New No. 1 ranking for Wales means little before RWC
The rugby number crunchers have been out in full force in the past week both in terms of what goes on off the field and on it. On the paddock, Wales' win over England last Saturday saw Warren Gatland's men take over the No. 1 ...
All Blacks to field strong side for final Rugby World Cup warm-up match
Steve Hansen will not be wrapping his players in cotton wool ahead of the Rugby World Cup, with the All Blacks coach confirming he will give his core group a run against Tonga in their final match ahead of the global showpiece. The All Blacks, ...
Canada opened with a 10-0 run and seven 3-pointers in the first quarter and went on to beat New Zealand 122-88 in a FIBA World Cup warm-up game Tuesday. Aaron Best scored 20 points while Andrew Nembhard added 17 for Canada, which had six players ...
Wallabies coach Michael Cheika upbeat for RWC despite heavy defeat to All Blacks
Australia's confidence looking ahead to the Rugby World Cup was not dented after a 36-0 thrashing at the hands of the All Blacks on Saturday, according to coach Michael Cheika, because there was still plenty of improvement left on the side. The Wallabies had entered ...
An All Blacks team chastened by a record-breaking defeat a week ago rallied superbly to beat Australia 36-0 in the return test Saturday and extended its 17-year hold on the Bledisloe Cup and a 33-year winning streak at Eden Park. The Wallabies won the first ...
For Wallabies, a win could end venue hoodoo, losing run and All Blacks' No. 1 ranking
Australia could not only regain the Bledisloe Cup and end an Eden Park hoodoo with a win over the All Blacks on Saturday but also end New Zealand's decade-long reign at the top of the world rankings. The Wallabies put one hand on the symbol ...
Young Maori women on frontline of New Zealand's fight for indigenous rights
Five years ago, law graduate Pania Newton and her cousins got together around a kitchen table and agreed to do everything in their power to prevent a housing development on a south Auckland site that is considered sacred by local Maori. Newton, now 29, is ...
All Blacks make drastic changes for second Bledisloe Cup match
New Zealand's preparations for the Rugby World Cup appear in disarray after coach Steve Hansen was forced to drop two of his most experienced players in response to the record Bledisloe Cup loss to Australia. Hansen has axed prop Owen Franks, a veteran of 108 ...
New Zealand gets best of Japan's 'Big Three' in warm-up game
Japan’s men’s national team was left with a bitter pill to swallow after a 104-87 loss against New Zealand on Wednesday in a warm-up game at Culttz Kawasaki for the upcoming FIBA World Cup in China. The Akatsuki Five had defeated the same opponent 99-89 ...
New Zealand officials admitted Wednesday that they made a mistake by allowing the man accused of killing 51 people at two Christchurch mosques to send a hand-written letter from his prison cell. The six-page letter from Brenton Tarrant was posted this week on the website ...
Australia pushes Pacific islands to drop calls for action based on Paris climate goals
Australia stepped up efforts on Wednesday to convince Pacific Islands to abandon calls for tougher climate change goals as Prime Minister Scott Morrison arrived on the tiny island of Tuvalu. The low-lying Pacific islands are on the frontline of global climate change, battling rising sea ...
Going negative? As trade war rages, central banks ponder radical steps
The negative interest rate policy — an unconventional gambit once only considered by economies with chronically low inflation, such as Europe and Japan — is becoming a more attractive option for other central banks eager to counter unwelcome currency rises. In Asia, central banks in ...
