The All Sport Breakfast

F5000 hits the track this weekend, with the first of four rounds setting off at Mansfield in Fielding. Graeme Lawrence is a former racer in F5000 but still has skin in the game, as his old car is being driven by competitor Anna Collins. Graeme caught up with D'Arcy to preview the event. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The All Blacks are facing the next hurdle in their journey towards a Grand Slam, this weekend at Twickenham. England have struggled against the All Blacks recently, not having defeated them since their 19-7 win at the 2019 World Cup semifinal in Yokohama. Their run against the All Blacks at Twickenham is even worse, with their last home victory occurring in 2012. Chris Ashton is a former English winger who was a try scorer in England's last victory over the All Blacks back home, and he joined D'Arcy to preview the match. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Auckland Hearts are set to get their season of domestic cricket underway with the first round of the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield kicking off today. They're set to take on Otago in the first of ten one day fixtures – a rematch of last year's final. Maddy Green, White Fern and member of the Auckland Hearts will be playing her 100th Hallyburton Johnstone Shield match, and caught up with D'Arcy for a chat about the competition and opening fixture. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Runners in Queenstown are hitting the road this weekend, preparing for the pinnacle running event – the Queenstown Marathon. This year is set to be the biggest rendition of the event to date, with more than 13,000 registered participants across five distances, and nearly 4,000 runners competing in the full-length marathon. One of those competitors is Olympic canoeist Max Brown, who is running as part of a fundraiser for Miracle Feet – he caught up with D'Arcy to preview the event. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This third clash of the All Blacks Northern Tour is kicking off tomorrow morning – arguably the biggest test so far. They're taking on England at their home ground of Twickenham, in front of what's set to be a loud, passionate crowd of over 80,000 fans. The All Blacks will be looking to continue their dominant streak, not having lost to the home side at Twickenham since 2012. Simon Parker is starting at blindside flanker on Sunday morning, and caught up with D'Arcy to preview the test. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yardstick. Barometer. Criterion. Whatever you call it, tomorrow's test match against the most irritating team in world rugby will determine how Scott Robertson's tenure to date will be judged. With no respect whatsoever to the Welsh, the Twickenham bunfight will seal the Grand Slam or leave another dirty smudge in Razor's copybook, which has already attracted a fair amount of filth this year. The phenomenal melt down in Wellington against the Springboks and the Pumas mess will be conveniently overlooked should this season end with Grand Slam success, although imagine rolling the English then getting mugged with a leek the next week. That too would eclipse the South African and Argentine embarrassments, right? The first half of Razor's reign has been punctuated by inconsistency as he has attempted to settle into life in the international arena. His much-referenced armour chink has always been his lack of experience in the rarefied air of global test match confrontations. It's more than fair to say that as sign posted as this issue has been, Robertson has still struggled with direction in this space. He has been conservative with his selections, but he's also given characters a decent shot at retaining their jersey even if they haven't set their matches on fire, Damien McKenzie and Billy Proctor for example. He's also ushered some players out the back door, goodbye Ioane, Sotutu, and Reece, and introduced some potential long-term superheroes in the form of Holland, Parker, Sititi, and Lakai. He's also overseen some truly awful second half stats and his collection of cards would look great at the Armageddon expo, but bloody awful in the sheds. As it stands, his half term report is a B, but knocking on the door of an A-, dependent on the Twickenham exchange.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Hockey Premier League gets underway this weekend, with four sides from across the country taking part in the six round competition. The Central Falcons get their season underway when they take on the Hauraki Mavericks in Napier. D'Arcy spoke with Black Sticks and Falcons striker Hope Ralph to discuss the opening match and the competition as a whole as it enters its second year. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 6th and final round of the 2025 New Zealand Rally Championship goes down this weekend, this time with the Rally of Whangarei. Caleb MacDonald is behind the wheel, and he'll be looking to close out the year by winning his first championship. He caught up with D'Arcy to preview the event and delve into a crash that looked to derail his championship aspirations LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's now the 7th round of the GJ Gardiner Homes Tauihi Womens Basketball competition, and the Northern Kahu have struggled a bit to date, remaining winless. On Sunday they take on the Southern Hoiho at Eventfinda Stadium and will be looking to put on a strong performance and pick up their first win of the season. Haliegh Reinoehl is a Power Forward for the Kahu, and she joined D'Arcy to preview the game as well as chat about her life in New Zealand. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A major game of international rugby league is on the horizon. Tomorrow afternoon the Kiwis and Toa Samoa face off in the grand final of the Pacific Championships in Sydney. After a dominant display over Tonga last weekend, winning 40-14, the Kiwis will look to build on that performance as they take on Samoa again. D'Arcy spoke with Kiwis prop Moses Leota to preview the match. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's New Zealand derby day in the A-League and with both Auckland FC and the Wellington Phoenix sitting unbeaten and in the top 4, its shaping up to be another cracker. Auckland currently hold the bragging rights, having won all three encounters last year, but that adds to the atmosphere as the Phoenix will be looking to spoil the party at home. Sam Cosgrove is a Striker for Auckland FC and he joined D'Arcy to reflect on the season so far and look ahead to the clash tonight. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More derbies. The energy around today's Phoenix v Auckland FC derby points to one thing: the A-League has got it right with the introduction of a second NZ team to their competition. Which begs the question, why aren't there more in other Australian competitions where New Zealand has a stake? The answer, I presume, would be something like “it's an Aussie comp, you're lucky to have one team there, sit down and shut up”. Which is understandable, because it's true – what's in it for Australia? Eyeballs? Jersey sales? Broadcast rights? More sponsorship dollars? Stiffer competition? Basketball and rugby league are plainly the targets here, as both sports already have a Kiwi presence in Aussie leagues – the NBL and the NRL. The Breakers were the gold standard for a while and with the accelerated growth of the game here and the undeniable global reach of the game, this should lean into another franchise in NZ. The NRL is screaming for another New Zealand team. The powers that be over the ditch appear to have zero interest in further expansion though. To say the NRL have little or no respect for NZ league is an understatement. They'd rather set up camp in Papua New Guinea. The federal cash sweetener is the only obvious reason as to why they would, nothing else makes sense. Also, the NRL hate us, and have shown time and time again that lip service is all they are capable of. So it'll never happen, in either league. Big Bash? Netball? Unlikely, but it won't stop me dreaming of a day where the excitement around today's A-League derby is replicated in other sports. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Game two of the All Blacks' Grand Slam tour goes down tomorrow morning as they take on Scotland at Murrayfield. Scotland are looking like a much stronger team this year, led by key playmaker Finn Russell with many thinking they have a chance to beat the All Blacks for the first time in their history. Du'Plessis Kirifi is coming off the bench for the All Blacks and he caught up with D'Arcy to discuss life on tour and preview the match. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

No ifs, buts or maybes. No excuses. No shoulda coulda woulda. Scott Robertson needs to come home from the Northern tour undefeated. 4 zip. Grand Slam in tow. Am I expecting too much? Hell no. This is Razor's mid-term exam. After being awarded a 4 year contract by NZR, an oddity in itself, the faith must be repaid. Repaid to the NZR but most importantly to the fans. Granted, World Cup victory is the ultimate measure of any international rugby team's worth, a multitude of 4-year cycle result sins can be erased with success in one tournament, but NZ rugby fans won't wait that long to taste Razors pudding. The proof of his tenure's success is how tasty the spoonful is at the end of this tour. Soured by only one defeat will leave us all asking questions of the chef. This is a mini–World Cup. The last pool game, then a quarter, a semi and the final. Not that the Welsh will be in the WC final but hey. Short of the locks, this team is the best that the AB's can muster. Their edge has been keenly sharpened on the whetstone of a pulsating and competitive Rugby Championship. They've had a couple of weeks off to breathe and reset, a swag of cavalry has returned and now we wait to see if Robertson has unlocked the door to international coaching success. He's had a couple of years. He's trialled many a player, many a game plan. He's had his share of failures, the much maligned fourth quarter impotence for example, his inability to retain coaching staff, and he oversaw arguably the worst 40 minutes of All Black rugby in recent memory, the horror show in Wellington against the Springboks. So he's been given rope, plenty of rope, what's he going to do with it? Tie himself in knots, fashion a noose, who knows. I do know though, that 4 nil is a necessity for this side and this coach, and no correspondence will be entered into. Scott Robertson needs to come home from the Northern tour undefeated. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The second year of the NextGen NZ Championship gets underway this weekend, after a successful first season of motorsport last summer. The first race weekend of the season goes down at Hampton Downs Raceway. Broc Feeney, the man at the top of the pile in the V8's so far this season is racing at the event and he caught up with D'Arcy to talk about the series. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Kiwis are back in action this weekend in the third round of the Pacific Championships. They are set to take on Tonga at Eden Park on Sunday afternoon. They will be looking to make it two from two in the competition and set up a rematch with Samoa in the final next weekend after beating them 24-18 in round 1, meanwhile Tonga will be looking to bounce back after suffering a disappointing defeat 34-6 against Samoa last weekend. Matt Timoko is starting at centre for the Kiwis and he spoke with D'Arcy about the match. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the massive test match tomorrow morning its only right to hear from the other side of the world in Ireland. Gordon D'Arcy is a former Irish international who played 82 tests between 1999-2015. He also represented the British and Irish lions across two tours. Gordon caught up with D'Arcy to share his thoughts on the match. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This Sunday the Auckland marathon is happening which brings thousands of people from across the country to Auckland for the pinnacle running event. Achilles NZ is an organisation that is working to making all running events accessible for disabled people across the country. They organise regular training for their athletes with a number of them signing up for the marathon this weekend. Maia Lewis is the National Manager of Achilles NZ and she caught up with D'Arcy to discuss the event and how Achilles NZ is getting involved. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Auckland FC picked up their first win of the A-League season in their first hit out at Mt Smart last week when they defeated Western Sydney 1-0. They will look to make that two in a row when they face off against Adelaide United at home once again. Cameron Howieson is a midfielder for Auckland and he spoke with D'Arcy to preview the match. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A big test match looms tomorrow morning. All Blacks vs Ireland, Soldier Field Chicago. The site of the All Blacks first defeat to the men in green 9 years ago. It sparked a tightly contested rivalry between the two sides, with them splitting the last 10 matches at 5 wins a piece. The All Blacks will be looking to get their grand slam started with a win. Leicester Fainga'anuku is coming off the bench for the All Blacks and he caught up with D'Arcy to preview the game. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The first two series for the Black Caps have been troubled with repeated bad weather and cricket fans will be praying it stays away for the 3 ODI's coming up against England over the next week. Adam spoke with G Lane, head of the ACC to preview the ODI's and touch on the cricket scheduling throughout this 'spring' of cricket. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After a 0-0 draw to start their second A-League season Auckland FC return home this weekend as they take on the Western Sydney Wanderers on Saturday afternoon. Louis Verstraete is a midfielder for the Black Knights and he spoke to Adam to preview the clash. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Silver Ferns suffered another heavy defeat on Wednesday night, losing 68-51 to Australia in Sydney. If they are to keep the Constellation Cup they must win the first game in the New Zealand leg of the series in Hamilton on Sunday night. Adam spoke with Silver Fern midcourter Kate Heffernan to preview the third match of the series on Sunday. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This Labour Weekend's Twizel Hard has reached its 40th birthday with three events to choose from across the long weekend, a mountain bike, kayak and off-road run. Dean Nelson is the chairman of the event and he spoke with Adam about what's in store this weekend. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A big motorcross event is happening this weekend with the Hard Adventure Enduro going down in and around Taupo over the long weekend. With 150 riders taking part its setting up to be a thrilling day of motorcross. Sean Clarke is the director of the event and he spoke with Adam to tell us more about the Hard Adventure Enduro. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We have reached the end of the NPC season with a southern derby final going down tonight between Canterbury and Otago. The two form teams of the competition met earlier in the comp, when Otago wrestled the Ranfurly Shield away from the Cantabs and will looking to pull of the upset again. Christian Lio-Willie is the number 8 for Otago and he caught up with Adam to preview the game. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Breakers picked up their second win of the season and clawed their way off the bottom of the ladder last night, defeating the Jack Jumpers however they face a short turn around. They take on Melbourne United over the ditch on Sunday afternoon. Adam spoke with Breakers assistant coach Mario Dugandzic to discuss the win as well as look ahead to Sunday afternoons matchup. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Kiwis international rugby league season gets underway on Sunday afternoon as they are set to take on Samoa at Mount Smart Stadium. Jeremy Marshall-King is a hooker for the Kiwis and he spoke with Adam about his year at the Dolphins, Australia not taking part in the competition as well as previewing the match. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The A-League season for Auckland FC gets underway later tonight as they are set to take on Melbourne Victory in a rematch of last years semi final. Lachlan Brook is one of the newest signings for Auckland FC this season and he caught up with Adam to discuss the upcoming match, why he joined Auckland FC and his aspirations for selection in the Australian side for the upcoming FIFA world cup. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Heartland Championship has reached grand final weekend, with North Otago hosting Horowhenua Kapiti in the Lochore final and Mid Canterbury hosting Thames Valley in the Meads final. Kevin Hare is a Heartland Championship enthusiast, and he spoke with Adam to preview the finals this weekend. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The first half of the NPC grand final equation was solved last night with Otago defeating Bay of Plenty. Their opponent will be decided tonight in the second semi final between Hawkes Bay and Canterbury. Hawkes Bay will be wanting redemption, having made it all the way to the final two seasons ago but falling just short. Tom Parsons is the captain of the Magpies and he spoke with Adam to preview the semi final clash and reflect on the season the team has had. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The next series in the spring of cricket gets underway later tonight, with the Black Caps set to take on England in the first of a 3 match T20I series in Christchurch. Michael Bracewell has relinquished the captaincy for this back to white ball captain Mitch Santner, but still plays an integral role in the side. He caught up with Adam to preview the match. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The NZ Junior Girls Rugby Festival is taking over Wellington this weekend. Organised by Global Games, the event sees 62 teams from across the country travel down to Lower Hutt's Fraser Park for a three-day competition. D'Arcy was joined by the tournament's founder, Tyrone Campbell, to preview the event. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today an epic event hits the Taupo Great Lake Trail. The Taupo Ultramarathon is a sold-out event that takes competitors all around the great lake trail, runners covering anything from 24km all the way up to 100km. Aaron Carter is the organiser of the event, and he caught up with D'Arcy to talk about it. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

They had to work for it, but the White Ferns managed to secure their first victory of the Women's ODI World Cup overnight, beating Bangladesh by 100 runs. Sophie Devine, the hot hand with the bat who picked up another score of 50+ in the match caught up with D'Arcy straight after the game to discuss their victory. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Breakers finally broke the duck on Wednesday night, picking up their first win of the season over the Illawarra Hawks at home. They'll want to keep the momentum rolling, with another home match set for Sunday afternoon against the South East Melbourne Phoenix. Izaiah Brockington is a shooting guard for the Breakers, and he joined D'Arcy to reflect on the win and look ahead to Sunday afternoon. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 5th round of the New Zealand Rally Championships is going down this weekend in the Bay of Plenty. It's a new route this year in an area that hasn't been raced in for over two years – visiting some iconic stages in the Matahina forest that were made famous in the 90's and early 2000's. Competing in the Championship is Dean Buist, who joined D'Arcy Waldegrave to preview the event. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The greatest spectacle in racing? Nope, that's the Indy 500. The race that stops a nation? Nah, that's the Melbourne Cup. The great race? Yeah, that's it – the Bathurst 1000. The magnificence of the mountain is back. The 1000km Supercar squirt around Mt Panorama just outside the NSW town of Bathurst gets its rev counter red-lining tomorrow afternoon just before 2. Six hours of man and machine savaging the circuit, originally built as a sedate mountain drive for tourists. This will sound a bit a bit geeky, so be it. A constant source of fascination for me is the astonishing propinquity of the lap times across the field. Consider this. Qualifying yesterday threw up this: over one lap, 6.213 kilometres, the first six cars were separated by one tenth of a second. Brodie Kostecki's provisional pole position time was 0.0064 of a second quicker than the number 2 placed driver Broc Feeney. Six and four-tenths of a thousandth of a second. Over 6.2 kilometres. Different cars. Different teams. Different set ups. Different lines. Different drivers. Separated by essentially a click of the fingers. Get on your phone and try to start and stop your stopwatch to the same nth. I'd hazard a guess you can't. It's insane. It amplifies the how the teams wring every last millisecond of performance out of the equipment, the track, the driver, and they can't really be split. Then they do it for over six hours through rain and shine, tyre wear, equipment failure, and the odd errant marsupial. Mental. It's all the fun of the circus, or a leisurely drive in the country, which was what the road was built for.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The last Auckland NPC team standing, Counties Manukau is faced with a huge task. They're travelling down south to take on the number one seed Canterbury in the fourth quarter final this Sunday afternoon. They started rough, losing their first five games but turned it around, winning five on the bounce and scoring at least 48 points in each of the last four games – including a massive win against Tasman last night to lock themselves into the playoffs. Dalton Papali'i is playing number 8 on Sunday afternoon for the Steelers, and he spoke with D'Arcy to preview the match. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

MAXX North Harbour International is a prestigious Badminton event, showcasing elite talent from three continents – including top ranked international athletes and the best players in New Zealand, with competitors from 15 countries taking part. The event is going down at the Badminton North Harbour centre, having begun on the 1st of October and running through till tomorrow. D'Arcy spoke with the Chief Executive of North Harbour Badminton Glenn Cox to find out more about the event. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Farah Palmer Cup has reached its final week, with the Premiership final going down this afternoon between Waikato and Canterbury. Waikato bounced back after a round 1 loss to Auckland to beat them in the semifinal rematch, while Canterbury defeated a valiant Manawatu side. D'Arcy spoke with the captain of the Waikato side Mia Anderson to talk about the team and preview the huge clash going down this afternoon. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last weekend the NSW Warriors ended their campaign in dominant fashion, defeating the NSW Dragons 30 - 12 and claiming the NSW Cup. That victory earned them one more week, as they're set to take on the champions of the Queensland competition, the Burleigh Bears, to kick off rugby league's grand final Sunday at Accor Stadium. Kalani Going is the starting lock for the NSW Warriors, and he spoke with D'Arcy to preview the massive game they have coming up on Sunday. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.