JULY
3
NZ Warriors ride emotional Mt Smart homecoming to drought-breaking victory over Wests Tigers
NZ Warriors have saved probably their most complete performance of the NRL season for their long-awaited Mt Smart homecoming, slaying Wests Tigers 22-2 to break a seven-game losing streak.
Clinical is not a word anyone could use to describe the Warriors in recent times, as they've stumbled through more than 1000 days of COVID-19 exile across the Tasman, but for 80 minutes, they largely put aside their embarrassing mistakes and hardly allowed their rivals any chance of crossing the tryline.
The result - the 300th victory of their 27-year history - sees them leapfrog the Tigers and Canterbury Bulldogs up the NRL ladder.
Fans should not get too carried away just yet - 2022 will NOT be the Warriors' year - but at least the performance suggests club legend Stacey Jones may have stopped the rot, after almost a month as interim coach.
6
NZ Warriors to grant Reece Walsh early release, sign Canberra Raiders star Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad
NZ Warriors are poised to farewell one star fullback and welcome another for the 2023 NRL season.
According to Australian newspaper The Daily Telegraph, Walsh will be granted an early release from his Warriors contract to return to Brisbane Broncos.
But the club appears to have a ready-made replacement, with Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad to be released from the final year of his contract with Canberra Raiders on compassionate grounds to rejoin the Warriors from 2023.
Teen sensation Walsh has long been rumoured to head back to Brisbane - the team he left last April to replace rugbybound Warriors captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck. The 19-year-old has previously denied such speculation, insisting he planned to move to New Zealand to play out the final year of his deal.
7
New NZ Warriors coach Andrew Webster arrives with title winner Ivan Cleary's endorsement
Incoming NZ Warriors coach Andrew Webster has the tick of approval from one of the NRL's best, with the Auckland club sounding out the opinion of current boss Ivan Cleary, before making the appointment.
Webster has been confirmed to take charge of the Warriors from 2023, after finishing his commitments with Penrith Panthers this season.
The 40-year-old has been an assistant under Clearly at the Panthers, working as Penrith's attack coach, as they cement themselves as one of the NRL's great modern-day sides, winning the 2021 Premiership.
9
All Blacks slip to first defeat against Ireland on Kiwi soil in Dunedin smash and grab
For the first time in their history, Ireland have defeated the All Blacks in New Zealand, winning 23-12 at Dunedin.
With victories in Chicago and Dublin since 2016, the Irish claimed the last remaining accolade in their recent superiority over the All Blacks, also handing Ian Foster's side a first loss at Forsyth Barr Stadium.
The All Blacks cause was hindered by three separate cards - yellows to Leicester Fainga'anuku and Ofa Tuungafasi, before Angus Ta'avao became just the seventh New Zealander in history to receive a red card.
20
Kiwi NBA star Steven Adams' act of airport humility praised on social media
Kiwi NBA star Steven Adams is being praised for his humble act, while back in New Zealand.
Memphis Grizzlies centre Adams, 29, is currently back in his homeland, with the NBA in its off-season until October.
While waiting to fly to his hometown of Rotorua from Auckland, the near-seven-foot (2.13m) star showed his time in the US hasn't taken away from his Kiwi upbringing.
"At 7 foot, Steven Adams is hard to miss, despite being in full camouflage, looking like he was about to go pig hunting (in jandals)," Tim Alpe posted on LinkedIn. "I saw him head up to the self-service food area and proceed to demo a hearty breakfast, befitting someone of his size.
"I then witnessed something really cool. After finishing his breakfast, he proceeded to take all his dirty dishes up to the kitchen and thank the staff personally."
21
All Blacks, commentator Justin Marshall clash after Irish defeat at Wellington
Social media video has emerged of an intense encounter between All Blacks players and Sky Sport commentator Justin Marshall, after New Zealand's historic series loss to Ireland at Wellington over the weekend.
The 32-22 victory over the home team catapulted the Irish to No.1 in world rankings and left the host nation - now ranked fourth - licking its wounds, as it contemplated its chances of regaining the Rugby World Cup in France next year.
Tensions were high.
"Behaving responsibly is one of the core values in our team environment," said NZ Rugby. "The group were working to meet their curfew and when faced with a tricky situation, they did what they could to ensure everyone departed safely at the appropriate time."
26
New assistant coach Jason Ryan takes aim at 'dented' All Blacks pack
New assistant coach Jason Ryan has wasted no time stamping his mark on the All Blacks forward pack, still reeling from their historic series-defeat to Ireland this month.
After massive public and social media outcry over the performance, the Crusaders forwards coach was brought into the NZ team set-up, with the departure of incumbents Brad Mooar and John Plumtree.
With the Rugby Championship looming, beginning with two 'away' tests against world champions South Africa, coach Ian Foster has very little time to turn things around, but Ryan has immediately shown he won't mince words in his quest for improvement.
"There's no hiding from it," he said. "The All Black pack has been dented - it really has been.
"We talked about it in the forwards meeting today, we didn't hide anything. We were really, really honest and we have to be."
26
Manly Sea Eagles players to boycott NRL match over objection to club's pride jersey
Seven Manly Sea Eagles players have withdrawn from selection for Thursday night's NRL match with Sydney Roosters over the team's decision to wear a gay pride jersey in the fixture.
The Sea Eagles have announced they will become the first team in NRL history to wear an LGBTQIA+ jersey for the match, with a rainbow design replacing the strip's traditional white hoops.
But that decision has caused unrest among players, who are unhappy they were not consulted by club management.
According to Sydney Morning Herald, the boycotting group are Jason Saab, Tolutau Koula, Haumole Olakau'atu, Josh Schuster and Kiwi players Christian Tuipulotu, Josh Alioai, and Toafofoa Sipley, whose objections are reportedly based on cultural and religious grounds.
30
Highflying Kiwis storm Commonwealth Games medal table on golden opening day
New Zealand have rocketed out of the Commonwealth Game starting blocks to sit second on the medal table, after the opening day of competition at Birmingham.
After triathlete Hayden Wilde incurred a controversial time penalty to dip out on gold, our track cyclists more than made up for the disappointment, with the men's pursuit and women's sprint combinations storming to victory at the velodrome.
To cap off the celebrations, Dame Sophie Pascoe's fifth gold medal - for victory in the 100m freestyle S9 - equalled the most by a Kiwi at the Commonwealth Games, held by shot put/discus thrower Val Young.
The medal haul - three gold, three silver and a bronze - has New Zealand trailling only Australia (eight) for gold, but also behind England (nine) for total medals, and ahead of traditional powerhouse Canada (one gold, four medals) early.
