Full Show Podcast: 15 March 2026

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Fine
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Speaker 2 (00:13):
The only place for.

Speaker 1 (00:15):
The big names, the big issues, the big controversies and
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Speaker 3 (00:27):
EDB seven after midday. Good afternoon, It's a Sunday, fifteenth
to March twenty twenty six. My name's Darcy Walter Grave
of Stolen Jason Pine's at seat for the entire weekend
of at Weekend Sport. I'm having a while of the time.
I hope you're enjoying your weekend of sport as well.

(00:51):
Before we tell you what's coming up of the next
of three hours, Happy birthday to Kyle Mills. H Kyle,
You'll always be remembered, won't you? For your time in
the yellow vest going off for the South Africa's I'm
sorry I had to bring that up, but that was
one of the outstandings that arguably was what turned the

(01:13):
tables for the black Caps and who they are now
so well done on that one. There great nights sport
plenty going on, and we'll touch on quite a lot
of that today we'll soo preview some clashes coming up.
Six Nations they've given up playing defense. Interesting to see
that's going to make the the Nations Championship coming up

(01:37):
being something else. How's the irony of that? Always accused
of playing flash Harry run rugby and suddenly that's what
the Northern hemisphere are doing as well. Six nations are
playing that game. France are the Six Nations champions and
for Ireland, well they've got something going on. They managed

(02:00):
to pick up the triple crown. So that's great results
for that over the weekend. But a Formula one happening well,
a bit of rugby union, but will touch on all
of that in the program. Will be joined by Dan Perrin,
assistant coach of the Crusaders. How on earth did they
get away with that last night against the Highlanders? Thirty
minutes with only fourteen players? You are caddying me. We'll

(02:24):
catch up with Cain Williamson up after one o'clock. James
mcconey has a world. We're talking a bit of timber
sports as well with Shane Jordan beat up on his
younger brother yesterday who incident he was the world champion.
Michael lamonato if I, a Formula one accredited journalist, joins
us to look back at qualifying and the sprint race

(02:45):
in Shanghai and her head to the Formula one race
tonight at eight o'clock. Nathan Smith, we talk a wee
bit of cricket because the five match T twenty series,
the doubleheaders both Ferns and the Caps, that commences today
and Cole Forbes there's a bit of a grudge match

(03:07):
today at Eden Park three thirty five. It's the rivals.
It's Tannaumong his men, that mo one Pussifka up against
the Blues. That's a lot on this. It should have
a wee bit of friction, a bit of a rest
around it. It'd be great looking forward to that as well.
We've got plenty. We've got plenty on the program. You

(03:30):
can always call through as well. Love your opinions. Oh
eight hundred eighty ten eighty free phone number nationwide. You
can text two by all means nine two nine two
zb ZB. A standard text charge, however, does apply. It
is ten past.

Speaker 2 (03:47):
Twelve when there's a line call, it's your call.

Speaker 1 (03:52):
Weekend Sport with Dancy Vandegrave Youth Talk ZB it's.

Speaker 3 (03:57):
Ticked over eleven, passed to twelve. Dave any answer, you know,
the new All Blacks head coach. The next question is
who will his assistance be. Rumors plainly have started to
help us to get to the bottom of those rumors.
And a man who's got an ear on the nature
of New Zealand rugby, specifically All Black rugby as Gregor

(04:20):
Paul from the New Zealand Herald. He's chief rugby writer.
He's got the inside word and we're going to go
to him now and find out what's happening with the
assistant coaches. Good afternoon, Gregor, I trust.

Speaker 4 (04:31):
You well, I'm very well thanks to That's what I
like to hear.

Speaker 3 (04:36):
A big day. Today's a wonderful crosstown rivalry. I think
that some petrol's been poured on this fiery rivalry by
a tana Umag. This is my one pacifica up against
the Blues. But that's the one side we're focusing now on.
Where to now for Dave Rennie. We know who the
All Black coaches? What is he doing with his assistants?

(04:59):
Because I believe this decision is imminent.

Speaker 5 (05:03):
I think we'll get maybe confirmation at the end of
the week coming that's the plan. It might push on
to the next week, depending how intricate difficult contracts are
to actually put signatures on. But you know, I think
he's chosen as people. I think he knows who he wants.

Speaker 4 (05:24):
There is clearly because it's been.

Speaker 5 (05:26):
Written about by myself an issue with one of his
choices that New Zealand Rugby is not so much pushing
back against but encouraging him to consider retaining incumbent assistant
coach Scott Hanson. So this is a question here of
Dave Rennie. It's keen on my fellow Scotsman, fellow Edinburgh

(05:50):
academy boy Mike Blair to bring him in as the
attack coach. But it's not that New Zealand are going
on xenophobeck on this choice. I think they're just pushing
back against that and saying Scott Hansen's here.

Speaker 4 (06:04):
He's rated.

Speaker 5 (06:06):
Very well with the players, He's got rapport with the players.
Many of the players think he's a good technical, tactical coach.
Could you find a way to keep him or just
certainly challenge Dave to say, let's not throw this guy
away just yet. Have you truly considered what he might
bring to your setup. So I don't think it's forcing

(06:27):
Dave to keep Scott Hanson. I think it's a process
here of saying, look, let's do a due diligence. Let's
make sure that you two have talked to each other,
that you've had a chance to see if you could
work together. And if at the end of that you're
still pretty sure that you don't want to keep Scott
and you want to work with Mike, then fair enough.

Speaker 3 (06:45):
How important is it for the ol Blacks that Dave
Rennie essentially gets his way with the assistant courages.

Speaker 4 (06:53):
Well, it's not about getting his way.

Speaker 5 (06:55):
It's about getting a team that he's comfortable with, that
he's happy with, that he's sure can help him deliver
the success that he's hoping to have with the Olblecks.
It's about me making sure that everyone is on the
same page and that they've got the right people, the
best people, and that everyone's convinced they've got the best people.
So yeah, look, it's hugely important if you look at

(07:18):
what happened, you know with the enfostered back in two nineteen,
they had a process to appoint him whereby he had
and his rival candidate, Scott Robertson, had to do the
same thing. They both had to present to the board
as part of their head coach application. They had to
say and look, I will come with these coaches here.

Speaker 4 (07:39):
Now.

Speaker 5 (07:40):
That became a problem because it became a bit playground
esque where both you know, both parties had to sort
of scrap around and you're my team and if you're
my team, you.

Speaker 4 (07:48):
Can't be in his team type thing.

Speaker 5 (07:50):
And Foster was also hampered in the end because he
had Jamie Joseph and Tony Brown lined up to be
in his team, but the process took so long to
go through that by the time he came to be interviewed,
Joseph and Tony Brown had both pulled out because they
been offered to heap more money to stay in Japan.
So Foster was scrambling around for two assistants late in

(08:12):
the peace, which he did. He found John Plumtree and
Brad Moore, and we know what happened there. They turned
out to not quite be up to standard and they
had to be let go midway through the tenure.

Speaker 4 (08:24):
That was a high drama moment.

Speaker 5 (08:26):
It was disruptive and look with Razor when he got
the job in twenty three. I don't think there was
any scrutiny on his choice of assistance, and five test
matches into his reign, Leo McDonald, one of his assistants,
walked out and Jason Holland, who was also part of
the team didn't seek an extension on his contract at

(08:47):
the end of last year, again a signal that not
all was.

Speaker 4 (08:50):
Quite right with that setup.

Speaker 5 (08:52):
So I think it's hugely important that there's a lot
of scrutiny, that there's good due diligence. Then New Zealand
Rugby puts a bit of pressure on Dave to challenge
his choices, but ultimately Dave has to become the ball
with what he gets and New Zealand Rugby have to
be comfortable with what Dave wants.

Speaker 3 (09:12):
Top brass in very important positions and ends are you'd
suggest that situation thread bear at best at the moment,
But you think who's around and making these decisions. They're
cognizance of what happened over the last three years. They're
not bearing their head in the sand like an Ostrians.
They've actually learned something that they can apply to this
current situation.

Speaker 5 (09:32):
Yeah, well, I think so the fact that they're putting
a bit of heat on him to consider his options
to not just get the White clubs on and wave
through what he wants, but nor are they necessarily demanding
that he'd do something he doesn't want to do. So
I think it's a good compromise agreement that they've reached
here that Deve's to do a bit, to do a

(09:55):
bit more consideration of what New Zealand Rugby wants without
being forced into doing what they want. So is a
kind of look at the end of it, if both
ends ed are and Dave can walk away going you know,
we had a really good process there.

Speaker 4 (10:12):
We dug deep into all the all the.

Speaker 5 (10:15):
Characters, all the names that were put forward, and New
Zealand Rugby puts forward a name. Dave has his own
people that he puts forward. At the end of it,
as long as everyone sort of dug into it, felt
that they've they've looked at everyone fairly, deeply and reasonably,
and that Dave's choices were made you know, with a
with a with a deep process of knowledge, and New

(10:36):
Zealand Rugby is acceptance that that's that's what happened, then
it makes a huge difference because I don't think that's
what's happened in the last two regimes clearly because assistant
coaches didn't go the distance.

Speaker 3 (10:49):
It's a balance of power that is going to be
key in these decisions, and you get the feeling that
is going to happen with maybe nobody having the I
suppose that the final judgment out decent involved with the
other And I looked at that with the players via
the coach as to what the players or the coach

(11:12):
want in an assistant coach. I mean, how important is
that balance? It has to be the coaches the boss.
But the players are they going to play under these guys, right,
and they've got to know what they want. So again
another balanced situation has to be sorted.

Speaker 4 (11:25):
Yeah, to a degree.

Speaker 5 (11:27):
I don't that you can hand it over too far
to the players about you know.

Speaker 4 (11:30):
How much say in control?

Speaker 5 (11:32):
I think they player input, wider feedback from a whole
different variety of players, not just current All Blacks, but
former All Blacks, people that have played super rugby. They
all fed into the head coaching process to inform the decision.

Speaker 4 (11:49):
It wasn't the players getting what.

Speaker 5 (11:51):
They wanted, it was New Zealand rugby asking players of
all different types of players, as I've just mentioned, you
know what their assessment was of Dave Rennie, what their
assessment was of Jamie Joseph. Because these guys have user experience,
the best people to go to ask to like, what's
he really like? How well does he coach? And if
you're a senior All Black, you know when you've encountered

(12:14):
a good coach. You know when you've encountered a coach
that you don't think is quite up to These guys
are really good making assessments about coaches. So in terms
of the head coaching thing, that definitely happened. I don't
think you would hand over too much around the assistance
or go too deep and getting player feedback or extensive
player feedback around those guys. You might ask a few

(12:35):
questions of a few players who might have coached with people,
But I think the critical issue here is there's a
nuance in that Specifically, Dave has worked quite considerably with
Mike Player, so Dave has a relationship with Mike, so
Dave's comfortable there. Mike knows how Dave wants to play
the game. They're currently working together at Kobe, so they've

(12:59):
got that trust, that instant rapport, that knowledge of one another.
But the players don't know Mike. New Zealand's players don't
know Mike. Mike doesn't know New Zealand players. So on
the other side of this equation is Scott Hanson, who
does know the players, who has worked with All Blacks.
He is currently contracted effectively to the All Blacks, so.

Speaker 4 (13:20):
That's bringing a bit of value.

Speaker 5 (13:21):
So the question is does Scott Hanson's rapport and knowledge
with the players outrank Mike's relationship with Dave? Which one's
more important? Relationship with the players a relationship with the
incoming head coach. So I think that's the balance that
New Zealand Rugby and the question that they're getting Dave
to ask himself about which one carries a greater currency?

Speaker 4 (13:44):
I suppose.

Speaker 3 (13:45):
And you're going to be careful about making decisions by
committee because it never ends up well, does it? Gregor
Paul New Zealand Herald Rugby writer joins us. You mentioned
before that he's got his team, who is it? Who
do you believe is going to be selected? And tana Umanga,
who's managed to fend off these questions around is it
going to be him. He's plainly up there or is he?

(14:09):
Who do you like? Who do you think?

Speaker 4 (14:11):
Well?

Speaker 5 (14:11):
I think Tana's clearly been approached by Dave and that
would make sense. They've got to They go way back
to two thousand and Tana played for Wellington under Dave,
so again there's a relationship. I think they may have
overlapped in other places, but I can't think where. So
clearly there's a bit of a mutual respect between one another.

(14:33):
Tana is currently head coach with Moana, but he's been
a defense coach separately with the Blues. I think, am
I right in thinking that he did that for a.

Speaker 4 (14:41):
Wee while And look, he was clearly.

Speaker 5 (14:44):
One of the best defensive footballers I've ever seen. He
was a brilliant defender on the field, So there's no
doubt that understanding how defense systems need to be set up,
Tana would be right up there. Whether he's proven himself
as an outstanding defensive coach ready to step up to
the All Blacks, don't know, genuinely don't know, but I'm

(15:09):
a big fan of Tanna and I think put him
in that environment and I think he under Dave's watchful eye.
I think he will be a good defensive coach for
the All Blacks. I think he will end up in
that coaching team. He's a Pacific rugby icon, if I
could put it that way, in a team that is
probably has been in the last couple of years about

(15:31):
seventy five percent of the team of being pacifica Or
and Maori. So don't overlook the importance of that. That
is a big factor of having a guy that's you know,
highly connected in that world, hugely respected. I think that's
the big things. I think he will find a way
into that coaching group. I think Neil Barnes has been

(15:53):
a big factor in Dave's coaching for a long time,
and I think they're keen to reconnect. And you know,
Barnes brings a fairly direct approach people that no one says.

Speaker 4 (16:05):
Hell of a smart guy. He's got colorful.

Speaker 5 (16:08):
Language, which we also in that sixth Nations documentary, which
you know was was was funny at times and cringing
at other times.

Speaker 4 (16:16):
But he's a guy that knows rugby. And I think
there's no harm in having a really.

Speaker 5 (16:20):
Direct sharpshooter, direct talker encouraging for us to put you know,
shut the gobs, put their heads down and the bums
up and get on with it.

Speaker 4 (16:29):
I think that's not a bad thing. So I think
he'll come.

Speaker 5 (16:31):
In and then we're probably looking at either Mikey Blair
or Scott Hansen to lead the attack, and I suspect
it will be Mike that gets the nod in the end,
and maybe Andrew Strawbridge. Oh, and he's going to keep
Jason Ryan from the existing crew as well to focus
more on scrummaging and mauling, and then maybe Andrew Strawbridge

(16:53):
as a skills coach who's previously been with the Chiefs.
And it's kind of working as a contracting gun for
hire at the moment and doing you know, doing a
lot of good work with England in the past. And
I think he's a japan at the moment.

Speaker 3 (17:07):
The Pacifica connection is important. Dave Rennie asked him about
that when he got given the job at the press
conference and he was like, no, everybody's important. It's not
just necessary MARII and Pacifica. But to have that connection,
I think is huge. So you add Dave Rennie's tana umanger.
I don't think he can go.

Speaker 4 (17:27):
Wrong No, it's huge. I mean Davey's point is he's
got to connect with all you know, if.

Speaker 5 (17:32):
He's got forty three players and his scored or whatever
the number is, he's seen South Africa, he's got to
connect with all of them. The culture has to be
all inclusive for every single player. But to your point,
there is a specific element here of the predominant heritage
of the players, Specifica and Maori, and I think it's

(17:53):
just important. In previous old Black regimes, you know, it's
been an entirely Caucasian coaching team, guys that have maybe
maybe one of the faults of the previous regime was
they just didn't connect with all the diverse elements of
the all black group.

Speaker 4 (18:11):
They've been used to coaching and the Crusaders they.

Speaker 5 (18:13):
Had a way of doing it down there, and they
had a very kind of narrow view of the world
that didn't necessarily translate all that way to the all Blacks.
I think having Tana, having Dave with a real understanding
of who the people are that are in their playing.

Speaker 4 (18:30):
Group, I think that'll be huge. I'm with you and
that I agree.

Speaker 3 (18:35):
Onwards and upwards very much. Looking forward to these appointments,
in fact, appointments right across the board in New Zealand Rugby.
I really hope they managed to stitch up that thread
being nature on that Gregor Paul and New zeal And
Hell Rugby writer, we think very much for your time,
your insight, your expertise to look after yourself well.

Speaker 4 (18:52):
Thanks Darci.

Speaker 3 (18:54):
I thank you very much, Gregor in Z here dot
co dot INZ. If you want to read more of
what's lurking in Gregor Paul's Rugby Minded as well worth
it as twelve twenty six, contact the studio. We'd love
to hear from you on air. Our weight one hundred
and eighty ten eighty. That's a free phone number if

(19:14):
you want. You can send to texts in nine two
ninety two. That's a ZEBZB. A standard text charge does apply.
So questions out of that interview the importance of either
Rennie getting his way with who he wants in these roles,
the importance of ns are getting their way with the

(19:34):
continuity of Scott Hansen in that role. But I suppose
over top of it all, from your point of view,
what are they actually need in their assistance coaches? What's
the most important aspect of what these men will bring
to the role to aid Anna bet Dave Rennie and
his drive to pick up a World Cup short amount

(19:57):
of time. I don't believe it's too short amount of
time to win the World Cup. Just look at the
South African experiment. Amy has turned things around reasonably fast.
They don't need a four year leading but the nature
of his staff hugely important. I think it comes down
to a couple of things. Plainly, buy in with Dave Rennie.

(20:19):
They've got to understand what he wants to do and
they have to buy and they have to be his
minions for want of a better word, continuity from the
last all black coaching stuff. I don't think that's important.
Ends that are. According to Gregor Paul There says that
Scott Hansen's well respected, the players like himans that are

(20:41):
like him, so they maybe want to see him in
that role. The big problem with Mike Blair is he's
a foreigner. I don't have any issue in the coaching staff.
We're having Mike Blair and he's got a relationship with
Dave Rennie. They're working at Corbette together now. They worked
over in Scotland together two so the coaching staff. Barnes.

(21:02):
I'm a huge fan of what Neil Barnes brings. Strawbridge,
Blair Anson, Jason Ryan. That is not so bad for you.
What do you want? I want reliability. I don't want
the coaching staff being fractured by an assistant deciding he
doesn't like it anymore and he's walking away. And the

(21:22):
last two all black coaches have had players, sorry coaches
walk away and more less importantly but more interestingly, with
Ian Foster, are coaches assistant coaches that is jettison because
they weren't coming to the party. So reliability, that's what
I'm looking for. What are you looking for? I'll wait
one hundred eighty ten eighty, or you can send your

(21:45):
text to nine two nine two. Standard text charge does
apply and give us ring love to talk with him.
My name is Darcy. It is twelve twenty nine on
news Talk z B. Right, we're going to go to
our callers now and we go straight into flip high.
How are you height?

Speaker 6 (22:06):
I see good? Thanks. Look, there was a question I
really want to ask you, because you, as a crusader's man,
might know it, and it is about Scott Hansen. Is
that this I would say that I'll be willing to
bet that eighty percent of the followers of the All
Blacks thought that when thought that Raisor Robinson was the

(22:30):
right guy for the job, and that he was a
guy we had been told he had had innovative ideas
and that he'd come up with to win games, and
we all thought he was going to be the one
who would get the All Blacks back to being head
and shoulders above the rest of the world the way
they were in times gone by, and it was just

(22:52):
gob smackingly astonishing to I think most of us, Maybe
not you people who are really into sport and I
mean got deep links in there, but for most of us,
I'll be willing to be eighty percent of All Black
fans that to learn that Scott Robinson, Raiser Robinson, wasn't
actually doing the coaching of the Orglacks. He had armed

(23:14):
that off to his offside of Scott Hansen.

Speaker 3 (23:17):
Dad was the feeling and that's what he said in
that interview. But I think man management over top of it.
That's really the role he was in and probably is
what he did with the Crusaders. The best mistake was
telling everybody that actually the day to day. But he
does that. I think it was genuinely known, but maybe

(23:37):
to reveal that probably wasn't the smartest thing.

Speaker 6 (23:39):
He said, Yeah, but Darcy, I mean, rugby is a
game that can be played. You can skin a cat
in very different ways of rugby, far more than a
lot of other sports, and clever coaches have come around
them everywhere have have won games one championships because they
had good rugby brains that could think out new strategies

(24:01):
to defeat the opposition. And we I would be willing
to be eighty percent of all back followers, maybe ninety
or ninety five thought that Scott Robertson raisor Robinson was
the man for that, and he was going to do
that job. And it was just utterly astonishing to learn
that he wasn't doing that job. Scott Hansen was doing

(24:22):
it apparently. And the question I have for you is this,
as you're a Crusaders man and have connections there, I suppose.

Speaker 3 (24:31):
Nearly thirty years, my connections are fairly brittle, to be fair.

Speaker 6 (24:35):
Carry on, Okay, yeah, okay, Well who was response? Who
was the architect of the Crusaders seven wins under Scott Robinson?
Raiser Robinson's coaching.

Speaker 3 (24:49):
There was a number of distant assistant coaches during that time.
FIP and thank you very much for your call. But
as the overarching head coach who dealt with culture, dealt
with selection, and oversaw the defense in the attack, it
at Scott Robinson and I think a lot of us.
I was very pro Robertson, quite surprised when it didn't

(25:11):
work out the way we thought it would. I don't
think he should have been exited stage left. I think
he needed more time.

Speaker 7 (25:18):
So be it.

Speaker 3 (25:19):
We've got a new guy. Now we get one hundred
percent behind it. So what we do with the coaching staff,
the assistant coaching staff, I ask you, oh, eight one
hundred eighty ten eighty lines are open. I just want reliability.
I want them to stay for more than two years.
This is news talk ZB. It's twelve thirty two summer
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(25:41):
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(26:04):
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Speaker 1 (26:40):
The biggest names in sports Talk to Darcy Weekend Sport
with Dancy Watergrave and GJ. Gardnomes, New Zealand's most trusted
home builder News Talks That'd.

Speaker 3 (26:50):
Be twelve thirty six, joined by Gregor Paul to open
the show, talking about the coaching selections the assistant coaches
that Dave Rennie would like take your cause on that now, Phil,
welcome to the show. We're leaning on this one.

Speaker 8 (27:06):
I just want to say, first of all, Darcy, thanks
for sticking up for me yesterday when I couldn't pronounce
the name Rachel put that kick through about paste and
white male bit angry about that.

Speaker 3 (27:17):
But I'm a pasty white male. Let's say, okay, but
not everyone can get it right. Okay, if I was
doing it, problems, But Phil Assistant coaches.

Speaker 8 (27:26):
Assistant coach Gregor Pool was really good to listen to.
It was a great interview. Yeah, I'm with you. I'm
with you, and I just want reliability and continuity. And
I think like Gregor Pool highlighted the point there with
the last two things, last two appointments, and I didn't
know about Ian Foster with his two his two fellas

(27:47):
that he wanted that he couldn't get with Tony Brown.
And because the process took so long with Jamie Joseph,
and then with Razor and his guys, his fellow leave
and the other fellow not renewing a contract. To me,
it just really highlights the importance of like Gregor Pool
said about taking the time to get that whole coaching
unit and assistant coach is right, you know, to get

(28:10):
everything right, so you all gel together and there's none
of these problems down the road where one gets frustrated
with the other and decides to walk out halfway through
or you know, a few months after being in the job,
because there it just throws upheaval everything and upheaval, doesn't it,
And the players get they get unse happy, unsettled and unhappy,

(28:30):
and they you know, probably can't have trouble concentrating on
that because all this internal stuff that's going on where
they're trying to get things down and that, so yeah,
really important. I think that is the biggest thing a
And if they can if the players are happy, I
got no problem with the foreign person coming. And is
it Mike that's worked with Dave Renny that is working

(28:51):
with them now and bringing them in, I've got no
problem with that either. But if the players really like
Hanson as well, Scott Hanson, and they would like him
to stay it, then I think it would be important
for them too, for them to convince the ready to
somehow keep him in there, because it's a very important,
like we've seen with what happened with ways of that,

(29:13):
Like Gregor Paul said, the players shouldn't have the b
or end will say, but it is important in the
environment for the courtin new and in happiness and to
keep it a harmonious environment to have the players happy
as well.

Speaker 3 (29:26):
I think that is important. You've got to understand, philm
thanks very much for your call that as far as
control of the ultimate control of the team and what happens,
it has to sit with the coach because he's the
guy who's head is on the block. And as you
pointed out, and I know I laughed about committee because
when you make a decision via committee, it never works.

(29:46):
But information. The more information you can get before you
make a decision, the better. And you'd like to think
that lessons have been learned by n z are of
what's happened in the last few years. I don't know
if that's too much to ask, but we'll find out. Gooday, Pete, how.

Speaker 9 (30:02):
Are you good? I reckon start. You know, it's like
a new company. You know, they take over another company
and the manager say, as well, that was the previous company.
The leaders of the company, maybe they beg and I'm
going to run up my way, and I reckon, he's
the coach now. So it should be up to him
who decides he wants to be his assistant coaches. I reckon,

(30:24):
they want to keep your nose out of it, the
you know the other the head work like David Kirk,
and just let him. Let him decide he wants to
take on a lot of the players are going to
know also, some of those players aren't going to be
all blacks as they were under a Raider, So there's
going to be a whole new change in the whole
whole scenario. Really, So that's it's going to buy the
bullet and let him decide. I think it better best.

Speaker 10 (30:46):
That fresh Pete.

Speaker 3 (30:47):
That's all or after a bit of an opinion for you.
Eight hundred and eighty teen eighty. This is a news
talk zbs twe minutes to one. Feel free to ring
on through. Hi, Richie, what do you make of the situation?

Speaker 4 (31:00):
Darcy?

Speaker 11 (31:00):
Hey, Look, god, I rang up a while ago when
Razer was getting the bullet, and I said one of
the key things that we felt about razors regime as
what was his game plan? Nobody really had any idea
what his game plan was. And then everybody was saying, well,
Scott Hansen's as attack coach and everything. And I can't
help thinking he might be liked by the players, but

(31:23):
he couldn't get his message across clearly. And that's my
two cents worth.

Speaker 3 (31:27):
What would you say was the attack? What was the
point of attack? So you said the clarity wasn't there.
So if we don't get it, how the player's supposed
to get it? And I suppose if you've been critical,
what did the All Blacks attack look like? For a
great part of the time he was so called running it?
Was it really that good? We didn't have one precise We.

Speaker 11 (31:46):
Didn't have one. There was no player. No players stayed
the same for any game in a rug really And secondly,
you know there was no idea. You're trying to take
it up through the centers, you're trying to put it
out to the wings fast. You know what exactly was
he trying to do? And if he's the attack coach,
he didn't get that message across, hunt.

Speaker 3 (32:09):
It into the opposition, fallback. That's what their playing was. Richard,
Thanks very much for your time. It is eighteen minutes
to one this news talk's the b lines were open.
Our eight hundred and eighty ten eighty All Black assistant coach.
Where does that sit for you? And coming up after
one o'clock we're going to be joined by mister Caine Williamson.

(32:31):
You may remember him, handy cricketer back in the day.
When I say back in the day, he's still playing
right Caane Williamson joins us up after one is his
news talks there.

Speaker 1 (32:41):
B don't stay on the sidelines Call eight hundred eighty
Weekend Sport with Dancy Wandergrave and GJ. Gunnomes, New Zealand's
most trusted home builder News Talks at B.

Speaker 3 (32:53):
Twelve forty five on Weekend at Sport. We've got a
bit of a turn about. We're going to go to
timber Sport. Now we're going to Shane Jordan. A bit
of a shock in the world of timber Sport. The
world champion Jack Jordan, younger brother of he's been beaten
and there's still and you see on Timersport championships by

(33:14):
older brother Shane, ten years between them. That means Jack
won't be able to defend his world title later this year.
It could be awkward around the dinner table. Shane joins us. Now,
mister Jordan, you must be stoked to get one in
for the old boys.

Speaker 12 (33:31):
Yeah, definitely like Jack's. Oh he's pretty hard to beat
at the best of times. And yeah, it's definitely pretty
good yesterday to get one over top of him.

Speaker 3 (33:39):
So what was the trick, because you got a number
of different disciplines running through the day, where did you
get the edge on Matt? Do you think?

Speaker 12 (33:46):
Well, both tied coming into the last event, the hot saw,
we're both tied on points, and he had a slightly
faster overall fine, which meant I had to go first,
and all I knew was I had to put up
a really good time and then sort of put the
pressure back on him. And yeah, lucky enough, it all
just sort of worked out just right. Like me, training
was pretty good in the hot saw and sort of
just went for it and yeah, put up a five
point seven, which is yeah, right up there and meant

(34:09):
theppreciator go back on him and he Yeah, it was
obviously just a little bit too much, and he just
made a bit of a mistake, pulled that saw up
a little bit high when he started and cut a
too thicker ring, and then he was sort of in
Struggles Street after that.

Speaker 3 (34:20):
And when it comes to all of the disciplines, because
there's a number of different to make up this top
prize to win the competition. Is there a favorite discipline
won the excelon?

Speaker 12 (34:31):
Oh, well, there's six events. The first three events are
single points and then it goes to double points on
the next two and then triple points on the hot sauce.
So the hot saw definitely is one of the most important.
But if you're having a bad day, you don't get
through the others. Sort of its knockout as you go
as well. So they start off with ten and then
they dropped two after the first three, and then they

(34:52):
drop another two after the the next event. So yeah,
you definitely got to be going pretty good all day
and pretty consistent to sort of get there at the
end to have a shot at it.

Speaker 3 (35:01):
Far is the mental state, and you touched on it
just then. Plainly strength size technique is huge, But mentally,
how much def to dial in for this? Do you think?

Speaker 7 (35:13):
Yeah, it is.

Speaker 12 (35:14):
It's probably the most mental out of all the woods
shopping sort of events we do, just because you've got
six events that are also different. There's the really the
really really technical ones and then there's the ones that
aren't probably quite as technical, but sort of the brawn,
strength and that sort of come to it a big part.
So by the end of the day you're absolutely rigged.

Speaker 3 (35:34):
I always like the standing block. That always fascinated me
as a kid. Something you revalent.

Speaker 12 (35:39):
Yeah, definitely, that's my favorite. That's my favorite out of
picking sort of any event would be the standing block.
It's probably the one I trained the most and have
probably had the most success and so yeah, the standing
box definitely, Yeah, right up there.

Speaker 3 (35:52):
So what got you into it? Why did you start
attacking bits of timber for fun?

Speaker 4 (35:57):
Oh?

Speaker 12 (35:58):
Sort of something did. We went got off the bus
after skill and went to a guy called Bruce Reichard
just out of Douglas. He had a sort of a
bit of a school going for a whole lot of
us young fellas, and yeah, we just sort of went
there and started doing it, and from there went over
to a guy call Johnny Mackenzie and Taupo I was
living over there at the time, and sort of he
pushed me along and you know, the right direction, and yeah,

(36:18):
sort of went from there.

Speaker 3 (36:19):
That is a direct result your younger brother ten year
younger brother, where he's slightly heavier and slightly taller. He
doesn't get to go and defend his world championship, does he? No, No,
he doesn't.

Speaker 12 (36:30):
He'll be going over in the team to cut with
us in the team's event over there. But yeah, definitely
he won't be going for that individual spot this year.

Speaker 3 (36:38):
Is he like an angry individual? Was he going to
like not talk to you for months on end? Or na?

Speaker 7 (36:45):
He's pretty good sort of.

Speaker 12 (36:47):
Last year I was on the receiving end, like I
made pretty much the same mistake as well he did
last year and got dequed and sort of that sort of. Yeah,
it was pretty much very similar to being the same
as this year and the way of points coming out
for that last event. But Njack's Jack pretty good. He's
you know, I could see he was heard enough, sort
of felt his pain yesterday, so I didn't talk to

(37:08):
him too much or sort of. But yeah, it'll take
it'll take a few days to sort of process at all.
And yeah, but definitely he'll be on my side when
we head over there and try to get that World championship.

Speaker 3 (37:18):
And the last thing for in thanks so much for
joining us, Shane Jordan. The strength of timber sports in
New Zealand. When you look back at such great names
like when You're Bolstered and the like. Is it still
looking like that, We're still right up the top of
the world.

Speaker 4 (37:33):
Yeah, definitely.

Speaker 12 (37:34):
We've got a lot of a lot of extra guys
coming through now, Like it was probably quite weak probably
five years ago, but now we're we've got a real
good group of guys that are really pushing pretty hard
to represent the country.

Speaker 3 (37:48):
And on that note, we'll eat you go. Congratulations mate,
Go well and sit down and have yourself a brilliant,
hearty feed of steak and we'll talk on another day,
I'm sure. Hey, thank you very much, Thank you very much.
Shane Jordan thoroughly likable older brother of world champion Jack Jordan,
whom he beat New Zealand champs yesterday. Well done to

(38:11):
that man. Nice to know they're both going to be
traveling away overseas together. Not too much of a ruckus
between the characters. It's nine away from one. Coming up
after one o'clock. Cain Williamson is going to join the program.
He has released a new box, but also plenty to
talk about in the wonderful wide world of cricket. Thanks
very much for your texts coming through around. Who is

(38:34):
going to be the assistant coach under Dave Rennie, plenty
of them. There's someone here completely attacking what the attack
was like Under Hanson, I can't read those words. I'll
be removed from my seat, so I shan't ends it
are in the dark ages. It's this character pick global

(38:56):
or completely destroyed, destroy the brand. And the more I
think about this, Hanson has too much baggage from the
last regime. Already got Ryan in there, He's going to stay.
So I think a clean cut is probably the best thing.
And when you look at the relationship that Mike Blair
has got with Dave Rennie Cobby Steele, just so you know,

(39:21):
are sitting at the top of the table and when
it comes to Japan Top fourteen rugby, so they're going
all right as a team. And what is wrong with
a different accent? What is wrong with a foreigner rolling
in at a coaching level. I just don't think there's
any issue with that. We've seen that at super rugby
level too, bringing in a different headspace, a different thought process,

(39:44):
a different attitude. Because New Zealand rugby can get a
tad insular and this way will escape that problem and
On that note, looking forward to the latest news, sport
and weather, which is coming up next here at Newstalk
ZB up. After that, it's Kin.

Speaker 1 (40:04):
Williamson analyzing the plays and getting the insight weekends for
it with Darcy Waldegrave News Talk z'b.

Speaker 3 (40:15):
It's four minutes away from news. A couple of quick
texts for you, Moy is interesting. Might you have to
say nine to nine to ZBZB The standard text charge
does apply. I think about that before you send it in. Tony,
very simple request what he wants from the assistant coaches.
I just want success? Is that too much to ask? No,

(40:38):
it's not. You're a fan as you should. Rennie should
bring Mike with them. Hansen is to headstrong and will
clash with Rennie. It's too important to have practices within
the leadership. Rennie needs to surround himself with people he trusts,
and Marz says, have you seen the price of stake, Darcy?

(40:58):
More likely you'd probably grab some mints, I would think,
and I get that completely. That's our number one of
week in sport, our number two moments away. This is
news Talk.

Speaker 1 (41:11):
ZB, the only place to discuss the biggest sports issues on.

Speaker 4 (41:18):
The head off the field.

Speaker 9 (41:19):
We've got a story.

Speaker 1 (41:20):
It's all on Weekend Sport with Darcy Watergrave on your
home of Sport News.

Speaker 4 (41:26):
Talk zeb.

Speaker 3 (41:28):
Seven after one on a Sunday afternoon, fifteenth to March
twenty twenty six on Darcy water Grave sitting in for
Jason Pine here on week in Sport. Two hours to
go of all the fun of a sporting circus coming
up over the next couple of hours. We'll go to
Motorsport up after two o'clock. Michael Lamonato joins us on

(41:49):
Australian if I, a accredited Formula one writer around the
action tonight at eight o'clock of the Shanghai Grand Prix
League Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai. Nathan Smith, Blackcap joins
the program. Cole Forbes, blues rugby player, joins the program.
In coming up in this hour, before we get to

(42:10):
my old mate James mcconey, before we get to Dan Perrin,
assistant coach of the successful Crusaders from last night, We're
going to talk with the goat of New Zealand cricket.
And I can say that because I believe it is
true and he's involved now in a new business venture.
Caine Williamson's decided to release a new piece of protective

(42:34):
cricket equipment. You know exactly what I'm talking about. It's
a box. Kane Williamson joins the program at now afternoon.
How are you, Kane?

Speaker 4 (42:45):
Some good?

Speaker 13 (42:45):
Thanks? Good to chat.

Speaker 14 (42:47):
How are you?

Speaker 3 (42:48):
And good? It's great to have you on board as well. Look,
we're going to be talking now about this new box
that you have helped design and create. I'd best not
tell people about it because I don't know later on
the line, Cain, what have you been doing? What is this?

Speaker 13 (43:07):
Yeah, well, that's basically it. We've been designing.

Speaker 15 (43:11):
Developing a groin guard harness system.

Speaker 13 (43:15):
It's been five years in the making.

Speaker 15 (43:17):
And I mean the origin stories probably you might remember,
I certainly do, which was getting hit in that region
by Dale Stain about fourteen years ago and sort of
splitting my box in half and then sort of going
on the journey of getting hit a few more times
and other people that I know in cracket getting hit

(43:40):
and getting sort of quite severely injured, and kind of
thinking there's got to be something out there that can
meet the demands and the standards of the highest level.
And so that's kind of how it started and then
went from an idea to then meeting with a developer
and really sort of trying to come up with something

(44:02):
that would work. And that's been our journey. We're now
here today ready to launch the product, which is a
really exciting moment for us as a business. And the
business is called Cover and so yeah, it's quite a
big moment for us.

Speaker 3 (44:18):
Have you seen one to Dale Stain because he was
the guy who split your box in half in the
first place.

Speaker 15 (44:24):
Yeah, he's actually sent a video through.

Speaker 13 (44:27):
He remembers it as well.

Speaker 15 (44:28):
He not only split it in half, but he made
sure he let me know as well that he was
going to try and hurt me out. So hopefully this
will help in the future if he comes to me again.
But no, it's been a really exciting journey in a
new space for me personally, which is.

Speaker 13 (44:49):
The business area.

Speaker 15 (44:50):
You know, a small startup but with a big vision
and ambition to kind of modernize sporting equipment and really
try and take it to another level.

Speaker 13 (45:02):
And so this is the start of that.

Speaker 3 (45:04):
Have you put it on and had someone fire are
a ball at you out of a cannon to make
sure it works.

Speaker 15 (45:10):
We're looking for the people to test it. Yeah, if
you put your hand up.

Speaker 13 (45:13):
No, Look, we've done a whole lot of testing.

Speaker 15 (45:15):
We had to build different testing rigs because it was
quite hard to do it accurately with equipment that was
out there. So it's really quite specific, different angles trying
to work out all the different failure modes, and obviously
the quality of the box taking the impact is one
of those.

Speaker 13 (45:32):
But making sure that it's held in place by.

Speaker 15 (45:36):
A really supportive and comfortable harness system it is.

Speaker 13 (45:39):
Also key to that.

Speaker 15 (45:42):
And so there's been a few of us wearing it
in the international game for the last kind of six
months or so. So yeah, we've really gone through quite
a rigorous process to make sure that it's ready.

Speaker 3 (45:54):
Well, it makes me laugh that boxes have been in
vogue for over one hundred years, but we only just
worked out we needed a helmet. Shows what men find important.
It's the Johnson or their brains, and plainly it's their
john since. Yeah, anyway, don't.

Speaker 13 (46:08):
Move on a bit there, but I think that can
work out what you just said. Yeah, yeah, that's right.

Speaker 15 (46:13):
I mean we're quick to really try and develop the helmet.

Speaker 13 (46:17):
And you mentioned that there's some humor involved when other.

Speaker 15 (46:20):
People get hit in this region, but certainly when it's you,
that's not the case. And in fact, doing a lot
of research about it, you ask anybody in terms of
what they value protecting, and the helmet is right up there,
and closely in second place is the growing region. So
you know, it's sort of made a lot of sense

(46:40):
in a big gap in the market with the existing
standards being about fifty something kilometers an hour with a
drop test, which clearly for the elite level, but not
only that, which implies getting hit at high speeds, but
also spinners can cause injury as well, and we saw
that with a couple of mics, you know, a real

(47:03):
injury that needed surgery and other things to come back from.
So yeah, it's been a real journy outside of protecting.

Speaker 3 (47:12):
Mister Happy, you said you've been wearing your box, you've
been playing as well. What's your future looking like at
the moment, Kane? Where are you heading? What have you
got locked in over the next like six months to
a year?

Speaker 15 (47:23):
Yeah, So, I mean I have been playing a lot,
obviously about the home summer here where we finished with
a test series and then I went straight over to
South Africa and played in that tournament over.

Speaker 13 (47:33):
There, the SA twenty and from there for.

Speaker 15 (47:36):
A quick trip to Bangladesh and I come home and
having a little bit of a break before IPL and
then on the horizon of the England Test Series over
there in June.

Speaker 13 (47:45):
So a bit going on, but nice to have a.

Speaker 15 (47:48):
Lit little bit of a quiet period and focus on
a few other bits and pieces and cover being one
of those things.

Speaker 3 (47:56):
I know the lot of the fans and I include
myself as one of those. Caine we've missed, We've missed
home games, haven't really played since what December? What do
you think the future is looking like as far as
playing at home? There's all sorts of discussion going on
around where the future lies with New Zealand cricket playing.
You're going to play a part of that, whatever aspect
it is. But how do you think it's tracking at

(48:17):
the moment. Do you think it's working and going in
the right direction with people involved at a higher level?

Speaker 13 (48:24):
Look, I think it has to be the focus.

Speaker 15 (48:27):
There are obvious challenges at the moment, and I think
when you finish a world event there's.

Speaker 13 (48:32):
Always a few things that can be a bit frustrating.

Speaker 15 (48:35):
We've got it you know, a bilateral series coming up
which against South Africa, so there's a bit.

Speaker 13 (48:41):
Of content there.

Speaker 15 (48:42):
But I know that there's a big focus to try
and keep the international bilateral cricket relevant and play some
context on it.

Speaker 13 (48:51):
So that's a yeah, there's no shortage of cricket.

Speaker 15 (48:56):
But it's that constant sort of grapple with how everything
fits with franchise space, international space and amongst world events.
So look at I know that is the conversations that
are that are ongoing and they're trying to come up.
But it's the challenge.

Speaker 3 (49:12):
Have you got any involvement of these conversations. They're go cane,
you're quite handy. What do you reckon?

Speaker 13 (49:21):
Informally the odd conversation?

Speaker 15 (49:24):
And you know a little bit through perhaps that the
players association, But there's a lot of moving parts at
the moment, which I'm sure you're aware of, and so
they're looking to sort that out, I suppose, and then
get onto some of these pressing topics.

Speaker 3 (49:39):
In essence, I think there has to be an international
program put in place with possibly windows so we know
when we're playing and then the guys can go off
and play franchise cricket. Does that seem like the correct
shape if it can get organized in your.

Speaker 13 (49:53):
Opinion, yeah, I think it needs space.

Speaker 15 (49:57):
So then whatever cricket is on, it's prioritized at the moment.
There's just so many clashes, you know, of cricket, and
it makes I think fans and and people wanted to
watch it makes a bit complex.

Speaker 13 (50:09):
So I know that's the focus. That's tough.

Speaker 15 (50:12):
There's a lot of challenges, you know, amongst different nations
and some wanting to play others.

Speaker 13 (50:18):
More, et cetera.

Speaker 15 (50:19):
And yeah, so I think you're right in some respects.
It's trying to find windows where you know the priorities
are where you are, which is you know, the international
game and not having to kind.

Speaker 13 (50:33):
Of have this this situation where.

Speaker 15 (50:37):
You know you don't have your players available and I
know that's been probably a little bit frustrating in recent times,
but something that we hope to sort. But you know
that there's a lot of other people that have a
lot of power in shaping that picture.

Speaker 7 (50:51):
You have a question, sorry to ask.

Speaker 3 (50:52):
No dramas, So do you do you have a preference
around what format the franchise cricket takes in New Zealand
because there's big discussions around four different formats, No, and
knows where it stands. Do you lean in a particular direction.

Speaker 13 (51:07):
In which format?

Speaker 3 (51:09):
Yeah? I are either the NZ twenty or the Super
Smash or carrying on with big Besh.

Speaker 15 (51:14):
I think the NZ twenties are super exciting prospect and
I think it would be fantastic for the game and
our country. And you know, we're probably the last I
think we are the last international country to international playing
nation really to have our own franchised competition, which kind

(51:35):
of gives it, you know, its own energy. And I
think it'd be fantastic to have a domestic competition in
our own country that could get some great support, and
I think it'd be great for the fans as well.

Speaker 13 (51:47):
So let's see, there's a bit going on.

Speaker 3 (51:51):
Can I cook these squeas In the last one? What
have you made of the black Caps fighting a game
at the final hurdle? G It's frustrating, isn't it? Kane?

Speaker 4 (51:58):
Yeah?

Speaker 15 (51:58):
Look, they I thought they were outstanding throughout that competition.
I really thought, you know, they and all the different
conditions that you might expect in two different countries in
India and then in Sri Lanka, and they had a
clear pattern with how they wanted to do it, and
that was to go with the you know, the strongest

(52:19):
sort of depth in their batting, and I really think
it paid off and they sort of elevated. I thought
that their performance are out and then to go into
a semi and and achieve what they did.

Speaker 13 (52:33):
There, it was magnificent. To meet the juggernaut of India
on a kind a good.

Speaker 15 (52:40):
Day for India is an incredibly tough assignment for anyone,
and frustrating that I guess that happened to be the case.
I mean, they did go into the tournament as favorites
and when they played their full pretension, that's that is
the case. And they'd managed to do that in the
semi final and the final, you know, scoring two point
fifty plus and both of those games. It's from their perspective,

(53:04):
they couldn't have done it any more perfectly. From our perspective,
very frustrating, but look, we continue to put ourselves in
the right parts of competitions and I've got no doubt
that there's a great pathway there that the team keeps improving,
it keeps slightly adjusting their style of cricket to take
on the world and that's what we saw. Yeah, I

(53:26):
know it's not ideal, but our time will come and
it's great to see where we're hitting.

Speaker 3 (53:32):
I believe it as well. I'll tell you what. Thanks
so much for your time, came Williamson for that you
can strap a box on me and fire a cannon
at man. I'll take the hit for you, bro.

Speaker 4 (53:40):
Thank you, and I'm just waiting.

Speaker 13 (53:42):
Darcy signed up for testing as well. Thanks Mane.

Speaker 3 (53:46):
I may live to regret that we will see. It
is twenty minutes after one Sunday afternoon. Caine Williamson, former
Black Caps skipper and possibly the greatest cricketer that New
Zealand has ever produced, got a new thought process that

(54:07):
I'd quite like to protect my family jewels, and he's
climbed it right into it. The proof of the pudding
is in the eating. Not that I'm going to eat
a box, but maybe when I get the cannon fired
at me, I'll find if it works. A lot interesting
words are from Cain around what happens next with the
T twenty format here in New Zealand. We spoke about
that yesterday with Justin Forn, former CEO of in Zed Cricket.

(54:33):
He suggested we take our time, be patient, be well
advised before we fall into it. Increasingly, it looks like
in Z twenty is the way this is going to go.
Right then, right there, you just heard, came Williamson, essentially
fully endorse in ZED twenty. That's the way he wants

(54:56):
to go. Oh eight hundred eighty ten eighty free phone
number Nation. Why do you can text nineteen nineteen zbzbist
out A text charge does apply? Is that enough for you?
If came Williamson says, we go in ZED twenty, do
we just throw our hands in there and go. You can.
You've studied the ship. You are completely right. We're running

(55:16):
with you. Just a thought, give us a tankle It's
it's one twenty one.

Speaker 1 (55:25):
We're the Weekend's biggest Calls to Me Weekend Sport with
Dancy Watergrave and GJ. Gardner Homes New Zealand's most trusted
home builder, News Talks at.

Speaker 3 (55:34):
Be It's one twenty four. We can sport here on
News Talk z B. My mind. What a game of
rugby union last night we had Super Rugby Pacific. The
Hylanders basically pulled the pants down and Crusaders at round
one went down like a cup of cold second red
a black land. So they tuned around and attempted to

(55:56):
do something about it.

Speaker 16 (55:59):
The boss got behind out the flood and Nick is
flexi out of the back that's got water ortern't and
it is well in the touch and then'll be at
five the Crusaders they have been's here to feat you
round one against the Highlanders here an Apollo Project Stadium
by twenty.

Speaker 3 (56:16):
Nine points to eighteen. There was a bit plenty, and
when you spend the thirty minutes of your game with
only fourteen players on the park, you'd also say that
was quite lucky that result. We go now to the
coaching staff of the Crusader's assistant coach, Dan Perrin joins
the program now. So Dan, after that, you'd be feeling

(56:37):
pretty relieved.

Speaker 10 (56:39):
Yeah, morning Darth. Yeah, And I'm I'm very really very
hippy for the boys. A little bit of hurt in
there from round one and the last time we were
at home the Brumbies taught us a lesson, so we've
sort of delved into that throughout the week. Sort of
a bit of internal motivation there for us. So for
the boys to go out there and it wasn't pretty.

(57:00):
It wasn't clean. Playing with fourteen players to thirty minutes
probably didn't help the cause either, But you're just really
proud of some of the effort that they put in
the kere they showed to you protect your home.

Speaker 3 (57:14):
Imagine what you could do if you actually had a
full compliment for the full eighty minute.

Speaker 10 (57:20):
Oh mate, it's been the story of this season. I
think we've said that might be five yellow cards in
total now already, So yeah, it's anywhere of the game
we need to need to tidy up. I think four
of those have been been high shots as well. So yeah,
I think between the coaching crew and Matt Todd that
there might be a little bit of tackle technique craft

(57:41):
technic this week. But yeah, like you said, if we
can keep fifteen on the field, and it's definitely going
to help out with him and yes, set piece in
particular as well because a few of them moving forwards.

Speaker 3 (57:52):
Yeah, we can tell players till you're blue in the face,
don't do it. What does it take for them to
actually take that advice? To click that over? Where it's
got to come from an internal thought process or is
it just wrote learning repeat? How do you go about
doing this and saying no.

Speaker 10 (58:11):
Yeah, we spent a lot of time on tackle technique,
and you know, we walk it, we talk it, we
run it, we do it live. What the boys do
put hours and hours into their craft. And I guess
what we've got to understand is a pretty dynamic game
and things can pictures can change and split second and
you know, I look back to Don Gardner's in the
earlier rounds, I look at shave Fijckey's on the weekend.

(58:37):
Boris was one that you know, you could have, you know, mitigated.
That was a bit of decision there. But yeah, a
lot of it's happening in split second. So just lowering
our body hide in general around the field, I think,
and making sure we target beneath the balls. That second
shoulders tackler is something we work on a lot. So
but yeah, our reactions split second decision making that we

(59:01):
need to be better there because yeah, it's gonna it's
going to cost us dearly at some point.

Speaker 3 (59:05):
So tell us about the condition of your players, who's
come through, who hasn't, What kind of state are the
boys in and we're looking forward of course to mine.
I pussy ificure, isn't it next week.

Speaker 10 (59:17):
A lot better off than we were this time last week.
So the injury reports just come in. There's three or
four on there. They've all got green dots beside their name,
which is good. So I think, yeah, you're winning. Definitely helps,
but we've had some boys that have put I had
to play tough on the weekend, especially some of our
second rowers. We were getting pretty light there with Jamie

(59:38):
Henner and Liam check Out, so really proud of Antonio
Shelfon and Taylor. Taylor Kaye actually played with a broken
bone in his chest, so yeah, he played played for
pretty tough and had a great performance. And Antonio and
Will Tucker as well, both runder injury clouds throughout the week,

(01:00:00):
so they've all come through with fine colors. And yeah,
we'll assess a couple hopefully d back this week as well.
So yeah, stocks are on the rise a little bit
from the injury front, and I think after Moana, we've
got the bye week and it's going to come at
a pretty heay time for us.

Speaker 3 (01:00:18):
You are former Michael player, so you'd be looking to
the Tasman players that are out there smiling from ear
to ear and then contribution to the Crusaders over many
years has been gold. Looks like you found another one
is a Christ's kid. He's from Christ's moved up to
sunny Land. Tell us a wee bit more about what

(01:00:39):
they're calling him, Ethan Blackadder part two.

Speaker 10 (01:00:44):
Yeah, it's dead ringer for Ethan actually, and yeah, we've
been tracking Johnny for a week while right through you
know those days at christ College, and yeah, I think
he made the move. You know, there were quite a
few flankers around in Kenterbury with Cory Kello and Tom
Christy at the time, so you know he's seen an

(01:01:06):
opportunity to get up there and Kasman just to get
game time at NPC in a bit more exposure at
a high level. And you know his work at the
New Zealand Nuther twenties and World Cup a couple of
years ago was I think he started and almost played
every minute of every game on that. So he's got
a massive engine. He's a big body, he has some
athlete and character. He is a dead seat ring of

(01:01:28):
Forreathan Blackhead. It just loves the grind, loves the unseen
ef It's his work ethic, not just in the game,
but you know in the gym on the computers, extremely
diligent and just a great human that you know, wants
to be better and wants to make the people around
him better. So we've got a lot of time for Johnny.

(01:01:49):
He's got a massive future. And yeah, we're just really
proud of, you know, as ef it throughout the week
to set himself up and get a crack at the
big time. He'd been playing extremely well for our development fifteen,
probably the player of the game, and all four of
those fixtures he deserved the opportunity, and we.

Speaker 3 (01:02:08):
Really wrap from Johnny Lee looks something else. It looks
like a Hessian bag full of elbows, shoulders and knees too.
I wouldn't want to tackle that.

Speaker 10 (01:02:18):
Yeah, no, we stay away from him when we're holding
Hitch shields, that's for sure. Matt Todd as laid claimed,
he's probably the hardest hit and Toddy still wants to
hold the Hits shields just to get a feel for
these guys tackling, and Johnny's right up there when he
hits those things.

Speaker 3 (01:02:33):
That was a positive, plainly the cards were a negative.
What else do you look toward after that game and go, hey,
you know what that actually settling really well after what's
been a pretty tumultuous season.

Speaker 10 (01:02:47):
Yeah, just just just a rhythm. You know, we're our
own with enemy in the first four rounds. You know,
even looking at that Chiefs game, we got away with
a couple of there after a poor start. So we've
just been focusing on ourselves and you know, our era
rate was far too high and those early parts of
Super Rugby, you know that it was better on the weekend.

(01:03:11):
There's still some areas that about handling and decision making
that we need to tidy up, but for the most part, yeah,
decision making obviously, discipline would been okay. I think thirteen
penalties three yellow cards is is an area where really
have to tidy up, as we spoke about before, and
you know, an area that I'm in charge of around

(01:03:31):
the line out. I think it was the best line
out performance of the season so far as well. So
there'd been a few honest conversations throughout the week and yeah,
really stoked for the boys and how the line out operated.
It yet ten out of ten on the weekend, So
a couple of areas to tidy up. In a couple
of areas here that we're really proud of Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:03:48):
I dare I say, you really couldn't go much further
back with the line out, now, could you. Sorry, but
it wasn't looking great and no.

Speaker 10 (01:03:57):
Well we were actually we won ninety four percent of
the ball against the Blues. But you've got to look
at the whole picture and the quality of ball that
we were delivering and one line that got pushed out
over the sideline which just you know isn't good enough,
and then three deliveries to our half back, whether the
half back had overrun it or our delivery from the
top of the line out wasn't wasn't great. So you know,

(01:04:18):
it's winning the balls one thing, but delivering top quality
ball and or applying pressure through your mall, you know,
is the big picture. So you have some really honest
conversations on Monday morning with the whole forward pack around,
you know, our diligence to the line at the work
we're putting in, and it wasn't one specific area was

(01:04:39):
it was everything across the board. So it was it
was great to see the players respond the way they
did this weekend, and you know, the trajectories on the
way up I believe, so yeah, they're really proud of.

Speaker 3 (01:04:49):
Them, Dan parent, thanks so much for your time as always,
wishing you the best of best weeks. Get stuck in
and maybe keep the locks and the props separated.

Speaker 10 (01:05:03):
Bring it back again and worked for us during the week.

Speaker 7 (01:05:05):
I give us more.

Speaker 3 (01:05:07):
Akay, Dan, we will see you. Just make sure I
won't film it and report back to it. Dan Peering,
the assistant coach of the Crusaders. I suggested Beauillian because
they managed to pick up a win. Wo'd been pretty
awful going into the sixth round with only one win,
but as it happens here two and three so working
out okay for the Crusaders. For the Red and Black.

(01:05:31):
You got a comment on that performance, I'd love to
hear from you. At one hundred and eighty ten eighty
you can text nineteen nineteen zbz bes and a text
charge does apply. How on earth this team played for
thirty minutes with only fourteen players is beyond me? And
how good was Johnny Lee? Oh, another mad lea SI

(01:05:53):
coming out of the Canterbury region. Well he is initially
from christ Church. I know he's moved up to the
Markell now so kids in Nelson can claim him absolutely
still to come in the program chatting with our regular
correspondent of a Sunday mister James mcconey. Shortly and as
a heads up for you around the AFC and who

(01:06:15):
doesn't want to go and see Auckland football after what
happened yesterday and they managed to beat I believe Newcastle
that's the first time they've been beaten this year. So
that was a great result from Auckland FC yesterday. They
take on MACARTHURFC next Saturday, March twenty first, go Media Stadium.

(01:06:35):
If you're going to be in Auckland and you'd like
to be at the game, I've got a six ticket
family pass up for grabs. Six ticket family pass if
you like that. Just takes AFC and your name to
nine two nine two and you are in the draw.
Let's just whip through a couple of texts for you now.

(01:06:56):
Typical Crusader's performance last night. Back to basics, good defense,
better line now and when you put a starlight will
Jordan and you look out for Johnny Lee. He's going
to be one to watch. Yeah, I completely agree. Interesting
thoughts around Cody Taylor from this text are Baz Cody
Taylor attracts yellow cards by stupid actions and situations. He

(01:07:21):
not only gives away yellow cards and Super Rugby, but
he does it regularly in test matches. I've got no
numbers behind me to either confirm or deny that. I
think a lot of these players play right on the
edge and as a direct result, sometimes they fall foul. Discipline, though,

(01:07:42):
is the keyword. Long term, list is long time. Listens
to my program over the week, sports Talk on Newstalk
ZB will know how hot I am on discipline. And
I go back to a conversation I had with Todd
Blackadder back in the day talking about the winning and
the losing of a Super Rugby final between the Blues

(01:08:03):
and the Crusaders, and he said, wils down to one thing. Discipline.
That's it. That's the winning and the losing of the
game right there. It's gotta be of utmost important, especially
tackle height. This is not a new law. People haven't
found out in the last shower that they're going to
get punished for cleaning people's heads out. And it's a

(01:08:25):
dynamic game. Yes, I get it, I understand, but the
onus is on the players not to get yellow carded
right and after that match, after the Crusader has won
a text message the next morning from Todd Blackett and
it just said discipline. It's one at thirty seven and
this is Weekend Sport here on News Talk ZB. James

(01:08:47):
mconey from the crowd goes wild and the acc he
joins us next cover off, but it was but six
nations but super duper Rugby, maybe even n Z twenty.
I don't know. I don't know what's going on in
that cavenous mind of his, but I'm very keen to
explore it. Coming up next and I'll make sure I
take my splinking helmet and some crampons to boot. This

(01:09:11):
is News Talks here B one thirty seven.

Speaker 1 (01:09:16):
No TMO, no drs, just your call on eight hundred
eighty ten eighty Weekend Sports with Dancy Wadergrave and GJ. Gudnomes,
New Zealand's most trusted home builder, News Talk ZED.

Speaker 3 (01:09:28):
B twenty to two. This is Weekend Sport on News
Talk at ZB. Coming up after two o'clock. We're talking
Formula one stick around for that, but right here, right now,
we've got them on loan for the best part of
it tonight, I'd say ten minutes rolling out from the
acc and the crowd goes wild, ladies and gentlemen. I
bring to you, mister Jsmcona, you know.

Speaker 14 (01:09:52):
Mag Oh, thanks Darcy Woden intro sees. It was wonderful.
I make sure on my way to Eating Park shout
out to Eden Park because hosting a few of my
workmates from Sky who don't normally get to go to
the rugby some of the Fomer service people. But we're
going up into the lounge where they've got this quiz
to believe it or not quiz and it's my goal
to win that TV. I'm not saying I'm competitive, but

(01:10:14):
you know what, I'm like, Darcy, it's going to be
if my teammates don't deliver and pick up on some
of those you know, those other categories and I'm a
little bit weak on it's just say science. Let's just
get it out there.

Speaker 3 (01:10:26):
My advice to you is keep away from the bar
before you start your quiz.

Speaker 14 (01:10:30):
Yes, well, but you and I have hosted quizzes and
they get out of control. I don't know why. Some
quizzes have ten categories. Yeah, by category, sex is people
dancing on the tables.

Speaker 3 (01:10:40):
Right, So this is the only good thing about my
job at night. I can't get the quizzes anymore because
I don't finish the later clock, so I don't have
a chance to embarrass myself on those quiz No one
cares about that, dare I say? Except us? People do
care about the Mighty Warriors now they're averaging over forty
points games so far and if not been playing cell

(01:11:03):
to all us? Have they?

Speaker 4 (01:11:04):
James No?

Speaker 14 (01:11:06):
And just the depth. I mean we've got Tanner Boyd
in there while Luke metcalf is slowly getting back to
the full fitness. That this is the whole thing that
the Wars with their depth, a scary team. And dare
I say, Leka Halasima, who is this burgeoning superstar just
doing lecqu of things and he is the hardest man
to handle in the NRL currently And with him on

(01:11:28):
our side and a few other I mean that left
edge which seems so clinical, with Janelle Harris Deavida, Roger
tu vasus Schek, the way they all combine, it's just
a thing of beauty right now that the Warriors and
Mitch One I know he's leaving Auckland. I mean a
lot of us want to leave Auckland. I'm good on you, Mitch.
But they look at the moment, every poster is a

(01:11:49):
winner for them, So things are looking up.

Speaker 3 (01:11:52):
It's still got a chance to fall away, though we
know it. That's the nature of dealing with the Warriors.
And when I was talking last week, I was interested
that Missus Clark said, we're really good leaving that behind.
We just go That was great, Let's get away. And
this is something that's been repeated by coach Webster as well,

(01:12:15):
like Aaron Clark said to me, celebrate for ten minutes.
Then we've got work to do.

Speaker 14 (01:12:19):
Yeah, I think we could handle a few injuries. You know,
there are some teams that can't cope with that. It's
just and we'll get to that soon. Not one team
in particular, like the Crusaders was. You know, if Will
Jordan's not in there, it's a different side. But I
think the Warriors can weather that. The one thing that
caught my own league though, of course, which a lot
of us would have watched, was Alex Johnston taking the
all time NRL try record off Ken Irvine. He scored

(01:12:42):
his two hundred and thirteenth try and it was amazing,
absolute scenes about five hundred maybe to one thousand people,
including the Prime Minister, stormed the pitch over in Sydney
and one poor guy got arrested by security. You can
see him just getting tackled and held down while everyone
else streamed on the field. And it was an incredible

(01:13:04):
moment in sport.

Speaker 3 (01:13:04):
Yeah, and Nick do I say I was that guy
and he'll keep the video I'm sure way into the future.
Look look what happened to me. I was the only
goose I had to target someone.

Speaker 14 (01:13:13):
Right, Yeah, I know how that's when you know you
lack his band, But I mean I actually applauded. I
think it was just a great thing to see and
even funnier to see a Rooster's fan the first one
to get on and congratulate him and a vintage Rooster's jersey.
And I actually quite like that the Rooster's got up
on one net because the I think that celebration sort

(01:13:34):
of stung the Roosters into action. So you know, I'm
always happy to see someone like Nafa, who white out
of Kelston West Auckland doing well for them. So you know,
even though I'm I'm wise all day since day one,
I still love seeing Kiwi's doing well on that stage.

Speaker 3 (01:13:49):
Ah Kelston, my neighbors and grim Eaton always got time
for some Kelston crew. Six Nations? What is the six Nations?
I thought it was supposed to be a hard grind,
physical men, tight point scoring in this Bonker's Six Nations.
So fun. Congratulations to France. We've seen some ridiculous blowouts

(01:14:09):
and almost defense free rugby.

Speaker 14 (01:14:13):
I no, dy're playing the beautiful game while we're struggling
around with our sort of box kick scenario here in
New Zealand. So I take my hat off to all
those nations, including Italy, who you know, up to beat Scotland,
beat England. They were just basically, you know, the big
giant killers of But the story is really how France
held on because England should have toppled them at Park

(01:14:35):
started to France this morning and somehow, somehow they got
a penalty. It was pretty much a fifteen meter kick
for Thomas Ramos who slotted the goal. But what a
disaster though the France wearing these vintage baby blue jerseys
that clashed with England's white jerseys. So I mean, I
was just thinking, are they going to get undone by
a wardrobe malfunction? Not a Janet Jackson one, but just

(01:14:56):
of their own making where they almost needed to go
to the merch store it started to France and buy
the classic dark blue because it was just a it
was a joke out there for a while.

Speaker 3 (01:15:06):
This has been constant as long as I've been stinking
out the airwaves and sport radio in beforehand. We've had
issue with clashes with uniforms. Isn't that hard to sort.

Speaker 14 (01:15:20):
Out on the biggest game of the season as well.
But look, France, I hope they've seen a decent team
down down here this year. They have got again speaking
of depth, they had a player out there on debut,
which is so French. Isn't it the biggest game of
the season, biggest game of the year? Out you go?
But they held on and I'm glad that when they're

(01:15:43):
going through tough times because to be honest, they had
their moment against New Zealand and really they celebrated so
hard like they'd won everything, and this is what they get.

Speaker 3 (01:15:52):
They come up indeed, not unusual for them. It is
thirteen minutes away from too. James mcconi yet joined us
as we look at a weekend of sports Super Deeper
Rugby you said you're going off to Eden part o
the soafternoon to Morna pacifica I take on the Blues.
What else have you taken out of this weekend's exchanges.

Speaker 14 (01:16:13):
Well, I look at the Hurricanes and I think, if
they can put together a great eighty minutes, it's gonna
be hard for teams to live with them. But that's
the asterisk. By that side. They seem to have this beautiful,
flowing rugby. If you think about that's something that is
amazing in March. Can it win them a title in June?
I guess is the question. I think the Hurricanes are

(01:16:34):
starting to flex a little. But the Crusaders, this is
where I look at that game. You're a Crusaders FANDARSI
with Will Jordan back just running that team. I haven't
seen a player that influential, just one player. I remember
Aaron Smith and Ben Smith being so crucial to that
championship winning Highlanders team back in twenty fifteen. But I
look at the way Will Jordan influences that Crusaders team.

(01:16:58):
It's massive right now. Can they do it again?

Speaker 4 (01:17:01):
Well?

Speaker 14 (01:17:02):
I think they probably can because they have they getting
you know, some big forwards back. I think Scott Barrett
will be back for the business end. But for you
guys in Crusader Country, it's it's not It's not all roses,
is it.

Speaker 17 (01:17:15):
No.

Speaker 3 (01:17:15):
But we've got Johnny Lee. We've on earthed another one.
The guy's a freak, as I described before to Dann Perrin,
is in a hessy and bag full of elbows and
knees and skulls. He's huge and fast and really difficult.
And this is the new man coming through the seven jersey. Amazing.

Speaker 14 (01:17:33):
Yeah, I thought Johnny Lee has deserved his shot. For
a while, I've looked at him playing for Tasman and
hope that maybe when the Crusaders went and got Oli
Mathis from White Cuttle and took him down to Crusader Country,
I thought, well, what's that saying to a play like
Johnny Lee? You know, come up, come up to Chiefs Country, mate,
We'll look after you. If they're going to sign a

(01:17:53):
seven over the top of you, don't. Don't you worry.
We've got we've got a playing jersey here for you.
But hey, look it's I hope they treat him well.
I hope they appreciate him, because he looks the goods
and dare I say it, he's a total hybrid between
Ethan Blackadder, Richie mccare and a few other great crusaders
of the past.

Speaker 3 (01:18:12):
And he's like any good man at his age. He's
got a sick lid and that's for those out there
slightly longer in the teeth, and he's got a wicked haircut.
He's got a sick lid. Right, tell me I'm wrong, James.

Speaker 14 (01:18:23):
I know he looks in those ears as well proper
rugby years. It's about time we saw some of those
look today. One of this is Blues is going to
be a fascinating game because you know Tana is pretty
much sounds like he's going to go and join Dave Rennie.
And then you know Muwana have been have been making
waves in this city. So it is really a derby

(01:18:44):
match and that there's even more and more feeling every
time these teams play. So I'm looking forward to that
three thirty kickoff.

Speaker 3 (01:18:51):
Should be magnificent. And just before we end on Super Rugby,
the tech saying Darcy he was the ref last night.
He let the game flow lead to a great spectacle
for which the Heightends also deserved credit. And then someone
else has written they basically stir to violence the Crusaders
and the raw MCTEAM one and just for your information,

(01:19:11):
Jordan Way was the whistleblower there. And before we wander
on off, mister Maconey ENDSID twenty. Caine Williamson just told
us on the show that's his preference. So, like that said,
all bets off. It's happening. Right.

Speaker 14 (01:19:25):
If Kane says the Ensy twenty should happen, then I
think it should. I think that hopefully there's a space
for Insied twenty in the calendar that doesn't affect what
the black Caps are doing because you know, and there
are players who want to play in the Big Bash
as well, and we'll earn huge money and you can't
deny them that. So look, if they can bring people home,
that's great. But I also think saying the opportunity of

(01:19:47):
having a franchise, a New Zealand franchise and the Big
Bash would be crazy to pass up. So somehow I
think they've got to try and do both, a bit
like the old Al Paso ad where a girl on
the sides between crunchy or soft tacos. Why can't we
have both?

Speaker 3 (01:20:01):
Indeed, and it's all to me due diligence. They as
long as the research has been being done, they understand
what the possibility of disastrous success could be and then
move into an Apparently that decision is coming out this
week in Brendan, tex Isn't it great? The black Caps
out of series is being played by B teams and
that's the problem the game faces right now still needs

(01:20:25):
to be addressed on that. Mister James mconey, we bet
you farewell. We thank you very much for your time
and look forward do we meet again, my friend.

Speaker 14 (01:20:33):
Awesome cheers, Darcy, have a great one, thanks mate.

Speaker 3 (01:20:36):
I will I always intend to have a great one.
Where now rapidly approaching the latest and new sport and weather.
It's close, but not right here. Right now it is
eight minutes to two.

Speaker 1 (01:20:50):
The biggest names and sports are here Weekend Sport with
Dancy Waldergrave Youth Talks.

Speaker 3 (01:20:56):
That'd be it's five to two the latest and sport
news and the weather is on its way up. After
that the third hour of weekend. That's myself, Darcy Watergrave.
Thanks very much Jason Pine for letting me steal your
seat for the afternoon. We'll be covering off a bit
of Formula One in the next hour with Michael Lamonato.

(01:21:17):
He's an FIA accredited Formula One writer. As we look
toward the Chinese Grand Prix tonight, we'll also look back
at qualifying and the sprint race in Shanghai yesterday. Nathan
Smith joins us as we talk a cricket double head
of getting under way two forty five. This afternoon, the
Ferns play South Africa and at seven point fifteen it's

(01:21:40):
the black Caps turn to have a crack, and then
Cole Forbes joins us on the show. Cole Forbes is
in action. Three thirty five. That's when that Mwana Pacifica
match kicks off. That's MP versus the Blues at Eden Park.
Plenty to get across, including some highlights from last night.

(01:22:01):
If you missed it, we've got that as well. All
that and more still to come here on News Talk zb.
You're enjoying the program as much as I'm enjoying bringing
it to you. Still can't quite get over they pay
me to sit here and do this, but I'll take it.

Speaker 2 (01:22:20):
This is news Talk z B, the only place for
the big names, the big issues, the big controversies and
the big conversations. It's all on Weekend.

Speaker 1 (01:22:33):
Sport with Darcy Wantgrave on your home of Sport News
Talk ZEDB.

Speaker 3 (01:22:41):
Weekend Sport on the News Talk zed B, Part three.
My name's Darcy Watergrave is seitting up for Jason Pine.
Thanks very much for your time, your attention, your love. Indeed,
if we're getting idiot. Seven minutes after two, it's a
Sunday afternoon. It's fifteenth of March twenty twenty six. Coming
up in the next hour, we'll talk about a cricket

(01:23:01):
with Nathan Smith. Doubleheader is up in running at two
forty five the White Fans take on South Africa and
T twenty and at seven fifteen the blokes get their
tune as well. Cole Forbes on the show ahead of
Mouana Passifica taking on the Blues at Eden Park, and
we'll get amongst a b of Formula one shortly with
Michael Lamonanto. He's a Formula one writer with accreditation through

(01:23:26):
the FIA for Formula one. He knows what he's talking about.
That race at eight pm tonight, But before we do
any of that, we're going to a hold lot of
this and this is all about catching up with what
happened last night and in case you missed it, we
were there and a happy day in Wellington and on

(01:23:52):
a happy day you can't beat it? Or is that
a good day? Art's and everything day? Valingtonians are celebrating
the football. First, the Phoenix women beating up on the Brisbane.

Speaker 2 (01:24:04):
Raw talk at my watch time works will not be denied.

Speaker 3 (01:24:10):
She had offices are the first time, but she begs
on the third.

Speaker 7 (01:24:15):
It's three knell at shortly.

Speaker 3 (01:24:17):
Three points to the relative beating and whatever the Wahana
can do that Tiana can have a crack. The men
winning for the first time and quite some time too.

Speaker 18 (01:24:28):
Jacob Sponley with Paul Lifel to keep an eye on
what's happening. Is is as there's in an open car
that doubles the advantage, mats some list of the hiddens
and I think it's a defensive bunder two zip over per.

Speaker 3 (01:24:44):
Congratulations to Kissed green Aked and his men an ORFC.
They've closed the gap on that Newcastle top of the
table clash resulted in Auckland beating Newcastle two one.

Speaker 19 (01:24:57):
Brandle uses m debris with that crossback post cost grow
up this time he makes no mistake well less than
two minutes to completely mishitting percine Auckland extract the maximum penalty.
They lead to.

Speaker 3 (01:25:12):
One and off now to the National Rugby Believe the
n L the Tigers. This was something else. The Tigers
have begun their season worth one Hella Hella statements a.

Speaker 19 (01:25:25):
Bamboos with you, Kenny the short wall Taruba at to
own space, skelter this time for the corner.

Speaker 7 (01:25:33):
He gets out, this.

Speaker 4 (01:25:34):
Time to skelter. Give him another shot.

Speaker 3 (01:25:42):
He gets a right forty four sixteen over the Cowboys
that like out either. Feel for my old mate Michael
Whack still over there in cowboys lands in mine lucky.
It's the way things. Rowland Penrith have blown the Sharks
away from Bathur's tackle. Five comes out of the back
clearing at them.

Speaker 17 (01:26:03):
It's on expence again.

Speaker 3 (01:26:05):
He's got a batter. Everything is sticking.

Speaker 7 (01:26:09):
There for paring.

Speaker 3 (01:26:10):
Buttt wait, there's plenty of points and more of the
storms into the Dragons get in the sea forty six twenty.

Speaker 1 (01:26:18):
To Munster, far longer kicking Patrick spin run so fall.

Speaker 3 (01:26:26):
Screen his name.

Speaker 19 (01:26:28):
What a player, what a prospects, what a performer today
for the Melbourne Storm and producer McDonald.

Speaker 3 (01:26:36):
You should know that they would never say penrith the
sharks get in the sea, because that's where the sharks
like to be. It would be pointless and of making
defenseless right to rugby. Now in Dreua, they defended home
against the Brumbies and.

Speaker 7 (01:26:52):
Watts Sam up a Ray kicking ahead nets the bounce.
Was he taken without the ball?

Speaker 18 (01:26:58):
It doesn't matter, No, it doesn't because he puffed it.

Speaker 17 (01:27:01):
Up and it is a try to the thieg gender.

Speaker 3 (01:27:05):
And the Reds too good for the wartownside.

Speaker 17 (01:27:09):
Kind of want to give him behind.

Speaker 3 (01:27:11):
Here you have and we've touched on him before. The
Northern Hemisphere. France won a thriller, a defenseless thriller, and
in doing so they claimed the Six Nations title.

Speaker 20 (01:27:28):
Toma Ramos, a man for clutch moments, France's record point
scorer for the title.

Speaker 3 (01:27:40):
He's got it, He's got it always, what's the kicker?

Speaker 7 (01:27:45):
England in despair?

Speaker 3 (01:27:47):
France champions again.

Speaker 20 (01:27:50):
And Toma Ramos, with eighty thousand eyes in the stadium
and millions elsewhere, Lands the blow that delivers the championship
to France.

Speaker 1 (01:28:05):
Analyzing the play and getting the inside Weekend Sport with
Dancy Waldegrave News talks'd be.

Speaker 3 (01:28:12):
Talking Formula one on the program now. Liam Lawson yesterday
picked up his first points of the season.

Speaker 21 (01:28:19):
This battle still going on behind Liam lass and will
make it to the line just ahead oh Volley fair
And who played for the final points place and finished
four tenths ahead of Max for Stafford.

Speaker 3 (01:28:31):
Were joined it now by Michael Lamonato is a Formula
one writer. If I credited tabook out of Australia talking
about the Formula One Michael, welcome on borderways. Great to
talk race cars with you. So have we learned anything
after sprint and coughing yesterday.

Speaker 4 (01:28:50):
Well, we've learned.

Speaker 22 (01:28:51):
I think that a lot of the lessons we gained
in Australia still holding even of his very different fact
that his Mercedes is very fast, perhaps a little less
so in charge more conventional circle, but also accounting for
the fact that every team learned quite a bit in
Melbourne was able to optimize things a little bit more.
I think we can say after the sprint that Ferrari's

(01:29:11):
race pace isn't so far though it was interesting to
hear Charlotte Clair look afterwards about acknowledging that, but then
saying they don't really know why and they can't explain that.

Speaker 7 (01:29:21):
So there's a bit of up and down in that
as well.

Speaker 22 (01:29:23):
And then we've got a bit of a gap to McClaren,
but then a massive gap to Red Bull Racing. At
least at a track like this, they're pretty much down
in the midfield. They were out qualified by Alpine and
that was the same in the spring. Maxims haven't really
downcast after the Sprince thing. Everything that could have gone
wrong did go wrong. They've got no pace cutters and work,
no bounds. There's a huge list of problems, so still

(01:29:45):
the same order. I think from Australia we've learned a
little bit more about the detail and where exactly those
cars are all sitting in China.

Speaker 3 (01:29:52):
What also we picked up that Liam Wilson, given half
a chance, isn't that bad a pedler and his decisions,
team's decision to run a hard compound during that it
worked pretty well for him. Maybe the safety car kind
of helped or maybe it handed. I'm not really sure.
At the end of that, where did you see that going?
Because you think he could have lasted a bit longer,

(01:30:14):
Maybe he could have come out. I accidently don't know. Michael.

Speaker 22 (01:30:18):
Yeah, it's tough to say because he's essentially held the
position that he had before the safety car at the flag,
but then he didn't get caught out in the pit
stop drama. Of course, most cars pitted, so the pit
lane was very busy. Having started on the hard tire
meant that he need to pit anyway, so he may
as well have had to go. But it was interesting
to see because that would have been around sixteen laps

(01:30:40):
deep into the sprint. His tires were still feeling pretty
aged by the time the race three started. A couple
of drivers passed the music but still scored points, which
is important for racing books. But that does mean he's
got one fewer heart going into the Grand Prix, and given.

Speaker 7 (01:30:55):
How high tire.

Speaker 22 (01:30:57):
Usage was in that sprint, including as I said, on
him and the hart tire, we'll have to see how
that pans out for him in the Grand Prix. But
considering that points on the board are important, they saw
a chance to get points in the sprint. He got
that point in the spring, or I got a couple
of points in the sprint. The outcomes kind of there,
and now I touched them to see what they can
make of the raids as far.

Speaker 3 (01:31:15):
As surprises and qualifying. Look, we look at the top
Sex cars. We all saw that coming. Pierre Ghastly has
got to be a surprise mentioned in the Lpene popping
in ahead of the Stepen. But are you look at
the performance of Bearman of Holkenberg. They put in a
pretty good show, didn't they, Unless I forget esterban Ochen.

(01:31:36):
We love the Haash team.

Speaker 22 (01:31:38):
Yeah, well three eleven places in a Rowpen, Nico, Holgenberg
and all of them. I have to try and to
remember what it was in Australia, but all of them
really narrow.

Speaker 7 (01:31:46):
I think it was true.

Speaker 22 (01:31:48):
Thousandths of a second that he missed out on a
top ten. So how are the actually doing? I think
a lot better than pre season expectations suggested they would
be there right on the cusp. Of course, got points
last weekend as well, so been looking really good. But Alpine,
as you say, a little bit of a surprise based
on Australia where they were just a bit nowhere. But
then I guess we should remember that Australia being a

(01:32:09):
bit nowhere was also a bit of surprise because they
looked good in pre season testing, so this feels.

Speaker 7 (01:32:14):
A bit more.

Speaker 22 (01:32:15):
It's probably a little bit better, a bit of a
qualifying a red bull racing guard, but being in the
top ten probably feels a bit more where Alpines thought
they would be in hoped they would be at the
start of the season.

Speaker 7 (01:32:24):
He executed really well. I think when you give Pierre Gaslely.

Speaker 4 (01:32:27):
A car he can drive, he tends to get.

Speaker 22 (01:32:29):
The most out of it if it doesn't have too
many problems, and that's exactly what happened here, comfortably out
qualified and his teammate Franco Colopiindo who did get out
of Q one though it's a little bit of success
for him there. And then all of the Benmen and
Estevanokon is an increasingly i think interesting comparison. Even early
in the season. Bemen in another top ten. He really
looks like he stepped up from last year when he

(01:32:49):
was clearly fast. But we haven't really seen any big
mistakes him this year in the way we did last year,
and he's really.

Speaker 7 (01:32:55):
Shading Estevaocon now. I know Acon thinks he.

Speaker 22 (01:32:57):
Would have made the top ten had the yellow flag
not come out late. For Gabrielle Bortolto in tutube and
he was up. We don't know if he would have
made it, but he certainly was up on his best
lap time up to that point. But it's just again
that he's being beaten by this driver much younger and
much less experienced than him in a brand new car.
Where well, it's a bit up for debate, but generally
speaking we think experienced drivers have a bit of an

(01:33:18):
edge when the rules change like this.

Speaker 7 (01:33:21):
It's an interesting position to rock on to be and still.

Speaker 4 (01:33:23):
Very early days.

Speaker 22 (01:33:23):
Of course, we're only halfway through the second round of
the season, but that's a sort of developing storyline already.

Speaker 4 (01:33:29):
I think this year.

Speaker 3 (01:33:30):
Interesting theory though, that the new drivers, especially the singular
rookie in the park, they don't know what the other
cars were like, so this is all they know in
Formula One, so if anything, when it comes to adaptation,
they're probably in the box seat.

Speaker 22 (01:33:46):
Michael, I think there is a degree of that, Like
we've seen Arvid Lindblad, that one rookie.

Speaker 4 (01:33:51):
He's been pretty good this year.

Speaker 22 (01:33:52):
He's had a bit of a patchy weekend this weekend,
but I think that really stems from the fact that
he was out of practice one practice session. I think
it was about fifteen minutes in, and laps just counters
so much with these cars because they're learning so much
every lap. I think, actually I think the rookie think hout.
The younger drivers have tended to be good like. We
haven't seen that the younger guys suddenly disappear. In fact,
we've probably sent the opposite for most of them. But

(01:34:13):
I think it's the drivers who understand how they drive
the car who are the ones getting the most out
of it, because they're the ones who can adapt.

Speaker 7 (01:34:22):
It's the drivers perhaps who have historically just got in
the car and driven it.

Speaker 22 (01:34:26):
And I don't know why they're fast, who can't unpick
their driving styles to make sure they work with his car.

Speaker 7 (01:34:32):
We can still see a lot of learning going on
in that sense.

Speaker 22 (01:34:35):
Anyway, I think it was interesting to hear it may
have been Oliver Baman. Now they cast me to run
back to a couple of days ago who were sort
of saying, you know, he's last lap in qualifying. He
just thrashed the car like he would have been an
old car and went slower. So it's things like that
where drivers have to if they understand what they're doing.
They're getting games, but if they're not understanding how their
driving style communicates with these cars, then they end up

(01:34:57):
a bit lost. I think that'll that'll unfold them more
subtle size as we get in the more races we
go to to the Australasians.

Speaker 3 (01:35:04):
Oscar Prestree first, this is well, I'm not quite sure
what to make of Oscar and he's probably scratching his
head as well, but look he's on the grid, he's
sitting in fifth place. Do you feel this room for
him to move? Of course, Lando Norris and the fence
of his championships not looking great at his only early

(01:35:24):
doors right there and thereabouts. From an Australian point of view,
where does Oscar snit?

Speaker 7 (01:35:29):
Yeah?

Speaker 22 (01:35:29):
I mean it's good first of all for him to
have got some laps on the board after crashing out
of the Conoissan's laughs last week, so he.

Speaker 4 (01:35:35):
Started his season.

Speaker 7 (01:35:36):
He's got a couple of points as well, so good
news for him.

Speaker 22 (01:35:39):
But unfortunately the story of this weekend has been On
the one hand, McLaren feels like they have made progress
based on last week and qualifying times suggests they have.
They've got closer to Mercedes, but there's still nowhere near Mercedes.

Speaker 7 (01:35:51):
And this is the problem. They're in this sort of
singular group of just him and.

Speaker 22 (01:35:55):
Lando Dorris feeling from Oscar Piastri's respective that are a
little bit behind Ferrari at this race, certainly ahead of
Red Bull. They were roughly on part with Red Bull
in Melbourne. And that's just reflective of where the car is.
And I think you listened to Lando noros Roscopy Astri talk.
They're not so unhappy with the car. Slot of the
car is driving badly. Is just where it is, you know,

(01:36:15):
it's just not as fast, does it have the same group,
still doesn't have the same power of the Mercedes, but
they've closed that gap a little bit by.

Speaker 4 (01:36:21):
Understanding the end a little bit more so.

Speaker 7 (01:36:23):
Unfortunately, without some chaos up front, and.

Speaker 22 (01:36:26):
We do have teammates starting side by side with Mercedes
and Ferrari, which does tend to sometimes break chaos. A
podium is probably out of the question for McLaren this week.
And and then, like you say, bad news for Landa Norris's
title defense, because right now it's going to need some
big steps from McLaren just to get into that mix.

Speaker 3 (01:36:43):
We're joined by Michael Lamonato from Fox Sport. And if
I accredited Formula one writer Liam Lawson squeezed and Q
two couldn't quite get up. He possibly could have done,
but of course, as you touched on before, Colopino drove
off the track and that kind of scuffered as chances
because those laps were getting faster and faster edged it

(01:37:06):
expect toward the end of Q two.

Speaker 7 (01:37:09):
Yeah, exactly right.

Speaker 22 (01:37:10):
The yellow flag prevented quite a few drivers in that
Q two zone from progressing, so he didn't get the
ultimate order I suppose of exactly where everyone since in
terms of paste. But I think it's been positive for
Liam and for Racing Bulls that they are in that mix.

Speaker 7 (01:37:23):
You know, it's always feels.

Speaker 22 (01:37:24):
Like a bit of a guessing game trying to place
that team at the start of the season, because you
know they're never going to be quite on Red Bull
Racing's pace, but occasionally they kind of look like they're
actually very close, especially when regulations change like this and
they inevitably buy a lot of a lot of parts
from their sister team, So that's sort of interesting in
its own case. But yeah, he's been moving in really positively.
He's been getting a lot.

Speaker 7 (01:37:44):
Out of the car.

Speaker 22 (01:37:44):
I think the test, of course is against Lynn Bladd
and like we've said, has been probably half a.

Speaker 7 (01:37:48):
Step behind this weekend.

Speaker 22 (01:37:50):
But as long as you can keep ahead of him,
because Red Bull's been quite impressed with lind Bads or
Rookie they reckon his He's roughly where Isaac Pajar is
and obviously Hadja.

Speaker 7 (01:37:57):
Has been promoted to the senior team, then that will
be really important for Lawson to rebuild his reputation.

Speaker 22 (01:38:03):
I guess, not that he has a bad reputation, but
obviously the bad last year, having to change teams and
having to rebuild himself a little bit, because I think,
as we've said before, notwithstanding Red bulls under different management
these days, very rare for a driver to go quite
in fact.

Speaker 7 (01:38:16):
Unheard of for a driver to go back to the
senior team. So to continue his F one.

Speaker 22 (01:38:19):
Career in the next couple of years, he's likely going
to have to find it outside the red Bull family.
So every little success he has now will contribute to that.

Speaker 3 (01:38:27):
Angry Max first Steppen and sitting down like he's got
his teammate right next to him, but watching him tear
through the I'm sure they don't like it, but off
the grid watching them tear through everybody else, at least
we get some good entertainment, even though Max is entirely
unhappy with what he's got underneath him.

Speaker 22 (01:38:48):
Yeah, of course, he'd much prefer not to have to
be doing that. To be fair, most of his comeback
was because he had a terrible start. I guess that's
the second time a Red Bull drivers had a terrible start, right,
because Lawson had one in Melbourne. It'd be interesting to
see if there is a link there. But he was
down to twentieth by the first lap, so I had
quite a few cars to pass, but he was getting
He ended up finished just outside the points in nine,

(01:39:08):
but it felt like already at that point it was
kind of topping out a little bit, that the pace
was getting harder and harder to manage because he was
getting too faster and faster cars. The safety car of
course help necessarily either. It'll be interesting to see in
the race today, starting in the same place, he was
a little bit closer. He was less than a second
off pole, which is I mean that sort of illustrates
to your Red Bull racing is normally contending for Pole

(01:39:28):
to be just less than a second off, it is
nothing to shout about. But he's really, as you said,
really downcast. Doesn't love where the cars at. The team
suggested that it could be actually because this track is
let's say more normal in the sense the energy, the
electrical energy is not at a massive premium. The cars
are actually working really well with this track as opposed
to Melbourn, where it was all about the battery. But

(01:39:49):
there's a lack of advantage in Red Bull in that that.
Maybe the Red Bull engine is very good at recovering
energy and that's why it looks competitive in Melbourne.

Speaker 7 (01:39:56):
But maybe this is actually more where it really is
at an average track.

Speaker 22 (01:40:00):
That obviously both's even worse considering the average track is
more common over the course of the season. But we'll
get more in information, as is the case.

Speaker 7 (01:40:07):
With this year and the new ruled over the first
couple of races.

Speaker 3 (01:40:10):
Touched on the battery and how that is working. I
find it a distraction for the drivers. I don't know
if they need to be concentrating on that as opposed
to just driving. Is there any truth in my heart?

Speaker 22 (01:40:23):
Take to a degree, like some drivers are paying more
attention to that. They said, this is that in Melbourne
that they were paying more attention to just having the
battery at the right level at the right time. I
think it's going to be very track dependent in China.
It seems like that's much less the case. In qualifying
it certainly was. You know, we talked about Oliver Baman
a little bit earlier and he decided on his last

(01:40:44):
qualifying lab not to think about the management and ended
up going slower. So I think in qualifying it is,
and that, to my mind, is still a problem because qualifying,
even in China, where if you look at an onboard
lap it looks close to normal, you can still see
areas where the car is just really not being pushed
towards limits, and I think that is a shame in
the race though, based on the sprint, and we'll wait
and see with the Grand Prix as well today because

(01:41:04):
that'll of course look a little bit different. I think
it's less solid at track like this where the battery
over the course of a race he is just able
to recharge itself without the drivers having to do anything different.
In that case, they kind of race pretty much normally.
Of course, we got this. The boost button that we
saw a lot of overtaking between Hamilton and Russell is
just one example. I expect that to still play a role,
but as long as that doesn't mean that they're overthinking that.

(01:41:28):
I don't see that as too much different in TRS,
which admittedly wasn't the emotional catty kind of racing anyway,
but I was understood and it has become part of
the show over more than a decade. I'm hopeful that
this race will actually look more normal, both from us
the spectator point of view, but also from the drivers
in the cockpit point of view.

Speaker 4 (01:41:44):
But we'll have to wait and see and.

Speaker 3 (01:41:45):
Last quite literally but not least pulling up the tail
what you'd expect this Cadillac A devastated Aston Martin. I
don't know how the year is bowling out Williams as well.
I'd be a little downcast around that, but I suppose
we've got to celebrate Veal through bots because he's coming
and he's put a Cadillac ahead of Aston Martin. That's

(01:42:05):
great new He's any such a great human on a
wonderful drive. I'm really pleased for him.

Speaker 22 (01:42:11):
Yeah, it's really good to see Botas back on the grid.
It always felt like his career didn't finish in the
right way, having been dropped back to the Souber team,
which just got less and less competitive because he went,
and even Sergio in Paris. I think for his own sake,
he doesn't want that Red Bull chapter to have been
his last. Lots of problems for his card, none for
Veltry Botas, which is good. That does seem like and
it's post for every team, but especially the brand new

(01:42:33):
team Cadillac. The more laps they get building into the weekend, generally,
the better that car is going to go, which is
not that surprising, it is self evident. But I think
we've got the result he with Botas out qualifying Lance Stroll.
There's the same more about the Cadillac than it does
Lance Stroll. I'll leave that to your imagination, because lancetrolls
more than half a second slower than Fernando Orlonzo is a.

Speaker 7 (01:42:49):
Couple of places up the grid.

Speaker 22 (01:42:50):
But the bottom line is, I mean, well, certainly Aston
Martin did not want to be here, to not expect
to be here way at the back, competing competing with
the new team, the team that's entered one and a
half races so far, and it's history that is grim
Dey'll be thanks for the longer break we're about to
get in April because the two Middle Eastern rounds have

(01:43:11):
been canceled.

Speaker 7 (01:43:11):
They might give them a chance to at least replenish
their spa, their spare parts stocks.

Speaker 22 (01:43:16):
And then Williams as well. You touched on there. This
is absolutely not the way they thought that you started
this season. The car is really overweight. That's the first problem,
but it also just seems like the car generally isn't
that good. It's not producing the same kind of grip.
I'm Alex Aldon was very unhappy, described it as terrible
in one word on his pull down lap. So those
three teams, well, no, I should say two of those teams,
that'ston Mardon Williams with serious problems. But Cadillac I still

(01:43:39):
think performing pretty much in the way you'd expect a
new team to not quite there one hundred percent, but
by the.

Speaker 7 (01:43:44):
End of the year I'd expect them to be looking
much more consistent.

Speaker 3 (01:43:46):
I'm really happy for the teams. I'm not happy for
Formula one that they've got to not be in the
Middle East, but I'm happy that the hard working guys
and girls who earn nothing actually get a bit of
time off to speak with their families. And I reckon
you could outqualify Lance Stroll. Michael, thanks very much for your.

Speaker 4 (01:44:04):
Time, matey time.

Speaker 3 (01:44:07):
And it will be too because I'll be pasting and
again trust me to love what you have to say,
and I think you should too. Michael Lamonatteau is a
Formula one writer out of Fox Sport, also officially accredited
by the FIA to write Formula one. And it's to
twenty eight. This is Weekend Sport on News Talk z B.

(01:44:28):
That's the motor Sport. We've still got cricket and rugby
union to come Cole Forbes later and the piece. But
up next it is Nathan Smith and as we now
deal with five games of T twenty double headers, both
the Black Caps and the White Ferns are in action.

(01:44:48):
This is News Talks EDB.

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Hard tackles harder opinions, Weekend Sport with Darcy Wandergrave and GJ.
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Two thirty one News Talk z BM Darcy Watergrove Filling
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menu right here, right now. Black Cats back on New
Zealand Shores. They play South Africa and their first T
twenty at the Mount tonight. That's started seven o'clock and
coming up in about all fifteen minutes time the White

(01:45:25):
Ferns take on their South African counterparts. They're all doubleheaders,
all five of these T twenty experiences. Nathan Smith, he's
a horrible old time with injuries now, hasn't he. Hopefully
he'll be back today, like he joins us, now, how
are you mate?

Speaker 4 (01:45:42):
I'm good?

Speaker 17 (01:45:42):
Thanks, so are you?

Speaker 3 (01:45:43):
Yeah, I'm magnificent. I tend to try and be that
way all the time. It's the nice thing. But you you're
finally back playing again. That Nathan Smith one day cricketer,
it's a Test cricketer. And then he had to have
a cup of teen to lie down because his side
fell apart. So you've been out for quite some time.
Took us through the injury. You're recovering from how it

(01:46:05):
went through.

Speaker 17 (01:46:07):
Yeah, so fully recovered.

Speaker 4 (01:46:08):
Now.

Speaker 17 (01:46:09):
Initially you know.

Speaker 23 (01:46:10):
During the Test match thought it was a side strain
but turned into a little bit more of a ribbon
pingement type injury, which was like if imagine if you're
you're sort of you know, you're eating eating some spare
ribs and you you kind of get to the bone
and there's that little bit of like sheath on the bone.
I pulled a little bit of that off my ribs.

(01:46:30):
So that took.

Speaker 17 (01:46:32):
A little bit longer to hell, unfortunately. But we're back now.
I've been playing some.

Speaker 23 (01:46:35):
Domestic cricket for the last sort of month, six weeks
and yeah, looking forward to this the series against Africa.

Speaker 3 (01:46:41):
So you're one handy right your back, You've you've bold,
you've batted from time to time and everything's working. Yeah.

Speaker 17 (01:46:48):
Yeah, we're good as gold.

Speaker 3 (01:46:49):
Yeah, I'm never going to about to eat spare ribs
again because I'm want to think about is pulling your
spare ribs off of your body and chewing on Nathan Smith.
So thanks for honing it that way. So form wise,
how well are you playing right now? Because there's that
like real interesting space when there are so many quicks
who are aiming for that same spot. So where are

(01:47:09):
you at playing wise?

Speaker 23 (01:47:11):
Yeah, it's a tough one result sort of come and go,
which is that's the nature of the sport we play.

Speaker 17 (01:47:16):
They're pretty fickle.

Speaker 23 (01:47:17):
Some days you can bowl really well and you know,
not get wickets, and other days you get lucky following
a few half trackers that get caught a deep square.
So in terms of the outcomes, you don't. I'm not
trying to ride that too much. But I'm feeling pretty good.
The balls coming out well, the rhythm. The rhythm took
a couple of games to come back, but I feel
like it's there now and I'm you know, I'm hitting
the crease hard and with the bat, I've spent a

(01:47:37):
bit of time in the middle and the plunket with it,
with the plunket shield over the last sort of you know,
two weeks, I'm starting to feel pretty good.

Speaker 3 (01:47:42):
All right, so middling it good, good timing. You know
your play. So when you play for the black Caps
next time, and it may well be tonight, we don't
know the naming of the team yet, you feel you're
going to better contribute. You're on You're on all your cylinders.

Speaker 17 (01:47:58):
Yeah, I'm feeling good, feeling good, Darcy.

Speaker 3 (01:48:01):
They're traveling up there. There was a pain in the
back side, though, wasn't. I think you had a bit
of a journey to even actually keep here in the
first place. That's got to put a bit of strain
on you.

Speaker 23 (01:48:10):
Oh yeah, you know, we're sort of used to that
now though.

Speaker 17 (01:48:13):
When you're playing the subcontinent.

Speaker 23 (01:48:15):
You usually get you usually get three am flights in
between in between. I mean, we had it in the
Champions Trophy, didn't we We sort of had to get
up at three am and fly between Dubai and Pakistan.
So you know, we we're used to this now and
we just adapt and we get on with it.

Speaker 3 (01:48:28):
Are you good at watching the Black Caps play when
you're not involved?

Speaker 4 (01:48:31):
Do you do that?

Speaker 3 (01:48:32):
Or you just run and hide?

Speaker 17 (01:48:34):
No? No, I do watch it.

Speaker 23 (01:48:35):
I checked in during the World Cup, which was awesome
to see how well they did there. You know, unfortunately
couldn't get over the line in the final, but it.

Speaker 17 (01:48:41):
Was it was an awesome campaign to follow.

Speaker 23 (01:48:43):
And and yeah, everyone was behind them and they can
be really proud of that that World Cup campaign.

Speaker 3 (01:48:48):
A few people have ripped on the fact that the
bowlers took a bit of tap, but I choose to
look in the other direction. That was India at home
defending a title and they were giving everybody a bit
of tap they bettered. It was another that wasn't cricket
the way they were playing. It was on another lit eve,
wasn't it.

Speaker 23 (01:49:07):
Yeah, And it's just it's not just it's not just India,
you know, those those pictures are not conducive to.

Speaker 17 (01:49:13):
To s seam bowling anyway.

Speaker 23 (01:49:15):
And I mean two fifty is becoming so common now,
Like how often are we seeing two fifty And we're going, oh, yeah,
that's kind of you know, we're not whereas like two hundred.
Back in the day, we were like far out two hundred,
you know.

Speaker 17 (01:49:26):
So it's just it is.

Speaker 23 (01:49:28):
I understand the batting has gone to another to another planet,
but the seam bowling is tough. But I think potentially,
you know, bowlers are going to have to find ways
and you're probably going to see it over the next
few years of bowlers trying to, you know, find either
either work on their execution or find different different ways
to try the effective What are you trying?

Speaker 3 (01:49:46):
You're looking at that you know you're going to have
to deal with these batsmen and the way they roll.
What South Africa managed to do before they folded in
that semi What are you looking at? How are you
going to go about your business?

Speaker 17 (01:49:59):
Yeah, I mean there's an element of there's an element
of what I.

Speaker 23 (01:50:01):
Bring to the table, and then there's the you know,
the conditions you're playing with.

Speaker 17 (01:50:05):
You know, there's some variables, but.

Speaker 23 (01:50:07):
I think kind of the scouting is the main thing,
and then I guess it comes down to what's the
pitch offering you at the time. And then to be
honest with you, it's just a game of execution really.
You know, I suppose you see look at Bomber, he
goes at six and over in India because he can
nail a Yorker and he's got a great slabyll.

Speaker 17 (01:50:25):
So it's like, you know, if.

Speaker 23 (01:50:26):
You if you can execute, and you can you can
be nice and calm under pressure, then I think you
can be effective. For me, it's, you know, doing what
I do really well, running in heading the look at hard,
nailing a Yorker and then and then being smart around
my around my slabls. So you know, I think it's
it's it looks something like that when I'm playing well.

Speaker 17 (01:50:45):
So hopefully you can replicate that.

Speaker 3 (01:50:46):
If I get a run and Nathan Smith that joins us.
And I suppose you can't just have one different delivery.
You've got to have a number of different weapons in
your quiver, don't you.

Speaker 17 (01:50:56):
You do you do need you do need a few.

Speaker 23 (01:50:58):
But if I just if they're just okay as well
then and they don't have any deception, then.

Speaker 17 (01:51:04):
You know the betters are too good. They're going to
they're going to put you away.

Speaker 23 (01:51:07):
So I think, you know, that's that's where the skill
with the bowlers is really important.

Speaker 17 (01:51:11):
And keep to keep working on that execution, so you.

Speaker 23 (01:51:15):
Know, you're developing, you know, some world class deliveries that
you can go to a sort of anytime.

Speaker 17 (01:51:19):
That's sort of the I mean, that's at its at
its very best.

Speaker 23 (01:51:23):
So hopefully, you know, hopefully we can keep working on
that and I can sort of push my way to
this T twenty team.

Speaker 3 (01:51:30):
Nathan, do you bristle when people say this is not
a proper black Caps team because most of the players
are off having a cup of team to lie down
before they head back to India again? How do you
feel about that accusation?

Speaker 23 (01:51:43):
I personally haven't heard that accusation, but I'm assuming, I'm
assuming you.

Speaker 3 (01:51:48):
Talk about radio mate, Yeah, I'm.

Speaker 23 (01:51:50):
Assuming, Well, the way the way I see it, is
For me, it's it's you know, it's a great opportunity
to play for New Zealand and T twenty cricket and
you know, ultimately I want to I want to play
all three formats for New Zealand.

Speaker 17 (01:52:04):
So yeah, hopefully can go do well and you know,
it is what it is. I guess really the guys
have just.

Speaker 23 (01:52:10):
Played an amazing World Cup campaign and they've got ipl
commitments which is you know, pre agreed upon.

Speaker 17 (01:52:16):
So for me it's just you know, I sort of
reap the.

Speaker 23 (01:52:18):
Rewards of that and get to play a few games
for New Zealand hopefully.

Speaker 3 (01:52:21):
Well, there's no such thing as an eleven that plays
every format anymore. There's thirty guys out there who can
do it and on T twenty representing Have you got
a line on what has to happen for New Zealand
cricket as far as our domestic T twenty competition is concerned,
because there are options everywhere? Do you lean toward any
of those names?

Speaker 23 (01:52:43):
Are you talking sorry, are you talking about with the
way New Zealand cricket's going to go next year?

Speaker 3 (01:52:46):
Well, yeah, with a super smash, the adjusted supersmash or
the big bash of the NZED twenty. There's a lot
of options out there. Do you lean any of them?

Speaker 17 (01:52:54):
Yeah, I definitely.

Speaker 23 (01:52:55):
I think, you know, in New Zealand twenty would be
the best option for players within New Zealand and for
New Zealand cricket.

Speaker 17 (01:53:03):
Yeah, I think it's the best way to grow the.

Speaker 23 (01:53:04):
Game in New Zealand, get the backing behind and then yeah,
it should be pretty fun.

Speaker 17 (01:53:09):
I think if it.

Speaker 3 (01:53:10):
Goes ahead, well, there's a chance next year a lot
of the tests might have to be curtail removed to
that window. That doesn't concern you at all.

Speaker 23 (01:53:18):
Oh that's that's above that's above my pay grades, you know, scheduling.
But yeah, I think I think whatever decision they make,
you know, the players, players are going to be happy.
And there's a lot of chat around the best players
not playing Super Smash as it is, so hopefully, you know,
after games, all the games are still going to go ahead,
so hopefully they can find a result there. But yeah,

(01:53:40):
I think all the players will be happy regardless, especially
if this comp goes ahead.

Speaker 3 (01:53:43):
Well, let's hope you get the NOD more importantly for
the evening and you.

Speaker 14 (01:53:49):
Tear it up.

Speaker 3 (01:53:50):
Nathan Smith. Thanks so much for joining us as per mate.

Speaker 17 (01:53:53):
You look after your soir chairs, darsy, Thanks mate.

Speaker 3 (01:53:55):
Yeah, thank you for your time. To to forty five
the women start their first of five T twenties. They're
all doubleheaders. Seven fifteen the men get underway. It's twenty
minutes to call it?

Speaker 2 (01:54:07):
How you see it?

Speaker 1 (01:54:08):
On Weekend Sport with Dancy Wandergrave and GJ. Gardner Homes
New Zealand's most trusted home builder News Talks.

Speaker 3 (01:54:17):
There'd be two forty four on the News Talks, the'b
and Weekends Sport. One of Rugby's newest arrival, Rees writes
another chapter. Today the Blues host Minor Pacifica at Eden
Park the Saturday joining us now Blues fall back. Cole Forbes, go,
how are you? Did you recover well from last week's niggle? Yeah?

Speaker 24 (01:54:35):
That all all well, got through training all good this
week and yeah stoked to be back in the lineup
to take on the rivals.

Speaker 3 (01:54:43):
Yeah, so we talked about a niggle? What what? How
big a niggle? I mean when you realize it was
only a little or did you freak out last week
and goo this could be worse? Or what was the
deal around?

Speaker 9 (01:54:52):
Now?

Speaker 14 (01:54:53):
Was sort of just.

Speaker 24 (01:54:55):
The rolld Ankle and the Bumbies game and then yeah,
sort of, yeah, it wasn't too worried, and then you
got through back end and it was still sort of
not one hundred percent, so sort of just have one
week to rest it and then yeah, get back to
training this week and they're all as well, so good
to go.

Speaker 3 (01:55:12):
Really, buddy, got a good thing, isn't it? Not that
you want to miss out on a game, but just
to have that mental rest for a week give you
a little bit of reving when you get back in
there again, you make the most of that opportunity or am
I completely wrong?

Speaker 24 (01:55:26):
Yeah it is. It is a good mental rest, but
you're missing out on playe and seeing the boys do
that to the Crusaders always makes you happy. But yeah,
it's obviously a good mental reset, and there's a long season,
so I don't want anything to nip you in now
at the back end of the season.

Speaker 3 (01:55:42):
So what did you pull out of that game? Obviously
went playing, but you would have been working on all
week with Vernon the like about what actually worked for
you against the Crusaders because you shoot them and you
can tell.

Speaker 24 (01:55:55):
Yeah, I think you sort of know the Crusaders their
DNA is sort of take you to set peace and
then sort of win that like hight Bettle in the
physical area of the game. Sort of we preview that,
or we we knew what was coming and sort of
just we knew after our sort of performance against the
Brumbies that we played well in patches, but we didn't

(01:56:16):
string it together consistently. So the main goal was just
sort of nail our game plan in our DNA for
the whole eighty minutes. So I think we really did that,
and obviously the results showed on the weekend.

Speaker 3 (01:56:27):
When you look to that success last week, that's all
well and good, but you're professional, so you'll dig through
the weeds of that and what didn't work and what
you have to improve on. Am I right. I'm sure
that Veron celebrated, but he looked one side again, Nab,
But you need to do this better boys.

Speaker 24 (01:56:44):
Yeah, definitely, like your team, you look at it and
obviously you want to get better than the following weekend.
I think a big one we've focused on this week
has been discipline, sort of yellow cards against the Brumbies
there and the Crusaders have sort of hand put us
that's when we've leaked our points. So big, big mark
on discipline this week, not giving away super penalties and
giving one a second chances.

Speaker 3 (01:57:06):
To constant, isn't it coaches talking about discipline? Plainly, it's
a lot more difficult than people realize. What do you
think it makes it such a stretch because guys are
always getting carded and it happens right the way through
the season. And when people do, they go only got carded.
But we're going to watch our discipline. Why is this?
Why do you guys fold into this?

Speaker 24 (01:57:28):
No, it is a cliche every coach, every team, you
talk about it, But I think it's just in.

Speaker 9 (01:57:32):
The heat of the moment.

Speaker 24 (01:57:34):
So you get those boys that are sort of, oh,
should I have a jack or should I go at
the ball? And you sort of in the heat of moment,
you make that split second decision and then you look
got it on the boots and you're like, why did
I do that? But I think, yeah, it is just
something you've got to I think that you've got to
train it. So you've got to be disciplined at training
because we've sort of noticed that we haven't been as
harder on each other in training and then it's creeping

(01:57:55):
into the game. So I think that's sort of been
the ship this week, just sort of if we're going
to pull each other up and train, then it's going
to help us in the weekend.

Speaker 3 (01:58:03):
What's your disciplinary record, like Cole, I think I'm pretty
squeaky clean.

Speaker 24 (01:58:11):
I've had a few yellow cards, I think, but that's
about it. Nothing the old typical outside back slap down
ones and that's yeah. I had a couple of those,
but nothing, nothing too bad, I don't think.

Speaker 3 (01:58:23):
Not the problem right up in front what you are, though,
there's a problem for Zarn Sullivan. He's been playing the
house down, but he's on the bench now that you've
come back. You've got still mates.

Speaker 24 (01:58:34):
Yeah, yeah, he's been playing really well. It's good to
see him healthy because he's had a few injuries in
the last couple of seasons. Has sort of just hindered
him sometimes. But it's really good to see him getting
some game time. And it's got a huge left boot
and he's got their good running games, so it's been
good to see him playing. And then yeah, you've got
Cody Buyer as well, also had a boody good run
on the wing, so it's good, healthy competition in the

(01:58:55):
back three.

Speaker 3 (01:58:56):
It's exciting Blues Rugby at the moment, you'd be feeling
that energy. I mean, if you ever stop training or
like you know, stop eating, do you actually get the
idea around the general public that there's something happening.

Speaker 24 (01:59:09):
Yeah, I think the especially the last couple of home games,
there's been a good little buzz around them. You sort
of feel the atmosphere and the buzz before you're walking
in and stuff, and it has been noticeable, like good
crowds and everything. It's like the boys like, you know,
you feed off that and sort of Yeah, I wanted
to make a good run of the composition this year.

Speaker 3 (01:59:29):
What's your drive for the season, Cole? What do you
look to achieve? What do you want to do, What
do you want to clean up? What do you want
to work with?

Speaker 24 (01:59:37):
Definitely, I think every player was the one championship, So
that's probably our main goal as a group is when
you know, when the title and you know, we've got
to definitely go good squad and we're hitting in the
right direction. So I think there's nothing that nothing's stopping
us really.

Speaker 3 (01:59:50):
Just ourselves and your place, your place in this whole structure.
Where do you see you leading or assisting? What does
Cole Forbes need to do to help rest that title
away from the Crusaders.

Speaker 24 (02:00:06):
Yeah, I think it's just yeah, it was just nailing
sort of whatever my role is for the week, if
it's on the wing, if it's a fullback, if it's
on the bench, or if it's in the non twenty three,
just doing my job of each week and they, you know,
getting the boys ready for however there may be. But
I think, yeah, we're hitting in the right direction, So
I'm just going to do what I can really to
keep that winning ways going.

Speaker 3 (02:00:28):
You got a preference where do you like to play?
And I know what you're going to say, and so
as long as I'm playing on as long as I'm picked,
I don't mind. But really, we would you rather play?

Speaker 24 (02:00:38):
I think, yeah, that cliche is definitely you'd rather be
in the starting line up than sitting in the stand,
So that, yeah, it is probably the first one. And
then yeah, probably I've played predominantly of my career over
at fullback, I think, but in the last couple of
seasons I've had a decent amount of game time, like
on the wing side, I'd say I probably prefer fullback,
but enjoying wing as well, you know, just cut like

(02:01:00):
a little bit different sort of styles but similar.

Speaker 3 (02:01:03):
At the end of the day, do you dare think
about honors?

Speaker 14 (02:01:08):
Ah?

Speaker 24 (02:01:09):
Personally, I think it's just worried about making the twenty
three for the Blues at the moment. Like like you said,
you've got Zen Cody by catle Clark and a few
boys waiting in the wings, So it's just about getting
some game time before you think about anything else.

Speaker 3 (02:01:25):
And tell us about the approach to mourna Pacifika. They
can't explode into action and shrigg you with tries, but
they can also fold pretty fast. Where do you see
their weaknesses? Where do you see their strengths?

Speaker 24 (02:01:37):
Yeah, I think the strengths obvious. If you want to
make play a physical game for them, get their tails
up with winning collisions and sort of making it a
scrappy game of rugby, I think that's where they're strongest
sort of. I think where they're probably not as strong
as probably we can take them in sort of those
set piece areas and keep the game sort of structured
and not kick away mindlessly kick away possession and give

(02:02:01):
them sort of easy into the game, so I think,
and then obviously like this just before our disciplined with
can watch, stupid penalties are going to be getting pigged
back quite a bit.

Speaker 3 (02:02:10):
Well, I really thank you for joining us. It promises
so much. Let's hope that you stay high when you're defending,
you gather that ball because it's very much the favor
of rugby these days, and make it really hard for
ZHN Sullivan to get a spot.

Speaker 24 (02:02:26):
That will you, Cole uh oh, do do my best
on defense and there we'll put on a.

Speaker 3 (02:02:32):
Yep get amongst it. Thanks very much for your time.
That game gets on away at three forty five, No,
three point thirty five, excuse me, Cole Forbes, thanks very
much for your tongue. The news talks here B. It's
eight away from three.

Speaker 1 (02:02:48):
The big names and the big calls on your home
of sports Weekend Sport with Dancy Waldegrave News talks in B.

Speaker 3 (02:02:56):
And that winds up the program another day. Another fifty cents.
Thanks very much for listening, Thanks for your calls, thanks
for your text. Your participation, even if it's just with
your ears, is why we do this. So we thank
you so much and say we are myself and Anna McDonald.
He is the executive producer of the program. Jason Pine
will be back next weekend. Tim Beverage joined us next

(02:03:19):
and we're going out with a favorite band of mine
from way back when. It's called tac Head. And this
is a track called the Game. This is the celebrator
well football and success from New Zealand teams over the weekend.
Good Day, the.

Speaker 6 (02:03:39):
Dying, exactly that which so many monies forward, It's fought.

Speaker 3 (02:03:51):
An exceptional victory.

Speaker 1 (02:04:15):
For more from Weekends Sport with Jason Fine, Listen live
to news talks at B weekends from midday, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.

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