Reuben Thorne captained his country in 23 of 50 tests he played. His captaincy win rate was 87 percent, a figure that puts him ahead of some of the most cherished chief custodians of the “jersey”. Wilson Whineray, Brian Lochore and Graham Mourie - al

There’s a photo of me around the age of four sitting with my mum reading a book. She’s not reading to me; I’m reading to her and the book was about the 1800s French chemist Louis Pasteur. Obviously. He was renowned for discovering the principles behi

The Black Ferns squad recently assembled for the first time in 2023 to compete at the Pacific Four Series (Pac4). As I watched their opening round against Australia Wallaroos, I couldn’t be more proud to see the 15s game back in action for the year o

For four magical weeks in mid-1987, the famous black jersey with a white collar, and black shorts, was Murray Pierce’s uniform of choice. Then aged 29, the lock was one of two Wellington-based police officers – along with fullback John Gallagher – in

New Zealand France Italy Uruguay Namibia France v New Zealand Sept 9, 7.15am New Zealand v Italy Sept 30, 8am France v Italy Oct 7, 8am] Winning three big tests in as many weeks. That is what it takes to win a World Cup and while it is easy to type a

Wales Australia Fiji Georgia Portugal Wales v Fiji Sept 11, 7am Aus v Fiji Sept 18, 3.45am Wales v Australia Sept 25, 8am Fiji v Georgia Oct 1, 4.45am Wales v Georgia Oct 8, 2am Eddie Jones was spot on with the first part of his short-fuse “smash-and

WHILE YOU MIGHT BE able to trace my cognitive decline to the moment I picked up an oval ball and ran with it, I pinpoint my time at Toulon as the moment it started to come into a jarring, fuzzy type of focus. The irony, if that’s the correct way to d

“My first test for the All Blacks, easily. Against Ireland in 2012. I’d had a good year and then to be named - and I remember there were only two halfbacks in the squad so I thought cool, I will get 20 minutes off the bench and Piri (Weepu) will star

South Africa Ireland Scotland Tonga Romania SA v Scot Sept 11, 3.45am Ire v Tonga Sept 17, 7am SA v Ire Sept 24, 8am Scot v Tonga Sept 25, 4.45aqm SA v Tonga Oct 2, 8am Ire v Scot Oct 8, 8am Well, there’s always one, isn’t there? By any criteria, Poo

1. Born in Hong Kong, he played for the All Blacks in 1983, then England in 1985. Who was he? 2. Born in England, he played for both NZ Under 21’s and England Under 21’s, then represented England at test level. Who was he? 3. Born in London, he schoo

ONLINE ONLINE SUBSCRIPTION SUBSCRIPTION ACCESS NZRW ON ANY OF DEVICES $5/month WWW.NZRUGBYWORLD.CO.NZ ■

In two short sentences, Dane Coles encapsulates his time as a professional rugby player. “I know I’m not everyone’s favourite, but that’s fine by me. I’ve just tried to do everything I can on the field for every team I play for.” In a glittering deca

England Japan Argentina Samoa Chile Eng v Arg Sept 10, 7am Eng v Jap Sept 18, 7am Arg v Samoa Sept 23, 3.45am Jap v Samoa Sept 29, 8am Eng v Samoa Oct 8, 4.45am Jap v Arg Oct 9, 12am They are lofty heights to scale again. Japan were unbeaten through

There are roughly one million high school football players in the United States every year, and when you consider that just 6.5% of them progress to playing college football, and just 1.6% of those college ballers ever make it onto the field in the N

This time last year Shaun Stevenson was playing a little closer to home than he would have liked. The 26-year-old from Whangaparāoa was turning out for Northcote in the North Harbour premier club grade. Stevenson’s seventh season for the Chiefs saw h

There was a point last year where if the chief executive of New Zealand Rugby had found a $100 note in the street he would have slipped a disc while bending down to pick it up. The 49-year-old former All Black couldn’t do a thing right. Not in the co

Paeroa, the home of L&P, is where I grew up and where my rugby journey began. In the middle of the cul-de-sac at the end of my street there was a small oval field, and that is where I would spend hours on end. All the kids on the street would come to

It’s a smile that’s beamed across stadiums and around the rugby world. As he lines up a kick at goal, Damian McKenzie looks up and smiles. The cameras love it, zooming in on the almost cheeky half grin. “It’s to loosen me up a bit,” McKenzie says of

1. This French centre who played between 1995-2001, is the son of France’s youngest ever international rugby player, and is brother in law to both Raphael Ibanez and Oliver Magne (both married his sisters). Who is he? 2. Dan Carter won 88% of the tes

SCAN ME ACCESS NZRW ON ANY OF YOUR DEVICES FOR JUST ONLINE SUBSCRIPTION $ 5/month WWW.NZRUGBYWORLD.CO.NZ ■

SIX MONTHS [3 ISSUES] FOR ONLY $35.00 ONE YEAR [6 ISSUES] FOR ONLY $49.00 44% OFF RETAIL 55% OFF RETAIL YES, PLEASE SUBSCRIBE ME TO NZ RUGBY WORLD MAGAZINE FOR: SUBSCRIBE NOW www.nzrugbyworld.co.nz Email mike@nzrugbyworld.co.nz Facebook.com/nzrugbywo

Clark Laidlaw is finally looking ahead, and he’s doing so in more ways than one. After perhaps the most challenging period of his coaching career Laidlaw is now busy juggling his All Blacks Sevens job with a second role as head of the New Zealand und

EXCLUSIVE NZRW DISCOUNT Award winning Botanical Rum from Lunatic & Lover, New Zealand’s most imaginative craft distillery. Carefully selected botanicals are vapour infused into the spirit during distillation and then laid to rest in ex-Bourbon casks

Gam Roigard has always gone places fast. Growing up, the Hurricanes halfback raced the speedway circuit, the motorsport gene deeply ingrained in him and brother Stefan by dad Dave, a former Waikato champion and three-decade fixture on New Zealand’s s

The All Blacks have won the World Cup three times and it makes sense that those three teams contribute the most players to any all time World Cup XV. But there are a few outliers. Afterall, Jonah Lomu was staggeringly good at the 1995 World Cup in So