Full Show Podcast: 15 March 2026

You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Pine from News Talks at B

The only place for the big names the big issues the big controversies and the big conversations

It's all on Weekend Sport with Darcy Walgrave on your home of sport News Talks at B

Seven after midday

Good afternoon

It's a Sunday 15th March

2026 my name's Darcy Walgrave of

Stolen Jason Pine's at seat for the entire Weekend of at Weekend Sport. I'm having a whale of the time

I hope you're enjoying your weekend of sport as well before we tell you what's coming up of the next of three hours

Happy birthday to Kyle Mills. Oh Kyle

You'll always be remembered won't you for your time in the yellow vest

Gobbing off of the South Africa's. I'm sorry

I had to bring that up, but that was one of the outstanding that

Arguably was what turned the tables for the black caps and who they are now so well done on that one there

Great night sport plenty going on and we'll touch on quite a lot of that today

We'll sort of preview some clashes coming up six nations

They've given up playing defense interest and to see that's going to make the

The nation's championship coming up being something else as the irony of that always accused of playing

Flash Harry run rugby and suddenly that's what the Northern hemisphere are doing as well six nations are playing that game France

are the six nations champions and

For island well, they've got

Something going on they managed to pick up the triple crown

So it's great results for that over the weekend bit of formula one the happening as well a bit of rugby union

But we'll touch on all of that in the program will be joined by Dan Perrin assistant coach of the Crusaders

How on earth did they get away with that last night against the Highlanders?

30 minutes with only 14 players you are counting me

We'll catch up with Cain Williamson up after one o'clock James Mccony has a world

We're talking a bit of timber sports as well with Shane Jordan beat up one of his younger brother

Yes today who incident he wants the world champion Michael a Monato if I a formula one accredited journalist

Joins us to look back at qualifying and the sprint race in Shanghai and ahead to the formula one race tonight

At eight o'clock Nathan Smith we talk a wee bit of cricket because the

Five match t20 series the double headers both ferns and the caps that commences today and cold force

Is a bit of a grudge match today at Eden Park 335

It's the rivals

It's Tarnarumanga's men that Moana Pussyficker up against the blues. It's a lot on this

It should have a wee bit of friction a bit of a rust around it

It'll be great looking forward to that as well

We've got plenty we've got plenty on the program

You can always call through as well. Love your opinions. 0800 8010 80 free phone number nationwide

You can text too by all means 9292 ZB ZB a standard text charge however

Does apply it is 10 past 12

When there's a line call it's your call we can sport with dusty wall to grave youth talks at V

It's ticked over 11 past 12 day for any as you know the new all blacks head coach the next question is

Who will his assistance be rumours plainly have started to help us to get to the bottom of those rumours

And a man who's got an ear on the nature of

New Zealand rugby specifically all black rugby is Gregor Paul from the New Zealand Harold

He's a chief rugby writer. He's got the inside word and we're going to go to him now and find out

What's happening with the assistant coaches

Good afternoon Gregor. I trust you well

I'm very well. Thanks. That's what I like to hear our big day today

Where's a wonderful cross town rivalry. I think that some petrol has been poured on this fiery rivalry by a ton of umanga

This is more one up Pacifica up against the blues, but that's the one side

We're focusing now on where to now for Dave Renny. We know who the all black coaches

What is he doing with his assistance because I believe this decision is imminent

I think we'll get

Maybe a confirmation at the end of the week coming that's the plan

It might it might push on until the next week depending how

Intricate difficult contracts are to actually put signatures on

But you know, I think he's chosen as people. I think he knows who he wants

There's clearly

Because it's been written about by myself and issue

With one of his choices that user on rugby is not so much pushing back again

But encouraging him to consider retaining

incumbent

Assistant coach

Scott Hanson

So this is a question here of Dave Renny is keen on my fellow Scotsman fellow Edinburgh Academy boy Mike Blair

To bring him in as the attack coach

But it's not that New Zealand are going all xenophobic on this choice

I think they're just pushing back against that and saying

Scott Hanson's here. He's he's rated

Very well with the players. He's got rapport with the players

Many of the players think he's a good technical tactical coach

Could you find a way to keep him or or or just certainly challenge Dave to say let's not throw this guy away

Just yet have you truly considered what he might bring to your setup

So I don't think it's forcing Dave to keep Scott Hanson. I think it's a process here of saying

Let's do a due diligence. Let's make sure that you two have talked to each other that you've had a chance to see if you could work together

And if at the end of that you're still pretty sure that you don't want to keep Scott and you want to work with Mike

Then then fair enough

How important is it for the all blacks that Dave Renny essentially gets his way with the assistant coaches?

Well, it's not about getting his way

It's about getting a team that he's comfortable with that he's happy with that he's sure

Can help him deliver

The success that he's hoping to have with the old legs. It's about making sure

That everyone is in the on the same page and they've got the right people the best people and that everyone's convinced

They've got the best people. So yeah, look at it's hugely important if you look at what happened

You know with Ian fostered back in 219 they had a process to point him whereby he had and his

rival candidate Scott Robertson had to do the same thing

We both had to

Prevent to the board as part of their head coach application. They had to say and look

I will come with these coaches here now that became a problem because it became a bit playground desk where

Both you know both parties had to sort of scrap around and you and my team and if you're a my team you can't be in his team type thing

And foster was also hampered in the end because he had Jamie Joseph and Tony Brown lined up to be in his team

But the process took so long to go through that by the time he came to be interviewed

Joseph and Tony Brown had both pulled out because they've been offered a heap more money to stay in Japan

So foster was scrambling around for two assistants late in the piece which he did

He found John Plum Tree and Bride Moore

And we know what happened there. They they turned out to to not quite be up to standard

And they had to be late goal midway through the tenure. That was a high drama moment. It was disruptive

And look with with razor when he got the job in 23

I don't think there was any scrutiny on his choice of assistance and

Five test matches into his reign Leon McDonald one of his assistants walked out and

Jason Holland who was also part of the team didn't seek an extension on his contract at the end of last year

Again a signal that not all was quite right with that setup

So I think it's hugely important that there's a lot of scrutiny that there's good due diligence

Then New Zealand rugby puts a bit of pressure on Dave to challenge

His choices, but ultimately Dave has to be comfortable with what he gets

And New Zealand rugby have to be comfortable with what Dave wants

Top brass and very important positions in NZI you'd suggest that situation's

Three to bear at best at the moment, but you think who's around and making these decisions

They're cognizant of what happened over the last three years

They're not bearing their head in the sand like an ostrich that they've actually learned something that they can apply to this current situation

Yeah, well, I think so the fact that they're putting a bit of heat on him

To consider his options to not just get the wake gloves on and weave through what he wants

But nor are they necessarily demanding that he do something he doesn't want to do

So I think it's a good compromise agreement that they've reached here that that Dave's to do a bit

Yeah to do a bit more

Confeleration of what New Zealand rugby wants without being forced into

Doing what they want. So it is a kind of look at the end of it

If both NZR and Dave can walk away going

Yeah, we had a really good process there. We dug deep into all the

All the characters all the names that were put forward

And you say the rugby puts forward a name Dave has his own people that he puts forward at the end of it

As long as everyone sort of dug into it

Felt that they've they've looked at everyone fairly deeply and reasonably and that Dave's choices were made

You know with it with it with a deep process of knowledge and you say then rugby's acceptance that that's that's what happened

Then it makes a huge difference because I don't think that's what's happened in the last two regimes clearly because assistant coaches didn't go the distance

It's a

balance of power that is

Going to be key in these decisions and you get the feeling that is going to happen with maybe nobody

having the

I suppose that the final judgment out decent involvement with the other and I look to that with the

Players be their coaches to what the players or the coach want an assistant coach

I mean how important is that balance it I suppose it has to be the coaches the boss but the players

Are they going to play under these guys right and they've got to know what they want so again and another

Balance situation has to be sorted

Yeah to to degree I don't think you can hand it over too far to the players about you know how much

say in control I think the

player input

Why do feedback from a whole different variety of players not just current all blacks but former all blacks people

They've played super rugby they all fed into the head coaching

Process to inform the decision. It wasn't the players getting what they wanted

It was New Zealand rugby asking players of all different

types of players as I've just mentioned

Uh, you know what their assessment was and Dave reney what their assessment was of Jamie Joseph because these guys have user experience

So that the best people to go to ask to like what's he really like how well does he coach and if you're a senior all black

You know

When you've encountered a good coach

You know when you have encountered a coach that you don't think's quite up to it

These guys are really good at making assessments about coaches

So in terms of the head coaching thing that definitely happened

I don't think you would hand over too much around the assistance or go too deep and getting players feedback

Or extensive players feedback around those guys

You might ask a few questions or a few players who might have coached with people

But I think the critical issue here is there's a nuance in that

specifically Dave has worked

Quite considerably with Mike Blair. So Dave has a relationship with Mike

So Dave's comfortable there might notice how Dave wants to play the game. There's currently working together at Kobe

So they've got that trust that instant rapport that knowledge of one another

But the but the players don't know Mike New Zealand's players don't know Mike Mike doesn't know New Zealand players

So on the other side of this equation is Scott Hanson who does know the players who has worked with old Lexi is currently contracted effectively to the old Lex

So that's bringing a bit of value. So the question is

Does Scott Hanson's rapport and knowledge with the players outrank

Uh Mike's relationship with Dave which one's more important relationship with the players or relationship with the incoming head coach

So I think that's the balance that

New Zealand rugby and the question that they're getting

Dave to ask himself

About which one carries the greater currency you're supposed and you're going to be careful about making decisions by committee because

That never ends up well does it Gregor Paul New Zealand hero that rugby writer joins us

You mentioned before that he's got his team. Who is it? Who do you believe is going to be selected and

Tana Umanga who's managed to fend off these

Questions around is it going to be him he's

plainly up there or is he who do you like who do you think?

Well, I think Tana's clearly been approached

Uh by Dave and that would make sense

Uh, they've got a they go way back to 2000 when Tana played for Wellington

Under Dave's again as a relationship

I think they may have overlapped in other places but I can't think where so clearly there's a there's a better of mutual respect between one another

Uh Tana is currently head coach with Moana, but he's been a defense coach

Separately with the blues. I think am I right in thinking that he did that for a wee while

And look he he was clearly one of the best

Defensive footballers I've ever seen he was a brilliant defender on the field so there's no doubt that in understanding

How defense systems need to be set up Tana would be right up there

Whether he's proven himself

Uh as a own out outstanding defensive coach ready to step up to the old blacks

Don't know genuinely don't know, but I'm a big fan of Tana and I think put him in that environment and I think he

Under Dave's watch for why I think he will be a good defensive coach for the old blacks

I think he will end up in that coaching team

He's a he's a pacific rugby icon. I think I could put it that way

Uh in in a team that is probably has been in the last couple of years about 75%

All of the team have been pacific or Maori so don't overlook the importance of that

That is a big factor of having a guy that's you know highly connected in that world hugely respected

I think that's the big things. I think he will find a way into that coaching group

I think Neil Barnes has been a big factor in Dave's coaching for a long time and I think they're keen to

Uh reconnect and you know Barnes brings a fairly direct

Approach people that know him say hell of a smart guy

He he's got colorful language, which we all saw in that six nations documentary which

Yeah, it was was was funny at times and cringey at other times

But he's a guy that knows rugby and I think there's no harm in having a really direct sharp shooter

direct talker

Encouraging forwards to put you know shut the gobs put the heads down and the buns up and get on with it

I think that's not a bad thing. So I think he'll come in and then

We're probably looking at either Mikey Blair or Scott Hanson to lead the attack and I suspect it will be Mike that gets the nod in the end

And maybe Andrew Strawbridge

Oh, and he's going to keep Jason Ryan from the existing crew as well

To focus more on scrimmaging and mollying

And then maybe Andrew Strawbridge as a skills coach who's previously been with the chiefs

And it's kind of working as a contracting

Gunn for hire at the moment and doing you know doing a lot of good work with England in the past and I think he's in Japan at the moment

The pacifika connection is important

Dave Rene I asked him about that when he got given the job of the press conference and he was like no everybody's important

It's not just necessary Marty and pacifika, but to have that connection

I think is huge. So you add Dave Rene's ton of umanga. I don't think you can go wrong

No, it is huge. I mean, Dave's point is he's got to connect with all you know if he's got 43 players on his squad or whatever the number is

He's taking so that's because he's got to connect with all of them the culture has to be

You know all inclusive for every single player

But but to your point there is a specific element here of the predominant heritage of the players as pacifika and Māori

And I think it's just important and in previous old black regimes

It you know, it's been an entirely

Caucasian coaching team guys that I've maybe

Maybe one of the faults of the previous regime was

They just didn't connect with all the diverse

Elements of the old black group. They'd been used to coaching in the crusaders

They had a way of doing it down there

Uh, and they had a very kind of narrow view of the world that didn't necessarily translate all that way to the old blacks

I think having

Tana having days with a real understanding of who the people are that are in the in the playing group

Um, I think that'll be huge on with you and I agree

Onwards and upwards very much looking forward to these appointments in fact appointments right across the board

And you said on rugby. I really hope they managed to stitch up that three beer nature on that Gregor Paul

And you said on her rugby rider. We thank you very much for your time. You're insight your expertise look after yourself

We'll do thanks Darcy

I thank you very much to Gregor

NZ hero dot co dot NZ if you want to read more of what's lurking in Gregor Paul's rugby mind is well worth it is 12

26 contact the studio we'd love to hear from you on here

0800 8010 80 that's a free phone number if you want you can see the texts in 9292 that's a zbzb

A standard text charge does apply so questions out of that interview the importance of either rainy getting his way

With who he wants in these roles

The importance of NZ are getting their way with the continuity of scot Hanson in that role

But I suppose over top of it all from your point of view

What do they actually need in their assistance coaches

What's the most important aspect of what these men will bring to the role to aid and a bit

Dave Rene and his drive to pick up a world cup short amount of time

I don't believe it's too short amount of time to win the world cup

Just look at the south african experiment name is two things around reasonably fast

You don't need a four-year lead in but the nature

Of his staff hugely important

I think it comes down to a couple of things plainly buy him with Dave Rene

They've got to understand what he wants to do and they have to buy and they have to be as minions for want of a better word

Continuity from the last all black

Coaching stuff. I don't think that's important. NZ are according to

Gregor Paul this is that scot Hanson's well respected the players like it means that are like him

So they maybe want to see him in that role the big problem with Mike Blair as he's a foreigner

I don't have any issue in the coaching staff

We're having Mike Blair and he's got a relationship with Dave Rene

They're working a quarterback together now. They worked over in Scotland together too

So the coaching staff barns. I'm a huge fan of what Neil Barnes brings strawberry Blair or Hanson Jason Ryan

That is not so bad for you

What do you want? I want

Reliability. I don't want

The coaching staff been fractured by an assistant deciding he doesn't like it anymore

And he's walking away in the last two all black coaches have had players or sorry coaches walk away

Um and more or less importantly but more interestingly with Ian Foster

That coaches assistant coaches that he's jettison because they weren't coming to the party

Reliability that's what I'm looking for. What are you looking for?

0800

8010 80 or you can send your text to 9292 standard text charge does apply and gives rank love to talk to you my name is Darcy

It is 12 29

On news talk zb right we're going to go to our callers now and we go

Straight into flip high. How are you?

Oh, hi Darcy

Good things look as a question. I really want to ask you because you as a crusader's man

Might know it and it's is about Scott Hanson

Is that this I would say that I'll be willing to bet that 80% of the

Followers of the all blacks

Thought that when thought that razor rovers him was the right guy for the job

And that he was a guy who had been told he had innovative ideas and he had to come up with to win games and

We all thought he was going to be the one who had get the all blacks back to being head and shoulders above the rest of the world

That way they were and times gone by

And um it was

It was just gobsmackingly astonishing to I think most of us maybe not you people who are really into sport and I mean got

Deep links in there, but to most of us I'll be willing to be 80% of all black fans that to learn that

Scott Robinson razor roverson wasn't actually doing the coaching of the all blacks

He had armed that off to his off-sider Scott Hanson

Dan was the

Feeling and that's what he said in that interview

But I think man management over top of it that's really the role he was in and probably is what he did with the crusaders

The biggest mistake he made was telling everybody that look actually the day-to-day, but he does that

I think it was generally known, but maybe to reveal that probably wasn't the smartest thing he said

Yeah, but Duffy I mean rugby is a game that can be played

You can skin a cat in very different ways as rugby farm more than a lot of other sports and clever coaches have come

And round everywhere have have have one games one championships because they had good rugby

Brains that could think out new strategies to defeat the opposition and we I would be willing to be 80% of all black followers

Maybe 90 or 95 thought that Scott Robinson razor roverson was got was the man for that and he was going to do that job

And and it was just utterly astonishing to learn that he wasn't doing that job

Scott Hanson was doing it apparently

And the question I have for you is this as your crusaders man and have connections there I suppose

I'm looking at all of the nearly 30 years my connections are fairly brittle to be fair

Yeah, okay. Yeah, okay. Well

Who was response who was the architect of the crusaders seven wins under Scott Robinson razor roverson's coaching

I don't know there was a number of distant

Assistant coaches during that time fit and thank you very much for your call

But as the overarching head coach who dealt with culture

dealt with selection and over saw the defense in the attack and it's Scott Robinson

And I think a lot of us I was very pro Robinson quite surprised when it didn't work out the way we thought it would

I don't think he should have been

Exited stage left. I think he needed more time. So be it. We're going to new guy now. We get a hundred percent behind it

So what we do with the coaching staff the assistant coaching staff I asked you

1810 80 lines are open. I just want reliability. I want them to stay for more

than two years

This is news talks there be it's 1232

Summer wouldn't be the same without cricket, huh? And why that might be stumps on holiday beach cricket South Africa

Is in the country and they're taking on our white ferns and our black caps and look we know how it works, right?

You check forecast five six times the day before

But here's something pretty cool. You don't have to worry about the forecast right if you've got tickets to a white ferns

Black cap stubble here because that's what's happening over these five T20s in the unlikely issue event that a game in march is abandoned due to rain

You're not out right because brick vale union have this thing called rain assurance

So basically you take your match ticket into selected super liquor stores the very next day

And you can redeem it for a brick vale union prize pack

So you're still winning rain or shine right which means you can head along you can back the team soak up the atmosphere

And not spend the whole day stressing about the weather radar rain assurance from brick vale union if it rains

They pour the

Biggest names in sport talk to Darcy we can sport with Darcy water grave and GJ gardener homes

New Zealand's most trusted home builder news talk said B drop 36 who joined by Greg a Paul to open the show talking about the

Coaching selection the assistant coaches that davirini would like take your calls on that now Phil

Welcome to the show. We're leaning on this one

Um, I just want to say first of all um, Darcy thanks for sticking up for me yesterday when I couldn't pronounce a name

Rachel put that picture about paste and white male

It's a bit angry about that, but thank you. I'm a pasty white male. It's okay

But I'm not ever I can get it right okay if I was doing it problems, but Phil assistant coaches

Ah assistant coach I had with Greg a Paul was really good to listen to that was a great interview

Yeah, I'm with you. I I'm with you and I just want reliability and continuity and I think like

Greg a Paul highlighted the point there with the last two thing last two appointments, and I didn't know about

En Foster with his two

Is two fellas that he wanted that he couldn't get with Tony Brown and and because the process took so long with Jamie Joseph and then with razor and his

Guys

His fellow leaving and the other fellow not renewing a contract to me at this really highlights

The importance of like calm Greg a Paul said about taking the time to get that whole

Coaching unit and assistant coaches right, you know to get everything right

So you're all jailed together and there's none of these problems down the road where

One gets frustrated with the other and decides to walk out halfway through

Well, you know a few months after being in the job because that just throws a

Upheaval everything enough evil doesn't it in the players

You don't they get um

I'm happy

Unset all our unhappy and they you know probably can't have trouble concentrating on that because all this internal stuff

It's going on whether trying to get things down and

That so yeah really important. I think that is the biggest thing a and if they can if the players

Happy you like I got no problem with the foreign person coming in as it might that's work with Dave Renny that

Is working with now and bringing them man. I've got no problem with that either

But if the players really like um

Hanson as well Scott Hanson and and they would like him to stay there

Then I think it would be important for them to for them to convince Dave Renny to somehow keep him in there because

It's a very important like we've seen with what happened with raise of that

Like um Greg a Paul said the players shouldn't have the bill end all stay

But it is important in the environment for the content you and in happiness and to keep it a harmonious environment

To have the players happy as well

I think that is important. You got to understand Phil and thanks very much for your call that

As far as control of the ultimate control of the team and what happens it has to sit with the coach

Because he's the guy whose head is on the block and as you point it out

And I know I laughed about committee because when you make a decision via committee it never works

Information the more information you can get before you make a decision

The better and you'd like to think that lessons have been learned by NZR

Of what's happened in the last few years. I don't know if that's too much to ask but we'll find out good. Hey, Pete. How are you?

You're good. I reckon start fresh, you know, it's like a new company. You know

They take over another company and they manage to say as well

That was the previous company the leaders of the company maybe

Are we going to run it my way and how are we going to ease the coach now?

So it should be up to him who decides he wants to be his assistant coaches

I reckon they want to keep your nose out of it the

Yeah, the head what like David

Care can just let him let him decide he wants to take on like all the players are going to know also

Some of those players aren't going to be all black as they were under a razor

That is going to be a whole new change in the whole whole scenario really so it's just going to bother bulletin

Let him decide

Pete that's all or after a bit of opinion for you

AT-1080 this is a news talk ZBs 20 minutes to one feel free to ring on through. Hi Richie. What do you make of the situation?

So I don't see hey look got I rang up a while ago when

Razor was getting the bullet and I said to one of the key things that we felt about Razor's regime is what was his game plan

Nobody really had any idea what his game plan was

And then everybody was saying well Scott Hanson's is a tech coach and everything and I can't help thinking

You might be like by the players, but you couldn't get his message across clearly

And that's my two cents worth what would you say was the attack?

What was the point of attack? So you said the clarity wasn't there

So if we don't get it how the player is supposed to get it and I suppose if you've been critical

What are the all blacks attack look like for a great part of a time? He was so called running it

Was it really that good? We didn't have one precisely. We didn't have one

There you go because there was no player no player stayed the same for any game in a row really and secondly

You know there was no idea you're trying to take it up through the senders you're trying to put it out to the wing fast

You know what he what exactly was he trying to do and if he's the attack coach he didn't get that message across

Hunt it into the opposition fallback. That's what their plan was Richard. Thanks very much for your time

It is 18 minutes to one this is news talks there be lines ripen 0 880 10 80 or black assistant coach where does that sit for you

And coming up after one o'clock. We're gonna be joined by mr. Kane Williamson

You may remember him handy cricketer back in the day when I say back in the day

He's still playing right came Williamson joins us

Up after one. This is news talks there be

Don't stay on the sidelines call 0 880 1080 we can sport with dassy water rave and gj garden homes

New Zealand's most trusted home builder news talks there be 12 45 on weekend at sport we've

Got a bit of a turn about we're going to go to timber sport now

We're going to Shane Jordan a bit of a shock in the world of timber sport the world champion

Jack Jordan younger brother of he's been beaten and they're still in New Zealand timber sport championships

By older brother shane 10 years between them that means jack won't be able to defend his world title later this year

It could be awkward around the dinner table Shane joins us now mr. Jordan you must be stoked to get one in for the old boys

Yeah, definitely like um jacks

Oh, he's pretty hard to beat at the best of times and yeah, it's definitely pretty good yesterday to get one over top of him

So what was the trick because you got a number of different disciplines running through the day where did you get the edge on that do you think

Well, we're both tied coming into the last event the hot sore um we both tied on points and he had a slightly faster overall fine

Which meant I had to go first and all I knew is I had to put up a really good time and then sort of put the pressure back on him

And yeah lucky enough, it all just sort of worked out just right like me training was pretty good in the hot sore and

Sort of just been for it and yeah put up a

5.7 which is yeah right up there and meant the pressure to go back on him and he yeah

It was obviously just a little bit too much and he just made a bit of a mistake pulled that sore up a little bit

High when he started and cut a tooth thicker ring and then he was sort of in struggle street after that

When it comes to all of the disciplines because there's a number of different to to make up this this top prize to win the competition

Is there a favorite discipline won the excel in?

Oh, well at there's six six events the first three events are single points and then it goes to double points on the next two

And then triple points on the hot sore so the hot sore definitely is one of the most important

But if you're having a bad day you don't get through the others sort of it's not out as you go as well

So they start they start off with ten and then they drop two after the first three and then they drop another two after the

Um the next event so yeah

Definitely got to be going pretty good all day and pretty consistent to sort of get there at the end to have a shot at it

This far is the the mental state and you touched on it just then plainly a strength size

Technique is huge, but it mentally how much do you have to dial in for this do you think?

Yeah, it is it's probably the most mental out of all the wood shopping

Sort of events we do just because you've got six events that are also different

Um, there's the really tighten the really really technical ones

And then there's the ones that aren't probably quite as technical but sort of the brawn strength and that sort of come to it a big part

So by the end of the day you're absolutely rigged

Always like the standing block that always fascinated me as a kid something you rivalent

Yeah, definitely that's my fate. That's my favorite out of picking sort of any event would be the standing block

It's probably the one I train the most and have probably had the most success and um

So yeah, the standing box definitely yeah right up there. So what caught you into it?

Why did you start attacking bits of timber for fun?

Oh sort of something we did we went um got off the bus after skill went to a guy called Bruce Reichard

Just out of Douglas. He had a sort of a bit of a school going for a whole lot of us young fellas and yeah

We just sort of went there and started doing it and from there

Went over to a guy called Johnny McKenzie and Taapo

I was living over there at the time and sort of he pushed me along and you know the right direction and yeah

Just sort of went from there. That is a direct result your

younger brother 10 year younger brother ways slightly heavier and slightly taller

He doesn't get to go and defend his world championship does he?

No, no, he doesn't um he'll be going over in the team to

Cut with us and the teams event um over there, but yeah, definitely

He won't be going in for that individual spot this year

Is he like a an angry individual? Is he gonna like not talk to you for months on end or

No, he's pretty good sort of last year. I was on the receiving end like I made pretty much the same mistake as what he did last year

Um and got decud and sort of that sort of yeah

Pretty much very similar to being the same as this year and the way of points coming up to that last event

But no jack's project pretty good. He's um, you know

I could see he was hurt and I sort of felt his pain yesterday

So I didn't talk to him too much or sort of um, but yeah, it'll take a few days to sort of process it all and yeah

But definitely he'll be on my side when we you know hit over there and try to get that world championship

And the last thing for him. Thanks so much for joining us

Shane Jordan

The strength of timber sports in New Zealand when you look back at such great names like when you bolstered them alike

Is it still looking like that? Are we still right at the top of the world?

Yeah, definitely I we've got a lot of um a lot of extra guys coming through now like it was probably quite weak

Probably five years ago, but now we've got a real good group of guys that are really

pushing pretty hard um, so to to represent the country

And on that note, we'll let you go

Congratulations make go well and sit down have yourself a brew and a hearty feed of steak and we'll talk on another day

I'm sure

Hey, thank you very much. Well, thank you very much. Shane that Jordan thoroughly

likable a older brother of world champion jack Jordan

And he beat

New Zealand champs yesterday well done to that man nice to know they're both going to be traveling away overseas together

Not too much of a ruckus between the characters. It's nine away from one coming up after one o'clock

Kane williamson is going to join the program

He has released a new box, but also plenty to talk about in the wonderful wide world of cricket

Thanks very much for your texts coming through around who is going to be the assistant coach under

Dave reney are plenty of them

There's someone here completely attacking

What the attack was like under Hanson. I can't read those words. I'll be removed from my seat

So I shunned ends it are in the dark ages. It's this character pick global

Or completely destroyed destroyed the brand and the more I think about this

Hanson has too much baggage from the last regime. They've already got right in there

He's going to stay. So I think a cling cut is probably the best thing

And when you look at the relationship that Mike Blair has got with Dave reney

I could be still just so you know I sitting at the top of the table

And when it comes to Japan top 14 at rugby. So they're going all right as a team and what is wrong

With a different accent. What is wrong with a foreigner rolling in at a coaching level

I just don't think there's any issue with that. We've seen that at super rugby level two

Bringing in a different headspace a different thought process a different attitude

Because New Zealand rugby can get a tad insular and this way will escape that problem

And on that note looking forward to the latest in new sport and weather

Which is coming up next here at news talk zb. Up after that. It's Cain Williamson

Analyzing the plays and getting the insight we can sport with does he want to grave news talk zb

It's four minutes away from news a couple of quick text for you more as interesting what you have to say

9292 zb zb a standard text charge does apply think about that

Before you send it in tiny very simple request

What he wants from the assistant coaches. I just want success

Is that too much to ask?

No, it's not you're a fan as you should reny should bring Mike with them

Hanson is too headstrong and would crash with reny. It's too important to have fractures within the leadership

Renny needs to surround himself with people he trusts and

And mother says

Have you seen the price of steak does he more likely you'd probably grab some mints?

I would think and I get that completely

That's our number one of weekend sport hour number two moments away. This is news talk zb

The only place to discuss the biggest sports issues on

And off the field

It's all on weekend sport with does he want to grave on your home of sport

News talks in me

Seven after one on a Sunday afternoon 15th of March 2026 on does he want to grave sitting in that for Jason Pine here on

Weekend sport two hours to go

Of all the fun of the sporting circus coming up over the next couple of hours here

We'll go to motorsport up after two o'clock

Michael Lamanato joins us on Australian the FIA accredited formula one writer around the action tonight at eight o'clock

Have the Shanghai Grand Prix or the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai Nathan Smith black cap joins the program

Forbes blues rugby player joins the program and coming up in this hour before we get to my old mate James

My county before we get to Dan Perrin assistant coach of the successful crusaders from last night

We're gonna talk with the goat of New Zealand cricket and I can say that because I believe it is true

He's involved now in a new business venture

Kane Williamson's decided to release a new piece of

Protective cricket equipment. You know exactly what I'm talking about

It's a box Kane Williamson joins the program at now afternoon. How are you Kane?

I'm good. Thanks

Good to chat. How are you? Yeah, and I good. It's great to have you on board as well

It'll be gonna be talking now about this new box that you have helped design

And create I'd best not tell people about it because I don't know

Lay it on the line. Kane. What have you been doing? What is this?

Yeah, well, that's that's

Basically it we've been designing developing a

growing guard harness system

It's been five years in the making and I mean the origin stories probably you might remember I certainly do which was

getting hit

In that region by Dale Stain about 14 years ago and sort of splitting my

Box in half

And then sort of going on the journey of

Of getting had a few more times and and other people that that I know in

Cricket getting hit and getting sort of quite severely injured and

Kind of thinking there's got to be something out there that can

Make the demands and the standards of the highest level and

And so that's kind of how it started and then went from from an idea to then

meeting with the developer and and really sort of

Trying to come up with something that that would work and that's that's been our journey and

We're now here today ready to launch the product which is a really exciting moment for us as is a business and the business is called cover

Um, and so yeah, it's quite a big moment for us

Maybe sent one to Dale Stain because he was the guy who split your box in half in the first place

Yeah, um, he's actually sent a video through he remembers it as well

Not only split it in half, but he

Make sure he let me know as well that he was going to try and hurt me out

So hopefully this will help in the future if he comes at me again

Um, but no, it's yeah, it's been a really exciting journey and and a new space for me personally, which is

Um, the business area, you know, a small startup but um with a big vision and an ambition to to kind of modernize

Sporting equipment and and really try and take it to another level and and so this is the start of that

If you put it on and had someone fire a ball at you out of a cannon to make sure it works

We're looking for the people to test it. Yeah, if you put your hand up. No, look at we've done a whole lot of testing

We had to build different testing rigs because

It was quite hard to to do it accurately with equipment that was out there

So it's really quite specific different angles trying to work out all the different failure modes and obviously the

The quality of the box

Taking the impact is is one of those but making sure that it's held in place by

You know a really supportive and comfortable harder system that is also you know key to that and so

There's been a few of us wearing it in the international game for the last kind of

six months or so

Yeah, we've really gone through quite a rigorous process to make sure that it's really what makes me laugh that

Boxes have been in vogue for over a hundred years

But we only just worked out we needed a helmet shows what men find important

The Johnson all their brains and finally it's their Johnson so

Yeah, anyway, don't move on

But I think I can work out what you just said. Yeah, that's right

I mean we we're quick to um to really try and develop the helmet that any any mention that

There's some humor involved when other people get hit in this region

But certainly when it's you it that's not the case and

And uh and in fact doing a lot of research about it

You ask anybody in terms of what they value protecting and and the helmet is

Is right up there have been placed in in second places is the growing region. So

You know, it's sort of made a lot of sense in a big gap in the market with the

Existing standard that's being you know about 50 something kilometers an hour with a

A drop test which um clearly for for the

Elite level of it

The not only that that which implies getting hit at high speeds, but

But also spinners can cause you know injury as well. And we saw that with a couple of my

You know a real injury that that needed

Surgery and other things to to come but come back. So

Yeah, it's been a real journey outside of protecting mr. Happy you said you've been wearing your box

You've been playing as well. What what's your future looking like at the moment?

Can not wear a heading what if you got locked in over the next like six months to a year

Yeah, so i mean i

Have been playing a lot obviously about the home summer here where we finished with a test series and then

Went straight over to South Africa and play them in that

Tournament over there the s820 and from there for a quick trip to Bangladesh and

I come home and having a little bit of a break before

IPL and then on the horizon with the England test series over there in June so

A bit going on but nice to have a little bit of a quiet period and

And focus on a few other bits and pieces and cover being you know one of those things

I know the lot of the fans and I include myself was one of those

Can you we've missed we've missed home games haven't really played since what December

What do you think the future's looking like as far as playing at home

There's all sorts of discussion going on around where the future lies with New Zealand cricket playing

You're gonna play a part of that whatever aspect that is but how do you think it's tracking at the moment?

Do you think it's working and going in the right direction with people involved at a higher level?

Look i think it has to be the focus

There are there are obvious challenges at the moment and and i think when you finish a world event there's

There's always a few things

That can be a bit frustrating we've got a you know a biological series

Coming up which um, you know against South Africa. So there's there's a bit of content there

But I know that there's a big focus to to try and keep the international bilateral cricket

relevant and and play some context on it so that's a

Yeah, there's there's a no shortage of cricket, but it's that

That constant sort of

grapple with how everything fits

With franchise space international space and amongst world events

So look at i know that is the conversations that are ongoing and they're trying to come up

Lou

That's the challenge

If you got any involvement of these conversations are there going to go can you quite handy? What are you reckon?

Um

And formally uh here the odd the odd conversation and um you know a little bit through

Perhaps that the players association but there's a there's a lot of moving parts

At the moment which i'm sure you're aware of and so they're they're looking to sort that out

I suppose and then get on to some of these pressing topics

Yeah in essence i think there has to be an international program put in place with with possibly

Windows so we know when we're playing and then the guys can go off and play

Franchise cricket does that seem like the correct shape if it can get organized in your opinion

Yeah, I think it needs space so then whatever cricket is on it's prioritise at the moment is

There's just so many clashes, you know of cricket and it makes i think

fans and and and people wanted to watch it makes it a bit complex. So

I know that's the focus. It's tough. There's there's a lot of challenges

You know amongst different nations and some wanting to play others more etc and

Um yeah, so I think you're you're right in some respects. It's trying to find windows

um where

You know the priorities

Where you are which is you know the international game and not having to kind of

Have this this situation where you know you don't have your players available and I know that's been probably a little bit frustrating and

recent times but something that that we hope to to sort but you know

There's a lot of other people that have a lot of power and and and shaping that picture

Hey, do you have a question? Sorry to ask

No dramas eight so do you have a preference around what format

uh the Franchise cricket takes in New Zealand because there's big discussions around four different formats

No one knows where it stands. Do you lean in a particular direction around this

And which format? Yeah, I either the NZ 20 or the super smash or carrying on a big basher

I think the NZ 20 is a super exciting

prospect and

I think it'll be fantastic for for the game and in our country and

You know, we're probably the last

I think we are the last international country to

International playing nation really to to have our own

Franchised competition which kind of gives it

You know that's own energy and and I think it'd be fantastic to have a

Demester competition in our own country that that could um get some great support

And I think it'd be great for the fans as well. So

Let's see there's a bit going on

Can I quickly squeeze in the last one? What have you made of the black caps failing again at the final hurdle?

G it's frustrating isn't it Kane?

Yeah, look they I thought they were they were outstanding throughout that competition

I really thought

You know they played in all the all the different conditions that you might expect in two different

countries in India and then in Sri Lanka and

They they had a clear pattern with how they wanted to do it and that was to go with it

You know the stronger sort of depth in their batting and and I really think it paid off and

They sort of elevated. I thought their their performance throughout and then to to go into a semi and

In achieve what they did there

It was magnificent to meet with Jagga Nord of India

On a on a on a good day for India is

Is it an incredibly tough assignment for anyone and and frustrating that that I guess that

Happened to be the case. I mean they are

They did go into the tournament is favorites and when they played at their full potential that's

That is the case and and they'd managed to do that in the semi final and the final you know scoring

250 plus and both of those games it's

From their perspective they couldn't have done it anymore perfectly

So male perspective very frustrating, but look we we continue to put ourselves in the right parts of competitions and

You know, I've got no doubt that there's there's a great pathway there that the team keeps improving

They keep slightly adjusting their style of cricket to take on the world and that's what we saw

Um, yeah, I know it's

It's not ideal, but our time will come and it's great to see where we're heading

I believe it as well

I tell you what thanks so much for your time came Williamson for that you can strap a box on me and fire a cannon at me

And I'll take the hit for you bro. Thank you. I don't I'm just waiting

Darcy's signed up for testing as well. Thanks mate

I may live to regret that

We will see it is 20 minutes after one Sunday afternoon came that Williamson

former black caps skipper and

Possibly the greatest cricket a that New Zealand has ever produced. It's got a

New thought process that I'd quite like to protect my family jewels and he's climbed it right into it

So I'm the proof of the pudding is in the ET not that I'm going to eat a box

But maybe I'm going to get the cannon fired at me. I'll find it if it works and I interesting words are from

Kane around

What happens next with the t-20 format here in New Zealand? We spoke about that yesterday

With Justin foreign former CEO of NZ cricket he suggested we

Take our time be patient be well advised before we fall into it

Increasing it looks like NZ 20 is the way this is going to go

Right then right there you just heard came Williamson essentially fully

endorse

NZ 20

That's the way he wants to go oh 880 1080 free phone number nation wide you can text

9292 ZB ZB instead of text charge does apply is that enough for you

If Kane Williamson says we go NZ 20

Do we just throw our hands in the air and go you came you've studied the ship

You are completely right we're running with you just a thought give us a tinkle it's

It's one

21

Where the weekends biggest calls to me

We can sport with dusty water grave and gj garden homes New Zealand's most trusted home builder news talks ZB

It's one 24 weekend sport here on the news talk ZB my mind what a game of rugby union last night

We hadn't super rugby pacific the hinders basically pulled the pants down on the crusader

Is it round one went down like a cup of cold sick and read a black land

So they tuned around and attempted to do something about it

The ball's gone behind at the plate and Nick is flexed out the back that's gone forward and it is wild

And that'll be it folks

The crusaders

They have then said to feet in round one against the highlanders

Here in a polyp project stadium by 29 points to 18

Yeah, it was a bit clunky and when you spend 30 minutes of your game with only 14 players on the park

You could also that was quite lucky that result we go now

I took the coaching staff of the crusaders assistant coach Dan Perrin joins the program now

So Dan after that you'd be feeling pretty relieved

Yeah, morning dusk. Yeah, and I very very handy for the boys

Don't reach a little bit of hurt near from round one and the last time we were at home

The brumbies taught us a lesson

So

We would sort of delve into that throughout the week sort of a bit of internal motivation there for us

So for the boys to go out there and it wasn't pretty it wasn't clean

Plan with 14 players for 30 minutes probably didn't help the cause either but

You're just really proud of some of the effort that they put in the key they showed to

Protect your protect our home

Imagine what you could do if you actually had a full complement for the full 80 minute

Oh, mate. It's it's been the story to see that I think we've had that might be five yellow cards in total now already

So yeah, it's a nearer the game we need to

Need to tidy up. I think four of those have been been high shots as well. So

Yeah, I think uh between that the coaching crew and Matt Todd there might be a little bit of tackle technique

Craft happening this week, but yeah, like you said if we can keep 15 on the field and definitely going to help our rhythm and

Um, yeah, see a piece of particular as well because you have further moving forward

Yeah, we can tell players till you're blue in the face don't do it

What does it take for them to actually take that advice to click that over when it's got to come from an internal four process

Or is it just wrote learning repeating how do you go about doing this and saying no

Yeah, we spent a lot of time on tackle technique and you know

We walk it we talk it we run it we do it live like the boys do put hours and hours

Into their craft and I guess what we've got to understand is it's a pretty dynamic game and things can

Pictures can change and split second and you know, I look back to dom gardeners and the earlier rounds. I look at shea fihakis

On the weekend

My boss was one that you know, you could have um, you know, mitigated that was a bit of decision there

But yeah, a lot of it's happening in split seconds. I've just lowering out lowering our body height and general around the field

I think and making sure we target beneath the ball is that second shoulder is

Tackless is something we work on a lot. So uh, but yeah

Our reactions split second decision making, but we need to be there because yeah, it's gonna it's gonna close us dearly at some point

So tell us about the condition of your players who's come through who hasn't what kind of state of the boys in and we're looking forward

Of course to mine a possibility if you're isn't it next week

Yeah, a lot better off than what we were this time last week. So uh, the injury reports just come in there's three or four on the air

Um, they've all got green dots beside their name, which is good

So I think yeah, you're winning definitely helps um, but now we've had some boys that have put in I had to play tough on the week in a

Some of our second rowers were getting pretty light there with um Jamie Hinner and Liam checkout. So

really proud of

Antonio Shelfin and Taylor K. He'll Taylor K. We actually played with the uh

A broken um

Uh

Bone and his chest um, so yeah, he played played for pretty tough and had a great performance in Antonio Will Tucker as well

Both runder injury clouds throughout the week. So they've all come through with flying colors and

Yeah, we'll assess a couple um, you hopefully do back this week as well. So

Yeah, stocks are on the rise a little bit from the injury front and I think

Yeah, after Moana, we've got the boy week and um, it's going to come at a pretty handy time for us

You a former muckle player see you be looking to the Tasman players that are out there smiling from air to air

And their contribution to the crusaders uh over many years has been gold

Looks like you found another one. Hey, he's a crotch kid. He's from Christchurch. He's moved up to Sunnyland

Tell us a wee bit more about what they're calling him Ethan blackheader part two

Yeah, that's uh dead ranger uh for Ethan actually and

Yeah, like I like it uh, we've been tracking Johnny for a wee while right through um, you know, his days at cross college and

Yeah, I think he made the move, you know, there were quite a few flankers around and Kennebury with uh Corey Kahlo and

Tom Christie at the time. So, you know, he's seen an opportunity to get up there in Tasman just to get game to him

But in PC and a bit more exposure to higher level and you know, it's work at the New Zealand under 20s and world cup a couple years ago was

I think he started almost played every minute of every game on that

So he's got a massive engine. He's a big body. He has some athlete and

character mate he has

A big set ranger for Ethan blackhead. It just loves the groin loves the unseen if it

Has work ethic not just uh, you know in the game, but you know in the gym on the computers

extremely diligent and yeah, just a great human that

You know wants to be better and wants to make the people around him better

So uh, we've got a lot of time for Johnny's got a massive future and yeah, we're just really proud of um

You know as if it's throughout the week to set himself up and um

And get a crack at the big time. It it's been planned extremely well throughout development 15

probably the player of the game

And all four of those fixtures. So he deserves the opportunity and we really represent. Yeah, Johnny Lee looks something else

He looks like hey, yeah, Hesse and bag full of elbows shoulders and knees too. I wouldn't want to tackle that

Yeah, but we'll stay away from him when we're holding hit shields. That's for sure

Um, there's a laid claim that he's probably the hardest hitter and toddy still likes to hold the hit shields just to

Get a feel for these guys tackling and uh, you're Johnny's right up there when he hits those things

That that was a positive

Claiming the cards were in negative. What else do you look toward after that game and go? Hey, you know what

They're actually settling really well after what's been a pretty tumultuous season

Yeah, just just the rhythm

You know, we were our own was enemy and the first four rounds

You know, even looking at that chiefs game. We got away with a couple there

Um, after a poor start

So

We've just been focusing on ourselves and you know our error rate was far too high and those early parts are super ugly

um, you know that

It was better on the weekend

There's still some areas are with our handling and decision-making that we need to tidy up

But for the most part

Yeah, decision-making obviously discipline would be no. Okay. I think 13 penalties three yellow cards is as an area

We really have to tidy up as we spoke about before and um, you know, in an area that

You know, I'm in charge of around the line out. I think it was your best line out performance of the

Of the season so far as well

So there'd been a few honest conversations throughout the week and yeah

Really stoked for the boys and and have a line out operated at um yet 10 out of 10 on the weekend

So

Couple areas to tidy up in a couple of areas there that we're really proud of yeah

Dare I say it he really couldn't go much further back with the line out now could you

Sorry, but it wasn't looking great

And uh, we were actually we won 94% of the ball against the blues, but you got to look at the whole picture and the quality of ball that we were delivering and

Uh, one line out got pushed out over the side line which just you know isn't good enough

And then three deliveries to our halfback whether

The halfback it overrun it or our delivery from the top of the line out wasn't wasn't great

So, you know, it's

Winning the balls one thing but delivering top quality ball and or applying pressure through your mall

You know is the big picture. So uh, you know some really honest conversations on on Monday morning with the whole four pack around

Um, you know our diligence to the line at the work we're putting in and

It wasn't one specific area it was it was everything across the board

So it was uh, it was great to see the players respond the way they did this weekend and you know the trajectories are on the way up

Of the leaves so uh, yeah, I'm really proud of them

Dan Perrin, thanks so much for your time as always

Wishing you the best of best weeks get gusts stuck in and maybe keep the locks in the props separatio

I forget that you didn't work for us during the week or I say get give us more of it

Okay, Dan

We will see. I just make sure I won't film it and report back to it

Dan Perrin, the assistant coach of the crusaders. I'd suggest a billion because they managed to pick up a win

We've been pretty awful going into the sixth round with only one win, but as it happens there two and three

So working out okay for the crusaders for the red and black you got a comment on that performance

I'd love to hear from you. Oh 188

You can text 9292 ZB ZB Sanatex charge does apply how on earth this team played for

30 minutes with only 14 players is beyond me and how good was Johnny Lee? Uh-oh

Another madly see coming out of the canterbury region. Well, he is initially from Christchurch

I know he's moved up to the muckle now, so

Kids in Nelson can claim him

Absolutely still to come in the program will be chatting without regular correspondent of a sunday mr. James McConee

Shortly and as a heads up for you around the AFC who doesn't want to go and see

Auckland football after what happened yesterday and they managed to beat

I believe Newcastle that's the first time they've been beaten this year

So that was a great result from Auckland FC yesterday

They take on MacArthur FC next Saturday

March 21st go media stadium if you're going to be in Auckland and you'd like to be at the game

I've got a six ticket family pass up for grabs six ticket family pass

If you'd like that just text AFC and your name to 9292 and you are in the draw

Let's just whip through a couple of texts for you now

Typical crusaders performance last night that to basics good defeats better line out

And when you put a star like Will Jordan and you look out for Johnny Lee

He's going to be one to watch yet. I completely

Agree interesting thoughts around Cody Taylor from this text are bads

He Cody Taylor attracts yellow cards by stupid actions and tight situations

He not only gives away yellow cards and super rugby but he does it regularly in test matches

I've got like no numbers behind me to either confirm or deny that

I think a lot of these players play right on the edge

And as a direct result sometimes they fall foul discipline. No

Is the keyword

Long-term list is long time list is to my program

Over the week

Sports talk on it news talk zb

We'll know how hot I am on discipline. They go back to a conversation. I had with Todd black at it

Back in the day and talking about the winning in the losing of a super rugby final between the blues and the crusaders

And he said it boils down to one thing discipline. That's it. That's the winning in the losing of the game

Right there. It's got to be of utmost import especially tackle height

This is not a new law

People haven't found out in the last child that they're going to get punished for cleaning people's heads out

And that's a dynamic game. Yes, I get it. I understand

But the onus is on the players not to get yellow carded right

And after that match after the crusaders won

Text message the next morning from Todd black at it and it just said

Discipline

It's one that thirty seven. This is weekend sport here on it news talk zb change mccony from the crowd goes wild

And the ACC he joins us next cover off bit of wires but six nations but super duper rugby maybe even NZ 20

I don't know I don't know what's going on in that cavernous mind of his but I'm very keen to explore it

Coming up next and I'll make sure I take my spulking helmet and some crampons to boot

This is news talk zb

137

No tmo no drs just your call on

0800 80 1080 weekend sport with dorsi water grave and gj garden homes new sealant's most trusted home builder news talk zb

20 to two this is weekend sport on that news talk zb coming up after two o'clock

We're talking formula one stick around for that but right here right now

We've got them on loan for the best part of automates say ten at minutes

Rolling out from the ACC and the crowd goes wild ladies and gentlemen. I bring to you mr. J

Mccony

Can I mate? Oh, thanks dorsi. What an intro. See that was wonderful

Um, I make sure I'm away to Eden park shout out to Eden park because uh hosting a few of my workmates

Some sky who don't normally get to go to the rugby some of the

customer service people but we're going up into the lounge where they've got this quiz

The believe it or not quiz and it's my goal

So win that tv i'm not saying i'm competitive, but you know what i'm like dorsi

It's going to be if my teammates don't deliver and pick pick up on some of those

You know those other categories and i'm a little bit weak on it's just say science. Let's just get it out there

My advice to you is keep away from the bar before you start your quiz

Yes

Well, but you and i have hosted quizzes then they get out of control

I don't know why some quizzes have 10 categories

Yeah, but by category six is people dancing on the tables right so

The only good thing about my job at night. I can't get to quizzes anymore because i don't finish the later clock

So i don't have a chance to embarrass myself on those quiz no one cares about that dare i say except us

People do care about the mighty warriors now

They're averaging over 40 points in game so far

And if not been playing celaduanos have they james

No, and just the depth i mean we've got

Tana boy didn't there while luke met kaf is slowly getting back to the full fitness that this is the whole thing that

The wires with their depth

are a scary team and dare i say at liquor how to see me who is this burgeoning superstar

Just doing liquor things and um he is the hardest man to handle in the NRL currently

And uh with him on our side and a few other i mean that left edge

Which has seemed so clinical with uh

Chanel Harris divida roger two vassas shake the way they all combine

It's just the thing of beauty right now the warriors and much why net

I know he's leaving Auckland. I mean a lot of us want to leave Auckland. I'm good on your match

But look um at the moment um every every poster is a winner for them

So uh things are looking up now

Would still get a chance to fall away though

We know it that's the nature of dealing with the warriors and when i was about talking

Last week

I was interested that

Mr. Clark said we're really good now at leaving that behind we just go that was great

Let's get away and this is something that's been repeated by coach

Webster as well just like Aaron Clark said to me celebrate for 10 minutes then we got work to do

Yeah, I think we could handle a few injuries. You know there are some teams that can't

Um cope with that

It's just and we'll get to that soon what one team in particular like the crusaders with you know

Will Jordan's not in there. It's a different side

But I think the warriors can weather that the one thing that caught my eye and league though

Of course, which a lot of us would have watched was Alex Johnston taking the all-time NRL try record off Kenevon

Eskord is 213th try and um and it was amazing

Absolute scenes about

500 maybe to a thousand people including the prime minister stormed the pitch

Over and and Sydney and one poor guy got arrested by security

You can see him just getting tackled and held down while everyone else streamed on the field and it was an incredible moment in sport

Yeah, and you know, I say I was that guy and he'll keep the video

I'm sure way into the future look look what happened to me. I was the only goose that to target someone right

Yeah, I know

How that that's when you know you like his band, but I mean I actually applauded

I think it was just a great thing to see and even funnier to see a rooster stand the first one to get on and

Can graduate him in an advantage roosters juicy and and I actually quite like that the roosters got up on one that because the

I think that celebration sort of stung the roosters into action. So you know

Um, I'm always happy to see someone like Napa who white out of kielston. We stalking doing well for them

So, you know, even on on was all day

Since day one I still love seeing Kiwi's doing well on that stage

Kielston my neighbors and grameed and always got time for some kielston crew six nations

What is the six nations? I thought it was supposed to be a hard grind physical man tight point scoring

In this bonkers six nations so fun congratulations to France

We've seen some ridiculous blowouts and almost defense free rugby

No, no, they're playing the beautiful game while we're struggling around with our sort of box kick scenario here in New Zealand

So I take my hat off to all those nations including Italy who

You know up to beat Scotland beat England. That was just basically um, you know the big giant killers of but the bit the story is

Really how france held on because England should have toppled them at park

Stud the france this morning and somehow somehow they got a penalty is pretty much a 50 meter kick for

Almost Rama suit and he's a lot of the goal

But what a disaster though

The france wearing these vintage baby blue jerseys that clashed with England's white jerseys

So I mean I was just thinking are they going to get undone by a wardrobe malfunction not a Janet Jackson one

But just the of their own making where they almost needed to go to the merch store it started france and by the

The classic dark blue because it was just a it was a joke out there for a while

This has been

Constant as long as I've been

Stinking out the airwaves and sport radio and beforehand

We've had issue

With clashes with uniforms. Isn't that hard to sort out

On the biggest game of the season as well, but look france

I hope they send a decent team down down here this year. They have got um again speaking of depth

They put a they had a player out there on they boot which is so free. It's isn't it biggest game of the season

Biggest game of the year out you go

Hey, they held on and I'm glad England are going through tough times because to be honest

They had their moment to get to New Zealand and really they celebrated so hard like they'd won everything

And this is what they get there come up. It's indeed not unusual for them

It is 13 minutes away from two James the Coney yet joined us as we look at a

Weekend of sports super duper rugby you said you're going off to Eden Park

Are the staff to know to watch more on our posse figure? I take on the blues. What else have you taken out of this weekend's exchanges?

Well, I look at the hurricanes and I think if they can put together a great 80 minutes

It's going to be hard for teams to live with them

But that's the the asterix by that side. They they seem to have this beautiful flowing rugby if you think think about that

Something that is amazing and much cannot win the metadol in june I guess is the question

I think the hurricanes are starting to deflect a little but the crusaders

This is where I look at that game. You're a crusaders fantasy with will Jordan back just running that team

I haven't seen a player that influential just one player

I remember Aaron Smith and Ben Smith being so crucial to that that championship winning Highlanders team back in 2015

But I look at the way will Jordan influences that crusaders team. It's it's massive right now

Can they can they do it again? Well, I think they probably can because they have they're getting

You know some big forwards back

I think Scott Barrett will be back for the business end up for you guys in crusader country

It's it's not it's not all roses is it? No, but we've got Johnny Lee without an earth and other one

The guys are freak as I described before to Dan Peron is in Hesse and bag full of

elbows and knees and skulls is huge and fast and

Really difficult and this is the new man coming through in the seven judy amazing

Yeah, I thought Johnny Lee is deserved a shot for a while

I've looked at him playing for Tasman and hope that maybe when the crusaders went and got Oli Mathis from Waikato

And and tilt him down to crusader country. I thought well, what's that saying to a player like Johnny Lee?

You know come up come up to chiefs country mate. We'll look after you

If they're going to sign a seven over the top of you don't don't you worry

We've got we've got a playing judy here for you, but hey look it's

I hope they treat him well. I hope they appreciate him because he looks the goods and

Here I say it. He's a total hybrid between Ethan blackout a richie McCore and and a few other great crusaders of the past

And he's like any good man of his age. He's got a sick lid and that's for those out there slightly longer in the teeth

He's got a wicked haircut. He's got a sick lid right tell me I'm wrong James. I know

He looks in those years as well proper rugby years. It's about time we saw some of those

There's that look today. But one of this is blue is it's going to be a fascinating game because it you know

Tana is pretty much sounds like he's going to go and join

Dave Renny and then you know

Moana have been have been making waves in this city

So it is really a derby match and that there's even more and more feeling

Everytime these teams play so I'm looking forward to that 330 kickoff

Should be magnificent and just before we end on super rugby that a tech saying Darcy

He was the ref last night. He let the game flow lead to a great spectacle

For which the Highlanders also deserve credit and then someone else has written are they basically stooped to violence

The crusaders and the wrong team one and just for your information Jordan way was the whistle blower there and before we wander on off

Mr

McHoney

NZ 20 came Williams and just told us on the show. That's his preference. So like that's it all bets are off. It's happening right

If Cain says NZ 20 should happen then I think it should I I think that

Hopefully there's a space for NZ 20 and the calendar that doesn't affect what the black caps are doing because

You know and and there are players who want to play in the big bash as well

And we're in huge money and you can't deny them that so look if they can bring people home

That's great

But I also think saying the opportunity of having a franchise in New Zealand franchise and the big bash would be

Crazy to pass up. So somehow I think they've got to try and do both a bit like the old Al Paco ad with a girl wants besides between

Crunchy or soft tacos. Why can't we have both?

Indeed and it's all to me due diligence

As long as the researchers being done they understand what the possibility of disaster or success could be

And then move into it and the parent of that decision is coming out this week and bringing Texas and it great

The black caps out of our series is being played by b teams and that's the problem the game faces right now

Still needs to be addressed and on that mr. James McConey we bet you farewell. We thank you very much for your time

And look forward until he met again my friend

Awesome cheers Darcy have a great one. Thanks mate. Oh will always intend to have a great one. We're

Now rapidly approaching the latest in new sport and weeter. It's close

But not right here right now. It is eight minutes to two

The biggest names in sport are here. We can sport with dusty wall grave new talks at B

It's five to two the latest in sport news and a weather is on its way up after that the third hour of

Weekend sport myself Darcy water grave. Thanks very much Jason Pine for letting me still your seat for the afternoon

We'll be covering off a bit of formula one in the next hour with Michael Lamanato

He's an FIA accredited formula one writer as we look toward the Chinese Grand Prix tonight

We'll also look back at qualifying

And the sprint race in Shanghai yesterday Nathan Smith

Join us as we talk a cricket double heater getting underway 245 this afternoon the ferns play south Africa and at

715 it's the black caps turn to have a crack and then Cole Forbes joins us on the show

Cole Forbes is in action

335 that's when that Moana Pacifica match kicks off. That's MP versus the blues at Eden Park plenty to get across

Including some highlights from last night if you missed it

We've got that as well all that more still to come here on news talk

ZB

I hope you're enjoying the program as much as I'm enjoying it bringing it to you still can't quite get over

They pay me to sit here and do this but I'll take it this is news talk ZB

The only place for the big names the big issues the big controversies and the big conversations

It's all on weekend sport with dusty water wave on your home of sport news talks there be

We can sport on the news talk ZB parts three

My name is Darsi Watergrave is hitting a adjacent pine. Thanks very much for your time

Your attention you love indeed if we're getting it yet

Seven minutes after two. It's a Sunday afternoon. It's 15th of March

2026 coming up in the next hour

We'll talk a bit of cricket with Nathan Smith

Double header is up and running at 245 the white fins take on south afragan and t20

And it's 715 the blokes get their turn as well Cole Forbes on the show

Head of Moana Pussyfecker taking on the blues ad Eden Park and we'll get amongst a bit of Formula 1 shortly with

Michael Laminato. He's a Formula 1 writer with accreditation through the FIA

Four Formula 1 he knows what he's talking about

That raced at 8 p.m. tonight, but before we do any of that

We're gonna hold on to this so this is all about

Catching up with what happened last night

and in case too misted

We were there

And a happy day in Wellington

And on a happy day you can't beat it. Was that a good day? Oh, it's an everything day

Wellingtonians are celebrating the football first the famous women

beating up on the Brisbane Raw

Don't you walk it? No one's task but works

Will not be denied

Sheeran misses in the first half

But she bends in the third

It's 3-0 and surely 3 points to the Wellington team

And whatever the white henna can do that time they can have a crack the mean

Winning for the first time and quite some time to

Jacob Spoonley will pull rifle to keep an eye on what's happening is is a

And it's in

There's in an own goal

That doubles the advantage

Met some looks to the heavens

And I think it's a defensive wonder

To zip over Perth congratulations to Chris Greeneke

And it's been an all-grifcee

They've closed the gap on new castle

Atop of a table clash

Resulted in Auckland beating new castle

2-1

Randall uses him to breeze with that cross backfires

Cosgrove this time he makes no mistake

Well less than two minutes after completely mishitting

Hercyne Auckland extract

The maximum penalty they lead to one

And off now to the National Rugby League

The in our L the Tigers

This was something else the Tigers

They've begun their season worth one

A hell a hell of statement

A bamboozled UK Heavy

The short move to Rubar

That three-end space

Skeleton this time for the corner

10-3

I think he gets it this time

One day

Jerome Skeleton

Give him another shot

He gets him right

44-16 over the Cowboys that like out all out of feel for my old mate Michael Luck

Still over there in Cowboys lands

In mind lucky it's the way things roll and pain worth

Have blown the sharks away in Bethes

tackle five comes out the back

Cleary

It's on

It's dead because of him he's got a double

Everything is sticking here for parents

Betweigh there's plenty of points and more

The storms into the dragons

Get in the sea 46-20

To Munster

Far Longer

Digging Patrick

Spin

Round

Zoa

Far Longer

Scream his name

What a player

What a prospect

What a performer to die for the Melbourne storm

And producer Macdonald

You should know that they would never say

Pen with the sharks get in the sea

Because that's where the sharks like to be

It would be pointless

And of making defense

That's right to write me now

And drew a they defended home against the Brumbies and Watts

Some as I'm on the right

Kicking your head

Needs the balance

Was he taken without the ball?

It doesn't matter

Now it doesn't because he popped it up

And it is a try

To the feed G and G

And the reds far too good

For the war of times

Carter Gordon, let's try the last

Carter Gordon gets him behind

He already has run track

Can you make it to him?

Get it to him

Yeah and we've touched on them before

The Northern Hemisphere

France won a thriller

A defenseless thriller

And in doing so they claimed the Six Nations title

Thomas Ramos

A man for clutch moments

France's record point scorer

For the title

He's got it

He's got it

Always what's the kicker

England, in despair

France

Champions again

And Thomas Ramos

With 80,000 eyes in the stadium

And millions elsewhere

Lands the blow

That delivers the championship to France

Analyzing the plays

And getting the insight

We can sport

With Dusty Waldegrave

Newtalk ZB

Talking Formula One on the program

Now Liam Lawson

Yesterday picked up his first points of the season

This battle still going on behind

Liam Lawson will make it to the line

Just ahead

Of Oli Baman

Who claims the final points place

And finished four tenths

A head of Max Verstappen

We're joined in now by Michael Lemanato

He's Formula One right

If I accredited taboo

Out of Australia

Talking about the Formula One

Michael, welcome on board

Always great to talk race cars with you

So, if we learned anything

After sprint and qualifying yesterday

Well we've learned I think that a lot of lessons

We gained in Australia

Still holding even at this very different

Fact that his Mercedes is very fast

That was a little less so

In charge of the more conventional circuit

But also accounting for the fact that every team

Learned quite a bit in Melbourne

Was able to optimize things a little bit more

I think we can say after the sprint

That Ferrari's race pace isn't so far though

It was interesting to hear Charlotte

Claire took afterwards about

We're acknowledging that

But then saying they don't really know why

And they can't explain it

So there's a bit of up and down in that as well

And then we've got a bit of a gap to McLaren

But then a massive gap

To Red Bull Racing

At least to the track like this

They're pretty much down in the midfield

They were outqualified by Alpine

And that was the same in the sprint

Max was definitely the downcast after

The sprint set is pretty sweet

We're really going wrong

Get going wrong, they've got their pace

Car doesn't work, they're bound to

There's a huge list of problems

So still to say more

Do I think from Australia

We've learned a little bit more about the detail

And we're exactly those cars

They're all sitting in China

What also we picked up

That Liam Walson given half a chance

Isn't that bad a pedler

And his decision doors

Team's decision to run

A hard compound during that

It worked pretty well for him

Maybe the safety car kind of helped

Or maybe it hindered

I'm not really sure at the end of that

Where did you see that going?

Because

You think he could have lasted a bit longer

Maybe he could have come

I simply don't know Michael

Yeah, it's tough to say

Because he essentially held the position

That he had before the safety car at the flag

But

Then you can get caught out in

In the pit stop drama

Of course most cars

Pitted so the pit lane was very busy

I'm having started on the hard tire

I meant that he didn't need to pit anyway

So you may as well have had to go

But it was interesting to see

Because that would have been around

Sixteen laps deep into the sprint

His tires were still feeling pretty

Eight by the time that the race

Three started and a couple of drivers passed

Me as a bit still scored points

Which is important for racing

But that doesn't mean

He's got one fewer hard going into the ground

Free

And given the how high how high tire

You see towards in that sprint

Including as I said on him on the hard tire

We'll have to see how that pans out

For him in the ground

But considering that

You know points on the border are important

They saw a chance to get points in the sprint

He got that point in the sprint

We've got a couple of points in the sprint

The outcome is kind of there

And now it's up to them to see what they can make of the race

As far as surprises in qualifying

Look we look at the top six cars

We all saw that coming

Pure gasoline

Got to be a surprise

Mentioned and the L-peen popping in

Ahead of the step

And but

Are you look at the performance of

Of Berman

Of Hulkenberg

They put in a pretty good show

Didn't they

At least I forget

Mr. Ben Ochen

We love the hard team

Yeah

We're three 11 places

In a row for Niko Hulkenberg

And all of them

I have to try to remember what it was in Australia

But all of them really narrow

I think it was two

Thousands of a second

That he missed out on the top 10

So Audi actually doing

I think a lot better than preseason expectations

Suggested they would be

They're right on the cusp

Of course, got points

Last weekend as well

So

They're looking really good

But our peen as you say

A little bit of a surprise based on

Australia

And where they were kind of just a bit

No, but then I guess we should remember

That Australia being a bit

No, it was also a bit of a surprise

Because they looked good in preseason testing

So this was a bit more

It's probably a little bit better

But it would be our qualifying

A red ball race to go

But

Being in the top 10

Probably feels a bit more

Our peen's thought

They would be in hopes

They would be at the start of the season

He executed really well

And then when you give

Here Gasly a car he can drive

He tends to get the most out of it

If it doesn't have too many problems

I know exactly what happened

Here comfortably out qualified

At least teammate Franco Collapino

Who did get out of Q1 though

It's a little bit of success for him there

And then

All of the peen and Esteban Ocon

He's an increasingly I think

Interesting comparison

Even early in the season

Peen and another top 10

He really looks like he stepped up from last year

When he was clearly fast

But we haven't really seen any big mistakes

In this year and the way we did last year

And he's really shading Esteban Ocon

Now I know Ocon

Think he would have made the top 10

Had the yellow flag not come out

Late for Gabrielle Portellero in Q2

He was up

We don't know if he would have made it

But he certainly was up on his best lap time up to that point

But it's just again that he's being beaten

By this driver much younger

And much less experienced than him

In a brand new car where

Why it's a bit up for debate

But generally speaking

We think experienced drivers

Have a bit of an effort

When the rules change like this

It's an interesting position for Ocon to be

And still very early days of course

For only halfway through second round of the season

But that's a sort of developing storyline

Already I think this year

Interesting theory though

That the new drivers

Especially the singular rookie in the park

They don't know what the other cars were like

So this is all they know in Formula One

So if anything

When it comes to adaptation

They're probably in the box seat Michael

I think there is a degree of that

Like we see David Lindblad that one rookie

He's been pretty good this year

He's had a bit of a patchy weekend

This weekend

But I think that really stems from the fact

That he was out of practice

One practice session

I think about 15 minutes in

And the laps just count for so much

With these cars

With their learning so much every lap

I think actually

And I think the rookie thing counts

The younger drivers have tended to be good

But we haven't seen that

The younger guys suddenly disappear

In fact we've probably seen the opposite for most of them

But I think it's the drivers

Who understand

How they drive the car

Who are the ones getting the most out of

Because they're the ones who can adapt

It's the drivers perhaps who

Have historically just got in the car

And driven it

And I don't know why they're fast

Can't un-pick their driving styles

To make sure they work with this car

We can still see a lot of learning going on

In that sense anyway

I think it was interesting to hear

It may have been all of a bit of a

Now they cast my one back

To a couple of days ago

Who was sort of saying

You know what he's last lap in qualifying

He just crashed the car

Like it would have been an old car

Went slower

So it's things like that

Where drivers have to

If they understand what they're doing

They're getting games

But if they're not understanding

How their driving style

Communicates with these cars

Then they end up a bit lost

I don't think that'll

That'll unfold the more we

More, more

Several sizes we get

The more races we go through

Back to the Australasians

Oscar Piaestry

First

This is

Well

I'm not quite sure what to make of Oscar

And he's probably scratching his head as well

But look

He's on the grid

He's sitting in fifth place

He feels his room for him to move

Of course

Landon Norris

And the fence of his championship

Not looking great

But his only early doors

Right there and thereabouts

From an Australian point of view

Where does Oscar sit

Yeah, I mean it's good first of all

For him to have got some laps on the board

After crashing out of the reconnaissance laps last week

So he's he started

He's season

He's got a couple of points as well

So good news for him

But unfortunately this

The story of this weekend

There's been on the one hand

The Claren feels like

They have made progress

Based on last week

And qualifying times

If just they have

They've got closer to Mercedes

But there's still nowhere near Mercedes

And this is the problem

They're in this sort of

Singular group of

Just him and Landon

From Oscar Piastry's perspective

That they're a little bit behind Ferrari

At this rate certainly a hit of Red Bull

They were roughly on par with Red Bull in Melbourne

And that's just reflective

Of where the car is

And I think

He's sort of listening to Landon Norris

Or Oscar Piastry talk

They're not so unhappy with the car

So if the car is driving badly

This is just where it is

You know, it's just not as fast

Doesn't have the same group

Still doesn't have the same power of the Mercedes

But they've closed that gap a little bit

By understanding the engine a little bit more

So unfortunately

Without some chaos up front

And we do have teammates

Starting side by side with Mercedes and Ferrari

Which tells 10 to some times

Brief chaos

Our podium is probably out of the question

From McLaren this weekend

And then like you say

Bad news for Landon Norris' title defends

Because right now

It's going to need some big steps

From McLaren just to get into that mix

We're joined by Michael Lamanato

From Fox Sport

And if I accredited Formula One

Right Liam Lawson squeezed

Into Q2

Couldn't quite get up

He possibly could have done

But of course as you touched on before

Colin Pinto drove off the track

And that kind of scup it as chances

Because those laps were getting faster

And faster as you'd expect

With the end of Q2

Yeah exactly right

But the yellow flag

Prevented quite a few drivers

In that Q2 zone from progressing

So we didn't get the ultimate order

I suppose

Of exactly where everyone sits in terms of pace

But I think it's been positive

For Liam and for racing bulls

That they are

In that mix

It always feels like a bit of a

A bit of a guessing game

Trying to place that team at the start of the season

Because you know they're never going to be quiet on red bull racing's pace

But occasionally

They kind of look like they're actually very close

Especially when regulations change like this

And they inevitably buy a lot of

A lot of parts from their sister team

So that's sort of interesting in its own case

But yeah he's been moving really positively

He's been getting a lot out of the car

I think the test of course is

He's against Lim Blad

And like we've said

Lim Blad's been probably half a step behind this weekend

But as long as he can keep ahead of him

Because Red Bull's been quite impressed

With Lim Blad's a rookie

They reckon he's as

He's roughly where Isaac Hadjar is

And obviously Hadjar's been promoted to the senior team

Then that'll be really important for Lawson to

To rebuild his reputation

I guess not that he has a bad reputation

But obviously the baddering last year

Having to change teams

And having to rebuild himself a little bit

Because I think as we've said before

Notwithstanding Red Bull's under different management these days

Very rare for a driver to go

Quite in fact unheard of for a driver to go back to the senior team

So to continue his F1 career

In the next couple of years

He's likely going to have to find it outside the Red Bull family

So every little success he has now

Will contribute to that

Angry Max first happened

And sitting down

Oh look he's got his teammate

Right next to him

But watching him tear through the

I'm sure they don't like it

But off the grid

Watching him tear through everybody else

At least we get some good entertainment

Even though Max is entirely unhappy

With what he's got underneath him

Yeah of course he'd much prefer not to have to be doing that

To be fair most of his comeback was because he had a terrible start

I guess that's the second time a Red Bull driver has had a terrible start

Right because Lawson had one in Melbourne

But being interesting to see if there is a link there

But he was down to 20th by the first lap

So I had quite a few cars to pass

But he was getting he ended up finishing just outside the points in nine

But it felt like already at that point

It was kind of topping out a little bit

That the pace was getting harder and harder

The manager because he was getting too faster

And faster cars

The safety car of course helped necessarily either

It'll be interesting to see in the race today

Starting in the same place

He was a little bit closer

He was a less than a second off pole

Which is I mean that sort of illustrates

Two Red Bull racing is normally continuing for pole

To be just less than a second off

But he's nothing to shout about

But he's really been as you said really downcast

Doesn't love where the cars are

The team suggested that it could be actually

Because this track is

Let's say more normal in the sense the energy

The electrical energy is not at a massive premium

The cars are actually working really well with this track

As opposed to Melbourne where it was all about the battery

But there's a lack of advantage in Red Bull

And that maybe the Red Bull engine is very good at recovering energy

And that's why it looks competitive in Melbourne

But maybe this is actually more where it really is at an average track

That obviously boats even worse

Considering the average track is more common over the course of the season

But we'll get more information as is the case

With this year and these new rules over the first couple of races

Touched on the battery and how that is working

I find it a distraction for the drivers

I don't know if they need to be concentrating on that

As opposed to just driving

Is there any truth in my heart take?

To a degree like some drivers

Are paying more attention to that

They said this is that in Melbourne

That they were paying more attention to

Just having the battery at the right level at the right time

I think it's going to be very track dependent

And China it seems like that's much less the case

In qualifying it certainly was

You know we talked about Oliver Behrman a little bit earlier

He decided on his last qualifying lap

Not to think about the manager but it ended up going slower

So I think in qualifying it is and that

To my mind still a problem because qualifying

Even in China where if you look at an on-board lap

It looks close to normal

You can still see areas where the car is just really not being pushed towards limits

And I think that is the shame

In the race though based on the sprint

And we'll wait and see with the Grand Prix as well today

Because that'll of course look a little bit different

I think it's less so in a track like this

With a battery over the course of a race

He's just able to recharge itself without the drive

Is having to do anything different

In that case they kind of race pretty much

Normally of course we got this

The boost button that we saw a lot of overtaking

Between Hamilton and Russell is just one example

I expect that to still play a role

But as long as that doesn't mean that they're overthinking that

I don't see that as too much different to DRS

Which admittedly wasn't the most organic kind of racing anyway

But it was understood and has become part of the show

Over more than a decade

I'm hopeful that this race will actually look more normal

From us the spectator point of view

But also from the drivers in the cockpit point of view

But we'll have to wait and see

And last quite literally but not least

Pulling up the tail you've you'd expect this

Cadillac a devastated Ashton Martin

I don't know how that year is bowling out

Williams as well

And they'd be a little downcast around that

But I suppose we've got to celebrate Valtteri Bottas

Because he's coming and he's put a Cadillac

A head of Ashton Martin

That's great news and he's such a great

He's coming on a wonderful drive

I'm really pleased for him

Yeah, it's really good to see Bottas back on the grid

It always felt like he's career didn't finish in the right way

Having been dropped back to the Salva team

Which just got less and less competitive because he went

I'm an even Sergio Perez

I think he's own sake

He doesn't want Red Bull chapter to have been his last

Lots of problems for his car

None for Valtteri Bottas

Which is good that does seem like

And this goes for every team

But especially the brand new team Cadillac

The more laps they get building into the weekend

Generally the better that car is going to go

Which is not that surprising

You self-evident

But I think we've got the result

Give it Bottas out qualifying

Lance Stroll

Does it say more about the Cadillac

Than it does Lance Stroll

I'll leave that to your imagination

Because Lance Stroll is more than half a second slower

Than Fernando Alonso

He was a couple of places up the grid

But the bottom line is

I mean we've certainly

Ashton Martin does not

Did not want to be here

To not expect to be here

Way at the back competing

competing with the new team

The team that's entered one and a half races so far

And it's history

That is grim

They'll be thankful for the longer break

We're about to get in April

Because the two

Middle eastern round have been cancelled

That might give them the chance to at least replenish their spa

Their spare parts stocks

And then Williams as well you touch on there

This is absolutely not the way they thought that you started

The season

The car is really overweight

That's the first problem

But it also just seems like the car generally isn't that good

It's not producing the same kind of grip

On Alex Alonso

I was very unhappy

Described as terrible in one word on his pull down lap

So those three teams

What no I should say two of those teams

That's the modern Williams

With serious problems

But Cadillac

I still think performing pretty much in the way you'd expect a new team to

Not quite there

A hundred percent

But by the end of the year I'm expecting to be looking much more things to do

I'm really happy for the teams

I'm not happy for Formula One

That they've got to not be in the Middle East

But I'm happy that the hardworking guys and girls

That were nothing

Actually get a bit of time off to speed

With their families

And I reckon you could out quantify

Lance, Stroll, Michael

Thanks very much for your time mate

Thank you, mate, at anytime

And it will be too

Because I'll be pissed again

Trust me

Love what you have to say

And I think you should too

Michael Lemonato

He's a Formula One writer

Out of Fox Sport

That also officially accredited by the FIA

To write Formula One

And it's 228

This is weekend sport on news talk ZB

That's the motor sport

We're still got cricket

And rugby union to come

Cole Forbes later in the piece

But up next

It is Nathan Smith

As we now deal with

Five games of T20

Double headers

Both the black caps

And the white ferns are in action

This is news talk ZB

Hard tackles

Harder opinions

We can sport with Dossie Watergrafe

And GJ Garden Homes

New Zealand's most trusted home builder

Newtalk ZB

And 231 news talk ZB

I'm Dossie Watergrafe filling in for Jason Pine

On weekend sport cricket

On the menu right here right now

Black caps back on

New Zealanders shores

They play South Africa

And their first T20 at the Mount

Tonight that's staffed seven o'clock

And coming up in about

Or 15 minutes time

The white ferns take on their South African counterpants

They're all double headers

All five of these T20

Experiences

Nathan Smith

He's at a horrible old time with injuries

Now hopefully he'll be back today

Like he joins us now

How are you mate?

I'm good. Thanks. How are you?

Yeah, no magnificent

I tend to try and be

Way

All the time. It's the nice thing

But you

You're finally back playing again

Nathan Smith

One day cricket

There is a test cricket

And then he had to have a cup of tea

And lie down because his side fell apart

So you've been out for quite some time

Talk us through the injury

You're recovering from how it went through

Yeah, so fully recovered now

Initially you know during the test match

Thought it was a side strain

But um

Turned into a little bit more of a

Ribbon pinchment type injury

Which was

Like if you're

You're sort of you know

You're eating eating some spare ribs

And you kind of get to the bone

And there's that little bit of like sheath on the bone

I pulled a little bit of that off my ribs

So

That took a little bit longer to heal

Unfortunately, but um

We're back now and playing some domestic cricket

For the last sort of

Months six weeks and um

Yeah, looking forward to this

The series against Africa

So you're one handy right?

You're back if you've been on a

You're bold you've battered from time to time

And everything's working

Yeah, yeah, we're good as gold

Yeah

I'm never going to be able to eat spare ribs again

Because all I want to think about is

Pulling your spare ribs off of your body

And chewing on Nathan Smith

So thanks for

Running it that way so

Form wise how how are you playing right now

Because there's that like real interesting space

When there are so many

Quicks who are aiming for that same spot

So where are you at playing wise?

Um yeah, that's the way it's a tough one

Results sort of come and go

Which is um

It's the nature of the sport we play

They're pretty fickle

Um some days you can ball really well

And

You know not get wickets in other days

You get lucky

Bowling a few half track as they get caught at deep square

So um

In terms of the outcomes you know

I'm not trying to ride that too much

But I'm feeling pretty good

The ball's coming out well

The rhythm

The rhythm took a couple of games to come back

But I feel like it's there now

And I'm

You know I'm hitting the crease hard

And with the bat

I've spent a bit of time in the middle

And the plunk it with the plunk

It's shielded over the last sort of

You know two weeks

I'm starting to feel pretty good

Right so middling it

Good good timing

You know your place

So when you play

For the black caps next time

And it may well be tonight

We don't know the naming of the team yet

You feel you're going to better contribute

You're on

All your cylinders

Yeah yeah I'm feeling good

Feeling good dassy

Like the traveling up there

There was a pain in the back side

Though it wasn't

I think you had a bit of a journey

To even actually

Get here in the first place

That's got to put a bit of strain on you

Oh yeah you know

We sort of we sort of used to that now though

Um when you're playing the subcontinent

You usually get

You usually get 3a in flights in between

In between

I mean we had it in the champions trophy

Didn't we we sort of had to get up at 3a in

And fly between Dubai and Pakistan

So you know

We were used to this now

We just adapt and we we get on with it

Are you good at watching the black caps play

When you're not involved

Do you do that or you just run and hide

No no I do watch

I checked in during the World Cup

Which was awesome to see how well they did there

You know unfortunately

Couldn't get over the line of the final

But it was there was an awesome campaign to follow

And um yeah

Everyone was behind them

And they can be really proud of that

That World Cup campaign

A few people have ripped on the fact

That the bowl was took a bit of tap

But I choose to look in the other direction

That was India at home defending a title

And they were giving everybody a bit of tap

They battered

It was another that wasn't cricket

The way they were playing

It was on another level wasn't it

Yeah and it's not just

It's not just India

You know those

Those pitches are

Not conducive to

To seem bowling anyway

And I mean

250 is becoming so common now

Like how often are we seeing 250 and we're going

I that's kind of you know

Whereas like 200 back in the day

We were like far out 200

You know so it's just

It is I understand the batting has gone

To another to another planet

But um

The scene bowling is tough

But I think potentially you know

Bowlers are going to have to find ways

And you're probably going to see it over the next few years

A bowl is trying to

You know find either

Either work on the execution

Or find different different ways to try to be effective

What are you trying?

You're looking at that

You know you're going to have to deal with these

Bats and on the way they roll

Look at what South Africa managed

To do before they fold it in that semi

What are you looking at

How are you going to go about your business

Yeah, I mean there's an element of

There's an element of what I bring to the table

And then there's the you know

The conditions you're playing with

Um you know there's so many variables

But I think

Let's give the scattings a main thing

And then I guess it comes down to

What's the pitch offering you at the time

And then

To be honest with you

It's just a game of execution really

You know I suppose you see

Look at bomber he goes at six and over

And India because he can nail a Yorker

And he's got a great slob all

So it's like

You know if you get if you can execute

And you can

You can be nice and calm under pressure

Then I think you can be effective

For me it's you know

Doing what I do really well

Running in hitting the look at heart

Nailing a Yorker

And then and then being smarter around my

Around my slob all

So

You know I think it's

It looks something like that

When I'm playing well

So hopefully I can replicate that if I get a run

Nathan Smith that joins us