By Jamie Wall, in Sydney

While he got on the scoresheet for the first time in a while, Rieko Ioane said the the All Blacks’ inability to execute almost cost them in a tense 31-28 Bledisloe Cup win in Sydney. Once again, they failed to score any points in the back end of the game, after leading 21-0 after only 15 minutes.Read how the game unfolded.

“In that second half we got points early, which was a pleasing start. But our discipline let us down and our ability to execute down in their red zone wasn’t up to standard,” said Ioane post-match at Accor Stadium.

The Wallabies did mount a commendable fightback after the three-try All Black blitz, scoring two of their own in the first half and then the only two of the second half. Ioane said the Joe Schmidt-coached Australians “attacked a lot more than the teams we’ve played so far”.

“They’re similar to us in a lot of ways. They want to get some air on the ball and they exposed some errors…a lot of it was our own poor execution.”

Discipline was once again an issue for the All Blacks, after yellow cards played a big part in the two recent losses to the Springboks. This time, they were reduced to 13 men after Caleb Clarke and Anton Lienert-Brown were sinbinned in the last 10 minutes.

during the All Blacks v Australia, Lipovitan-D Rugby Championship test match, Accor Stadium, Sydney, Australia, Saturday, 21 September 2024. (Photo by Mark Evans / action press) Photo: Mark Evans/ActionPress

“Pressure does funny things to you. Boys try so hard; we want to be the ones to get the steal or make the big tackle and it just comes down to what pressure does to us in those moments. Those things are easy fixes, they’re mental and it’s just about working smarter… it’s those little one percenters, it almost cost us,” said Ioane.

Admittedly, the All Blacks did create plenty of opportunities in the second half and even crossed the line twice – only to be fairly denied by the TMO. In all, they manufactured seven scoring situations that should’ve been taken, something Ioane said can be fixed.

“I guess that’s our discipline too, to execute. That’s a skillset thing, which is pleasing, because if it was a game plan or tactical thing then we’d be worried.”

Still, Ioane was happy overall with the result. It means the Bledisloe Cup is once again safe in the All Blacks’ possession for a 22nd straight season, and he said there was a lot to be pleased about with the performance.

The All Blacks win the Bledisloe Cup. Photo: David Neilson/Photosport

“I thought we kicked well…we’ve got the best outsides in the world so the more we can get it wide with our loosies ranging in those wide channels, the better we’re going to be. I thought we did that well tonight…retaining the Bledisloe Cup’s not easy, so we’re happy with that.”

Also putting a smile on the 76-test player’s face was his first half try. Despite sitting high on the all-time All Black try-scoring list, Ioane hadn’t crossed the line this season till he was sent away down the wing by the impressive Cortez Ratima.

“I can still score tries, just saying,” he joked.

“It was a big old drought…but happy we got it done and I’m happy we got the win most importantly.”

By Felix Walton of rnz.co.nz and is republished with permission

New Zealanders may vote on whether to extend political terms to four years at the next election.

Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

At the Bloomberg Address in Auckland Friday, Christopher Luxon said the coalition government planned to propose a referendum for 2026.

Luxon said the idea had cross-party support.

“All three parties in government are fans of the four-year term and actually I think the other opposition parties are as well,” he said.

“We haven’t kicked off that piece of work yet… But that will come onto our radar I imagine fairly shortly.”

Luxon was critical of the current three-year term and said it pushed governments into short-term decision-making.

“New Zealand is a bit of an outlier with Australia for three-year terms… I think if a government isn’t performing after four years you’d kick them out whereas with a three-year term you’re often just getting going and then you’re into an election year again.

“I think we need to think about some of the scaffolding for longer term bipartisan decisions… So that irrespective of which government is in power that work is still carrying on.”

He said it was common for successive governments to scrap their predecessors’ plans and start anew.

“What you’ve seen is simple road extensions get on, off, on, off based on who’s in power, and that’s just dumb.”

Luxon said any decisions about extending political terms would be through a referendum, which could come at the next election.

“That’s in our commitments to each other in our coalition agreement… To actually have a proposal on the table that we can take to the New Zealand people at the next election.”

Coalition partners NZ First and ACT have both called for four-year political terms in the past.

In January, National said it has no position on a four-year term, despite committing to introduce legislation on it and such a move having broad support in Parliament.

Under the coalition agreements, ACT leader David Seymour’s Constitution (Enabling a 4-Year Term) Amendment Bill is set to pass its first reading within the government’s first 15 months.

“I think a lot of people agree that having three years is too short,” Seymour told RNZ then. “We’d get careful, considered lawmaking more often if we had a four-year term.”

Of about 180 countries in the world that had some sort of Parliament, only nine of them worked on a three-year term, Seymour said.

By rnz.co.nz and is republished with permission

The man behind the 2000 coup in Fiji, George Speight, and the head of the mutineers, former soldier Shane Stevens, have been granted presidential pardons.

In a statement yesterday, the Fiji Correction Service said the pair were among seven prisoners who has been granted pardons by the President, Ratu Wiliame Katonivere, after recommendations by the Mercy Commission.

“These pardons were formally granted on 18 September 2024. As a result, the named individuals have been officially discharged from custody today, Thursday, 19 September 2024,” the statement said.

• READ MORE: Other Fiji coup reports

“The Fiji Correction Service and the government remain committed to the principles of justice, rehabilitation, and the rule of law, and the Mercy Commission plays a vital role in ensuring that petitions for clemency are considered carefully, with due regard to the circumstances of each case.”

Speight was serving a life sentence for the charge of treason while Stevens was serving a life sentence for the charge of mutiny.

Also released are Sekina Vosavakatini, Nioni Tagici, James Sanjesh Goundar, Adi Livini Radininausori and John Miller.

Speight sought pardon
In June 2023, Speight had applied for a presidential pardon under a mercy clause, raising the possibility of his release from prison after serving more than 20 years of a lifetime sentence.

Speight’s 2000 coup was the only civilian to raise an armed group to overthrow the government.

In 2002, Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka — who started the coup culture in Fiji with two coups in 1987 — had stated a pardon for Speight would be a catastrophe and could pave the way for more coups.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

By Iliesa Tora, RNZ Pacific and is republished with permission

Mate Ma’a Tonga rugby league coach Kristian Woolf says the team is excited to be able to meet the Kangaroos in Australia for the first time this year.

Mate Ma’a Tonga (file image) Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Tonga will meet the World Cup champions in the opening match of the tournament at Suncorp Stadium on 18 October before travelling to New Zealand to face last year’s Pacific Cup winners at Go Media Stadium on 2 November.

Woolf told NRL News it is exciting and his players will have to write their own stories.

“If we go back only a few years ago, we were always crying out for more opportunities and more meaningful games and the opportunity to play against the bigger nations as well,” Woolf said.

“We’ve only played Australia twice – in New Zealand in 2018 and 2019, and 2018 was the first time ever.

“There’s a couple of real firsts there, being able to play Australia on Australian soil; we haven’t played a Test in Brisbane in my time involved.

“I just know that it’s a big game and to be able to open the tournament, those things make it really exciting for the players.

“There is no bigger challenge and there’s no more exciting challenge for the players than to play the world champions, it’s a great way to start.”

Woolf has just been re-appointed MMT coach for the 11th season.

He and the MMT will now work with the International Rugby League recognised Tonga Rugby League XIII.

The TRLXIII, led by chairman Lord Fakafanua, the Speaker of Tonga’s Parliament, will now oversee the team and the women’s team as well.

While his coaching tenure has seen some highs along the way, especially around the 2017 to 2020 period, the same can not be said of recent results.

In 2019 the Jason Taumalolo-led side claimed a 16-12 victory at Eden Park.

Back then he had players like Taumalolo and Andrew Fifita leading the charge.

But Woolf said that was history and the new players will have to work hard to create their own piece of history.

“It a massive achievement for that group of players at the time and it was just such a big achievement in so many ways – what they did on the field, the way they went about their work,” Woolf said.

“I have great memories of the reception of the players and staff when we went back to Tonga, it was an amazing experience and an amazing thing to be a part of.

“That was in 2019, it’s a long time ago now. We have transitioned a fair bit as a team and a lot of those guys who were at the forefront of that are no longer playing in the NRL and are no longer playing for Tonga.

“But this group who are going to represent Tonga this time are going to get opportunity to write their own story and make their own memories.

(file image) Photo: Photosport Ltd 2019

“I have no doubt Australia will probably reflect on that [loss] and that will add a little bit to the occasion, but it’s going to be two very different teams to what it was in 2019, but the challenge from their point of view is certainly going to be the same.”

Tonga then travel to meet the Kiwis at Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland on November 2.

Woolf said it is a top schedule that will demand his team is at its best.

“We haven’t had too many opportunities since 2019 to play in front of all the Tonga fans and the Tonga people who are around in Australia and New Zealand,” Woolf said.

“I am sure there will be a really big and boisterous crowd at the game in Brisbane as there are a lot of Tongans around the south-east corner and we can’t wait to get back over to Auckland with the sea of red and all the fans.

“I think there will be a big following in Brisbane and there will be plenty of supporters there for both teams … but looking forward to the red.”

A big challenge for the side this year will be winning their matches so that they can retain their spot in the Pacific Cup, instead of being demoted to the Pacific Bowls, as a new promotion relegation series is being implemented this year.

That will see the third placed team from the Cup face the top team from the Bowls competition in Sydney on November 10.

Cup competition teams are Australia, New Zealand and Tonga while in the Bowls the battle will be between Cook Islands, Fiji and Papua New Guinea.

Kristian Wolf (file image) Photo: Screenshot

Pride a motivation

Meanwhile, Woolf said the pride shown by Tongan players has been a motivation for him personally to continue as coach, since he accepted the job in 2014.

“I remember my first involvement, one of the things that made me want to continue being involved was the excitement of what you are seeing, the pride the players had in playing for Tonga and pulling on the Tonga jersey,” he said.

“I guess what made it exciting was the potential you were seeing there as well that just wasn’t being harnessed. It’s great to see what it has become and it’s great to see.

“The fact that all the best Tongan players now want to be part of Tonga above other nations, that is something to be really proud of.”

New coach for women’s team

The Tongan women’s rugby league team are also been given a boost with NRLW premiership winning coach John Strange named to coach the side.

Strange, who coaches Sydney Roosters, guided the club to their inaugural NRLW premiership in the deferred 2021 season and the 2022 minor premiership later that year.

The NRL said Strange, a member of the Māori All Stars coaching staff for the past two seasons, has a passion for international rugby league.

He will now be aiming to steer the Tonga women to RLWC2026 being staged in Australia and Papua Guinea.

The Tongan women’s team will kick off their campaign for a spot at the world cup when they tackle Samoa in Fiji on October 19.

They will also be fighting to win the right to challenge for promotion into the Pacific Cup competition through the new promotion and relegation system.

Women’s teams who will be battling in the Bowls competition this year are Tonga, Samoa, Fiji and the Cook Islands.

The Cup competition will feature Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.

By rnz.co.nz and is republished with permission

Seven Pacific Islands Forum members of the United Nations General Assembly have opposed a Palestinian-drafted resolution that has demanded “Israel brings to an end without delay its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territoryend…within 12-months”.

A member of the security forces walks past an Israeli police station in Sderot after it was damaged during battles to dislodge Hamas militants who were stationed inside, on 8 October 8, 2023. Photo: RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP

The UNGA voted overwhemingly for the resolution, with 124 countries voted in favour of the resolution, including Solomon Islands and the Marshall Islands.

But Fiji, Nauru, the Federated States of Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Palau, Tuvalu and Tonga voted against it.

In total, 14 countries opposed the motion, while 43 abstained, including Australia, Samoa, Kiribati and Vanuatu.

The resolution calls for Israel to comply with international law and withdraw its military forces, immediately cease all new settlement activity, evacuate all settlers from occupied land, and dismantle parts of the separation wall it constructed inside the occupied West Bank, UN said.

Many Pacific nations have been the recipients of development aid from Israel in recent years.

“New Zealand’s yes vote is fundamentally a signal of our strong support for international law and the need for a two-state solution,” Foreign Minister Winston Peters said.

However, Peters said New Zealand held concerns about aspects of the text of resolution.

“This resolution was not perfect, and New Zealand has explained clearly at the United Nations…our reservations with aspects of the text.

“For example, the resolution’s 12-month timeframe for Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Palestinian Territory is frankly unrealistic.

“We are also disappointed that the resolution goes beyond what was envisaged in the advisory opinion in some respects,” he added.

UN General Assembly adopts resolution demanding that Israel brings to an end its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory without delay and within the next 12 months. 19 September 2024 Photo: X / @UN