Hurricanes and premier prop Jeff Toomaga-Allen has topped off a stellar season by being named the New Zealand Marist Player of the Year for 2012. Newly-wed Jeff, who featured in a recent DomPost profile, was nominated by MSP for the award which was announced at the NZ Marist AGM on 23 February. His nomination stated: ‘In his first season Read more
When it comes to religious tattoos, the New Zealand-born Samoan Wallaby rugby star Digby Ioane got it pretty much covered. Ioane, a Catholic, has turned his body into a work of art by decorating it with religious symbols alongside emblems of his homeland, Australia, and his family, plus a couple of exotic asides. The result Read more
On Tuesday October 23rd the Canterbury rugby community turned out to support Steve Hansen and his two brothers and sister at the funeral of his father Des at Christ the King Catholic church in Burnside. Hansen said his father, a successful coach of Marist in Christchurch senior rugby in the 1980s, was a tough character Read more
The Prime Minister of Samoa, Tuilaepa Fatialofa Lupesoliai Sailele Malielegaoi, well known for his light hearted comments to the media, is suggesting that the country’s National Council of Churches was acting in a similarly jocular manner when it warned of the perils of casinos and gambling in Samoa. Last week the Chairman of NCC, Reverend Read more
Hometown rugby club and marae whanau have expressed their support and aroha for their young Ngati Kahungunu descendent, Zac Guildford Speaking from Papawai, just outside Greytown, Paora Ammunson says the young rugby star has had huge challenges to overcome and it is clear he has many more ahead of him. A speaker for Papawai Marae, Read more
Seven rugby players and a trainer from New Zealand ITM Cup and Super rugby teams arrived in Tonga on Monday for a week-long tour visiting schools and community groups. The players are in Tonga to assist the Pacific Prevention of Domestic Violence Programme (PPDVP) a New Zealand Aid funded programme, and the Tonga Police Head Read more
Rugby and beer have a long shared history… and not just in New Zealand. One of the principal sponsors of the Rugby World Cup is a beer brand. Is there a wide pervasive beer culture associated with professional Rugby? “I’m no wowser” says Nathan Burdon. “During my playing days I enjoyed the social side of rugby as Read more
Police, security guards, an alcohol ban and a morning game of rugby were all used to prevent two Catholic secondary schools from engaging in another brawl at their annual fixture in Sydney on Saturday. The match was between Marist Brothers, St Joseph’s College in Hunter’s Hill (Joeys) and the Jesuit St Ignatius’ college (Riverview). The measures Read more
A recent cartoon in the DomPost featuring two sisters in old fashioned habits flanking a rugby player has prompted Mercy Sister Elizabeth Julian to reveal her real-life rugby pedigree. As a teacher of members of the Fili, Lealamanua, Fea’unati and Fa’atau families at schools in Miramar (Holy Cross) and Newtown (St Anne’s), she can claim to be a Read more
Rugby is experiencing an American boom, and nowhere more so than at the 80-plus Jesuit high schools and colleges coast to coast. It’s probably not too surprising that a Catholic order conceived in the aftermath of battle, one which has always seasoned its intellectual and spiritual fervour with a healthy respect for physical strength, has Read more