A young Dan Carter planned to strike it rich. Richie McCaw grew up with a dream to be an All Black. Both men certainly achieved those goals and now they are about to say goodbye to the Canterbury region in which they found so much success. Carter and McCaw will play their final matches in Christchurch when the All Blacks meet Argentina at AMI Stadium tonight, bidding farewell to the province where it all began. Source: Brett Phibbs
Ahead of the All Blacks' opening Rugby Championship game of the year against the Pumas,All Blacks captain Richie McCaw isn't thinking about his (potential) last test in Christchurch and wants better ball and better decisions made.
He has played 103 tests for the All Blacks over 13 years, but there is still improvement to come from Dan Carter, believes coach Steve Hansen. Carter, 33, is preparing to play his last test in Christchurch before his move to Paris after the World Cup, but rather than a sense that something is ending, there is more a feeling of new beginnings - partly because of that global tournament getting closer by the day, one in which Carter has yet to taste personal success, and partly because recently he has seemed to be constantly returning from injury.
Gregor Paul and Patrick McKendry are with the All Blacks and give there opinions before Fridays test match against the Pumas
Face, meet road. Not the thing you want to be introduced to while tearing down Alexandra Palace's 420m soapbox track in a tiny hand made soapbox car, but 7 of the racers from Red Bull Soapbox UK didn't have much of a choice. So, to celebrate their valiant efforts and painful fails, we've compiled the seven top crashes into one clip for your enjoyment. Source: Red Bull/Youtube
Get behind the lense with Alan Van Gysen for an in-depth look at nailing the shot and packing the right tools to capture the surf trip of a lifetime. Source: Red Bull/Youtube
Athletes Petar Loncar (SRB) and Veso Ovcharov (BUL), together with their team mate Ondrej Prochazka (CZE) set a triple synchronised infinity tumbling world record in the flying Mecca of Cappadocia, Turkey. For the first time in history of paragliding, in front of a large audience of tourists in hot air balloons, they managed to do 126 synchronized infinity tumbles with G forces up to 7G. Source: Red Bull/Youtube
Colourful tam o'shanters and knitted woolly jumpers lit up Naseby's frozen Centennial Ponds on day one of the national bonspiel yesterday. Source: Otago Daily Times/Youtube
The physical threat the All Blacks face this week will be equally intense as the one they encountered in Samoa, but of an entirely different nature says Kieran Read. The All Black No 8 - who declared himself delighted to be back in the frosty climes of Christchurch and breathing fresh air - spoke like a man who was determined to knock the carnival vibe of last week on the head and restore order with a more accurate, bullish All Black performance.
Jed “The Warrior” Mildon from Taupo rewrites the record books again by becoming the first person to ever land a quadruple backflip on a BMX bike. Source: Nitro Circus/Youtube
Tony is joined the Herald’s racing editor Mick Guerin to talk the NZ Football ineligibility debacle, Shaun Johnson’s magical performance and whether Israel Dagg will make the World Cup squad.
Get behind the jetski with Marc Kroon as he takes us through Amsterdam in the coolest way possible, by wakeboarding through the canals of the Red Light District and airing over a group of sightseeing tourists. Source: Red Bull/Youtube
The British and Irish Lions will play the All Blacks twice at Eden Park in 2017, along with matches against all of the New Zealand Super Rugby franchises, it was revealed today. The Lions, touring New Zealand for the first time since 2005, will play a three-test series against the All Blacks, the first being in Auckland on June 24, followed by the second test in Wellington the following Saturday. Source: All Blacks TV/Youtube
Check out the amazing atmosphere at Apia Park during the All Blacks and Manu Samoa match. Source: All Blacks TV/Youtube
Father and daughter Joseph and Isabellah McGregor will team up to represent NZ at the Commonwealth Karate Championships in India later this year.
Prime Minister John Key out and about in Apia before the All Blacks test vs Manu Samoa.
The waiting was endless, the heat relentless until the All Blacks entered the arrivals hall at Faleolo International Airport to greet the hundreds who were waiting. Source: All Blacks TV/Youtube
James Somerset arrives in Samoa the morning before the team and spends the day meeting the locals and checking out the flavour of this tropical paradise. Source: All Blacks TV/Youtube
Support for the Manu Samoa has reached fever pitch and has been helped along by local television advertisements calling on locals to get behind their boys. One of the team's key sponsors - telecommunications company Bluesky - has been running various promotions in the lead-up to the historic match against the All Blacks on Wednesday. Among them is a TV ad that has proven to be hugely popular online and has been viewed almost 150,000 times on the company's Facebook page.
Thousands of Highlanders fans lined streets for a victory parade in central Dunedin in honour of the Super Rugby champions. The team left the Dental School about noon and were led by the Kaikorai Brass band down George St on the back of utes to celebrate winning the final against Hurricanes on Saturday. James Gunn / Southern Stringers
The Hurricanes and Highlanders talk about the Super Rugby Final in Wellington.
Head All Blacks coach Steve Hansen feels recalled halfback Andy Ellis is trying to hide his nerves at being back in black after four years away with his trademark humour. Dan Carter is also pleased to see his old mate back in the team and look forward to playing with him against Samoa.
The All Blacks are expecting a rapturous fan frenzy when they arrive in Samoa ahead of Wednesday's test in Apia. Says SBW I've been there a few times so I kind of know what to expect and when you've got the superstars like Richie and DC [Dan Carter], it's going to be crazy.
Mountain biking's most talkative ripper, Claudio Caluori, is back at it again with another high speed DH course preview of the 2015 UCI MTB World Cup track in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Source: Red Bull/Youtube
Thousands of Highlanders fans have lined streets for a victory parade in central Dunedin in honour of the Super Rugby champions. Source: Otago Daily Times/Youtube
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen along with starting players Luke Romano and Charles Piutau look ahead to the unique challenges of playing in Samoa at Apia park.
Brutal running game earns winger place in starting line-up to face physical Samoa. A season of relentless lows for George Moala has spiked to an unprecedented high with the Blues utility back named to win his first test cap against Samoa. Moala will take his place on the right wing in a starting XV
In this week's episode of the Vent, Tony is joined by Andrew Gourdie to talk sport, including the upcoming All Blacks vs. Samoa match, who should start in the World Cup finals, and whether the Hurricanes “choked” on Saturday.
A doping-related scandal involving the tainted Astana team of Tour de France champion Vincenzo Nibali marred the start of the Grand Boucle in Utrecht. But Dutch cycle fans turned out en masse to cheer on their heroes.
More than 2000 fans descended on Dunedin International Airport today to welcome home their heroes. Video / James Gunn
Black Ferns assistant coach Reuben Samuelson says the side have been keeping their opponents guessing on their tour.
"It will be a pretty special moment," he says. "There are a few of us with Samoan heritage and parents that were born and raised in Samoa. It will be a really proud moment for them to see their sons going over to Samoa with the All Blacks."
The arrival of Tom Taylor, Charlie Ngatai and Seta Tamanivala, who join other new recruits Ofa Tu'ungafasi, Nepo Laulala, Andy Ellis, George Moala and Brad Weber in what is now technically a 49-man squad, has increased the likelihood of a handful of new caps being blooded in Apia.
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen knows the Samoa test match will be a big challenge 'both on the park and off', and All Black veterans Keven Mealamu and Kieran Read are expecting the match to be won 'up front'.