Indholdsfortegnelse for April/May 2023 i NZ Rugby World

On his way to Auckland for the Crusaders Super Rugby match against the Blues, Scott Robertson was stopped at the airport by a well wishing woman. “You have my vote,” she told him. “Unfortunately it’s not an election,” was Robertson’s honest reply. It wasn’t, but he was the popular choice to replace Ian Foster as All Blacks head coach from next year and, for once, New Zealand Rugby are in tune with their fans. A New Zealand Herald poll, put up online the day news broke that either Robertson or Jamie Joseph would be named coach later that day, had Robertson roughly three times more popular than Joseph. There has long been a clamour for the man dubbed Razor (because he used to chop people in scything tackles) to coach…

JASON RYAN Robertson’s former Crusaders forwards coach who had an immediate impact on the All Blacks last year. Ryan is highly rated and is especially good at coaching lineout drives and defence. LEON MACDONALD They coached together at the Crusaders and MacDonald has done a good job with the Blues. He might take over at Scotland though. JASON HOLLAND He was an assistant to Roberston at Canterbury. Was Munster assistant coach and has been head coach at the Hurricanes since 2020. SCOTT HANSEN Highly regarded within the Crusaders set up he assisted Robertson at Canterbury and has helped coach Canada, Leicester and in Japan.…

Porter Group have joined forces with the Chiefs Rugby Club as a major sponsor of the Gallaher Chiefs for the 2023 DHL Super Rugby Pacific season and beyond. The partnership will see the Porter Group brand feature on the left sleeve of the Gallagher Chiefs playing and training jerseys of the teams, and extensive field and stadium signage for all Chiefs home games. The previously titled WEL Networks Stand on the Eastern side of the FMG Stadium Waikato has also been renamed the Porter Group Stand as part of the new partnership. So who are Porter Group and why the Chiefs Rugby Club? WHO ARE PORTER GROUP? The Porter business was first established in the Waikato in 1945 by Arthur Porter when he began building roads and winning civil engineering…

Just like the birthplace of Glasseye Creek in Little Wanganui, Karamea on the beautiful West Coast of New Zealand, their sauces are all natural, all real and all good! Their Wild Meat Sauce and Pretty Hot Sauce’s are also brewed over several hours which creates their famous depth of flavours. In their sauces they use only the finest ingredients, as many locally sourced as possible and no artificial nonsense, no stabilisers, no fructose or refined sugars, no numbers, no science. Just time, passion, a great taste for food and the finest ingredients. Such as freshly squeezed full pulp orange juice from Napier, Canterbury blackcurrants, Marlborough wine vinegars, chillies from North Canterbury, Blackstrap molasses from Southland etc. What people are saying… “The Oyster of Sauces!” - The Rock FM “Turns Mutton…

EXCLUSIVE NZRW DISCOUNT DELIVER EASY Hungry for a win or just plain hungry? Feed the backs (and forwards) with Delivereasy this season and enjoy your favourite eats, treats and drinks delivered on demand. Kiwi owned and operated since 2016, Delivereasy is a proud partner of the Wellington Hurricanes this season. Download the app today and use code SUPER15 to get $15 off your first order (delivered) over $30. T&Cs apply. www.delivereasy.co.nz/ www.facebook.com/delivereasynz/ www.instagram.com/delivereasy.nz/ SALSA BRAVA In the northern region of Argentina, people like spicy food, and the chimichurri over there has a smoky spicy flavour like this version. We say that it is “kiwi-spicy”, with the right amount of heat to feel all the flavours of your meal without burning your mouth. Eat like the PUMAS rugby team and transform…

RETURNING TO SOUTH AFRICA IN 2020 ‘My family is the reason I came back from France. When we got married our plan was always to raise our kids in Bloem. My eldest daughter is in Grade 4. Secondly, if there wasn’t all of this exciting stuff happening rugby-wise here, I might have tried to do something else. I have a very soft spot for the Cheetahs, most of us do – it’s everybody’s second team! If Ruan Pienaar and I left, it wouldn’t put the team in a good place.’ THE SPRINGBOK SQUAD ‘Each team has its specialities and unique things, but Rassie Erasmus did an amazing job with taking players from a position where they were just starting out, to being superstars. Jake White said one year that you…

Throughout this year, you will hear many people refer to the opportunity in front of women’s rugby. The high of the Rugby World Cup tournament itself, amplified by the Black Ferns triumph, has seen unprecedented interest and support in the women’s game, and every person involved in rugby in any way knows that we must capitalise on this increased engagement. The appointment of Allan Bunting into the Director of Coaching role was New Zealand Rugby’s first big move following the World Cup, and one I endorse and am excited about. His experience in the women’s game, understanding the specific needs of coaching women and his cultural understanding is what sets him apart. Having come from the Sevens environment, “Bunts” has professional standards and knows what it takes to succeed as…

The first real front-of-house job Dame Patsy Reddy had to perform as New Zealand Rugby chair was one she didn’t really want to do at all. She said as much herself. “Until now, New Zealand Rugby has been reluctant to talk publicly about an appointment process for the All Blacks coach to protect the integrity of the process, and to minimise the scrutiny on the individuals involved,” she told media at a hastily convened stand-up to announce a timeline to appoint the next All Blacks coach. “Recent events, however, necessitate some clarity.” That’s a nice word - clarity. Historically, it is one not associated with NZR unless it is preceded by the words “lack of”. The national body has for the past World Cup cycle seemingly lurched from one crisis…

MARK ROBINSON The former All Black has struggled to convince many outside NZR that he is the right leader as CEO of the national body and there are even questions whether he should remain in the job given the tumultuous handling of the All Blacks coaching saga this year and last, and the scheduling clash between the All Blacks and Black Ferns last year. But while he remains as CEO, Robinson is a central figure. IAN NAREV and SIMON PATERSON These are names few in rugby will know but they are part of NZ Rugby Commercial, the body set up in the wake of the Silver Lake deal. Narev is the chair. He lives in Sydney and runs the employment website SEEK. Paterson is Silver Lake managing director. CHRIS LENDRUM…

Rugby Database is an entirely voluntary project created to establish a digital database of every first-class Rugby Union game played both in New Zealand and abroad by our National and Provincial team(s). The project has been put together by two individuals. One a genius web developer, the other a lover of rugby stats and history. Initially, the goal was simple. To create a reputable digital database of New Zealand related first-class rugby. But in turn, it has already started semi-creating a footprint for other teams/nations/players, and with time this will expand to then include full records of overseas teams to ensure a full career record for the many NZ players that have ultimately ended up plying their trade offshore as well. Rugby Database currently has around 10,000 unique player…

I was seven when I first watched a 20-year-old Frans Steyn tear through England’s backline in the pool stage of the 2007 World Cup. Steyn, who not even a year earlier had debuted on the wing for the Springboks – and who barely had a season of domestic rugby under his belt for the Sharks – would be called on at inside centre from the first game of the 2007 tournament, after Jean de Villiers suffered an injury against Samoa. Steyn’s performances throughout that tournament still burn bright in my memory; the ability and energy of this young utility back who was knocking over long-distance kicks with as much ease as he was barrelling through his opposite number. It was clear to even a seven-year-old, from the moment that Steyn…

There is no room for All Blacks captain Sam Cane in the 2023 Rugby Almanack XV with Dalton Papali’i preferred at openside and the editors suggesting Cane (who is in the reserves) will be under pressure to keep his spot this year. It’s a fair assessment in another superb edition of the Almanack, full of information and statistics, and with 122 pages dedicated to women’s rugby and the cover deservedly graced by World Cup winning Black Ferns captains Ruahei Demant and Kennedy Simon. Cane’s exclusion comes despite the editors acknowledging his huge work rate and tackling. Another interesting pick is Scott Barrett on the blindside, a selection the editors saw reflected three impressive performances at six and that his physicality and lineout work make him an easy pick there or…