newzealand - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

The Sports Highlight Of The Day Is This Man Catching A Phone On A Roller CoasterWe blog plenty of impressive sports catches around these parts—centerfielders robbing dingers, wide receivers reaching out for one-handed grabs, or dads snagging foul balls. But I’ll go as far to say that not a single one is as cool as the quick-thinking, high-speed catch made by New Zealand fistbal...

New Zealand Stonewall India In Thrilling Cricket World Cup Semifinal UpsetStatisticians have to take all sorts of factors into account when calculating live win probabilities for a cricket match: run rates, the remaining number of overs, the recent and historical performances of the players, the condition of the pitch, and more. Even so, after the rain forced officials to...

Cameroon Advance To World Cup Knockout Round With Ludicrous, Last-Minute Solo GoalFacing elimination from the Women’s World Cup and desperately searching for a late goal to push them through to the knockout rounds, Cameroon countered a late New Zealand throw-in with a burst forward toward the Football Ferns’ net in the 95th minute. It was Cameroon’s goal, but most of the credit s...

The Netherlands Had To Score A Supremely Stupid Goal To Beat New Zealand

This is why you do not commit to defending for 70 percent of a match. Late in an exciting 0-0 deadlock, New Zealand was managing to hold off the vaunted Netherlands attack through a combination of parking the bus, some nifty goalkeeping from Erin Nayler, and solid individual showcases from center ba...

New Zealand Have Gone Through Hell, And Now They're Back To Being Mediocre

New Zealand are the cockroaches of women’s international soccer—they’re always around. By virtue of playing in limp-ass Oceania and therefore having the luxury to qualify for the biggest tournaments simply by beating up on the even tinier nations around them, New Zealand essentially get free admissi...

Seal Slaps The Bejesus Out Of Kayaker With Live Octopus

There you are, in your boat, kayaking, in the water, in New Zealand or whatever. Here it comes, a seal! Or is it a sea lion? Does this matter? More on that later. What does it have in its—oh. It’s an octopus! What......

New Zealand Rugby Player's Family Performs Haka For Him After He Makes His Debut

A lot of athletes have their parents in the stands for their games, but how many get a haka performed for them? New Zealand rugby union player Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi made his debut for the All Blacks in Saturday’s 46-24 win over Argentina, and his father, father-in-law, and partner treated him to a ...

A Brief History Of Rugby Teams Trying To Respond To The Haka

The haka, performed by the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team, is one of the most famous spectacles in sport. The traditional pregame challenge is an exhilarating display that gets the blood pumping through the veins of the Kiwi players as they prepare themselves for the game ahead. The All Blacks’ h...