Brazilian jockey helps Hastings mare return to winning form
The silky hands of international jockey Bruno Queiroz were instrumental in the return to winning form of Hastings-trained La Dulcin'ee in a $35,000 Rating 65 race over 1340m at Whanganui last Saturday.
The Patrick Campbell-trained mare had been ruining her chances by over-racing in recent starts, leaving her without a
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
2 days ago
- NZ Herald
All Blacks vs France: Where the first test will be won
The accuracy and speed demanded by test rugby are a significant step up from the Super scene, which usually requires a period of adjustment. How that quartet channel nerves bubbling within will determine their ability to seize the biggest occasion of their careers. All Blacks debutants Fabian Holland, Christian Lio-Willie, Ollie Norris and Du'Plessis Kirifi. Photo / Photosport Last year, in Scott Robertson's first test as head coach, the All Blacks escaped with a knife-edge one-point victory against England in Dunedin. While the venue is the same, on many fronts this year is different. From the extended management to incumbent players, a vastly greater shared understanding and cohesion is carried through from Robertson's shaky year one to the start of year two. The mood emanating from the All Blacks camp this week is much calmer compared to this time last year. And, of course, there's the significantly weaker opposition… French done before the start line? Averaging 14 test caps per player, and with much of their elite talent left at home following their Top 14 domestic final, there's every reason to suggest France are a puncher's chance at best against the All Blacks. Fabien Galthié has named eight rookies in his 23-man squad for this first test – five in the starting team. They include Bayonne first five-eighths Joris Segonds, loose forward Alexandre Fischer, lock Tyler Duguid, wing Tom Spring and prop Giorgi Beria. South African-born Jacobus van Tonder, Paul Mallez and Regis Montagne will debut off the bench too. Midfielder Gaël Fickou will captain France in Dunedin. Photo / Photosport Gaël Fickou, the classy 94-test veteran, captains the French from the midfield. Toulon wing Gabin Villiere, starting tighthead prop Rabah Slimani (57 caps) and towering lock Romain Taofifenua, who will emerge from the bench, boost overall experience, but there is no escaping the green, developmental French B side. Racing 92 halfback Nolann le Garrec is one to watch in a French backline typically stacked with attacking strike. But after one warm-up match against a heavily depleted English side – due to their extensive British and Irish Lions contingent in Australia – this green team could well be exposed. Tall timber Missing first-choice props Tamaiti Williams and Tyrel Lomax is a blow for the All Blacks. While they won't lack scrummaging power, Ethan de Groot and Fletcher Newell do not boast the same mobility or deft ball skills. The All Blacks should, though, dominate the air. With three locks – Holland, captain Scott Barrett and Tupou Vaa'i, there are no excuses for the All Blacks to not cleanly claim their restarts and lineouts. They should be able to target the French throws, too. Vaa'i, starting his first test at blindside flanker since the opening 2023 World Cup defeat to France in Paris, has trained on the side of the scrum for the past 10 days. Tupou Vaa'i in action against Argentina last year. Photo / Photosport With five loose forwards in their 33-man squad, the All Blacks were always light in this department, with Vaa'i and Barrett designated blindside cover. Few, if anyone, envisioned the All Blacks throwing Vaa'i straight into the No 6 jersey, though. It's unfair to compare anyone with Springboks enforcer Pieter-Steph du Toit, but that is clearly the prototype the All Blacks are seeking with their blindside – a big man capable of commanding the air and imposing a physical imprint around the field. Last year, Vaa'i proved he is evolving into a world-class lock. This weekend, he's asked to broaden his brief to project a modern, mobile, bruising blindside flanker. Injecting impact Finishing what they start sits at the forefront of the All Blacks' improvements this year. The composition of their bench, while inexperienced this week, points to their desire for notable impact. Come the second half, if the French remain in the contest, they will be wary of the power and pace the All Blacks unleash from their ever-evolving bench. Damian McKenzie has a point to prove with Beauden Barrett preferred as starting playmaker. As fatigue sets in, McKenzie will be at his lethal, game-breaking best. When the All Blacks want to lift the tempo further in the closing quarter, Cortez Ratima's speed to the base will be injected. Quinn Tupaea, ahead of his first test in four years, promises to bring the midfield punch he displayed for the Chiefs all season. Quinn Tupaea makes a break against the USA. Photo / Photosport Kirifi's turnover prowess should provide opportunities to pounce on the counterattack against a disjointed defence. He will be itching for his long-awaited debut and must, therefore, harness the same controlled decision-making that typified his leadership with the Hurricanes. Chiefs hooker Samisoni Taukei'aho, returning for his first test since the World Cup final, rookie prop Ollie Norris, Pasilio Tosi and Samipeni Finau round out the quartet of mobile, powerful forwards aiming to add a blend of power and offloading the French may struggle to contain. Liam Napier is a Senior Sports Journalist and Rugby Correspondent for the New Zealand Herald. He is a co-host of the Rugby Direct podcast. For live commentary of this weekend's All Blacks v France test, go to GOLD SPORT or iHeartRadio.
Otago Daily Times
3 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Otago players to make All Blacks debut
A Dutchman and a Demon will fulfil long-held dreams and make it a special night for Otago when the All Blacks play France tomorrow night. Otago players Fabian Holland (and Christian Lio-Willie) were yesterday named in the All Blacks test team to play France at Forsyth Barr Stadium tomorrow night. It will ) be the first time in 13 years two Otago players have been in an All Blacks starting lineup. PHOTOS: GERARD O'BRIEN Lock Fabian Holland and No 8 Christian Lio-Willie will make their debuts in starting roles in the first test at Forsyth Barr Stadium. Not since 2012, when the great Ben Smith and Adam Thomson played against Scotland, has Otago had two players in an All Blacks starting XV. For both men, it will be the high point of an intriguing rugby journey. Highlanders star Holland, 22, will become the first Dutch-born All Black when he lines up at lock alongside captain Scott Barrett. The lad from Castricum, a small village near Amsterdam, who grew up obsessed with New Zealand rugby and slept between sheets with silver ferns on them, will have proud family members and lots of friends in his adopted city cheering for him. Holland, the ninth All Black from the Dunedin club, was "pretty excited", All Blacks coach Scott Robertson said yesterday. "From Zealand to New Zealand, he's come a long way. It's a great story. "He's pretty single-minded — to make that call to come over and represent another country in the game he loves — and he saw the All Blacks as the ultimate. "It's movie sort of stuff, isn't it?" Lio-Willie, who won the Super Rugby title with the Crusaders less than two weeks ago but is an Otago NPC regular, could write his own movie. Christian Lio-Willie. The qualified dentist has grafted away for years and, at 26, will become the 15th All Black from the Kaikorai club. He had "slotted straight in", Robertson said. Two other new caps, Chiefs prop Ollie Norris and Hurricanes flanker Du'Plessis Kirifi, will debut from the bench. After a day off on Wednesday, the All Blacks had their first training session at the stadium yesterday, and will have the traditional captain's run this afternoon. Various players are involved in running skills sessions at the Edgar Centre and King's High School this morning, while a bunch will be at the Wall Street Mall to meet fans between 10.15am and 11.30am. The French team arrived in Dunedin last night after spending the week in Auckland.
Otago Daily Times
3 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Side shows value Robertson places on versatility
There will not be too many people accusing Scott Robertson of being a touch conservative this week. The All Blacks coach might have stuck with the tried and true for most of his first season in charge but he has provided plenty of talking points in the first selection of his sophomore season. Robertson yesterday named four new caps — two in the pack and two more forwards on the bench — and made two major positional switches for the first test against France at Forsyth Barr Stadium. There was exciting news for Otago fans as rising lock Fabian Holland and hard-working No8 Christian Lio-Willie were named to make their test debuts. Holland, 22, will become the first Dutch-born All Black. The Highlanders sensation came to New Zealand at the age of 16 to pursue his rugby dream, and he will have his mother and younger brother with him on Saturday night to see a dream become reality. Holland will partner All Blacks captain Scott Barrett in the second row. Incumbent lock Tupou Vaa'i has been switched to the blindside flank with Ardie Savea at openside. That means the All Blacks will have an exceptionally tall lineout, and there will be immense interest in whether the mobile Vaa'i, while widely regarded as the country's leading lock, can provide the answer to the blindside conundrum. It also means a rapid promotion at No8 for Lio-Willie, who was initially in the squad only as injury cover. The 26-year-old qualified dentist is now an established member of the Crusaders but he has been a regular for Otago in the NPC, and he is still warmly embraced by the Kaikorai club. Highlanders prop Ethan de Groot fell out of favour at the end of last year but, with incumbent loosehead Tamaiti Williams scratched with injury, de Groot gets another test start with a bit to prove. The big Southlander joins veteran hooker Codie Taylor and, unexpectedly, Fletcher Newell in the front row. Newell, who had a big workload for the Crusaders this season, starts as regulaghthead Tyrel Lomax is battling a calf issue and is considered a week-to-week prospect. The backline features one major positional switch. Rieko Ioane returns from centre to the left wing, where he made such an impact in his first couple of seasons with the All Blacks. There is no doubt Ioane is still seen by Robertson as a midfield option but, equally, the popular opinion is that the Blues man is simply a better fit on the wing at the top level. That means Billy Proctor earns just a third test start, outside Jordie Barrett, and will be charged with igniting the outside attack. Cam Roigard and Beauden Barrett form the halves combination, and Sevu Reece and Will Jordan complete the backline. The bench features two new caps, Chiefs prop Ollie Norris and Hurricanes flanker Du'Plessis Kirifi, while midfielder Quinn Tupaea is poised to make his first test appearance in three years. Robertson has preached the importance of versatility at test level and that underpins the selection of Vaa'i at No6 for the first time since the 2023 World Cup. "We're looking at options ... the ability of guys to play in two positions," the coach said in Dunedin. "He's got the skill set. He's quick enough, as he keeps telling us, and he can play on the edge well. "Test footy's a big man's game. He can start there, finish there, and this week he's starting." Likewise, Ioane — though almost exclusively a starting centre in recent times, he has occasionally finished tests on the wing — is seen as someone capable of wearing either 13 or 11. "He's competent in either position, and he can start or finish in either," Robertson said. "This is an opportunity to get on the wing and do some finishing for us. "It's exciting. He's keen, he's up for it, whatever the team needs." Proctor, who scored a try on test debut against Fiji last year and went on the end-of-year tour with the All Blacks but left early to be at the birth of his first child, gets his biggest chance to impress at centre. He had been consistent, he was strong on both sides of the ball and it was hoped he could help the attack unleash, Robertson said. It could be another season featuring debate over the No10 jersey but for now it appears the 34-year-old Beauden Barrett's to lose with the mercurial Damian McKenzie on the bench. "Both have had good seasons. We just felt it was Beauden's opportunity. "The good thing is it's one of those ones where both have got genuine options. Beaudy's led the group really well, and DMac can come on and change games or finish games." Robertson said he wanted to see consistency from de Groot for the whole time he was on the field. "Get his core role right, which is obviously around set piece, and get back to his best." There is no place yet in the match-day squad for Highlanders co-captain Timoci Tavatavanawai. "We'll give him a week to understand and embed himself and get up with our calls. "The first week or so can be a little bit of a heavy load."
