR with as clear as conscience as he’s ever had. The former All Black midfielder took up the role of CEO in 2020 knowing full well that no matter what he did, he was doing arguably the least popular job in the country.

Some politicians might disagree with that, but at least they know that people vote for them at some stage. Being the boss of by far the most scrutinised sport means you are never going to please everyone, more often than not doing the complete opposite.

Robinson has overseen some sweeping changes to NZR, mostly financial and that’s raised the chagrin of fans who have criticised the governing body for not focusing enough on the game itself. However, he’s unapologetic about the direction the organisation has taken.

“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,” said Robinson.

“And unless you take a different approach to able to do that, we will not be successful in enhancing value of the game domestically and globally without some sort of partnership, and just to hope to be able to do that. I still remain of that view.”

But there are a few key areas that have dominated Robinson’s tenure. One is the All Black coaching situation, which he’s already aired some strong words about. While both he and Ian Foster will likely never agree on the way that all went down, saying “revisionist history” and “we’ve held the high ground” was a pretty stark departure from the closed-shop mentality of the past.

In fact, you could make a good case for NZR’s very well-earned reputation as a media-averse cone of silence being a relic of the past. While that attitude was very much tied to the All Blacks themselves, organisational access and openness has greatly improved under Robinson’s tenure.

One thing that has remained a somewhat frustratingly closed shop has been the partnership between NZR and private equity group Silver Lake. After seemingly endless talk about the deal being put together, which took the better part of two years, Silver Lake has barely been mentioned since and no representative has ever publicly fronted to speak on its behalf.

Robinson said that’s just the way the California-based firm operates.

“I don’t think it’s exclusive to NZR or the All Blacks or anything like that. I just think it’s their position. They love the game; they care about the game at all levels … there’s been a lot of time in New Zealand with stakeholders and partners and that sort of thing.”

He did acknowledge All Black fans’ concern at not knowing much about a group that effectively owns a part of the team that represents an entire country, but maintained that “there’s nothing mysterious or, unusual or unique about them in that regard”.

While Robinson’s announcement in June that he was stepping down was a bit of a surprise, when you look back on 2025 it does make a bit more sense. He has been upfront about transforming NZR’s financial model and while Silver Lake was a big part, that wasn’t all of it.

“The body of work over the last six years, I’m really proud of. If we look at community participation, it’s come back to pre-Covid times when a lot of sports haven’t been able to do that and the investment we’ve made in the community game through provincial unions is at an unprecedented level.”

That last part may raise a few eyebrows by those at the grassroots and provincial level who are facing all sorts of challenges keeping school-leavers both playing and attending rugby games, but the fact is that the All Black-dependant revenue model is generating more money than ever before. Robinson is adamant that it’s not just the best, but the only way forward for the game here.

“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.”

Robinson didn’t have any advice for whoever succeeds him, with a replacement expected to be in the role by April next year. It’s likely to be a very different dynamic to his tenure as it’s extremely unlikely that the challenges he faced, in particular Covid and the governance saga, will happen again.

Then there’s the fact that the NZR board is now chaired by the high profile and likely far more prominent David Kirk, who may well end up being the face of the organisation far more than the CEO.

But that’s a story for 2026, a year that’s shaping up to be the hardest yet for the All Blacks in the professional era. Robinson will watch on from his new home in Australia, content with what he’s achieved over the last five years.

“We’ve done a phenomenal, positive work, and I’m really proud of that.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Norwegian tennis star Casper Ruud is returning to the ASB Classic in Auckland this summer.

World number 12 Ruud is the second highest ranked player behind number 9 American Ben Shelton to confirm their entry for the tournament in January, with both players choosing to play in Auckland for a fourth time.

The shared experience for both Ruud and Shelton goes deeper, with both players coached by their fathers, who also both played on the ATP Tour. In the process Christian Ruud and Bryan Shelton competed at the ASB Classic in Auckland seven times between them from 1993 to 1998.

Ruud, who reached the top 100 six years ago and the top 50 one year later, has been inside the world’s top-12 ranked players over the last five years with a career high number 2 during 2022.

He made the final of the French Open at Roland Garros in 2022 and 2023 and the final of the US Open in New York in 2022.

This year the Norwegian won a further two titles, taking his tally to 14, with the highlight coming in his victory over Great Britain’s Jack Draper to win the Masters 1000 Madrid title.

“It was the biggest title I have won and my first Masters 1000. All-in-all this year was not exactly what I hoped for but this title made the year good and when I look back, that is what I am most proud of,” Ruud said.

Despite a rain-soaked tournament when he last played in Auckland in 2023, Ruud is looking forward to his return and is working hard on his preparations for 2026.

“We are already in pre-season here at home training and doing my best to improve many aspects of my game.

“My goal for 2026 is to be back in the top-10 and to make it back to the ATP Finals in Turin which is a big goal and benchmark to set yourself.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

New Zealand Football boss Andrew Pragnell and All Whites coach Darren Bazeley are on an important mission in North America this week.

They are part of a New Zealand delegation of seven people who will be heading stateside for the 2026 Football World Cup draw.

While the duo will be “ball watching” during the draw in Washington DC to find out which teams the All Whites will be grouped with for New Zealand’s third appearance at a World Cup, that is a passive part of what they are up to.

They have no influence over how the draw plays out, but they can work the room and get themselves and their football wishes in front of some influential people.

Outside of the draw, which will be held on Saturday morning New Zealand time, Pragnell outlines the broader mission.

“All of the major football associations of the world will be represented there, there’s political representatives from most countries there, our [US] ambassador will be there and we will certainly be making the most of that,” he said.

“There are match agents and match promoters and so planning for our fixtures in June becomes really important as well.”

The delegation would also be attending days of workshops around World Cup-related topics like facilities, marketing and ticketing to get the lowdown on what to expect next June.

Won’t hide the emotion

“The draw is a huge event and the whole world stops to watch it,” the New Zealand Football chief executive said.

He would be among the football dignitaries, politicians and celebrities who would get to experience the “spectacle” of the FIFA event in person.

Pragnell attended the draw for the last FIFA Men’s World Cup, even though the All Whites failed to qualify, and was of course present in Auckland at the Aotea Centre in October 2022 when the draw for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup was made.

Bazeley had been to draws for under-17 and under-20 World Cups in his previous role as a New Zealand age-group coach, but this would be his first senior draw.

Both agreed that the draw being hosted in the United States would amp up the show element of the event.

“What we expect of this World Cup is the entertainment country of the world meets the sport event of the world,” Pragnell said.

Going by what has happened at previous draws, Pragnell wore his heart on his sleeve in these moments when New Zealand’s pathway is revealed.

“I’ve struggled to keep the neutral face usually in these situations if I’m brutally honest, I struggle to hide that emotion, I’ll be doing my best to look calm but I’ll be feeling pretty tense as it all happens.”

Like football fans, Bazeley said the New Zealand players would also be tuning in live to the draw regardless of where in the world they are based.

The process

The All Whites will be the lowest ranked team at the World Cup, a position Bazeley did not truly reflect where the team should be.

On paper not too many countries would be worried about getting the world number 86 New Zealand in their group.

The 48 teams that will compete in the tournament are split into four pots of 12 for the draw:

• Hosts Canada, Mexico and the US are in Pot 1 which includes Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.
• Pot 2 has Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, South Korea, Ecuador, Austria and Australia.
• Pot 3 will include Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.
• Pot 4 will be Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curaçao, Haiti, New Zealand, and the winners from the European play-off A, B, C and D, and the FIFA Play-Off tournament 1 and 2.

Once FIFA had released the pots and the process for the draw he had run a few possible opponents through his mind, Bazeley said.

“We’ve all been on the simulator simulating the draw and if I’m honest it changes every time so there is no way of really working out who we’re going to get.

“We know there is going to be a UEFA team in every group, so you’re going to get a European team, and we also know we’re going to get a team from Pot 1, Pot 2 and Pot 3 but the scenarios are so unlimited.

“But as soon as the balls come out and we know who is in our group I know my analyst here Logan he’ll be straight on to getting all of the games from the last two years of all these teams so he can start looking at them and doing some work.”

While on Saturday the All Whites would find out who they would be playing, the final sign off for when and where would not come until the following day.

“FIFA have reserved the right to have 24 hours to work out which venue each game will be in, so we will know we are playing that team in the first game and that team in the second game but we won’t quite know straight away where that game will be played because I think they are looking at which game potentially would get the biggest crowd and they can move that to the biggest venue of the two choices.”

While the New Zealand delegation were in North America they would also be scouting the potential base camps – of hotels and training grounds – for the All Whites throughout the tournament.

Bazeley said they wanted to find “the best position” to be based for what could be a wide-spread schedule.

“We could be looking at playing across three different cities and possibly two different countries.”

A couple of the travelling staff would move quickly to visit the potential base camps to decide which ones they would nominate as the preferred options to FIFA, Pragnell said.

A home send off

New Zealand-based football fans could get a chance to wish the All Whites well on their World Cup journey in the penultimate FIFA window before the global tournament.

“We’re contemplating bringing them home in March, that’s the last window before the June window which inevitably will be in North America, so we’re in some pretty exciting discussions,” Pragnell said.

The “really competitive matches” would be against another national team, Pragnell said.

“We’re hoping to announce something in the next couple of weeks, there is still a lot of T’s to be crossed and I’s to be dotted so watch this space.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Liam Lawson will be in Formula 1 in 2026 after being confirmed in one of the Racing Bulls seats.

It will be his first full season competing for one team after he started 2025 in Red Bull but was demoted to junior team Racing Bulls after just two races.

The man who replaced him, Yuki Tsunoda, is now without a full-time drive.

The Red Bull shake-up has Frenchman Isack Hadjar promoted to Red Bull to race alongside four time world champion Max Verstappen, while F2 driver Arvid Lindblad joins Lawson at Racing Bulls.

“I’m really looking forward to racing with VCARB in 2026,” Lawson said in a statement.

“It’s an opportunity I’ll continue to be grateful for as we enter a year of change in F1.”

The change in 2026 is the new F1 regulations which include smaller cars featuring a greater use of electric power.

That change will have played a part in Lawson’s retention.

“Liam has shown impressive performance and professionalism throughout this year, he has excelled when conditions have been at their hardest and we look forward to building on this in 2026,” said Racing Bulls Team Principal Alan Permane.

Although there is still one round remaining in 2025, Lawson is excited to get into the new season.

“I’m ready to get to work with the team as we prepare for the challenging season ahead. It’s going to be an exciting year and I can’t wait to kick it off with my first pre-season with the team,” Lawson said.

Hadjar’s promotion was an obvious decision as the French rookie has generally out performed Lawson in 2025 and had been tagged as a future star by Red Bull’s advisor Helmut Marko.

“I feel ready to go to Red Bull and I am happy and proud they feel the same. It’s an awesome move, to work with the best and learn from Max is something I can’t wait for,” Hadjar said.

Lawson will be joined at Racing Bulls by 18 year old Lindblad, who has been earmarked as a future F1 driver for some time.

The Briton has won two races in F2 this year and is sixth in the championship heading into the final round in Abu Dhabi this weekend.

Lindblad, who has a Swedish father and a mother of Indian descent, won the Formula Regional Oceania Championship in New Zealand last summer.

He joins the likes of Lando Norris, Lance Stroll and Liam Lawson who have competed in that competition and are now driving in F1.

“Since I started this journey at five years old, it was always my goal to be in Formula One so it’s a proud moment to take this step,’ Lindblad said.

The reshuffle means there is no place for Tsunoda, who has spent five years in Formula 1.

The 25-year-old has under performed since replacing Lawson at Red Bull in round three and has scored just 33 points compared to Lawson’s 38.

Tsunoda will serve as Red Bull’s reserve driver next year.

The final round of the 2025 season is in Abu Dhabi this weekend.

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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 Football Ferns face the Matildas at Coopers Stadium in Adelaide for the second in their two-match friendly series.

The Matildas beat the Ferns comfortably 5-0 in their first match at Gosford on Saturday.

Tonight’s match will mark Annalie Longo’s last with the Ferns, as she retires from international football.

Kick-off is 10.30pm NZT.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

An experienced sport’s leader says a special general meeting called within the Waikato Bay of Plenty zone over concerns with Netball New Zealand’s governance reflects growing frustration in the netball community.

But there’s been no indication from the other four netball zones in New Zealand that they will back the WBOP zone.

The Tauranga and Whakatane Netball Centres have initiated a Special General Meeting of the WBOP zone this Sunday over frustrations with NNZ and its leadership.

Concerns include uncertainly around the future of the ANZ Premiership, the lack of a broadcast deal beyond 2026, and the recent suspension of Dame Noeline Taurua as Silver Ferns’ coach.

Dame Noeline, who lives 40 minutes down the road from Tauranga, has since been reinstated but the very public fall-out between the veteran coach and Netball NZ dominated headlines for weeks.

In October, former Silver Ferns’ selector Gail Parata said that “heads need to roll” over Taurua’s suspension.

Tauranga Netball Centre board chair Nicola Compton said the handling of the coaching situation was the final straw and believed the Netball NZ Board and CEO had questions to answer.

Compton wants the zone to force a Special General Meeting of Netball NZ to “express serious questions around the strategic leadership of Netball New Zealand”.

Compton is confident the WBOP zone will vote in favour of calling for an SGM but under the Netball NZ constitution two other zones would need to do the same thing to actually force it.

Netball New Zealand CEO Jennie Wyllie has been in the firing line by netball fans, angry at what they believe was the poor treatment of Taurua. The Netball NZ board, who effectively employ Wyllie, has also come under immense criticism.

Compton said they had had some informal discussions with other zones.

Gary Dawson, a former Waikato Rugby and Chiefs chief executive, was brought in by Netball New Zealand to assist the Magic in 2021 when the zone got into financial difficulties.

The Netball WBOP Zone’s board was disbanded, with governance responsibilities instead handed to Netball New Zealand, and Dawson was appointed as interim general manager of the Magic.

Dawson has since taken a step back but is still involved with the region’s ANZ Premiership team as its Team Relationship manager. The Magic and Waikato Bay of Plenty Zone remain separate entities, both under the administration of Netball NZ.

Dawson said the last 12 months had not been good for netball.

“I know that people who are involved with the game at the grass roots level and even at the high performance level, it’s getting to the point where people are quite frustrated that there doesn’t seem to really be a resolution or a positive plan to move forward. I think what we’re seeing from the Waikato Bay of Plenty zone is that frustration coming out in the form of a meeting to really see if they can get things changed,” Dawson said.

Is it more personal for the zone given that Dame Noeline coached the Magic team for several years and lives in the region?

“There’s a little bit of that but I think the wider issues from what I understand is that in the wider interests of netball in New Zealand they feel there are some serious issues that need to be addressed.”

Dawson said he talks to a large number of people in his day to day work from the grass roots to people in senior positions in netball.

“Some of the common themes that come through is the issues that have been widely publicised both with Dame Noeline but also with the ANZ Premiership players going off-shore, the broadcast deal. I think the general feeling of everybody involved with netball is it’s not doing netball any good at all, the reputational damage is quite huge and the financial cost is quite significant as well.”

In a statement, Netball Northern Zone board chair Mary Gardiner said the zone was continuing to work constructively with Netball NZ.

“We like many are concerned about recent events in netball and we are working directly with the Netball NZ Board.

“Our preference is to have respectful, face to face conversations with Netball NZ, and I will continue to meet regularly with Board Chair, Matt Whineray. As the owner of the Northern Mystics, one of our key priorities is to collaborate with Netball NZ along with other Zones and ANZP teams to ensure that the ANZ Premiership is a success in 2026 and long into the future,” Gardiner said.

“We are aware that some of our Centres have their own concerns, and we will also make sure that these are shared with Netball NZ.”

Netball South chairman Dean Johnston said the board of Netball South was aware of WBOPs Special General Meeting.

“We are in regular contact with Netball New Zealand’s board chair as we continue to progress constructive discussions about the future of the sport,” Johnston said.

Netball Central zone had “no comments” to make on the matter, while Netball Mainland has not responded to a request for comment.

Compton said part of the concern was the lack of communication from the national body – “What’s happening, why is it happening, and what’s the plan, and that’s not what we’re getting.”

The Northern Mystics, Central Pulse, and Southern Steel ANZ Premiership teams are run and managed by their zones. But Netball NZ had to step in a support the Magic and Tactix, which went into liquidation in 2020.

The South Auckland based Stars are also propped up by Netball NZ but are unique in that the franchise was established in 2017 and does not come under a zone.

The SGM on Sunday needs 51 percent of the 23 centres in the zone to attend and a simple majority to pass any resolution.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

It’s advantage West Indies after day one of the first test in Christchurch.

The Black Caps stumbled to stumps at 231 for nine after a solid platform was laid at the top.

Despite losing Devon Conway in the opening over for a duck, Tom Latham and Kane Williamson steadied the ship, compiling a 92-run partnership.

Williamson survived seeing his bails sent flying on 33 after Ojay Shields was shown to have overstepped.

However, Williamson would soon be caught behind on 52, followed quickly by Latham for 24, Rachin Ravindra and Will Young.

Tom Blundell was castled by Shields for 29, while Nathan Smith managed a fighting 23 before he held out to John Campbell.

With Michael Bracewell approaching his half century he too fell to the bowling of Shields, with Matt Henry joining him in the sheds soon after.

With just one wicket it hand, it’s now up to bowlers Zak Foulkes and Jacob Duffy, both unbeaten on four, to eek out as many runs as possible tomorrow morning after a day which well and truly belonged to the Windies.

Day two resumes at 11am.

Follow how the first day played out in our blog:

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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 Caps take on the West Indies in their first test from Hagley Oval in Christchurch.

New Zealand has played just two Test matches so far in 2025, beating Zimbabwe 2-0 in Bulawayo in August.

Since then they’ve played 17 white-ball games against Australia, England and West Indies.

“The team is clear in their test match identity, they’ve done incredibly well as a unit, so just to fall back into that,” coach Rob Walter said on the eve of the three match series.

New Zealand is ranked fifth in the World Test rankings, with West Indies eighth.

First ball is at 11am.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Reports in Europe say New Zealand driver Liam Lawson will remain in Formula 1 in 2026.

Red Bull will announce their driver lineups for Red Bull and Racing Bulls on Tuesday local time (Wednesday NZ time).

Lawson’s Racing Bulls team-mate Isack Hadjar has said that he has a seat for next year but would not say in which team.

The Frenchman is expected to join Max Verstappen at Red Bull.

Autosport.com is reporting that Arvid Lindblad will be promoted from F2 into one of the Racing Bulls seats, leaving Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda fighting for the other seat.

The Dutch publication De Telegraaf is reporting that Lawson will be retained, leaving Tsunoda without a full-time race seat in 2026.

It has been a turbulent year for Lawson who started his first full season in F1 in Red Bull before being demoted after two races.

The 23-year-old spent the rest of the season fighting for points and his survival.

He finished ninth in Qatar last weekend, his seventh points finish of the season and he sits 14th in the Drivers’ Championship.

Red Bull will end their relationship with Honda in 2026 and develop their own power units with help from Ford.

Honda have been a long time supporter of Tsunoda and Autosport reports that the Japanese racer could become the team’s reserve driver.

Tsunoda has been in F1 since 2021.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Tall Blacks coach Judd Flavell admits he couldn’t have been more proud of his side and knew it would probably need something special to beat them.

Australia beat New Zealand 79-77 in the second game of the World Cup qualifiers in Wellington with Boomers guard Davo Hickey sinking a buzzer beater for the win.

Australia led 23-21 after the first quarter and remained ahead by two at half-time.

Sam Mennenga then took control of the third period and helped the home side to a 62-57 at three-quarter time.

Both sides then traded blows in the final quarter and New Zealand led by one until Hickey’s final shot stole the game for the visitors.

“Very proud of the efforts of our guys. We had our chances, we know that it actually took a shot at the buzzer to beat us,” Flavell said afterwards.

Australia won the opening game 84-79 in Hobart on Friday.

Tall Blacks captain Finn Delany was also proud of his side’s efforts.

“I felt like we did enough to put ourselves in a position to win, but yeah, just couldn’t get over the line.”

“Extremely proud of the group. I think we got a lot of growth in and very short amount of time and pushing the programme forward and it’s bigger picture stuff. But on that side I’m extremely proud of Judd and the management and the boys that chose to be here.”

Mennenga finished with 16 points and six rebounds.

The team’s focus will soon shift to February window where the team will travel to the Philippines and Guam for their next round of qualifying.

“As we start to build, and it hurts now, but these experiences will help us grow,” Flavell said.

“Our goal is to try to keep as many guys connected as possible as we look forward to the Philippines who we know very well and are going to be a tough outfit.

“There’s so much growth and development left as a team, so it’s exciting for the Tall Blacks in the future and what that looks like.”

The Philippines had two big wins over Guam in their opening games.

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