New Zealand

Football Ferns striker Hannah Wilkinson completes Sporting Lisbon move

The 27-year-old has signed a one-year contract with Portuguese club Sporting Lisbon and said there are pictures of Ronaldo everywhere she turns.

"That was one thing that kind of gives me chills every time I step into the academy because in the meeting room it's just his face and pictures of him playing at the same place you're training in right now and how he developed through the ages at that very place," she said.

New Zealand extends support to Tonga Police

“New Zealand is committed to confronting the scourge of criminal gangs and organised crime that cause harm to our communities. It is vital that New Zealand works with all countries in the Pacific to secure the safety of our neighbourhood,” Mr Peters said.

The announcement was made Monday during a visit by Tonga Minister of Police, Mateni Tapueluelu.

New Zealand, Tonga and Australia will jointly fund the programme which will see NZ Police officers seconded into Tonga Police to provide training and technical assistance.

Argentina make All Blacks sweat

After South Africa's earlier resounding victory over Australia, this was a match of a different nature and the All Blacks were clinging on at the end for their success on Saturday.

First-half tries from Ngani Laumape and Brodie Retallick looked to have put the visitors in control, but New Zealand went scoreless in the second 40 minutes.

Emiliano Boffelli pulled a try back and, come the closing stages, Argentina were camped close to the New Zealand line.

Diamonds beat Silver Ferns in cliffhanger

Australia have dominated New Zealand in recent times, winning seven of eight clashes since the start of 2018.

But the Silver Ferns are a new-look unit and refused to give up after being down by as many as nine goals at one point.

Coach Noeline Taurua started with her strongest line-up, with Maria Folau at GS and Ameliaranne Ekenasio at GA.

It was fairly evenly poised early on but the Diamonds ended the first quarter with a burst, leading 13-10 at the first break.

NZ RSE scheme boosting employment in the regions

Business expansion has boosted employment in regional areas, with RSE employers hiring more New Zealanders from the local community, including through Work and Income NZ.

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) Pacifica Labour and Skills Manager, George Rarere says the 2019 survey highlights the positive impact of RSE workers on businesses and the local community.

“A stable seasonal workforce has meant more employers have been able to grow their business operations and put more investment into plant equipment and offer job opportunities to locals,” Mr Rarere says.

Australia, NZ voted onto Pacific Games Council

The Trans Tasman neighbours were first invited to compete in four sports at the 2015 Games in Papua New Guinea, with that number doubling to eight sports for the current Games in Samoa.

But the CEO of the Pacific Games Council, Andrew Minogue said under that arrangement both countries, who also took a limited part in the 2017 Mini Games, had no standing at all in the Council framework and constitution.

"What we did today was we formally admitted both Olympic Committees as associate members of the Council, so they now have a much easier pathway to competing. "

New Zealand stun India to reach World Cup final

India's top order collapsed as the Black Caps reached the showpiece match for the second World Cup running, leaving the dreams of Virat Kohli's side and their army of followers in tatters.

With play having carried into the reserve day after rain on Tuesday, the Black Caps resumed on 211-5 and added another 28 runs for the loss of three wickets in 3.5 overs.

World Cup semi to resume Wednesday

New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat, reaching 211-5 after 46.1 overs when the players were forced off the field at around 14:00 local time (13:00 GMT).

Light but persistent showers continued throughout the afternoon and though the umpires inspected the pitch at 18:10, heavier rain arrived at that point and the covers were summoned back on.

Play had to resume by 18:36 for a conclusion to be reached on Tuesday, with India needing to bat at least 20 overs for a result.

Goals galore as Pacific Games football kicks off

Defending men's champions New Caledonia opened with a 5-0 win over American Samoa before Pool B rivals Solomon Islands upped the ante with a 13-0 thrashing of Tuvalu.

However Bonitos head coach Wim Rijsbergen was not getting carried away with much tougher games still to come.

Tonga look to the future after Kiwis defeat

The Kingdom were beaten 36-14 in their Oceania Cup rugby league test in Auckland, as the Kiwis made them pay for any defensive lapses.

Head coach Kristian Woolf said they played well for large periods of the match but were punished for defensive flaws.

"We had plenty of opportunities there at different times and just couldn't quite crack their line," he said.