Sport General | Blood Horse
13 August 2003
Champion NZ jockey, Lance O’Sullivan, has announced his retirement from racing at age 39. O’Sullivan has ridden over 2,470 winners and has been crowned NZ champion rider a record 12 times. His international achievements include…
Motorsports | Age (The)
12 August 2003
NZer Steve Richards – the younger half of the “most successful father-son duo in Australian motor sport” – interviewed in the Age about his new three-year contract with Castrol Perkins. At 31, Steve has 25 years to…
Rugby | CNN News | Iol.co.za | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
11 August 2003
SMH: “they simply cannot beat the All Blacks”. The All Blacks join England as World Cup favourites after winning both the Tri-Nations’ Trophy and and Bledisloe Cup, making it two out of three thus…
Motorsports | Post-Gazette (The)
11 August 2003
NZ racing star, Scott Dixon, achieved three consecutive pole positions in the Indy Racing League last month, and broke the track record at Nashville in the process. His winning streak was cut short by gearbox problems…
Rugby | Sporting Life (The)
6 August 2003
Christian Cullen’s signing to Irish side Munster after his exclusion from the 2003 All Black squad has created controversy at home and disbelief abroad. One person happy with the outcome is Munster rugby boss, Alan Gaffney, who…
Rugby | NZEdge
2 August 2003
The NZ Maori rugby team emerged victorious from their 3-match tour of Canada, beating the home side 52-11, 65-27, and 30-9. Between 1994 and 2001, the NZ Maori side have beaten 12 international teams, including England, Scotland,…
Sport General | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
21 July 2003
The New Zealand Silver Ferns netball team emphatically shrugged off a decade of being netball’s bridesmaids to beat arch rivals Australia 49 – 47 and win the World Champion title in Jamaica. “Finally,” said relieved Silver Fern’s…
Rugby | Rugby Heaven
20 July 2003
The All Blacks thrashed South Africa 52 – 16 in the Tri-Nations opener in the high velt fortress of Loftus Versfeld. It was South Africa’s worst home defeat with the ABs producing a fine display of…
Rugby | Rugby Heaven
8 July 2003
NZ-born rugby player, Tony Marsh, has won his battle against testicular cancer and a place in France’s World Cup squad. Marsh cites American Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong – who was also diagnosed with testicular cancer…
Rugby | Australian (The)
30 June 2003
NZ’s “baby blacks” won the Under-21 Rugby World Cup in Oxford, beating Australia 21-10. Said captain Sam Tuitupou (above); “We knew it was our last game as a team and we pulled through. This is very special for…
Motorsports | mcnews.com.au
15 June 2003
Australian-based NZer, Stefan Merriman, earned his third motorcycle world title at the World Enduro Championship in Skovda, Sweden. It was his second world title win in the 250cc two-stroke class. Merriman now ranks as Australia’s second most…
Motorsports | newsobserver.com
1 June 2003
Scott Dixon has been dubbed “the new man to beat” on the Indy Racing circuit after a series of remarkable performances behind the wheel. The 22-year-old followed up his Honda Indy 225 victory by blitzing the field…
Sport General | Salt Lake Tribune
1 June 2003
Three-time NZ Ironman champion, Cameron Brown, has won the Utah Half-Ironman Triathlon, beating Sweden’s Bjorn Andersson by just 6 seconds. Says Brown; “I didn’t think I was going to win it, but I just put my…
Rugby | Iol.co.za
24 May 2003
The Auckland Blues emerged victorious in a NZ dominated Super 12 competition. The ACT Brumbies were the only non-NZ team to scrape into the semi-finals. The final saw Auckland beat defending champions the Canterbury Crusaders 21-17. Southern Hemisphere domination…
Cricket | Daily Star (The)
23 May 2003
The NZ Black Caps scored a rare overseas tournament victory, winning the Bank Alfalah Cup triangular series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Stephen Fleming – named man of the match in the final versus Pakistan -…
Sport General | Age (The)
18 May 2003
NZ athletes made a strong showing at the track World Cup held in Sydney last month – boding well for the coming world championships. Cycling star Sarah Ulmer won the women’s 3,000m individual pursuit, and the men’s…
Watersports | New Zealand Herald | Star (The)
16 May 2003
The government has committed $2.5 million to the construction of a memorial museum in the late Sir Peter Blake’s honour on the Auckland waterfront. Sports Minister Trevor Mallard: “The exhibition will ensure a…
Rugby | Age (The)
16 May 2003
A signed photograph of the 1905-6 All Black “Originals” has been sold at auction for $41,000. The photo had been kept in Aucklander David Wright’s family since 1906, when it was presented to his grandfather Charles Victor…
Sport General | Australian (The)
13 May 2003
NZ’s oldest Olympic athlete, javelin thrower Stan Lay, has died aged 96. Lay finished in seventh place at the 1924 Athens Olympics, and two years later won gold at the Empire Games in Canada. He was…
Sport General | Age (The)
4 May 2003
NZ trainer Katrina Alexander shocked bookmakers and delighted racing fans when her “lightly raced” mare Honor Babe won the $800,000 Sydney Cup. The Matamata-based mother of two – who describes herself as “falling into racing by accident”…
Sport General | Australian (The)
2 May 2003
The Auckland-based team set to compete in Australia’s National Basketball League has been christened the New Zealand Breakers, after consultations with players and public. According to Tall Blacks star Pero Cameron – who has been lured…
Obituaries | Age (The)
30 April 2003
Rally champion Peter “Possum” Bourne, who died April 30th (aged 47), has been praised as “a humble man with rare ability, a relentless competitor who inspired a new generation of drivers.” “The most successful rally driver in…
Cricket | Star (The)
26 April 2003
A testament to leading by example, Black Caps captain Stephen Fleming hit a career-best 274 not out in the first Test against Sri Lanka. Fleming’s total is the second highest test score ever made by a…
Watersports | Foster's World Masters Surf Titles
20 April 2003
The inaugural Foster’s World Masters Surf Titles were held in Taranaki over Easter weekend, attracting over 450 local and international competitors. The International Surfing Association-sanctioned event was open to any rider over 35. Says organiser Wayne Arthur; “What’s…
Rugby | Rugby Heaven
17 April 2003
A bid by the NZRFU to make “All Blacks” a registered trademark has been called into question after the discovery of a Welsh team playing under the same name. The Welsh club Neath has been known…
Rugby | Rugby Heaven
28 March 2003
Paddy O’Brien became New Zealand’s most capped referee in Test rugby after officiating at the Six Nations game between Wales and France in Paris. The match marked O’Brien’s 27th Test and 181st first class game. O’Brien:…
Sport General | USA Today
24 March 2003
Aucklander Kirk Penney is one of the brightest stars on the American college basketball circuit. Penney captains and is the highest point-scorer for the Wisconsin Badgers, a team he has lead into the top 16. A…
Sport General | Age (The)
9 March 2003
16-year-old New Zealander Chris Pither came second in the Formula Ford Track Attack at Albert Park, Melbourne. Pither has been racing since the age of seven, and already has three national karts titles to his credit….
America’s Cup | Australian (The)
6 March 2003
The NZ government has pledged $5.14 million in an effort to win back the America’s Cup. Says America’s Cup Minister Trevor Mallard; “This new funding will allow Team New Zealand to start the process of re-signing…
Sport General | Australian (The)
6 March 2003
A NZ team is to join Australia’s National Basketball League next year, in a move sure to raise the sport’s profile even higher in this country. The Auckland-based franchise is yet to announce its name and…
Sport General | Age (The)
5 March 2003
Kirstin Daly has been made the first woman in Australasia to coach a men’s basketball team at national level. The former NZ women’s captain is to take the helm at Hawke’s Bay. Says club management; “[The…
Sport General | Australian (The)
4 March 2003
NZ’s Carol Owens has taken over as women’s squash world No.1 after the retirement of Australia’s Sarah Fitzgerald. The Women’s International Squash Players’ Association announced the new rankings after Owen’s win at February’s Arader & O’Rourke Tournament…
Motorsports | Australian (The)
3 March 2003
22-year-old Scott Dixon blitzed the field at the opening Indy 300 in Florida, making him the just the third competitor ever to win an IRL race on his season debut. Said Dixon of his second Indy-car…
America’s Cup | Times (The)
2 March 2003
The victorious Alinghi campaign was described by Larry Ellison, head of Oracle as, “a fine Swiss watch with a few Kiwi parts”, none more influential than helmsman Russell Coutts. The win establishing him as one of the…
America’s Cup | CNN Sports Illustrated
2 March 2003
… off to Switerland. Team New Zealand, led by Dean Barker and defending the Cup for the second time, were eventually beaten 5-0 by the Swiss syndicate Alinghi, led by Kiwis, skipper Russell Coutts and tactician Brad Butterworth.
Golf | New York Times (The)
26 February 2003
Kiwi golfer Phil Tataurangi brought an abrupt end to Ernie Els winning streak, knocking the South African star out of the Accenture Match Play Championship with a 25-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole. The Championship pairs…
Sport General | CNN News
17 February 2003
Sir Edmund Hillary is celebrating the 50th anniversary of his Everest climb with a round of fundraising for The Himalaya Trust. “When I look back over my life, I have little doubt that the most worthwhile…
Sport General | Australian (The)
17 February 2003
NZ’s Carol Owens has won her sixth Kuala Lumpur Open Squash Championship, taking her world title count to an impressive 21. Owens crushed Australian rival Natalie Grinham 9-3 9-0 9-2 in the women’s final in Malaysia.
Rugby | Belfast Telegraph
14 February 2003
“Kirwan’s crew a cut above”. All Black legend John Kirwan has been reincarnated as the golden boy of Italian rugby after coaching the game’s “perennial whipping-boys” to their second ever Six Nations victory, and first against Wales….
Golf | Star (The)
13 February 2003
Steve Williams – the NZ-born caddie to Tiger Woods – is gaining sponsorship recognition in his own right. The race car driver has just signed a lucrative deal with Valvoline, whose logo he will wear while…
Rugby | Age (The)
11 February 2003
Former All Blacks captain, David Kirk, has been appointed chief executive of troubled Australian publishing company PMP. Chairman Graham Reaney believes the ex-Rhodes scholar and governmental advisor has what it takes to turn PMP’s fortunes around: “He…
Rugby | Bangkok Post | NZ Rugby Sevens
9 February 2003
NZ’s rugby sevens team delighted a 32,000-strong crowd in Wellington, beating England 38-26 to win their first home series in four years. NZ now lead the 11-leg International Sevens series with 68 points, followed by Fiji and…
Cricket | Star (The) | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
8 February 2003
Stephen Fleming will come out looking good no matter where NZ places in this year’s Cricket World Cup. So says Johannesburg’s The Star, which included the Black Caps’ captain in their official “World Hunks XI.” “One…
Sport General | Mlive.com
26 January 2003
NZ athlete Nick Willis continues to run rings around his American college-mates. The University of Michigan student clocked the nation’s fastest 3,000m time for the year to date at January’s Red Simmons Invitational. Ironically, it was Willis’…
Rugby | Guardian (The)
25 January 2003
Former All Black captain Ian Kirkpatrick was a guest of honour at the 30th anniversary of 1973’s legendary NZ vs. Barbarians match. Dubbed “rugby’s Mona Lisa,” the Barbarians’ victory is viewed by many as the most thrilling…
America’s Cup | CNN News
21 January 2003
Team New Zealand will face the Swiss challenge Alinghi in the America’s Cup finals in February, setting up a match up between Alinghi skipper Russell Coutts and his understudy when he was at the helm of…
Golf | Age (The)
20 January 2003
Dunedin golfer Mahal Pearce has registered on the international radar after a close win at January’s NZ Open. Pearce – already dubbed “the man with the million-dollar swing” – finished just two strokes ahead of Brett Rumford….
Cricket | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
17 January 2003
New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming played the “innings of his career when his team most needed it”, scoring 133 not out, to lead the Black Caps to a comprehensive 9 wicket win over hosts South Africa…
Watersports | Fox News
1 January 2003
Kevin Biggar and Jamie Fitzgerald of Team Holiday Shoppe won the epic Woodvale Atlantic Rowing Race from the Canary Islands to Barbados in record time, despite their boat being capsized 40 hours into the event. The pair’s…
Golf | Detroit Free Press
29 December 2002
“Spectacularly gorgeous NZ a bargain for golfers” (Detroit Free Press). Golf-mad travel writer scours the length of the country for the best greens available – from the golden beaches of Kauri Cliffs to mountain views at Lake…
America’s Cup | Washington Post
27 December 2002
“They have lured away many of NZ’s best sailing minds and talents in the quest for the Cup, but they are all still chasing one Kiwi who did not budge and whose mind and talents may…
Rugby | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
20 December 2002
In a rare coup for a Kiwi, Warrior Stacey Jones has been awarded rugby league’s top honour: the Golden Boot. The trophy represents the sports media’s pick for best player in the world. Andrew Johns, Golden Boot…
America’s Cup | Sports Illustrated
5 December 2002
Uncooperative wind and weather has made for a rather patchy America’s Cup series so far. Luckily, viewer-distraction has been provided in the form of feuding billionaires. Sports Illustrated: “Yachting has never been a sport for the masses, but…
Rugby | Business Day
1 December 2002
A “ferocious all-around display” saw NZ win the first leg of the International Rugby Board World Sevens Series in Dubai. NZ defeated Samoa 36-0 to take their fourth straight victory in the event. The same form didn’t…
Rugby | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
30 November 2002
SMH enlists an outside view on recent Wallabies’ performances from All Black legend Grant Fox. The verdict? Not good: “There doesn’t appear to be a lot of blooding of new talent going on at the moment,…
America’s Cup | USA Today
22 November 2002
USA Today ponders Kiwi dominance of the America’s Cup. “No matter that the boats will fly the flags of Switzerland and the United States. The men at the helm are Kiwis, New Zealanders, “mates.” Kiwis are…