Midday Report Essentials for Monday 14th July 2025
In today's episode, Forestry slash and silt is being blamed for extensive damage in Tasman, carving out a path of destruction in the Motueka Valley; The weather and damage haven't just been isolated to the Nelson/ Tasman area - with Geotechnical engineers assessing a large slip in Auckland's Muriwai; The Black Sox have been pipped at the post to win an eighth Softball World Cup; Funeral directors are calling on councils to curb price rises for burial and cremation fees, ahead of this year's local body elections.
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RNZ News
an hour ago
- RNZ News
'Mana of Black Sox will go on': NZ men's softball climbs back to podium at World Cup
Black Sox pitcher Liam Potts in action during the WBSC Men's Softball World Cup Final against Venezuela. Photo: WBSC The mana of the Black Sox carries on, as the team returns home with a silver medal and a restored place on the world stage. The New Zealand side finished runners-up to Venezuela in a 3-0 final in Prince Albert, Canada - a major comeback from their eighth-place finish in 2022. Although it wasn't the final result they would have wanted, the boys' performance over the campaign was a massive improvement from their last international outing. And the key to the team's success this year? Whānau . Black Sox team captain Cole Evans celebrates with head coach Thomas Makea after powering a ball over centre-field fence. Photo: WBSC A name well-known in global softball circles, Head coach Thomas Makea (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Marama, Ngāti Makea ki Rarotonga), said the team's growth over the past two years had been huge. "To go from eight to number two in the world in two years, that's awesome. "I believed in what we had when I took over the job a couple years ago now. So, I believe we had the talent," he said. "We had the talent, we had the players, we just had to grow them." Part of that growth had come from the strong sense of whānau within the team. This year's squad included four sets of brothers: Ben and Thomas Enoka , Cole and Rhys Evans, Reilly Makea and Dante Makea-Matakatea, and Otago natives Cameron and Ben Watts. That legacy of whakapapa also extended to the coaching staff. Former Black Sox and World Champion Bevan Matene (Te Ātiawa) toured with the team as a kaitiaki (leader). He said despite the final loss, he was extremely proud of the team's achievements. "Kaore i haere ki te tihi o te maunga teitei, te tuarua, te hiriwa kaore te koura. We didn't make it to the top of the mountain, we got silver rather than gold. "He tino pai rawa atu te tīma o te Tōkena Pango i tēnei rā. But we played really well today." The New Zealand Black Sox 2004 World Title team - including Head Coach Thomas Makea and delegation leader Bevan Matene. Photo: Kevin Clarke Photography / Supplied: Softball New Zealand Matene paid tribute to Makea for his mahi and the captain Cole Evans. "He tino pouri, he mamae taku manawa mō te tīma, apōpō ka whiti mai te rā. I'm feeling quite sad, my heart aches for the team, but tomorrow the sun will rise again. "Te mana o te Tōkena Pango ka haere ki te tihi o te maunga teitei. The mana of the Black Sox will go on and we'll reach the top one day." Alongside Matene was legendary Black Sox pitcher "Chubb" Tangaroa, who returned as the team's pitching coach. Tangaroa (Ngāti Kahungunu) helped pave the way for New Zealand pitchers on the international stage in the 1980s and 90s. He earned Hall of Fame honours in both Aotearoa and the world game. As a player, he was known for his sharp rise ball and helped lead the Black Sox to gold in 1996 and silver in 1988 and 1992. With leadership and experience like this at the helm, the players had a wealth of mātauranga (knowledge) at their fingertips. The New Zealand Black Sox came second at the WBSC Men's Softball World Cup after taking the loss 3-0 against Venezuela in the Gold Medal match. Photo: WBSC Makea said the Black Sox truly felt the aroha from the supporters on the sideline and back home in Aotearoa. "We really felt the love, felt the mana coming through. And I'm not gonna apologise for us not getting there, getting the job done today because I've seen massive growth in this team." He said the journey to the podium had been awesome. "[It's been an] awesome couple of weeks with these guys and they've made steps for the future of the programme." Cole Evans said the Black Sox put on a stellar performance all week, playing some quality ball against quality teams. "The team really grew in confidence and I thought we [had] a real chance today," the captain said. "Just came up a bit short." Evans said by moving up the world ranking ladder, their campaign performance put them back "where the programme belongs". "There's a great programme back home, some quality young kids coming through, and obviously some guys that have been around a long time are really quality, so, future looks pretty bright."
RNZ News
3 hours ago
- RNZ News
Tapawera residents battle to get home after major slips
Some Tapawera residents haven't been able to get back to their homes. Photo: RNZ/Nathan Mckinnon Tasman residents have been working relentlessly to clear major slips and get access to their homes just days after a second storm brought devastation to the region. A chunk of the mountainside has crashed down Wangapeka West Bank Road, near Tapawera. It has brought mounds of dirt over the road, cutting off at least four properties . Aspect contracting Darren Richardson said he was trying to clear it out for residents. "You just bore your way in and make yourself a bench with the digger and just start cutting into it. "You got to keep an eye on what's above you. So if you feel any - see any rocks come down you just get out." He's made a path through to the other side so people can walk through. But further up the road, there's more devastation and the piles of logs, mud and debris makes the road impassable. "A lot of slop from the creeks and trees that have fallen over from the wind. "I've cleared most of it up - just to get a track through - but there's a lot to clean," Richardson said. Jo Shaw and neighbour Brian Lambert in Tapawera, Tasman. Photo: RNZ/Nathan Mckinnon Jo Shaw is one of the residents who lives on the other side of the slip. She has been cut off from her house for days since Friday's deluge. "It's just devastating for everyone I think. I smashed my phone accidentally, I've now got no phone to even try and find out what's going up there. "So I'm using everyone else's phone, can I get through? Is my cat ok? Is the house still standing?," Shaw said. She doesn't know how long she'll be out of her house for. Logs and trees collapsed in the gales and rain, hitting her neighbour's cars and damaging her water supply. "I'm just hoping I can get some clothes, and I can't stay there because my whole water system, pipes, everything has all just been floated away. "So I'm going to have to stay at a mate's caravan." Sections of Tapawera-Baton road have become mud, with small mountains of logs and trees at the sides. Tasman civil defence said 13 teams were visiting flood affected properties to investigate damage on Monday. That included in parts of Tadmore, Rocky River at the Motueka Valley, Dovedale, Baton River and in the Wai-iti area. Tapawera Community Led Development community connector Della Webby. Photo: RNZ/Nathan Mckinnon Della Webby at the Tapawera community centre said residents couldn't drink or prepare food without boiling water. Like in parts of Dovedale, Tapawera Residents were still under a boil water notice, including those on private bores. The level of flooding has made the contamination risk high. "We're supplying bottled water and containers of water at the community centre. So they are available for the residents to collect if they need them. "We are currently working with TDC navigators to source extra water to bring in through the week." Webby said the emotional toll of the second storm has been even more severe than the first. "It's been incredibly hard on the community. The anxiety and emotion of people has been extremely high. "At the first event, a lot of people were just in shock, and now they are starting to crumble." Elsewhere in Tapawera, farms and businesses have been tirelessly clearing out mud, gravel and silt. Hayden Oldham from New Hoplands said "it's back to the start" to clean up their engineering workshop and hops. "Everything we cleaned up has been spread back out and gone through sheds and gardens." He said the workshop had about 300 millimetres of water running through it and it left about the same amount of silt and sand. "Around the sheds it's washed away all of our shed area, washed all the gravel into the hop gardens, got water all through the sheds and into some of our accommodation." He said the company's hop farm in Ngatimoti had been engulfed in a thick layer of silt, logs had taken out the hop posts, which would need to be put back up. He was hopeful the weather wouldn't affect the hops too much. "Hops are real hardy and right now they're asleep in the ground, so I am hopeful they won't get too affixiated. "If we can scrape the worst of the slurry off they should be able to grow through the sand." But he said the clean-up would be costly for businesses and farms, and many people still had insurance claims from the first flood to be sorted. "We've had floods here before but never this bad - and not twice." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
4 hours ago
- RNZ News
Tanah Boyd's patience finally pays off with NZ Warriors NRL call-up
Tanah Boyd converted five of his team's six tries against Wests Tigers. Photo: Brett Phibbs/ NZ Warriors halfback Tanah Boyd admits wondering if he would ever get the chance to pull on the club jersey in NRL first-grade. After six seasons at Gold Coast Titans, Boyd took a chance to cross the Tasman this year in search of his next opportunity, but has had to wait in the wings for that chance to arrive. Coach Andrew Webster finally tapped him on the shoulder against Wests Tigers on Sunday, after the Warriors lost star half Luke Metcalf for the season with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his knee before last week's bye. "There were definitely times when I wasn't sure whether it was going to come, but I had to stay positive, make sure I was playing good footy and when my chance came, I had to take it with both hands," Boyd said. "It was terrible what happened to Lukey and you don't wish it on anyone, but I knew I had to step in and do my job. That next man up mentality is something we pride ourselves on as a club." Boyd, 24, took his assignment in stride, guiding the Warriors around the park and teasing the Tigers with his kicking game, as the Auckland club put its premiership campaign back on track, after consecutive losses, with a 34-14 win at Go Media Stadium. Tanah Boyd puts up another bomb against Wests Tigers. Photo: Brett Phibbs/ His seven bombs were the most by a Warriors player this season and his only try assist came from a high kick to the Tigers goal-line, contested by second-rower Leka Halasima, with five-eighth Chanel Harris-Tavita eventually pouncing on the loose ball to score. "It was a good start, I was happy," he said. "I had a pretty simple role - I just wanted to defend well, kick well. and lead the boys around, and I thought I did that pretty well. "I had a good week-and-a-half to build combinations and was pretty confident. Nothing changes in Cup and the transition was pretty easy. "There are obviously things we want to fix up, but we'll clean those up to be better. You're never going to be perfect, but we'll keep striving for that." While Metcalf was making a fine fist of his starting role with the Warriors, leading the Dally M Medal standings midway through the season, Boyd was filling a similar role for the club's reserves, who are dominating the NSW Cup competition on the back of a 12-game winning streak. "We're privileged to know what Tanah Boyd has done for us, without even playing a NRL game yet," Webster said. "We're really big on our reserve grade challenging our first grade at training and he's done that every single week with a smile on his face. "He would have liked to play, but Luke was doing such a good job and he's just waited patiently for his opportunity. He's a team-first guy and he doesn't miss a beat, because we could see how good he was at training all the time." An often-overlooked key to good team chemistry is keeping a positive outlook when things aren't rolling your way. Many in Boyd's position would have let their disappointment fester and infect those around them. "He's been frustrated inside, but he hasn't shown it externally, not once," Webster said. "It's a real testament to his character that the team aren't seeing him kicking stones, and they're seeing him working hard and making the rest of the club better. "He's a big reason the [reserves] have won 12 in a row and played a big part when he got his opportunity tonight. I just really proud of his character more than anything else." Despite missing four games on first-grade duties, Boyd ranks among the NSW Cup's top five in scoring (fourth), goals (second), line engagements (fourth), try assists (second), kick metres (fourth) and kicks (fourth). He will now slide down those standings, as he settles in his new fulltime duties on the big stage. Tanah Boyd sizes up his options against Wests Tigers. Photo: Brett Phibbs/ "I literally just said to him, 'Be yourself, do what you've been doing'," Webster said. "He didn't have to come in and be Luke - he had to play the way he wanted to play and the team would adjust to him. "He wasn't coming out there, throwing plays we hadn't been using, but he does it a little bit different - his way. I was really happy for his hard work, he's done an amazing job." Another indication of Boyd's positive outlook was his decision to take his player option of a second year at Mt Smart, before he had even made his first-grade debut. "I've loved every moment of it," he said. "The coaching staff and Webby have been so good, and I've learned so much. "My game has gone to the next level under the coaching staff and I'm loving the boys as well. "I just see the growth in the club, and I feel like I've grown as a player and a person, and my family are loving it as well." His NRL return has come in time for him to face his old Titans crew - currently bottom of the table - twice during the run to the playoffs. "I've spoke to a few of the boys and it will be good to go up against them," he said. "It will be weird, but exciting." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
