#Bay of Plenty

Aidan Ross has been working hard since his season-ending injury earlier this year. Photo / Getty Images He was up on stage three times at the Bay of Plenty Rugby Awards on Wednesday night. That's pretty good for a guy who broke his ankle playing for the Chiefs against the Hurricanes in April and as a consequence hasn't played since. But Aidan Ross…

By Alex McLeod of RugbyPass.com Ian Foster's 35-man All Blacks squad will assemble for the first time today in Whakatane as preparations for the upcoming Bledisloe Cup series get underway. Plenty of anticipation has arisen since last week's confirmation that the All Blacks and Wallabies will do battle with each other for the first time in over a…

The opening thoroughbred race of the 2023 Dubai World Cup Carnival sees Godolphin with six entries. William Buick's presence on WALK OF STARS suggests the Group 3-placed son of Dubawi could be the pick of Charlie Appleby's trio though Doncaster and Ascot winner First Ruler looks on a fair mark. Enemy, narrowly beaten in the Group 3 Sagaro Stakes at…

Steve Diamond and Worcester Warriors could be galvanised by their off-field issues Will Steve Diamond be able to work his magic at Worcester this season despite the problems surrounding the club? The 54-year-old starts his first full campaign in charge of the Warriors and will be looking to build on an encouraging end to last year, but with no…

Auckland and Blues lock Patrick Tuipulotu will captain the inaugural All Blacks XV squad selected for two matches against Ireland A and the Barbarians next month. The 28-strong All Blacks XV squad was selected by the All Blacks coaching team of Ian Foster, Joe Schmidt and Jason Ryan and includes eight players with Test experience including…

The Hurricanes have today named their 38-man squad for the 2023 DHL Super Rugby Pacific season. While the core of the squad is maintained from 2022, five new signings have been named, with four players in line to make their Hurricanes debut when the competition kicks off on February 25. Waikato outside Dan Sinkinson, Taranaki's Kini Naholo and…

Wayne Smith and the Black Ferns during a training session. Photo / Photosport The Black Ferns have announced their first squad of the year as the Rugby World Cup draws closer. Black Ferns coaches Wayne Smith, Wesley Clarke and Whitney Hansen have named 31 players in the squad set to host Australia, Canada and USA next month. Seven players are in…

When Otago prop Sam Hibbard first came south, turning out in the blue and gold was not his top priority. Sure, he enjoyed his rugby, but the move was more about passing his university papers and enjoying the campus life. Now, though, look where he has ended up. In a sort of dream Southern man combination, he plays for Otago in the winter months and…

Beauden Barrett is expected to make an impressive sweep of the NZ rugby awards, to be held in Auckland tonight. Photo / Photosport Beauden Barrett should be a lock-in for the big prize and the Super Rugby player of the year gong at tonight's ASB Rugby Awards in Auckland. Aside from two less than stellar outings against Australia in October (when…

Fijian Pita Gus Sowakula has been dropped from the New Zealand All Blacks for the upcoming Rugby Championships. Sowakula, who made his debut in the series loss against Ireland, is replaced in the loose forwards by Shannon Frizell. George Bower, Hoskins Sotutu and Sevu Reece are the Fijians named in the squad with Sam Cane retaining the…

It's crunch time in the Bunnings NPC with just four teams remaining to challenge for the title of 2022 champions. The first semifinal pits traditional rivals Wellington and Auckland against each other at Sky Stadium on Friday night. The action moves to the South Island on Saturday with Canterbury hosting the Bay of Plenty Steamers at Orangetheory…

Former Blues wing Melani Nanai has signed with the Crusaders for next season. Nanai, who spent five seasons at the Blues, has more recently been playing in England for Worcester. He spent three seasons there before signing with Bay of Plenty for this year's NPC. However, injury prevented him from playing. Other notable signings for the defending…

As the All Blacks embark on their northern hemisphere tour, head coach Ian Foster will know that there are plenty of areas his side need to work on despite winning the Rugby Championship. Some of the team's greatest flaws were exposed during the Championship, and as a result they experienced some record breaking lows. Some of those problems have…

The All Blacks began their preparation for their northern hemisphere tour with an open training session in Nelson this week, ahead of their Test against Japan in just over two weeks' time. They also decided to unearth some footage of the squad in the gym from a few months ago, and Aaron Smith and Richie Mo'unga will be pretty happy with that. That…

The bulk of the Rugby Championship squad has been retained, as the All Blacks set their sights on the Northern Tour, while a number of players from the Ireland series have returned to the squad. Props Nepo Laulala and Ofa Tuungafasi, along with winger Leicester Fainga'anuku, return to Foster's squad. They missed The Rugby Championship, following…

The bulk of the Rugby Championship squad has been retained as the All Blacks set their sights on the Northern Tour whilst a number of players from the Ireland series have returned to the squad. Props Nepo Laulala and Ofa Tuungafasi along with winger Leicester Fainga'anuku return to Foster's squad after missing The Rugby Championship following the…

All times BST, please refresh for updates 1046: Nostrum, along with Isaac Shelby, is the least experienced runner in the Darley Dewhurst Stakes and it's possible that it could prove to be undoing stepping up to contest this competitive Group One. However, there's no hiding from the impression that he's made in winning his maiden at Sandown and the…

He was beaten at 2/7 in the Royal Lodge here has time but FLYING HONOURS was completely unsuited by how that race developed. He returns to the Rowley Mile for the Zetland Stakes and has at least seven pounds in hand of his nearest rival, while he also has a Timeform'small p', indicating potential improvement. The race developed into a sprint last…

The Magpies will play Wellington in a quarterfinal this weekend. Photo / Paul Taylor By Thomas Airey The Hawke's Bay Magpies have the perfect opportunity to avenge their Ranfurly Shield loss in an NPC quarterfinal in Wellington next week. Hawke's Bay will play the current holders at Sky Stadium after finishing a topsy-turvy final weekend of the…

It all comes down to the final round of the regular season with playoff spots yet to be decided in both the Odds and Evens conference of the Bunnings NPC. It's a similar tale in both conferences where five doesn't go into four. In the Odds conference, Counties Manukau and Southland are out of contention leaving one of either Hawke's Bay or Otago to…

With the Bledisloe Cup wrapped up for 2022, the Lipovitan-D Rugby Championship and a 28-year unbeaten streak at Eden Park are on the line on Saturday night. Match details: All Blacks v Australia, Saturday 24 September, 7.05pm NZT, Eden Park, Auckland Played: 174 Won: All Blacks 121, Australia 45, Drawn 8 Last time: All Blacks 39, Australia 37 (15…

The 2022-23 Gallagher Premiership season kicks off on Friday with a west country derby between Bristol and Bath at Ashton Gate. It is the 26th Premiership campaign, and 11-time champions Leicester will defend the crown they won after a thrilling Twickenham final against Saracens. Here, the PA news agency looks at the 13 runners and riders,…

Black Ferns coaches Wayne Smith, Wesley Clarke and Whitney Hansen have selected 32 players in the Black Ferns squad for the upcoming Rugby World Cup, hosted in New Zealand for the first time. The squad was announced by New Zealand Rugby Deputy Chair and Rugby World Cup winner Dr Farah Palmer at College Rifles Rugby Club on Tuesday.

Props Tanya Kalounivale (23, Waikato, Chiefs, 4)Phillipa Love (32, Canterbury, Matat?, 19)Krystal Murray (29, Northland, Blues, 4)Amy Rule (22, Canterbury, Matat?, 6)Awhina Tangen-Wainohu (24, Waikato, Chiefs, 1) Santo Taumata (19, Bay of Plenty, Chiefs, 1) Locks Chelsea Bremner (27, Canterbury, Matat?, 5)Joanah Ngan-Woo (26, Wellington,…

Who can catch competition front runners Waikato and Canterbury with just three rounds remaining in the Bunnings NPC? Waikato are unbeaten and have a six-point advantage over second placed Hawke's Bay in the Odds Conference. Despite dropping a game to Taranaki in round three, Canterbury has an even bigger stranglehold on the Evens Conference. They…

After a spate of injuries that could easily have ended their careers, rugby couple Renee Wickliffe and Portia Woodman have helped each other back into the Black Ferns to defend the World Cup at home next month. Suzanne McFadden was at the team naming. Whāia te iti kahurangi, ki te tuohu koe, me he maunga teitei Seek the treasure that you value most…

New Zealand Sevens stars Portia Woodman, Sarah Hirini and Stacey Fluhler have been named in the Black Ferns squad for the upcoming Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. Black Ferns coaches Wayne Smith, Wesley Clarke and Whitney Hansen selected 32 players in the squad, which was announced by New Zealand Rugby deputy chair and Rugby World Cup winner Dr…

Sevens stars Portia Woodman, Sarah Hirini and Stacey Fluhler have been named in a 32 strong Blacks Ferns squad for the upcoming World Cup in Aotearoa. Kennedy Simon and Ruahei Demant will co-captain the side. Among the notable ommissions are Chiefs first five Chelsea Semple, Sevens player Tyla Nathan Wong and Canterbury winger Grace…