A powerful earthquake struck New Zealand’s already-bruised city of Christchurch on Tuesday, collapsing buildings and burying vehicles under debris.
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/ 7 September 2010
New Zealand’s second-biggest city, Christchurch, struggled to get back to business on Tuesday as aftershocks caused more damage.
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/ 6 September 2010
Miraculous tales of survival emerged on Monday after New Zealand’s most damaging earthquake in 80 years hurled sleeping residents into their gardens.
Aftershocks and winds buffeted Christchurch on Sunday as a clean-up got under way after the country’s worst earthquake in 80 years.
Australia coach Robbie Deans has made three changes for the Tri-Nations rematch against the All Blacks in Christchurch on Saturday.
Victor Matfield returns to lead the Bulls’ side for Friday’s Super 14 match against the Crusaders — and Bryan Habana is back on the wing.
The All Blacks will take on the South Pacific island nation of Tonga in the opening match of the 2011 Rugby World Cup, organisers said on Thursday.
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/ 13 February 2009
Although the Super 14 begins for most teams this year on Valentine’s Day, it can be assumed that there will be a minimum of love lost.
The Crusaders and Waratahs face off in a classic showdown for the Super 14 rugby crown in Christchurch, New Zealand, on Saturday. ”It’s going to be an epic,” said Crusaders coach Robbie Deans, the most successful coach in the history of Super rugby. In a match laden with All Blacks and Wallabies, Waratahs assistant coach Steve Tuynman sees the final as one for the purists.
All Black scrumhalf Andy Ellis says the Crusaders don’t need any external motivation to lift their weary bodies for the Super 14 rugby final against the New South Wales Waratahs in Christchurch on Saturday. ”In finals week, there’s no problem in picking it up and getting excited,” Ellis explained.
Fullback Leon MacDonald scored two tries as the Canterbury Crusaders booked a place in the Super 14 rugby final for the 10th time with a 33-22 win over the Wellington Hurricanes on Saturday. MacDonald’s tries either side of halftime rewarded massive advantages of territory and possession and kept the Crusaders on target for their seventh championship title.
The Otago Highlanders gave hope to prospective play-off opponents of the Canterbury Crusaders when they beat the league leaders 26-14 in Super 14 rugby on Saturday. The 12th-place Highlanders scored three tries to one in a late-season upset to finish a mediocre year on a high note.
The Canterbury Crusaders extended their lead at the top of the Super 14 table to virtually assure themselves of a home semifinal after a hard-fought 18-10 win over the Coastal Sharks on Friday. With two rounds remaining, the chances of a semifinal spot for the Sharks — who were in third place going into the match — are waning after three straight losses.
The Canterbury Crusaders strengthened their grip on the Super 14 with a nail-biting 26-22 win over the Auckland Blues on Friday, taking them a huge step closer to a home semifinal spot. During an often frantic clash, the Blues pounded the Crusaders’ line in the last 15 minutes, scoring one try and missing another two by the narrowest of margins.
All-conquering Super 14 leaders the Canterbury Crusaders shrugged off wholesale changes to their line-up to thrash bottom-placed Golden Lions 31-6 in Christchurch on Saturday. With their novices to the fore, the unbeaten Crusaders took maximum points as they reversed a 3-6 deficit at half-time.
The unbeaten Canterbury Crusaders showed their depth of quality when they made sweeping changes to the side but still beat the Central Cheetahs 55-7 in Super 14 rugby in Christchurch on Saturday. In a nine-try rampage the Crusaders took maximum points to remain firmly embedded at the top of the table.
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/ 15 February 2008
The Canterbury Crusaders moved straight into top gear as they started the new Super 14 season with a convincing 34-3 win over the ACT Brumbies on Friday. The four-try effort ensured maximum points for the perennial favourites, who have won the championship six times.
Springbok captain Johann Muller said referees are afraid of sin-binning All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw following his team’s 33-6 Tri-Nations defeat on Saturday. He said referee Stuart Dickinson should have yellow-carded the All Black captain for an identical offence to one that later led to the sin-binning of South Africa’s Pedrie Wannenburg.
Three converted tries in the final 12 minutes carried the All Blacks to a 33-6 win over the Springboks in their Tri-Nations rugby Test in Christchurch on Saturday. The win put New Zealand level with Australia at the head of the championship and set the stage for a classic showdown when the two teams meet in Auckland next week.
Springbok captain Johann Muller did well to keep his calm on Friday in the face of some fairly stinging questions from the New Zealand press, who are anticipating a big win against the Boks in the Tri-Nations on Saturday. Muller was asked first if he thought he would concede a point for every preceding Bok captain — 52.
Southern hemisphere rugby bosses pledged on Friday never again to field weakened teams in the Tri-Nations and Super 14. ”It’s fair to say that it will never happen again,” John O’Neill, chief executive of South Africa New Zealand and Australia Rugby (Sanzar) told a media briefing in Christchurch.
The Rugby World Cup’s dominance of the international calendar has turned Saturday’s Tri-Nations Test between New Zealand and South Africa in Christchurch into little more than a glorified warm-up match. South Africa have fielded a weakened team for the meeting between two of the sport’s fiercest rivals, while New Zealand made seven changes.
All Black midfield back Luke McAlister confirmed on Wednesday he is seriously considering a move to English club Sale following this year’s World Cup. But the 23-year-old denied a British report that he has already signed a £250 000 contract and said he would not make a decision until the end of the month.
All Black winger Sitiveni Sivivatu scored two tries and flyhalf Stephen Donald kicked 20 points as the Waikato Chiefs beat the Canterbury Crusaders 30-24 in a Super 14 rugby match on Friday. The Chiefs strengthened their claim to a place in the tournament semifinals and weakened Canterbury’s grip on a home play-off advantage as they won at Jade Stadium.
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/ 9 December 2006
New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming has no regrets about the controversial dismissal of Muttiah Muralitharan in the first Test on Saturday, saying the Sri Lankan made a mistake and paid the price. Muralitharan was run out after completing a single which gave Kumar Sangakkara his century.
Hooker Keven Mealamu scored two first half tries on Saturday to lead New Zealand to a 32-12 win over Australia in the opening match of the Tri-Nations rugby series. Mealamu touched down twice in a five minute period at Jade Stadium, while Australia was reduced to 14 men by the sin-binning of flanker Rocky Elsom, to push the All Blacks toward their 18th straight win in home Test matches.
The Wallabies paid public homage to the All Blacks on Thursday, as both sides clamoured for underdog status going into the opening Tri-Nations rugby Test. The All Blacks ”are the best team in the world at the moment,” offered Wallabies coach John Connolly, as he dismissed suggestions his side would go into Saturday’s Test on the front foot.
The All Blacks have ditched their experimental line-ups and included their big guns to face a resurgent Australia in the opening Tri-Nations Test in Christchurch on Saturday. New Zealand split their best players between two different line-ups in their less than emphatic wins over Ireland and Argentina last month.
Thousands of dollars have been bid on an Internet auction site for the handbag used by former All Black captain Tana Umaga to strike team mate Chris Masoe and reduce him to tears. Last weekend’s incident at a Christchurch bar after Masoe hit another patron has quickly become folklore and late on Friday morning the bidding had reached NZ$4 500 ($2 840).
New Zealand rugby officials have defended the decision to go ahead with the fog-bound Super 14 rugby final in Christchurch on Saturday, but said the match would have been postponed if it was any thicker. The match was reduced to a farce at times in the pea-souper that shrouded Jade Stadium, where the Canterbury Crusaders emerged from the fog as 19-12 victors over the Wellington Hurricanes.
Daniel Carter kicked 14 points, including the conversion of Casey Laulala’s solitary try, to give the Canterbury Crusaders a 19-12 win on Saturday over the Wellington Hurricanes in a Super 14 rugby final marred by dense fog. Fog settled so thickly on Jade Stadium for the inaugural final of the expanded Super 14 competition that most of the 35 000 spectators caught only fleeting glimpses of the match.
All Blacks winger Rico Gear scored two tries as the Canterbury Crusaders beat South Africa’s Bulls 35-15 on Saturday to join the Wellington Hurricanes in the final of rugby union’s Super 14 tournament. Gear touched down twice in the first half as the Crusaders established a 16-8 halftime lead and Chris Jack, Corey Flynn and Aaron Mauger added second-half tries.