A CENTURY OF MAGIC

This month New Zealand Maori will celebrate their centenary. LINDSAY KNIGHT looks back on the last 100 years and pays tribute to what has been a critical and vibrant component of the national game.

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BROTHERS IN ARMS

Carl Hayman’s decision not to return to New Zealand was the cause of much dismay. But all is not lost. Owen Franks made a highly encouraging start to his All Black career last year and he has many of the attributes that made Hayman the cornerstone of New Zealand scrums. NZ Rugby World profiles the Canterbury youngster who will not be satisfied until he is the best tight-head prop in the business.

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LEAGUE OF HIS OWN

With two years of rugby behind him, Sonny Bill Williams is finally beginning to get to grips with the 15-man code. But is he good enough to be an All Black and does he even want to give it a try? GREGOR PAUL reports.

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FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
Russia have qualified for the 2011 World Cup and as fate would have it, they will play the USA in a Cold War epic. MICHEL ESTIENNE visited Russia and discovered the world’s biggest country has big plans on the rugby front.   Full Story >>

ELIGIBLE YOUNG MEN
The biggest question New Zealand rugby must ask is whether it is time to open All Black eligibility to those players based offshore. GREGOR PAUL reports.   Full Story >>

HEART OF GOLD

Robbie Fruean has become part of the furniture at the Crusaders, but as DYLAN CLEAVER discovered, the journey there has been far from smooth.

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THE LURE OF HOME
In our February/March issue last year, we carried a feature that speculated on how many of the 2007 World Cup squad would return home in time to challenge for a place in the All Blacks’ 2011 campaign. More than 13 months on, we look at what we said last year and update on movements and have suggested a few other former All Blacks who may yet come into the reckoning for next year’s tournament.   Full Story >>

THE AFTERLIFE
Rugby is all about bigger, faster, stronger. But that is putting intolerable strain on the athletes and there are growing fears about what awaits the top players in retirement.
In the clichéd world of rugby sound-bites, everyone talks about going forward. It’s not like there is any other chronological direction for mankind to consider, but yet, despite the needless use, it’s doubtful that many in the game really do look too far forward.   Full Story >>

A BLUE CRUSADE
THERE IS always a fine line between being brave and being stupid. That’s why some of the Canterbury faithful will insist, probably until their last breath, that Stephen Brett was the latter. There will be times, too, in the course of this season where Brett himself may feel he has made a mistake in joining the Blues.
He’s a Cantabrian by birth, has lived and breathed Christchurch’s smog for all his 24 years and has felt the very fabric of the Crusaders jersey gripping to his heart. Even in the professional age where money is so often the determining factor in where individuals wash up, deleting a lifetime of passion, belief and heritage is not a quick or simple business.    Full Story >>

THE TERMINATOR
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