- Brought to you by:
About Duncan Johnstone
About Duncan Johnstone
Co-editor of Rugbyheaven.co.nz, Duncan Johnstone was in the stands when David Kirk lifted the Webb Ellis Trophy in 1987 and has been involved in coverage of five of the six Rugby World Cups for newspapers and websites. Johnstone authored Sean Fitzpatrick's best-selling biography Turning Point and is a regular media analyst on the weekly Press Box show on Sky's Rugby Channel.
Bono on hand as ABs rock Limerick
Legendary U2 front man Bono will be amongst a group of A-list Irish celebrities who will watch the All Blacks play Munster here on Wednesday (NZ time).
Hansen calls for two referees in tests
All Blacks assistant coach Steve Hansen called for two referees to be tried in test rugby, believing the speed that the game is now played at has got too quick for one whistleman to handle it.
Carter owes NZ a fitting farewell
Dan Carter's personal rehabilitation programme has restricted him
to just 31 minutes in the No 10 role in the past eight weeks and
placed pressure on the All Blacks maestro to get things right
quickly against Ireland on Sunday.
Kidney tells team to settle down
New Irish coach Declan Kidney has told his squad not to get carried
away with their thrashing of Canada as they knuckle down to the
task of trying to beat the All Blacks for the first time this
weekend.
Scots call up top troops to go on attack
The Scots have defied most expectations and named a strong and experienced side - including returning some old warriors to their ranks - to confront the All Blacks at Murrayfield on the weekend.
Barnes back to haunt ABs
English referee remains off-limits to New Zealand media ahead of
this weekend's test at Murrayfield.
ABs sure Scots will bring plenty of passion to the table
The All Blacks have arrived in Scotland with assistant coach Wayne
Smith talking the locals up, predicting a "tough outing" from their
passionate hosts in the test at Murrayfield on the weekend.
British press not impressed by All Blacks
The British rugby press say New Zealand 's unconvincing Hong Kong Bledisloe Cup win shows the All Blacks are beatable on the forthcoming Grand Slam tour - but the claims lacked real conviction.
Special match doesn't need special rules, says Mortlock
The Wallabies are desperate to win back the Bledisloe Cup but skipper Stirling Mortlock doesn't believe the rules should be altered to have the treasured trophy put on the line for special matches like the one being played here on Saturday night.
This is the real deal
"Who said it was a dead rubber?" Robbie Deans demanded as one of a
large media contingent dared question the validity of Saturday
night's Bledisloe Cup clash.
Richie revved up to rip into defining tour
Richie McCaw says he's shaken off some rust with Canterbury and now
he is out to recapture his imperial Tri Nations form for a tour
that the All Blacks skipper believes will define his season.
ABs plan double trouble for Wallabies
A desire to have two navigators in their backline has seen the All
Blacks shift Dan Carter to second five-eighths and bring Stephen
Donald in for his starting debut at No 10 in this weekend's
Bledisloe Cup clash with Australia here.
Grand Slam easier said than done
Keven Mealamu, a Grand Slam winner in 2005, puts the latest quest for total domination of the four home unions into perspective when he declares: "It's going to be a battle of attrition."
Seven new players for All Blacks
Scott Waldrom has won the race to be Richie McCaw's backup on the
tour of Hong Kong and the United Kingdom.
'Roks' shows he's ready to roll if required
Joe Rokocoko can feel things coming together after scoring a couple
of tries - and a couple of bruises - for the All Blacks wider
training squad. Now he's just got to wait to see if he's done
enough to make the end of year tour.
'Mr Fix-it' Kahui set for role at second five for All Blacks
Richard Kahui looks likely to get some game time at second
five-eighths on the All Blacks tour with the Waikato back set to
wear the No 12 jersey in today's practice game in Auckland.
Hong Kong on hold for Mils
Baby duties could keep All Blacks fullback out of the Hong Kong
test against the Wallabies on Saturday week.
Buffed Carter slots straight back in
The All Blacks coaches are delighted with the readiness of rested
playmaker Daniel Carter and the blossoming pivot work of Piri Weepu
as a rib injury lingers with first five-eighths Stephen Donald
ahead of next week's tour.
Joe's gotta tour - 'he's been there done that'
Blues coach Pat Lam has backed Joe Rokocoko's bid for an All Blacks
touring position despite the try-scoring wing having spent most of
the year on the sidelines injured.
SA lawyer looks over Watson's speech
The Luke Watson saga has taken another twist with the South African Rugby Union appointing a lawyer to investigate his alleged radical comments and decide whether they breach the Springbok code of conduct.
Keep up to date with the latest rugby news