Sports Chat for 9 July 2025
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RNZ News
3 hours ago
- RNZ News
Black Ferns veteran Ruby Tui has 'goosebumps' over next generation
Ruby Tui runs out in her return test in Wellington. Photo: Photosport With fears her test career may have been over after missing the first squad of the season, Black Fern Ruby Tui took a moment to reflect at fulltime of her return test. After dispatching the Wallaroos 37-12 in front of a packed and parochial Wellington crowd, Tui thought back to the first time she played at the stadium in black. "It was like three people and a dog watching us." Tonight's test kicked off an international doubleheader with the Ferns followed by the All Blacks and France, and the fans answered the call. "For New Zealand, not to just say they back us, but to turn up and show they back us... I couldn't even hear the calls out there, they were so loud. "I think tonight was a statement of how far we've come in our rugby as a whole nation in our last game on our whenua, that's pretty special." Liana Mikaele-Tu'u of New Zealand during the O'Reilly Cup - New Zealand Black Ferns v Australia at Sky Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand on Saturday 12 July 2025. Copyright photo: Masanori Udagawa / Photo: Photosport Though up by just three at halftime, the Ferns found their flair, as the crowd steadily built and bore witness to a second-half clinic at the 'Caketin'. This included a spectacular solo try from sevens convert Jorja Miller in just her second test match. Tui said the likes of Miller represent the future. "She's always said she wanted to make a difference in this game and we're coming into that generation of women who have grown up playing rugby all through the high school," she said. "They didn't play with boys - there's full on girls competitions now. "She's one of the first that have come through that lifecycle. We missed that. "I think, for those girls that have played their whole school lives, this is just the beginning. Imagine the next gen of Black Ferns. "Oh man, goosebumps!" Coach Alan Bunting was pleased to see the side click into gear after the break. "We got to see some of the Black Ferns DNA, which is cool to watch." However, goalkicking was an ongoing concern, with the Ferns converting just one from seven off the tee. "We are working really hard on that," Bunting said. "We have got girls doing quite a few kicks at training and I have faith." Players now face a nervous two-week wait, before the World Cup squad is announced and the defence begins. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
3 hours ago
- RNZ News
Rugby live updates: AUSNZ v British & Irish Lions
The Lions celebrates a try against the Waratahs, 2025. Photo: DEAN LEWINS / PHOTOSPORT One of the most talked-about fixtures of the Lions tour finally takes place in South Australia, with the Ian Foster-coached AUSNZ combined side taking the field. Kickoff is at 10pm NZT.
RNZ News
10 hours ago
- RNZ News
Formula E, FIA poised for long-term contract extension
New Zealand Formula E drivers Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy. Photo: Paulo Maria / AFP Formula E is poised to extend an exclusive deal with motorsport's world governing body that will ensure it remains the only all-electric racing series sanctioned by the FIA for decades to come. Majority owned since last year by telecoms company Liberty Global, Formula E began in 2014 with a 25-year licence. FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem let slip to reporters during last weekend's British Formula One Grand Prix that an extension to the Formula E contract was done and "would come up soon". Before the season's penultimate round in Berlin, Formula E chief executive Jeff Dodds told Reuters on Friday there was nothing official, but to expect various announcements at the London season-ender this month. Formula One will start a new engine era next year, with a 50/50 split between combustion and electric, but Ben Sulayem has said the Liberty Media-owned sport could go back to noisy V8 engines by 2029. "If they [F1] choose to keep using it [the 2026 engine], we'll choose to keep talking about the fact that they like the [electric] technology so much, they integrate it into their race cars," Dodds said. "If they choose to go back to V8s, then we would absolutely leverage the fact that we would then be the only electric championship and everything that that means." Formula E will likely be reduced from 11 to 10 teams next season, after the withdrawal of Formula One champions McLaren to focus on endurance racing. McLaren had sought a new owner for the team, but Dodds said the timeframe was too tight for interested parties and it would revert to Formula E, barring a late twist. "As it stand, unless something changes - and I never say never in Formula E or motorsport - their last race would be London," he added. "The team slot would vacate, which means the licence would revert to us, and then we have a lot of other interest in joining the championship. "The chance of somebody joining for one year of Gen3 is unlikely, but the chance of somebody coming in and starting to develop with a future coming in for Gen4 is much more likely." Formula E will be in the last year of its Gen3 era next season, with the more powerful and faster Gen4 car then coming in for 2026/27. Nissan's British driver Oliver Rowland can clinch the 2024/25 championship in the Berlin doubleheader this weekend and would be the series' 10th different champion in 11 seasons. New Zealand's Nick Cassidy is currently eighth in the championship standings, while fellow Kiwi Mitch Evans is 18th. Both drivers are in the Jaguar TCS Racing Team. - Reuters
