August - September 2019

NZ Rugby World

New Zealand Rugby World is the premier authority on our national game; with sharp analysis and irreverent humour the two key components

NZ Rugby World4 min read
Editor’s Letter
FOR NOW, THE RETENTION of Sam Whitelock, Brodie Retallick and Beauden Barrett has to be notched up as a victory for New Zealand Rugby. But it’s hard not to feel the exceptional terms all three have been offered to stay until the 2023 World Cup is sto
NZ Rugby World3 min read
Treat, Treatment, Or Torture?
The Shakti Mat (pronounced ‘Shark-tea’) is the latest health tool popping up in households around New Zealand, and it certainly seems to have people talking. But what’s this spiky mat really all about you’re probably wondering… How can just lying on
NZ Rugby World2 min read
What’s Next For Razor..?
Having won a third consecutive title, Crusaders coach Scott Robertson has pushed himself hard into the All Blacks frame. Steve Hansen will stand down as head coach after the World Cup and the job will be up for grabs with All Backs assistant Ian Fost
NZ Rugby World4 min read
In Case You Were Asleep…
■ The Crusaders won their 309th Super Rugby title, beating the Jaguares 19-3 in the final.■ The Jaguares didn’t actually qualify for the final as such, they were invited by Sanzaar.■ Well, that’s not strictly true. They weren’t invited as such, just
NZ Rugby World8 min read
Change At Top For NZR
New Zealand Rugby has begun the search for a new chief executive after long-term incumbent Steve Tew announced he will be stepping down later this year. Tew, who had a long spell as deputy, before assuming the top job in December 2007, says that he f
NZ Rugby World2 min read
The Road to Glory
CRUSADERS 66-0 REBELS So we learned by the end of the season that the Rebels weren’t actually up to much but still, the way the Crusaders ripped them apart in their final round-robin game was hugely impressive. They were direct, ruthless and unified.
NZ Rugby World4 min read
10 Steps To Success
There’s no doubt that Scott Robertson is a smart cookie. He might be a bit different, give the impression he’s a happy-go-lucky surf dude, but beneath that facade lies a sharp tactical brain and a deep understanding of how to get the best out of peop
NZ Rugby World4 min read
Protecting The Pacific
WORLD CUP YEAR always brings into sharp focus the challenges facing the smaller rugby nations, and most pertinent to us in New Zealand, those in the South Pacific. Samoa’s heroic, captivating first tournament in 1991, Fiji’s epic battles with France
NZ Rugby World12 min read
THE PERFECT 10s
However much rugby evolves, New Zealanders it seems can’t get beyond their obsession with the first-five being all-important or adapt to the idea that the All Blacks don’t see it as a one-man job any more. For much of last year, the media narrative b
NZ Rugby World3 min read
Sam Whitelock - Brodie Retallick Timeline
Sam Whitelock is part of the New Zealand Under 20 team that won the Junior World Championship and later that year he made his debut for Canterbury. Whitelock plays a full season for Canterbury and well enough to win a place in the Crusaders squad whi
NZ Rugby World11 min read
The Perfect Combination
It's often the case that the true value of certain players isn't fully appreciated until they are not there. That's certainly true of Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock. Everyone knew they were great players, but at the end of 2016, when the All Blac
NZ Rugby World6 min read
The People’s Choice
Brad Weber was on the couch with his flatmates not quite sure whether to be hopeful, nervous or confident as New Zealand Rugby chairman Brent Impey read out the names of the first All Blacks squad of 2019. Anyone who had even loosely followed the Chi
NZ Rugby World12 min read
Point Break
There’s no doubt rugby has been cruel to a number of those who have given it all they had. The sport at the highest level has broken some players - almost arbitrarily deciding to inflict untold damage on their bodies. There are, across the world, sig
NZ Rugby World15 min read
False Dawn Rising
In the end, 2019 looked much like every other season for the Blues. It was a year defined by all the same failings that have plagued the club since they last won a title in 2003. It was a season that began with more hope than usual following the deci
NZ Rugby World12 min read
Mitre 10 Cup 2019 Preview
Hurt is a great motivator and the ‘Naki will transfer their hurt on to rivals in the Championship. Extra motivation exists with the Log most likely being available for extraction from Dunedin in round five. Whilst they will be pushed by the likes of
NZ Rugby World6 min read
Journey of Discovery
Duane Vermeulen has taken the rugby road less travelled. According to the 32-year-old–who is set for a leadership role with the Springboks at the World Cup in Japan–the journey has made all the difference in terms of the man and player he is today. V
NZ Rugby World6 min read
The Sleeping Giant Awakes
PEOPLE OFTEN do not appreciate just how deep rugby’s roots go in North America. One of the first ever cross-border games in world rugby took place in 1874 when Harvard played McGill University of Montreal, and despite the game being banned by Yale fo
NZ Rugby World2 min read
The Spartan Code
I AM writing this from a luxury country estate in well-heeled Surrey, England. I am at Pennyhill Park for the weekend–a five-star resort with spa, tennis courts, pools, conference facilities and a Michelin starred restaurant. Amazing conference and c
NZ Rugby World12 min read
Back From The Dead
Pauliasi Manu's career had twisted and turned in many unexpected directions before his almost entirely random call-up to the All Blacks' 2015 World Cup squad. Manu had played for Auckland in 2008, but it took him three years to win a contract with th
NZ Rugby World3 min read
World Cup Star Xv
Os du Randt was a big man. A tough man and as it turned out, a suprisingly mobile and durable man. He gave the Boks scrum a destructive edge in 2007 when he was the best loose-head in the world and that was after he had given them an added running di

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