Latest - Rowing great Mahe Drysdale has suffered another loss to rival Robbie Manson.
Manson has won the national single sculls race-off on Lake Karapiro which should confirm Manson in the seat at this year's World Cups and world championships.
Drysdale also lost out Manson at the national champs single sculls final last month where he was nearly three seconds off the pace.
Mahe Drysdale (lelt) , Robbie Manson (centre) and Jordan Parry on the podium after the men's single scull at the national champs in February. Photo: Photosport
Despite the latest result meaning Drysdale, a two time Olympic gold medallist, won't get to compete in the single scull he could be considered for other crew boats.
PRPA encouraged by World Rugby response
The chief executive of the Pacific Rugby Players Association is encouraged by what he says is a massive turnaround by World Rugby officials about the proposed new World League.
Pacific Nations may yet get a look in, in the new World League Photo: Facebook/Georgian Rugby
World Rugby boss Brett Gosper says there is "no question of closing out" Pacific teams from the competition and participation would be judged by on-field success alone, while chairman Bill Beaumont has said no decisions have been made.
That comes after revelations the league would include no Pacific teams, with no promotion-relegation, and Pacific Rugby Players Association CEO Aayden Clarke says it's positive to hear Gosper's comments.
World Rugby chair Sir Bill Beaumont has called an emergency meeting for later this month to discuss the future of the game.
All Blacks skipper still some way off Crusaders return
All Blacks captain Kieran Read is not expected to make his first Super Rugby appearance for the Crusaders for another three weeks.
Read and fellow All Blacks forward Sam Whitelock had already been granted an extended break, which will keep them out of the first four weeks of the competition, with an eye to keeping them fresh for the Rugby World Cup in Japan later this year.
All Blacks skipper Kieran Read is still a few weeks away from Super rugby. Photo: Photosport
All Blacks hooker Codie Taylor had also been kept in cotton wool for the first three weeks of Super Rugby, although none have really been required with the Crusaders unbeaten after the first three weeks.
-AAP
Pulse only unbeaten side after two rounds
The Central Pulse are now the only undefeated netball team in the ANZ Premiership, but it wasn't without a tough defensive battle in their 43-37 win against the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic in Rotorua last night.
With both sides boasting Silver Ferns defensive combinations, the attacking game of both teams seemingly cancelled each other out in the lowest scoring match of the competition so far.
The Pulse have won both their opening matches of the season. Photo: Photosport
Shakeup for NRL playoffs proposed
The National Rugby League is considering the introduction of a wildcard weekend from 2020 which would see 10 teams advance from the competition's regular season.
Under the proposal, the seventh placed team would play 10th and eighth would face ninth, with the winners joining the top-six in the current finals system the following week.
The move would be the biggest change to the finals since the top-eight system was introduced in the 1990s, and would be used to combat dead rubbers at the end of the season.
Cricket back in Asian Games
Cricket will return to the next Asian Games at Hangzhou, China, in 2022 after the Olympic Council of Asia added it to its sports programme for the next edition of the continental event.
Cricket has struggled to grow beyond its traditional bases and was last played at the Olympics in the 1900 Paris Games.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has been pushing for the game's Olympic return with the shortest 20-over format and hopes it'll find a place at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
The ICC has also submitted a bid for the inclusion of women's Twenty20 in the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Cricket made its maiden appearance in the Commonwealth Games in 1998 when the South African men's team won the gold medal in Kuala Lumpur but it has not featured since.
-AAP