The Hawke's Bay Magpies won their 10th straight Ranfurly Shield defence on Wednesday evening at McLean Park, defeating South Canterbury 38-20.

The Māori All Blacks and Ireland paid tribute to late Kiwi rugby star Sean Wainui ahead of their clash in Hamilton on Wednesday evening.

If Ireland had been hoping to send a message ahead of Saturday's first test, only one side would have been smiling about the content conveyed.

Exciting and explosive winger Caleb Clarke has extended his stay with the Blues.

The Blues today confirmed that Clarke will continue with the Blues and New Zealand Rugby until at least 2024.

Grant Fox is one of the best to have ever worn the All Blacks No10 jersey and is still regarded as one of the finest goal-kickers of all time.

Three coaches and two players struck down with Covid. Former Ireland coach Joe Schmidt answering an SOS to help man the helm against his former team. The test season could hardly have started on a more dramatic note for the All Blacks – and we are still five days out from kickoff at a sold-out Eden Park.

One of the warmest airport welcomes the All Blacks have ever received — that was the verdict of captain Sam Cane after the team touched down in Kerikeri at the start of a three-day Northland visit.

New Zealand Rugby announced its "Reimagining Rugby" strategy on Tuesday. An underwhelmed Madeleine Chapman reports.

On this week's edition of Rugby Direct, Elliott Smith (Newstalk ZB's lead rugby commentator) and Liam Napier (chief sports writer at the NZ Herald) break down the Crusaders' emphatic Super Rugby Pacific grand final win over the Blues at Eden Park.

Ireland's touring rugby side are set to be reminded at every turn they have never won in New Zealand as part of a controversial marketing campaign likely to rile a few feathers.

One of the warmest airport welcomes the All Blacks have ever received — that was the verdict of captain Sam Cane after the team touched down in Kerikeri at the start of a three-day Northland visit.

Black Ferns 50
United States 6

The Black Ferns saved their best for last.

The Blues have been given a huge boost ahead of tonight's Super Rugby Pacific final, with captain Dalton Papalii cleared to come off the bench.

Crusaders 21
Blues 7

The red and black dynasty reigns supreme – again. Six titles in six years. Thirteen in total. This one is sure to leave lingering scars for the Blues, too.

A sold-out Eden Park for this weekend's Super Rugby final will be a "life saver" for local businesses after a quiet 10 months at the stadium.

Blues captain and All Blacks flanker Dalton Papalii faces a fitness test today after being named on the bench for Saturday's Super Rugby Pacific final at Eden Park.

After leaving the New Zealand Warriors NRL side, Selestino Ravutaumada says he felt lost before Hamilton Old Boys threw him a lifeline - this year he became part of the inaugural Swire Shipping Fijian Drua side in DHL Super Rugby Pacific.

All Black Dalton Papalii has sidestepped a court charge after police accused him of driving at "extremely excessive" speeds on an Auckland motorway.

Crusaders 20
Chiefs 7

The Chiefs picked a bad night to have a bad night.

Heading into their Super Rugby Pacific semifinal against the Crusaders in Christchurch, they needed to be at their best. The Crusaders had an immaculate 26-0 record in home playoff games, but the Chiefs had beaten them down south earlier in the season, leaving plenty of intrigue as to whether the Chiefs could snap that streak.

Blues 20
Brumbies 19

Super Rugby Pacific's inaugural season has its dream final - but only just.

All Black Dalton Papalii has sidestepped a court charge after police accused him of driving at "extremely excessive" speeds on an Auckland motorway.

Clayton McMillan sees the value in short turnarounds at the end of a campaign.

A senior Crusaders rugby coach has blasted Christchurch's mayor over the ongoing delays in building a new stadium, alleging: "She never wanted it."

Crusaders and All Blacks flanker Ethan Blackadder has been ruled out for the rest of the year with a shoulder injury.

Elliott Smith and Liam Napier dissect the Super Rugby Pacific quarter-finals that went exactly to the formbook, at least on the scoreboard.

Black Ferns 23
Australia 10

A new era for the Black Ferns started on a sodden and ultimately successful note on Monday with a gritty comeback victory against the Wallaroos to open their pre-World Cup campaign.

Chiefs 39
Waratahs 15

After easing past the Waratahs in today's quarter-final, the Chiefs will now face one of the most difficult challenges in Super Rugby.

Blues 35
Highlanders 6

One down, two hurdles to clear for the Blues.

Brumbies 35
Hurricanes 25

The Hurricanes have been unable to complete a perfect quarter-final weekend for New Zealand teams, knocked out by the Brumbies in Canberra tonight.

All Blacks legend Keven Mealamu believes he has cracked the code as to why Leon MacDonald's Blues are the best in nearly 20 years.

New Zealand Rugby's provincial unions have signed off the $200 million Silver Lake deal.

A jubilant mood encompassed New Zealand Rugby's Auckland headquarters yesterday as the provincial unions signed off the fraught Silver Lake deal — yet one lone objection left a lingering question hanging in the air.

Former New Zealand women's rugby league team physiotherapist Skye Renes has been refused a shot at a Supreme Court appeal against her convictions for Accident Compensation Corporation fraud.

New Zealand's biggest sporting party is returning to Hamilton's FMG Stadium Waikato in January. NZ Rugby and event partner 37 South has confirmed the HSBC New Zealand Sevens will take place at FMG Stadium Waikato on January 21 and 22, after a two-year hiatus due to Covid-19.

You would think moving from small-town Ōtaki to Kashiwa, a city of 414,000 people an hour out of Japan's capital, would be a big culture shock.