Weekend Sport with Jason Pine

This week, James McOnie from The Crowd Goes Wild joined Piney to recap the Black Caps v India T20 series and preview the All Blacks' Northern Tour.

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The sporting relationship between New Zealand and India is seeing a significant milestone.

In 1926, the Indian Army hockey team did their tour of New Zealand - marking the first time an Indian team toured the country.

NZ Hockey legend Ramesh Patel joined Piney to look back on the historical impact of this event.

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The ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup is set to get underway, and there's plenty of excitement among fans.

The event is set to be held in October and November 2028 and will be hosted by Australia and New Zealand.

CEO Joel Morrison joined Piney to discuss.

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The Rugby League World Cup is well underway, and two of the big Pacific sides are gearing up for a showdown.

Tonga and Samoa are set to face off in a sold-out clash at CommBank Stadium in Sydney tonight, and excitement is growing.

NRL.com journo Brad Walter joined Piney to preview the match.

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The Wellington Phoenix are celebrating another big win, having defeated the Newcastle Jets 3-0.

The Phoenix are now top of the table after three wins to start the season, and they're gearing up for next weekend's big clash against Auckland FC.

Wellington Phoenix player Riley Bidois joined Piney to recap the action.

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Coach Whitney Hansen admits it'll be a busy summer following the Black Ferns' season-ending 36-7 win over France in Christchurch.

Hansen's first year in charge has delivered 10 wins from 11 tests, but she's pleased there's still improvements to be made.

Head coach Whitney Hansen joined Piney to recap the season.

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The Kiwis are off to the semi-finals in the Rugby League World Cup.

The side successfully defeated Fiji 78-nil on the Gold Coast, and the team's celebrating a strong win.

Kiwis player Kodi Nikorima joined Piney to discuss.

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The All Blacks are gearing up for their next big challenge.

The Kiwi side will begin their Northern Tour next week, facing off against England, Scotland and Wales as part of the new Nations Championship.

BBC rugby journalist James Burridge joined Piney to discuss what to expect.

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The Black Ferns are preparing for their final test of 2026.

After claiming victory over the French in the two prior tests, they're facing them for the last time tonight in Christchurch.

They'll be looking to end the season on a high, after having lost only one test throughout the entire season.

Lock Maia Roos joined Piney ahead of the clash to chat about how big of a year its been for her and the team.

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Listen to the Weekend Sport with Jason Pine Full Show Podcast for Saturday 31 October.
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The Black Caps came alive at Eden Park with both bat and ball to claim a consolation 87-run thrashing of India in game four of their T20 series.

The hosts made a whopping 259 for seven batting first led by Glenn Phillips who made 107 off 49 balls, before restricting the tourists to 172 for nine.

Glenn Phillips led the way with 107 runs and had a partnership with Michael Bracewell worth 115 runs.

Bracewell had 65 to his name, and joined Piney to recap the win.

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Despite all of the off-court headlines and controversy surrounding netball in New Zealand, the Silver Ferns have had an incredible year.

They brought home the Commonwealth golf, the Constellation Cup, and are potentially ending the year with the number one ranking.

Piney caught up with Silver Ferns Coach Dame Noeline Taurua to recap the year and look at the challenges that loom ahead.

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Corban Piper's year just keeps getting better.

The Wellington Phoenix striker has scored in his side's opening two matches of the A-League season and has been rewarded with a maiden All Whites call-up.

Piper was lost for words when coach Darren Bazeley rung to tell him he was in the squad for two home matches against India next month.

He told Piney time almost stopped for him when he got the call.

"It's been a goal since I was a kid, and I think it's any footballer's goal."

Piper says it was a surreal moment.

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Netball was dealt another blow after Netball New Zealand made the decision not to go ahead with Ali Williams and Anna Mowbray's proposal for a privatised domestic league.

The governing body has turned down multiple requests for interviews seeking the reasoning behind the decision.

Netball Players Association General Manager Pippa Moore told Piney they haven't received much in the way of communication from Netball New Zealand, having found out the news second and thirdhand.

She says they haven't been able to connect with the body directly, with the little communication they've had being very light on details.

Moore says neither she nor the players are confident there will be a domestic competition next year.

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Staggering. Utterly jaw-dropping. No communication with the players from Netball NZ, apart from the same corporate phrases they sent to the media.

That is verging on dereliction of duty. Of negligence. At the very least, it's an appalling way to treat your people.

The silence from Netball NZ in the last 30 hours has been extraordinary. They have clearly learnt nothing from the way they shut up shop when they stood Dame Noeline Taurua down.

When they lost the Sky Sport broadcast deal. When they were looking for ways to re-frame our domestic competition. When they dilly-dallied over the changing of eligibility rules for our top players.

Interview requests were met with either no response or a not-negotiable no.

I had really high hopes when Jennah Wootton took over as CEO. I interviewed her shortly after she started in the job. I liked what she said, and I thought she'd provide a degree of transparency that had been missing in the organisation under her predecessor.

But at the first opportunity to do so, she hasn't.

The CEO and board of Netball NZ are in positions of power in a sport which is steeped in history and which hundreds of thousands of Kiwis care deeply about.

Which we invest our time and money in. Which we help to pay for via Sport New Zealand funding.

It is incumbent upon NNZ to front up and explain decisions of this gravity. Not via a press release, but in an interview situation where questions can be asked about the hugely significant decision they've made here. Where questions can be asked on behalf of the people this decision affects the most.

You can't just front up when there's good news to talk about, you have to do it when the water is choppy as well. It might be difficult, but that comes with the territory of being in a position of power and influence – sometimes you have to do the things you don't want to do. The unpleasant things, the uncomfortable things.

Here are some of the questions I would have asked if our interview request with NNZ had been granted.

What were the sticking points that couldn't be worked through?

Why haven't Netball NZ told Ali Williams and Anna Mowbray why they don't want to partner with them?

Did they think ending the relationship via email was a professional way of dealing with a prospective commercial partner?

Why haven't they kept the players regularly updated?

And most pertinently: what is the plan now?

Shortly after he was appointed in late April this year, Netball New Zealand chair Alastair Carruthers fronted media and promised there would be a domestic competition in 2027.

It's November tomorrow; how will they now fulfil that promise?

These are the questions that need answering and the ones Netball NZ CEO Jennah Wootton and chair Alastair Carruthers declined to answer for their stakeholders yesterday, and have again today.

I know there are layers of confidentially at play here, but answering these questions surely doesn't breach any of them?

The last line of Netball New Zealand's media release from yesterday says this: "Giving players clarity as quickly as possible is our top priority.”

As we've just learned, the players were blindsided by this, and they too have been given no answers to the questions I've just asked – the ones that affect them more than anyone else.

If clarity is indeed NNZ's top priority, why haven't they provided it?

When it was announced on September 1st that Netball NZ would formally back the bid by Anna Mowbray and Ali Williams to establish a private franchise league, it appeared as though a solution had been found, and the competition would be saved.

Netball NZ have closed the door on their white knights, which brings us back to the biggest question of all: what next? What now?

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This week, James McOnie from the Crowd Goes Wild joined D'Arcy to discuss the Black Caps' loss to India, the All Blacks' team selections and all the action from the Rugby League World Cup.

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The Breakers are set to face off against the Cairns Taipans this evening, but one team veteran is set to face a big milestone.

Reuben Te Rangi celebrates his 400th match in the league he's been playing in since 2012.

He joined D'Arcy to look back on his career ahead of tonight's game.

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The Kiwis are gearing up for their next Rugby League World Cup match in Christchurch - where they're set to face the Cook Islands.

This follows the Kiwis' 24-22 defeat to the Australians last week, and they're hoping to do better this time round.

Kiwis assistant coach Slade Griffin joined D'Arcy to discuss ahead of the match.

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Listen to the Weekend Sport with Jason Pine Full Show Podcast for Sunday 25 October.
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