Rugby Union

That is a wrap on the ninth round of the NPC season, which means there is only one more week of regular season points reviews left after this one. Before we get to that, though, we need to dive into all the action from this past weekend, which featured some major repercussions from the results, which made it difficult to only choose five players from the round. 5. Lucas Casey (1 Point) Back-to-back weeks on the list for Otago’s openside flanker, who is experiencing a breakout season in the NPC and was recently announced to be signing with the Highlanders…

The All Blacks handled business by defending both the Eden Park record and retaining the Bledisloe Cup once again. It was a strange game where the All Blacks flew out of the blocks, but between some of their own mistakes and Australia stringing together some great footy, the game remained close down the stretch. Now, as we do here at betcha each weekend, we provide you with our grades for each player in the black jersey, which means it is time to do that for Bledisloe Game 1. Simon Parker and Tupou Vaa’i of New Zealand with New Zealand All…

After another week’s break, we’re back into The Rugby Championship, and with only two rounds to go, it’s still anyone’s for the taking. Australia leads with 11 points, thanks to picking up more bonus points along the way. South Africa and New Zealand are tied on 10 points, but the Springboks have a better points difference after they embarrassed New Zealand at Sky Stadium. And Argentina sit in last but have 9 points to their name. These last two weeks are truly make-or-break for each team.  The first game of the weekend is at the fortress, Eden Park. Where the…

The Ranfurly Shield is on the move again and will be up for grabs once again this weekend as Otago host the winless North Harbour. I’m not sure how I feel about North Harbour potentially being able to snag the shield with their first win of the season, but even if they do, they’ll have to defend it against Southland in the final game of the round robin. We saw some high scoring affairs with all but one of the games totalling over 50 points! Let’s hope the points keep flowing and the try scorers keep coming in for Round…

If there was ever a must-win game that wasn’t a World Cup match, it’s this weekend for Scott Robertson and the All Blacks. They are coming off their worst ever loss, which left the fan base reeling after watching an All Blacks side essentially give up with 20 minutes to go. This weekend, they take on a Wallabies side who will be looking to snap New Zealand’s record at Eden Park. There has been a call for change in some fashion, and that is exactly what I’m going to give you. Instead of doing the standard team prediction, I’m going…

With another weekend in the books, we have a fresh set of players of the round, which means it’s time to update our NPC Player of the Season leaderboard. Let’s see how it all shakes out heading into the penultimate round of the regular season. 5. Etene Nanai-Seturo (1 Point) Another battle of the north saw Auckland take on Counties in what was set to be an exciting match up, with both teams starting to find some form down the stretch of the season. However, to my surprise, the Steelers were able to put the pedal to the metal and…

Just three rounds to go until the quarterfinals are upon us, and we’re starting to get a fair idea of those eight teams that might make the knockout stage. Another shield match is on the cards this week and some good games all round. Let’s get into Round Eight of the NPC. Taranaki vs Hawke’s Bay Friday, 7:10pm | Stadium Taranaki Hawke’s Bay to Win | $2.35 Best Bet It took a drop goal in extra time for the Magpies to steal the win over the Steamers in Round Seven. That snapped a two-game losing streak and got them back…