Wellington

Stung by losing their home tri-series final to England, the Australian cricketers flew into New Zealand on Wednesday looking for a whipping boy. ”I think we’re going to be pretty dangerous,” stand-in captain Mike Hussey warned ahead of the three-match Chappell-Hadlee series, which starts in Wellington on Friday.

All Black inside centre Aaron Mauger will leave New Zealand rugby after the World Cup to play for Leicester in England, he announced on Monday. He will play for the Canterbury Crusaders in the Super 14 competition this year before taking up a contract for two-and-a half-years with the Tigers in December.

A crater lake on a New Zealand volcano used as a backdrop in the Lord of the Rings films is on the verge of collapsing and could send a torrent of muddy water down the mountain. Melting snow on Mount Ruapehu has filled the lake to within 1,5m of its lip, according to the New Zealand Herald.

A prisoner’s empty eye socket and dead birds filled with methamphetamine have been used in some of the more unusual attempts to smuggle drugs to prisoners in New Zealand, a report said on Wednesday. Previous attempts included throwing tennis balls or fruit containing drugs over prison walls.

New Zealanders looking for some extracurricular activity are now able to apply for the position of condom tester. Condom manufacturer Durex is looking for test pilots of its products, and says New Zealanders were chosen because they are among the most sexually active and adventurous in the world.

A restaurant chain’s campaign to publicise its "Lust" pizza for meat lovers — one of a range of pies representing the seven deadly sins — by delivering condoms to homes across New Zealand has attracted widespread wrath. The campaign by Hell’s Pizzas has become the most complained about in the country.

Frustrated British rugby league coach Brian Noble said he wanted a word with Tri-Nations referees boss Robert Finch after a string of decisions against his side in their 4-34 thrashing to New Zealand on Saturday. Although Noble conceded New Zealand deserved to win the crucial match, he said the scoreline could have been much closer.

The All Blacks will wear an embroidered poppy on a sleeve of their rugby jerseys when they play France next month to honour New Zealand soldiers who gave their lives in wars last century. The poppy is the symbol of remembrance for those killed in combat, particularly in the two world wars.

New Zealand and South Africa will strengthen cultural relations including negotiating a film co-production agreement, Prime Minister Helen Clark announced on Friday. Clark, who is also Minister of Arts, Culture and Heritage, was speaking after talks with South Africa’s Deputy President Phumzile Mlabo-Ngcuka.

New Zealand’s Auckland Blues will host last year’s winners the Canterbury Crusaders in the opening Super 14 match when the 2007 competition begins in February, organisers Sanzar said on Friday. The competition will start a week earlier next year to allow for the Rugby World Cup in France.

The All Blacks are to expand their squad for the end-of-year northern hemisphere tour to take a third hooker and scrumhalf, coach Graham Henry said on Saturday. The additional players will increase the touring squad to 32 from the initially planned 30. The All Blacks will play four Tests, two against France and one each against England and Wales.

Jonah Lomu’s comeback to top rugby after a 2004 kidney transplant may stall because he is unlikely to win a Super 14 contract next season, New Zealand newspapers reported on Tuesday. A surplus of talented wingers means that Lomu (31) is not immediately seen as a prospect for the 2007 season by any of New Zealand’s five Super 14 franchises.

New Zealand’s rugby chiefs on Tuesday fended off claims for compensation from media giant News Corp over their decision to withdraw 22 leading All Blacks from the early rounds of next year’s Super 14 competition. All Black coach Graham Henry says the decision to withdraw the players is important to allow the players to do physical conditioning work ahead of next year’s World Cup in France.

A New Zealand Maori says if French winemakers can stop other people from using their place names such as Champagne, Burgundy and Bordeaux, he is claiming intellectual property protection for his local hill, a newspaper reported on Saturday. It’s a big question because the peak is regarded as the longest place name in the world.

New Zealand will offer permanent residence to Zimbabweans in the country who are HIV-positive, making an exception to its policy of barring infected applicants, Health Minister Pete Hodgson said on Wednesday. About 1 300 Zimbabweans have entered New Zealand as a result of the political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe under a special immigration category.

New Zealand called two replacement players into its Tri-Nations rugby squad on Sunday after a series of injuries during its weekend win over South Africa at Pretoria. Prop John Afoa and veteran flanker Marty Holah will join the All Blacks ahead of their final Tri-Nations match against the Springboks at Rustenburg on Saturday.

Thousands of people — almost all of them men — lined the main street of New Zealand’s biggest city on Wednesday as 25 topless porn stars paraded on motor bikes and two old army tanks. Businessmen, schoolboys and Japanese tourists lined Auckland’s Queen Street to watch the ”Boobs on Bikes” parade, which went ahead despite the winter chill.

A parade of 30 topless porn stars riding motor bikes down the main street of New Zealand’s biggest city will go ahead, officials said on Monday. Auckland City Council on Monday gave the ”Boobs on Bikes” parade the green light, saying there was no legal reason to stop it despite concerns by some councillors that granting it a permit would add legitimacy to the event.

All Black golden boy Daniel Carter has found a way around his tightly controlled rugby playing regime — he’s turned out for a social soccer match in a move that has surprised his rugby bosses. They are offering little comment on Carter’s switch from the oval ball to the round ball and are unsure whether he has broken any conditions of his contract.

Hundreds of New Zealand motorists who claimed their vehicles were hearses so they could pay reduced registration fees face prosecution. The scam came to light last month when a woman claimed on talk-back radio that she and her friends registered their vehicles as hearses because they carried frozen chickens home from the supermarket.

A New Zealand policewoman is receiving counselling after the discovery she had been moonlighting as a prostitute, but has kept her job on the force, police said on Thursday. The Auckland officer had taken up part-time work as a prostitute "for a limited time", said police media communications manager Jon Neilson.

All Blacks coach Graham Henry has made eight changes in the side to play South Africa in their Tri-Nations Test in Wellington on Saturday, including the return of former captain Reuben Thorne. South Africa’s 49-0 thrashing by Australia last week gives Henry some latitude in changing a successful team.

Springbok coach Jake White denied on Monday his job was on the line but admitted his side’s 49-0 thrashing by Australia was the worst he could remember. The South Africans are in Wellington preparing for what might be an even sterner challenge on Saturday against the All Blacks.

Legendary rugby winger Jonah Lomu will renew his bid to regain his All Black place on Saturday when he takes the field in an Auckland club match. Since receiving a kidney transplant in 2004, 31-year-old Lomu has been trying to resurrect his glory days but a stint with Welsh side Cardiff was cut short in April by an ankle injury.