Weekend Sport with Jason Pine

Jason Pine, standing in for Martin Devlin talks to former All White and Premier League defender Ryan Nelson about his journey through football and in particular, that Football World Cup campaign in South Africa in 2010.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The change in Sarpreet Singh is obvious straight away.When the precociously talented youngster first started making waves in the Wellington Phoenix reserve team and then the A-League, facing the media was a long way down his list of favourite things.The answers were often shorter than the questions posed to him as the shy, likeable teen searched for the words to articulate his sudden rise.Now, speaking from Bayern Munich's training base where he's holed up during Covid-19, Singh speaks eloquently about his meteoric footballing rise, life as a professional at one of Europe's biggest clubs and his hopes for the future.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jason Pine, standing in for Martin Devlin has a chat to Greg Feek, the new All Blacks scrum coach for the first time on the show. Had some nice insights into how he felt when he first got picked for the All Blacks in the late 1990's.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jason Pine, standing in for Martin Devlin chats to Black Caps fast bowler Tim Southee on the back of being recognised as the Player's Player of the Year award by the NZ Cricket Players Association.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jason Pine, stepping in for Martin Devlin chats to 2GB Broadcaster and Rugby League commentator Mark Levy about the NRL's latest decision to get the competition underway by May 28th and the stoush between the NRL and the Free-to-Air Broadcaster Channel Nine.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Martin Devlin chats to former Black Caps captain Mark Burgess, on the eve of his book "Talent to Burn" being released. Mark captained New Zealand for 10 tests, and happened to be captain when New Zealand first beat England back in 1978 at the Basin Reserve in Wellington.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Martin Devlin chats to Wales Rugby coach Wayne Pivac, who New Zealand rugby fans will know well from his time coaching Auckland in his earlier years.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The DRS, with Martin Devlin on Newstalk ZB on Saturday's and Sundays from 12pm until 3pm, compacted into a podcast for Sunday 5th April.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Martin Devlin chats to Kiwi Double Gold medallist Lisa Carrington on the DRS, on how her mind set changes given the Olympics are now over a year away rather than 3 months.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The DRS, with Martin Devlin on Saturday's and Sunday's from 12pm til 3pm on Newstalk ZB, compacted into a podcast for Saturday 4th April.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Martin Devlin chats to Ben Turner, the producer of the popular netflix series Sunderland til I die ahead of the 2nd season of the show being released in New Zealand.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Martin Devlin chats to NZ Rugby CEO Mark Robinson for the first time on the show, having a good yak about what the future of Rugby in New Zealand could look like on the back of the corona virus.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Martin Devlin talks Golf with Craig Heatley, the founder of SKY TV and the first New Zealander to be a member of Augusta National Golf Club.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Martin Devlin chats to Craig Heatley, the original founder of SKY TV and the first New Zealander to be a member of Augusta National.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The DRS on Newstalk ZB and Radio Sport from 12pm until 3pm on Saturday's and Sunday's, compacted into a podcast for Sunday 29th March.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After All Blacks coach Ian Foster confirmed his staff had agreed to take pay cuts, players are now working with New Zealand Rugby on reducing their salaries.Speaking to Martin Devlin, All Blacks and Blues first five-eighth Beauden Barrett confirmed cuts to players' wages were in the works."We're going through that at the moment," Barrett said. "As an employee of New Zealand Rugby, we're all facing some tough times and we're all in this together. We've seen some of our colleagues and friends have had to take a few cuts already."As players we're working through that with Rob Nichol and the Players' Association. That will come out in due course, but yes we will be (taking cuts) at some stage."There have been no games being played since Super Rugby went on hiatus on March 15 due to the worldwide coronavirus pandemic. A number of players have been open in their willingness to take a pay cut to help support the game through a tough and uncertain economic period, including All Blacks stars Dane Coles and Jack Goodhue.Barrett said while how much of a cut the players will take isn't necessarily something the public needs to know, he understood why people wanted to know."That's the world we live in. Being professional athletes, everyone feels like they're invested in what we do and I guess that's why we have such good fans and there's such great interest in our sport."If and when the time comes and we get all the right numbers together we'll be happy to say what numbers, what the pay cut is going to look like. I think it's normal to expect that."Like many sportspeople around the country, Barrett, who last played a competitive game of rugby in the All Blacks' Rugby World Cup bronze medal match against Wales last October, has settled into working out in isolation with New Zealand in lockdown.The 28-year-old had been officially back in training with the Blues for a week before the competition was brought to a hold, with his debut expected to be midway through the season."My feet were really itching by then but then this happened so I've sort of just had to unwind again and sit back. You can't control what's going on at the moment, but you can certainly control the way you approach it from a mental point of view and look at finding productive ways to get through your days."The responsibility is ours to stay fit, stay ready, and I guess stay motivated and enthused about it. It's obviously a challenging time but we're used to that as players and we're trying to do everything we can. The unions and the franchises are working hard on coming up with all kinds of scenarios."When we get the green light we're ready to go, and whoever has maximised this opportunity will be in a better position."Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory websiteSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

NRL players have come crashing back to reality as they scour the job market after coronavirus brought the season to a halt.League bosses suspended this year's campaign after two rounds, following the lead of sports competitions around the world who have been forced to hit pause.The NRL has said June is the earliest the season can resume, but if it can't get going again by September 1, then it will likely be called off for good.Players are facing mammoth pay cuts as the game tries to cope with the catastrophic financial fallout of being on hiatus, leading some to try and find jobs away from the footy field.Roosters coach Trent Robinson told Triple M some of his troops are "looking for jobs", including forward Victor Radley, who is "back on the tools"."Some of them have been going out, some are on the tools already Friday morning before they came in and saw us to pick up some gear," Robinson said."Plumber, builder, yeah there are a lot of jobs that have been thrown out by the guys."They're still continuing to look for some."They know that they are going to have their time to train but after that they are starting to look to get back into some of their trades."(Victor Radley) will be listening, he's on the tools."Brisbane prop Thomas Flegler is adjusting to life away from the bright lights of the NRL. On a deal worth $200,000 a year, the 20-year-old is now earning $24.60 an hour as a banana farmer, as reported by the Courier Mail .The Broncos squad has been told to take a month's annual leave and Flegler has wasted no time heading to his family's farm in Tully in the far north of sunshine state. "I can't really do much in Brisbane so I decided I would get home to see my family and try and make some money while we aren't playing," Flegler told The Sunday Mail."I start work on Monday. I'm on the minimum wage. Dad said you are only a beginner, so you aren't worth more than the award wage."Elsewhere, Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy, chief executive Dave Donaghy and the Storm football department will take 50 per cent pay cuts to help the club through the coronavirus pandemic shutdown.While Storm CEO Donaghy spoke this week of his belief the club would be able to ride through the competition postponement, it is not immune. Donaghy confirmed on Saturday the Melbourne club had been forced to stand down about 20 members of staff, with a number coming from the football department.NRL TO PRESENT RESCUE PACKAGEThe NRL will present a revised payment schedule for players and clubs on Monday, with the viability of State of Origin and cuts to match payments to follow once the first level of certainty is achieved.At a meeting with all 16 clubs, ARLC chairman Peter V'landys will present his plan to slash costs from NRL headquarters in a move expected to hand players an additional $7 million for this year.The Rugby League Players' Association has been negotiating with the NRL for wage cuts to keep the game alive through the toughest financial challenge it has ever faced.A model for an 87 per cent drop in wages for the coming months due to the coronavirus suspension has already been presented, based on a worst-case scenario.However, the rescue package to be presented by V'landys at Monday's meeting is set to take the original offer of $12.4 million for players for the rest of the season up to around $20 million.Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory websiteSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Martin Devlin talks to Australian cricket legend Michael Hussey. Just a great cricketing yak with one of cricket's good guys.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The DRS, with Martin Devlin on Newstalk ZB and Radio Sport on Saturday's and Sundays compacted into a Podcast for the 28th March, 2020.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A tribute to New Zealand, and the New Zealand National Anthem during this Pandemic on the Devlin Radio Show, with Martin Devlin.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All Blacks head coach Ian Foster has confirmed he will be taking a pay cut as New Zealand Rugby looks to limit its costs during a time of uncertainty.In an attempt to counter the enconomic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, sporting bodies around the world have begun to cut costs and player salaries. Now, NZ Rugby is following suit.Speaking to Newstalk ZB's Martin Devlin, Foster said he's agreed to a pay cut - saying there had been great leadership shown by NZ Rugby during the crisis and that players were also willing to take pay cuts."Our coaching group has definitely taken a big cut," Foster added.The confirmation of his salary being cut comes after many players have spoken openly about being willing to take a pay cut for the good of the game, including Hurricanes and All Blacks hooker Dane Coles."That's totally understandable considering what's going on in New Zealand," Coles told Radio Sport's D'Arcy Waldegrave earlier in the week."Rugby players in New Zealand might have to prepare for that but that's just my opinion. You don't want New Zealand Rugby to go under, it would be a bad thing. So hopefully the rugby players around New Zealand can do their part."After what's come out I don't think we'll be getting together again too soon. Which is fair enough. At the end of the day it's just rugby and there's more to life at the moment to worry about, so we'll just take it as it comes."English rugby has already been hit by pay cuts, with national team coach Eddie Jones agreeing to a 25 per cent reduction in his salary, while six Premiership rugby sides have also agreed to take 25 per cent pay cuts.Football players from German clubs Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund have also agreed to take pay cuts, with a 20 per cent reduction in salary, while the NRL will reportedly ask its players to cop a mammoth 87 per cent pay cut while the competition is in lockdown.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sally Jenkins joins Miles Davies to discuss her column for The Washington Post. Call the Olympics off. It's time. The Tokyo Games cannot possibly go forward without jeopardizing people all around the world, and every day that International Olympic Committee officials hesitate, they contribute to the crisis and the imminent collapse of medical systems. A hard shutdown is the responsible thing to do, and anything less is negligent, maybe even lethally so.The models and projections are clear, and the reality on the ground is brutal, from Italy to Iran to Seattle to New York. An emergency room doctor in a large hospital in the Washington, D.C.-region, an old friend, tells me that without widespread, immediate and dramatic stay-at-home measures, coronavirus could "make the Spanish Flu look like a party." She hasn't seen her daughter in a week or her elderly father in two, and every night as she disinfects herself, she worries about colleagues in harder-hit regions who are trying to bleach and reuse protective gear meant for single use, their masks and gowns and goggles, because their supplies are already running out.I tell her that Thomas Bach, the IOC president, insists the Olympics should go forward because they are a "beacon of hope." She says, "That's beyond nonsense. The IOC should be sending a warning signal, not a beacon."Bach and other officials continue to intone that it's too early to cancel or postpone because everything might be fine by July. United States Olympic and Paralympic committee chair Susanne Lyons said in a teleconference on Friday, "We don't have to make a decision. Our Games are not next week, or two weeks from now. They're four months from now. And I think a lot may change in that time period."Wrong. They do need to make a decision - and make it now. The entire world is behind on this disease, lagging. Have they not been listening to Dr. Anthony Fauci? We don't have time. We don't have time for the IOC's hemming platitudes, and the USOPC's vague blather.Do the basic math. Things are accelerating. Cases in New York are doubling overnight. There were 245,000 cases worldwide as of Friday, and while it took three months to count the first 100,000 infections, it took just 12 days to reach the 200,000 mark. Hong Kong has reported its single biggest jump in cases to date, apparently because people are still traveling. Get it? The disease is speeding up because we aren't shutting down fast enough.We don't have time for athletes to keep training, or meeting with coaches, risking infection or becoming asymptomatic spreaders. We don't have time for women's soccer players to go to events like the one in Dallas on March 11 that may have exposed them. After which, they traveled and congregated in pro league training camps, like the Washington Spirit, which flew to West Palm just last week.The name of the game is to buy a little time - just a little time - so that hospitals can prepare and supply, or resupply or repurpose. And the way to do that is with shutdowns and social distances. So that hospitals will not become quite so crushed four months from now, and fewer patients will be sentenced to death for lack of beds and ventilators, or caregivers become sick because they lack protective gear. So that other regions don't experience what's happening in northern Italy, where Dr. Marcello Natali died just a day ago, after warning that medics had run out of latex gloves. A total of 110 doctors out of 600 in the province of Bergamo are apparently sick. "We're acting like we have time and we don't," my doctor friend says.Shut the Games down and shut them down now.The IOC and its partner USOPC are critical messengers with tremendous reach and potential for good - or bad. Messaging matters. When the NBA promptly suspended its season because of Rudy Gobert's positive test, the audience finally understood the infection threat from a handshake, or a shoulder bump, was...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Miles Davis, standing in for Martin Devlin chats to Les Mills CEO Phillip Mills about how the gym industry has been affected by Covid-19 and what they're trying to do to minimise its impacts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Miles Davis, standing in for Martin Devlin and Thomas dissect 5 separate sporting interviews, 60 seconds on each. When the buzzer goes, so do they on to the next one.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Miles Davis, filling in for Martin Devlin chats to 2GB broadcaster out of Australia James Willis about everything that's happening in regards to sport on that side of the tasman at this strange time.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Miles Davis, standing in for Martin Devlin and Thomas dissect 5 separate sporting topics, 60 seconds on each. When the buzzer goes, so do they on to the next one.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Martin and Thomas dissect 5 separate sporting topics, 60 seconds on each. When the buzzer goes, so do they on to the next one.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Devlin Radio Show on Newstalk ZB and Radio Sport on Saturday's and Sunday's, compacted into a podcast for Sunday 15th March, 2020.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The future of this year's Super Rugby competition hangs by a thread following Sanzaar's announcement this morning to suspend games for "the foreseeable future" due to the coronavirus outbreak.Sanzaar chairman Brent Impey said it was too premature to talk about other options for the remainder of the season, but they will be discussed in the coming days.Impey said suspending the competition was the only decision to make, considering the circumstances after the New Zealand Government declared that every person arriving in the country would need to self-isolate for 14 days in order to prevent the spread of the virus."The first priority is safety," Impey told Jim Kayes on Radio Sport. "The safety of our players, referees and fans so that's what we focused on. In the time frames we've had, considering alternatives wasn't really an option. If you take two of our teams for example, the Crusaders we can get back today from the Gold Coast, they can get through, but the Highlanders on the other hand – their match with the Jaguares got cancelled and they cannot get back before the deadline tonight. So the Highlanders fall within the Government's isolation requirements.There are 10 weeks to go in the competition, but Impey said it would unrealistic to expect answers about the future within the next 48 hours."The whole ecosystem – broadcasters, stakeholders, sponsors – needs to be managed fairly carefully. It's an absolute priority we're just not in a position to give answers."Impey said the Sanzaar team had been working round the clock over the past 24 hours to sort the logistics of the unfolding nightmare scenario."Our broadcasters are our partners in this," Impey said. "New Zealand Rugby will be meeting with Sky very early in the coming week as we consider alternatives, but there are provisions in these broadcasting contracts when events such as this happen and we need to work through the ramifications and come up with alternatives."The primary responsibility is to mitigate the damage and that's what we'll be trying to do. Sky is a vital partner of ours and so that will happen in the next few hours. But this isn't just broadcasting and rugby. If you're in the horticulture industry, or the logging industry, or tourism, everyone is impacted. We're just dealing with a very narrow side of it here."This goes to the heart of everything. Yes rugby is important, Super Rugby is important, but health and safety is more important."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Warriors boss Cameron George has confirmed the NRL squad will remain in Australia this week following the new travel restrictions imposed by the New Zealand government in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.Players and staff were scheduled to arrive home this afternoon after last night's opening-round loss to the Newcastle Knights in Newcastle.They would have returned in time to avoid the compulsory two-week self-isolation period which comes into effect from midnight for all people arriving in New Zealand."However, with the travelling restrictions coming into place, returning to New Zealand would effectively remove us from the competition," said George, who is flying back to Auckland today."We had extensive meetings with (NRL CEO) Todd Greenberg, the Rugby League Players' Association and our players and staff until late last night to consider all our options."There is a lot of take into account, not least the impact on families back home as well as our members, fans, sponsors and other stakeholders."Ultimately we have reached a decision for the team to stay in Australia for the coming week. They'll be based on the Gold Coast and will play Canberra next weekend, probably at Cbus Super Stadium."The landscape is changing so rapidly, though, and together with the NRL we'll monitor the situation on a daily basis."George said the club would work through the impact of the decision with sponsors, fans and all other parties the Vodafone Warriors have partnerships with.The Australian Rugby League Commission met on Saturday night to discuss the developing situation.There have been suggestions all games could be played at one venue, or possibly three hubs, in Australia."It's a challenge but we will get through," said CEO Cameron George, in the press conference following the 20-0 loss to the Knights in Newcastle."After the day we have had today, it's another thing we have to get through, led by Stephen [Kearney, Warriors head coach]. We have a great leadership group and what happens will happen.""We have had unique challenges to deal with in the past and this is another one. But it's onwards and upwards to round two, wherever that will be."[There are] so many possibilities. All I know is that the guys are briefed, the partners and wives are briefed and we have to do our best as a club to remain together and take on round two when it comes."Kearney admitted most of the playing group struggled to initially process the news and agreed it created an unprecedented situation, but also expressed confidence they could get through."We need to make sure that we crack on with what's important for us," said Kearney. "If we have to stay here and prepare then that is what we have to do. It's another challenge that we will have to endure and work our way through.""It's something that obviously hasn't happened before so I'm not quite sure how we navigate our way through it just yet - but I am sure we will find a way."George said the club was advised just before kickoff (5pm NZT) of the new restrictions.He immediately emailed the wives, partners and families of the players to inform them of the developments and the implications."I reiterated to the partners that this is not the club's preferred position but we have a responsibility to keep things on track. We are also very focused on getting the best outcome for the players and their families [and there are] some players with very young children, just born in recent weeks."The players were then briefed by George in the dressing room, soon after they came off the field following their 20-0 loss to the Knights.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australian former professional rugby league player, Nathan Hindmarsh spoke to Martin Devlin about the upcoming NRL season.The NRL has banned fans from the second round of matches and could consider other radical measures as it battles to come to grips with the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the league.NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg confirmed the spectator ban last night, saying the league would consider a range of options over the weekend - including a complete season shutdown - as the rapidly evolving coronavirus takes hold of world sport.Australian media have also reported that all second round matches could be held at the same venue.Greenberg's comments follow Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison's banning of organised events with an audience of more than 500 people.The first round of NRL matches are expected to go ahead as planned with the Warriors taking on the Newcastle Knights in their season-opener Downunder on Saturday.In a media conference, Greenberg said the NRL would be guided on a way forward by the Australian government."We've listened to the authorities who are in a far better position than we are. If the government gave us advice today to close the stadiums down we would have. The measures they're putting together are precautionary measures," Greenberg said."We're going to do everything we can to protect players from the disease. If that means a club can't play a game in the competition or be stood down for the round we'll do that."Greenberg said the league was expecting the ban to have a significant financial impact on clubs but pledged his support."It's going to have significant financial impacts on all 16 clubs and the game. We're in unprecedented times. If they're in financial difficulty we'll keep them afloat. We'll get through this together."We're going to work through the next week and work out the impact for clubs. These are significants amounts of money for clubs over the course of the year."All 16 clubs are in the same position and listening to the same advice and getting into an alignment for this weekend's games," he said."If something changes we'll pivot and assess it accordingly. The good part about State of Origin is it doesn't start for a couple of months. Hopefully it changes. If we make changes now we might get the benefit of that in a month's time."The decision to ban spectators from attending games could have interesting consequences for the Warriors - with Stephen Kearney's team set to take on the Canberra Raiders at Eden Park next Saturday in the first match of a cross-code 'double header' with the Blues facing the Brumbies immediately after.Sanzaar announced yesterday that this weekend's round f Super Rugby fixtures would go ahead as planned, with only the clash between the Highlanders and Jaguares in Buenos Aires to be played behind closed doors.Rugby bosses were expected to be locked in meetings last night to discuss the impact of Covid-19 on all future Super Rugby matches in New Zealand, following the cancellation or postponement of major events in the country, including Auckland's Pasifika Festival and surfing contest Piha Pro.NZ Rugby chair Brent Impey told BusinessDesk that no domestic games are cancelled at this stage, but said the four heads of the Sanzaar countries would meet "to secure further updates".See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australian former professional rugby league player, Nathan Hindmarsh spoke to Martin Devlin about the upcoming NRL season.The NRL has banned fans from the second round of matches and could consider other radical measures as it battles to come to grips with the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the league.NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg confirmed the spectator ban last night, saying the league would consider a range of options over the weekend - including a complete season shutdown - as the rapidly evolving coronavirus takes hold of world sport.Australian media have also reported that all second round matches could be held at the same venue.Greenberg's comments follow Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison's banning of organised events with an audience of more than 500 people.The first round of NRL matches are expected to go ahead as planned with the Warriors taking on the Newcastle Knights in their season-opener Downunder on Saturday.In a media conference, Greenberg said the NRL would be guided on a way forward by the Australian government."We've listened to the authorities who are in a far better position than we are. If the government gave us advice today to close the stadiums down we would have. The measures they're putting together are precautionary measures," Greenberg said."We're going to do everything we can to protect players from the disease. If that means a club can't play a game in the competition or be stood down for the round we'll do that."Greenberg said the league was expecting the ban to have a significant financial impact on clubs but pledged his support."It's going to have significant financial impacts on all 16 clubs and the game. We're in unprecedented times. If they're in financial difficulty we'll keep them afloat. We'll get through this together."We're going to work through the next week and work out the impact for clubs. These are significants amounts of money for clubs over the course of the year."All 16 clubs are in the same position and listening to the same advice and getting into an alignment for this weekend's games," he said."If something changes we'll pivot and assess it accordingly. The good part about State of Origin is it doesn't start for a couple of months. Hopefully it changes. If we make changes now we might get the benefit of that in a month's time."The decision to ban spectators from attending games could have interesting consequences for the Warriors - with Stephen Kearney's team set to take on the Canberra Raiders at Eden Park next Saturday in the first match of a cross-code 'double header' with the Blues facing the Brumbies immediately after.Sanzaar announced yesterday that this weekend's round f Super Rugby fixtures would go ahead as planned, with only the clash between the Highlanders and Jaguares in Buenos Aires to be played behind closed doors.Rugby bosses were expected to be locked in meetings last night to discuss the impact of Covid-19 on all future Super Rugby matches in New Zealand, following the cancellation or postponement of major events in the country, including Auckland's Pasifika Festival and surfing contest Piha Pro.NZ Rugby chair Brent Impey told BusinessDesk that no domestic games are cancelled at this stage, but said the four heads of the Sanzaar countries would meet "to secure further updates".See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The voice of New Zealand cricket spoke to Martin Devlin about how the found watching last nights crowd-less cricket."It also makes a point to us that we can still have sport, we can still get our feed of sport it's by way of television or radio, sometimes you just have to live with the fact you cant have crowds at the grounds."Playing in front of an empty Sydney Cricket Ground after fans were banned from attending due to concerns over the coronavirus; the Black Caps crumbled to 187 all out, and a 71-run defeat.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andrew Saville, hosting the DRS in place of Martin Devlin talks to Barry Potter - the Head of Infrastructure for the Auckland council about where the Americas Cup infrastructure is at one year out from the start of the event.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andrew Saville, hosting in place of Martin Devlin has a chat to Warriors CEO Cameron George ahead of the new NRL season starting on the 12th March. The Warriors kick off their campaign away against the Newcastle Knights.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andrew Saville, filling in for Martin Devlin and Thomas dissect 5 seperate sporting topics, 60 seconds on each. When the buzzer goes, so do they on to the next one.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hurricanes prop Tyrel Lomax could only watch from the sidelines as his side disintegrated against the Blues.Lomax was sent from the park in the 47th minute of the 24-15 loss to the Blues in Wellington tonight after flooring Blues centre Rieko Ioane with a shoulder charge that connected with Ioane's head.Lomax, a new recruit for the Hurricanes this season, was going in to make a supporting hit as Ioane was brought down by fellow prop Xavier Numia. However, the execution was poor as Lomax made no attempt to wrap his right arm around Ioane, and he could have no complaints about the colour of the card shown by referee Mike Fraser.He wasn't the only Hurricanes player to be sent from the field, with Vaea Fifita and Jordie Barrett both shown yellow cards – leaving the Hurricanes down to 12 men at one point late in the second half.It made what was already an intriguing match-up more interesting, after the Hurricanes' inability to turn their early dominance into points became a reason for them to sweat down the stretch.Hurricanes Tyrel Lomax is shown a red card. Photo / PhotosportHaving won their last nine games against the Blues, it looked like they were well poised to make it 10. Just two minutes into the contest, Ngani Laumape put winger Ben Lam away in the corner with an offload over the top of the defence to give the hosts an early 5-0 lead.The Hurricanes had almost 90 per cent of the possession in the opening 20 minutes, and despite playing the majority of that time in Blues territory, they couldn't make it count on the scoreboard.After having to defend for the best part of the opening 35 minutes, the Blues found their way through the Hurricanes line through Ioane, who put winger Mark Telea away into space to get deep inside Hurricanes territory. Akira Ioane crashed over soon after, with Otere Black's conversion giving the Blues a surprising lead.That lasted just two minutes, as Barrett kicked a penalty goal to give the Hurricanes a one-point lead at the break.Losing Lomax seven minutes into the half put the Hurricanes under pressure early in the second half, and the Blues took advantage. Telea crossed in the 56th minute and after Black's conversion put them 14-8 up, it seemed like the Blues would kick on with the job.Instead, it was the Hurricanes who scored next, with Kobus van Wyk scoring out wide after a scrum in which fellow winger Lam packed down at flanker.From there, it was all downhill for the hosts. Fifita was shown a yellow card for a no-arms tackle with 12 minutes to go, and was followed to the bin by Barrett six minutes later when he was deemed to have deliberately knocked the ball down.Both bookings resulted in points, with Black kicking a penalty after Fifita's infringement and the referee awarding a penalty try for Barrett's transgression.The latter was the final scoring play of the match, with the Blues claiming their first away win over another Kiwi team in their last 26 attempts.ELSWHERE: The Chiefs hammered the Waratahs in their Super Rugby match in Wollongong.The Waikato side have scored seven tries to one, six of which came in the second half, for a 51-14 victory.The Chiefs now sit top of the New Zealand conference.Meanwhile, the Crusaders managed a scrappy 24-20 win over the Reds in their Super Rugby match in Christchurch.The hosts struggled to limit their errors coming off a bye week.The boot of first-five Richie Mo'unga proved crucial with three conversions and a penalty, while the Reds failed to convert all four of their scores.And it was bad news for the Highlanders after the Bulls produced a stellar second half to beat themin Pretoria.After trailing the visitors 10-5 at halftime, the Bulls scored five second half tries to thrash the southerners 38-13.The Highlanders have now lost four games and sit bottom of the New Zealand conference.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andrew Saville talks to Sir John Kirwan, former Blues coach and now SKY Rugby commentator ahead of the big match in this weeks round of Super Rugby, the Blues versus the Hurricanes in Wellington.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andrew Saville, filling in for Martin Devlin and Thomas dissect 5 separate sporting topics, 60 seconds on each. When the buzzer goes, so do they on to the next.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Devlin Radio Show on Newstalk Zb and Radio Sport on Saturday's and Sunday's, compacted into a podcast for Saturday 29th February.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Martin Devlin chats to Tom Rennie out of Talksport in the UK, and John Anderson, a Watford fan who was at Vicarage Road to watch his side beat Liverpool and end a 422 day unbeaten run in the English Premier League.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Martin Devlin chats to former Black Caps coach Steve Rixon, about the Black Caps and their apparent inability to compete against Australia in Australia.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The DRS, with Martin Devlin on Newstalk ZB and Radio Sport on Saturday's and Sunday's, compacted into a podcast for Sunday 1st March.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For the first time since 2011, the Blues have a winning record through their first five games of the season.But unlike their 2011 campaign, it's been their play away from home that has lifted them from obscurity to looking like a legitimate playoff contender.Their 33-14 win over the Stormers in Cape Town on Sunday morning (NZ time) showed what the side is capable of, dismantling the competition leaders across the park to hand them their first loss of the year.The Blues now hold away wins over the Waratahs, Bulls and Stormers this season, while their two losses have been home defeats at the hands of the Chiefs and Crusaders.Speaking to Radio Sport's Alex Chapman about their opening five rounds, Blues coach Leon MacDonald said the task now was figuring out how to produce the same sort of form they showed in South Africa when they return to New Zealand."If we played like that I think we'd have no trouble winning in New Zealand," MacDonald said. "It's about being consistent. We had our moments against the Chiefs and we didn't quite get it right in the second half."Scoring three tries, the Blues only had one more to their name than the Stormers; however the discipline of the two sides was a major difference as the Blues were able to add 12 points through penalty goals.But while it was a convincing score line, MacDonald said there was plenty of room for his side to improve."We had opportunities down inside their 22 during this game where we didn't execute well enough. We had the chance to finish them off with about 20 minutes to go and we didn't quite nail that."After a two-week visit to South Africa, the Blues now face a prolonged stint in New Zealand for matches against the Hurricanes, Lions and Brumbies, before heading into the bye in week nine. MacDonald was confident if his side kept performing as they were, a win in New Zealand would soon follow."We're showing some growth in a lot of areas. We don't worry about where we're playing, we're just got to turn up every week and perform. The opportunity next week is the Hurricanes and we're going to have to get that right because they're a good team. We've just got to keep playing well and we'll get our win."In other Super Rugby news:The Hurricanes have thumped the Sunwolves 62-15 in their Super Rugby match in Napier.The Wellington-based team fell behind early, before running in 10 tries, with wing Kobus van Wyk scoring a hat-trick.The win is the Hurricanes' third straight.Meanwhile, the Highlanders were exposed in a shock 28-22 Super Rugby loss to the Rebels in Dunedin.After trailing 21-0 halfway through the opening period, the Highlanders threatened to stage a stunning comeback before ultimately crumbling under the presser.The hosts' job made even tougher with two yellow cards in the second half.Meanwhile, major questions surround the state of captain James Lentjes, who was stretchered off the field in the 29th minute with a serious leg injury.The Crusaders and Chiefs had a bye week.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Martin Devlin chats to Kiwi Heavyweight boxer Joseph Parker ahead of his 1st bout in 2020, against American Shawndell Winters in Texas.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Martin Devlin chats to the former England cricketing great Sir Ian Botham, who's currently in the country playing the NZ Golf Open in Queenstown.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The DRS, with Martin Devlin on Newstalk Zb and Radio Sport compacted into a podcast for Sunday 23rd February, 2020.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Martin Devlin chats to Geoff Ogilvy, the Australian golfer who most famously won the 2006 US Open. He's returning to New Zealand for the 101st New Zealand Open in Queenstown next week.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Blues have grabbed victory at the death.First-five Otere Black has kicked an 81st minute penalty to give the Blues a 23-21 win over the Bulls in Pretoria.Just minutes earlier it appeared Auckland side was set for heartbreak after the Bulls scored to take the lead with six minutes remaining.Stephen Perofeta, Mark Telea and Tom Robinson all crossed for tries.The Chiefs, meanwhile, crashed back down to earth.A home crowd was no advantage as they suffered a 26-14 loss to the Brumbies in Hamilton, in what's their first defeat in the 2020 Super Rugby season.Matters made worse with more injury woes for All Black Luke Jacobson.He managed just 11 minutes in his return from ongoing concussion issues after pulling his hamstring.It’s the first time the Brumbies have won in Hamilton since 2007.And it was a convincing win for the Crusaders in Christchurch.The hosts beat the Highlanders 33-13 in their Super Rugby clash at AMI Stadium.David Havili was last to score a try for the Crusaders in the 74th minute with Mitchell Drummond making the conversion.The Hurricanes had a bye weekend. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Martin Devlin chats to Kiwi Supercars driver and 2019 winner Scott McLaughlin ahead of the 2020 Supercars season kicking off in Adelaide today.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.