JANUARY
1
'Pride and honour': Dame Sophie Pascoe coming to terms with newly earned title
After another remarkable year in the pool, New Zealand's most successful Paralympian now has another title to add.
Swimmer Sophie Pascoe has been appointed a Dame in the New Year's Honours - the youngest to ever be given the title - joining kayaker Lisa Carrington as the other athlete to be receive the honour.
"I've taken this title with absolute pride and honour," Dame Sophie told Newshub. "I don't think it's really sunk in yet."
2
Kiwi MMA star Mark Hunt ordered to pay more than NZ$567,000 to UFC
Kiwi mixed martial arts fighter Mark Hunt has been ordered to pay more than US$388,000 (NZ$567,000) in legal fees and costs to the UFC.
A Nevada court judgment, dated March 25, 2021 has just been published, presenting another barrier in his ongoing doping lawsuit.
Hunt filed the suit against the UFC, after losing his 2016 fight with Brock Lesnar at UFC 200. The fight was later ruled a no-contest, after Lesnar received exemptions from standard USADA testing protocol to compete at the event and was found to have tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs before the bout.
5
Blackcaps stunned at Mt Maunganui, suffer historic first test defeat to Bangladesh
The Blackcaps have fallen to a history-making maiden test defeat to Bangladesh, losing by eight wickets at Mt Maunganui's Bay Oval.
A stunning effort with the ball, led by Ebadot Hossain (6/46) and Taskin Ahmed (3/36), saw New Zealand crumble to 169 all out inside the opening hour of the final day's play and allowed the visitors a simple run chase to create history.
Chasing 40 runs for victory, Bangladesh cruised to their target in 16.5 overs and sent a nation of nearly 165 million people into raptures, their first victory over the Blackcaps in any format on New Zealand soil.
6
Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic has visa cancelled over anti-COVID vaccination stance
Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic pledges to fight the latest setback to his title defence at Melbourne this month, with his entry visa cancelled over his repeated refusal to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in line with Australian rules.
Djokovic arrived at Tullamarine Airport overnight, claiming he had received a Government medical exemption to contest the upcoming Grand Slam tournament, despite state protocols requiring all players and support staff to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.
But Border Force officials held him for several hours, while his status was reviewed, and his visa has now been cancelled and a deportation order issued.
12
Umpires force hand of NZ skipper Tom Latham to bowl retiring veteran Ross Taylor in final test
One of the keys to success for this world champion Blackcaps side has been the ability to put aside personal agendas for the greater team good.
So you sense the relief from stand-in skipper Tom Latham, when he describes how retiring veteran Ross Taylor came to capture a rare test scalp and the winning wicket in his final red-ball appearance for New Zealand on Tuesday.
With light fading on the third day and the home side closing in on victory against Bangladesh at Christchurch's Hagley Oval, Latham was forced to weigh Taylor's little-used right-arm spin against the imperative of wrapping up the tourists' tailenders.
18
Blues confirm positional plans for superstar recruit Roger Tuivasa-Sheck
Marquee recruit Roger Tuivasa-Sheck will make his highly anticipated professional rugby debut in the Blues No.12 jersey.
Blues head coach Leon MacDonald has confirmed the ex-Warriors and Kiwis superstar had shown a natural inclination towards a midfield role, where he believes his tools would best translate from rugby league.
MacDonald had initially hoped to ease Tuivasa-Sheck back into the 15-man code on the wing for Auckland in the national provincial championship, until COVID-19 put paid to their 2021 season.
Despite the lack of any genuine matchplay, MacDonald has seen enough to feel confident the 2018 Dally M medallist can slot immediately into the more complex and demanding second-five position, when pre-season kicks off early next month.
22
Kieran Read, Will Jordan half-centuries see Team Rugby complete sensation run chase against Team Cricket
Half-centuries to All Blacks past and present, Kieran Read and Will Jordan, have seen Team Rugby overcome Team Cricket for a stunning six-wicket victory in the Twenty20 Black Clash at Mt Maunganui's Bay Oval.
Chasing 204 runs for victory, scores of 84 to Read and 63 for Jordan saw Team Rugby get home with five balls to spare, and level the scores between the two sides at 2-2, after four matches played.
Combined with a rapid 28 from eight balls to former Blackcaps captain Brendon McCullum - playing for Team Rugby - Read and Jordan reeled in the target in style, giving a crowd of more than 10,000 fans their money's worth at Bay Oval.
25
Ex-All Blacks, star names rally behind Welsh U12s player criticised for weight
The rugby community has rallied around a Welsh U12s player bullied for his weight and told he was "too big" to play with his teammates.
Mark Pugsley has tweeted that he's had to remove a post from his personal Facebook page about son Alfie playing rugby, due to negative comments directed at the U12s player.
"Had to remove a post from Facebook, as an idiot commented, saying my boy is too 'big' to play U12s and isn't healthy," Pugsley writes.
"If only people knew how hard he works to get fitter and how low his confidence has been. Don't worry Alfie, I'll always be your biggest fan."
But as Pugsley's tweet goes viral, reaction from some of the game's biggest names has seen Alfie inundated with support and encouragement - and even earn an invitation to attend the English Premiership final at Twickenham in June.
