Black Fern hopefuls look to book a ticket to England
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RNZ News
an hour ago
- RNZ News
Rugby: All Blacks coact Scott Robertson lauds ‘a lot of positive stories' in tight win over France
Despite the result being a lot closer than many thought, All Black coach Scott Robertson is pleased with what he saw in the first test of the year. His side triumphed 31-27 over a brave but understrength French team that pushed the All Blacks all the way to the full time whistle. "It was a hell of a test match," said Robertson after the highly entertaining game in front of a capacity Forsyth Barr Stadium crowd. "We knew any French team that's going to play a game on tour that's been written off is going to put up a scrap, fight for everything. They didn't go away." The All Blacks had three tries disallowed by the officials, including one that denied Will Jordan scoring a hat trick. Will Jordan scores a try. Photo: Marty Melville / "We could've probably tried to get a couple scores, two scores ahead, so they had to play a little bit more. Percentages and stuff, and territory and possession were in our hands. We just didn't quite finish enough to put pressure on them, so they had to play, not kick," said Robertson. Four players - Fabian Holland, Christin Lio-Willie, Du'Plessis Kirifi and Ollie Norris - all made their test debuts and Robertson was happy with what the quartet brought to the table. "I was really pleased for them, all them all stepped up and made an impact. Fabian went the whole 80…we had a couple of big moments," said Robertson, who quipped that his new lock could've "gone for 100 I reckon, he's a big man with a big engine." Jordie Barrett Théo Attissogbe challenge for the ball. Photo: Marty Melville / One of the downsides of the win was a head injury to Sevu Reece, with Robertson confirming that the wing will be out of action for at least a week after a failed HIA. Reece collided with the hip of French first five Joris Segonds after only two minutes, bringing on Damian McKenzie and reshuffling the backline. "Will ([ordan]'s played a lot of rugby on the wing and [McKenzie]'s played a lot of footy too. So the coverage of the backfield was a little bit different…it changed a bit of stuff we were looking at, but the experience came on." Robertson praised the All Black set piece and discipline, and it's hard not to agree with him as the forwards won all 20 of their lineouts and conceded only three penalties. Tackle accuracy was at 94 percent, and they carried the ball twice as often as the French. Add all that up though, and the main takeaway is that the margin of victory probably should've been higher. "We just didn't quite finish enough to put pressure on them," Robertson admitted. "Playing fast created so much, we just didn't finish them off…(but) we stayed brave, which was the key. You know that second half was a pretty impressive performance, minus a couple of finishing tries." In all fairness, the main point of discussion should be the effort of Fabien Galthié's French third stringers. They came within a try of extending their win streak over the All Blacks to four matches, and showcased some impressive talent at both ends of the experience spectrum. Captain Gaël Fickou was prominent in the midfield, while number eight Mickael Guillard was immense on both sides of the ball. It said a lot that the All Blacks opted to kick a penalty with seven minutes to play and effectively back their defence to close the game out, though. "The French were pretty ruthless. They had a high conversion rate and knock on the front door and keep coming. They're pretty powerful, so I was pleased that the defence got us the result."
RNZ News
9 hours ago
- RNZ News
NZ Warriors wahine embrace unknown in NRLW return
Most of the Warriors women have never played NRLW before. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/ As they emerge from a four-year NRLW hiatus, NZ Warriors women are determined to make the unknown their friend. A foundation member of the competition in 2018, the Auckland club was forced to close down its women's programme in 2020, when the Covid pandemic precluded trans-Tasman travel. The Warriors wahine will return to the fold on Sunday, when they face Sydney Roosters, fielding a largely untried line-up against the defending champions . Only one player - captain and fullback Apii Nicholls - has worn a Warriors jersey before and only six others have previous NRLW experience. The rest have either been plucked from NZ domestic competition or lured across from the other rugby code. "The best thing about our girls is, because they either rookies or new to the code, so they're oblivious to the Sydney Roosters and who's in there," veteran prop Harata Butler observed. "Let's not even talk about them. "Everyone in the rugby league community knows what we're going up against, but nobody knows what they're going up against. I think it's good to run with that and let's just see what we pull out on the weekend." The Warriors begin their campaign without the benefit of a pre-season trial to test their very new combinations. On the flip side, rivals have had very little footage to scout entering the new season. That mystery factor leaves a blank slate for the wahine to create their own reputations and, if training performances are anything to go by, they promise to leave a dent in their opponents. "If you meet our forward pack, I'm pretty sure there's a few loose screws in some of them, me too maybe," chuckled lock Laishon Albert-Jones, who helped Newcastle Knights, under now-Warriors coach Ron Griffiths, to the 2023 NRLW crown. "They're tough as, I don't even like running at them - I'm probably the most pussy of all of them. "I get scared at training sometimes, just saying. I'm glad they're on my team and I don't have to verse them anymore. "If there's anything we bring to this NRLW season, it's that we are a tough team and it will be a hard day with us, and you won't want to play us again." As the team strive to create their playing style, this much seems a given - they'll be physical. "To be honest, if you play rugby league, it's such a high-contact sport, everyone's got a couple of screws loose," chuckled halfback Emily Curtain, whose Muay Thai fighting nickname is 'Pitbull'. "My second personality, once I step over the line or the ropes, it's 'go' time," she explained. "Time to switch on and let everything out." Griffiths guided the Knights to two titles and a semifinal during his three-year tenure there, but he has put the league on notice that his new outfit will bring something completely different. "If you look at every Warriors team, they're tough," he said. "This team will pull trees up for each other. "They're connected, they work hard, they're humble, but one thing they've done is they've shown a certain level of toughness that we haven't seen in NRLW before. "That's not taking anything away from teams I've coached or the current champs or anyone else, but they're extremely tough, that's who they are." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
12 hours ago
- RNZ News
Rugby live updates: Waratahs v British & Irish Lions
Jac Morgan of the Lions celebrates scoring a try. Photo: Darren England/ Photosport The Lions have made a great start to their tour of Australia, with two 50-point hidings. Can the Waratahs slow their momentum before the first test next weekend? Kickoff is at 10pm NZT.
