ITM Cup opener a stalemate
Auckland and Southland shared the honours with an entertaining 23-23 draw in the opening ITM Cup clash at Rugby Park Stadium in Invercargill tonight.
Auckland and Southland shared the honours with an entertaining 23-23 draw in the opening ITM Cup clash at Rugby Park Stadium in Invercargill tonight.
North Harbour cannot afford their customary slow start when they kick off their ITM Cup Championship campaign tomorrow night.
Auckland's greenhorns will face a test of their mettle tomorrow night against the Southland Stags as the ITM Cup kicks off in Invercargill.
Simon Hickey, at just 21 years and seven months, will lead a young Auckland Premiership side in their quest for a first ITM Cup provincial rugby title since 2007.
Jimmy Tupou, 23 on Saturday, is the new Steelers rugby skipper, and admits it was something of a surprise..
The ITM Cup kicks off in 13 days and one of the big questions will be what effect the Rugby World Cup will have on crowd and TV viewership numbers.
There is a settled look to North Harbour's ITM Cup squad as they eye up the Championship semifinals. Campbell Burnes reports.
When Highlanders co-captain Nasi Manu wants to relax he strums his ukulele. His choice of song will vary but he might roll out something from the Lion King movie.
The New Zealand under-20s, Blues, Tana Umaga and All Blacks, in a curious way, are all inter-connected.
The quest for Olympic glory could leave the All Blacks vulnerable next season, writes Gregor Paul.
Move confirms schoolboy rugby has surpassed ITM Cup in size and importance and is where the Auckland Rugby Union will target much of its future investment.
After four rounds a Super Rugby pattern is starting to emerge around who's performing well this season.
NZ's provinces - long-time supporters and friends of Island rugby - are not prepared to offer ITM contracts to any player they suspect could commit to a Pacific nation at the World Cup.
The English Premiership academy system is rightly lauded for its success in promoting domestic talent.
Sports fans know about the phenomenal exploits of Brendon McCullum, Lydia Ko and the All Blacks this year. Michael Burgess looks back at 10 other feel-good sports stories that captured the imagination in 2014.
The small but perfectly formed NFL season is a classic example of how to turn less into more. Much more. It's a lesson some of our major sports codes would do well to imitate.
After a strong season in which they retained their No 1 world ranking, the All Blacks unsurprisingly dominate the 2014 Steinlager Rugby Awards nominations.
Dan Pryor is from Maori rugby royalty and so his elevation to the Maori All Blacks means a lot to him.
Not since 1980 with Manawatu has a union outside the "big five" won the national provincial championship top title.
Over the years, rugby's national provincial championship has come in for plenty of criticism.
After a dominant 2014 campaign, the Turbos toppled Hawke's Bay 32-24 in the Championship final in front of a boisterous home crowd in Palmerston North tonight.