New Zealand

Four Handre Pollard penalties to two from Richie Mo’unga gave the Springboks a 12-6 lead after a first half in which All Blacks flanker Shannon Frizell was sin-binned for an incident in which Mbongeni Mbonambi was forced off injured. Then New Zealand captain Sam Cane became the first player to be sent off in a RWC final for a high tackle on Jesse Kriel.

Leicester Fainga’anuku’s try helped the All Blacks race into a 13-0 lead before centre Bundee Aki danced his way over for Ireland. Ardie Savea responded but Jamison Gibson-Park’s try, with Aaron Smith in the sin-bin for a deliberate knock-on, saw their lead cut to 18-17 at half-time.

Will Jordan bagged his fifth try of the tournament but a penalty try, with hooker Codie Taylor also getting a yellow card, saw Ireland again get within one point.

The programme is a foundational training for officers entering the Papua New Guinea Foreign Service. It is supported by the New Zealand Government and will be conducted by the Victoria University of Wellington.

Australia leapt out in an early surge that opponent New Zealand could not match at Sir John Guise Arena, beating the NZ side 96-49. NZ settled for the Silver.

In the earlier match on Saturday, Samoa defeated Guam to claim bronze, 132-63.

Guam came out firing in the first quarter, but a much-needed time out settled Samoa and they didn’t look back.

Samoa Captain, Semika Nee said the team’s performance was reflective of the work they have put in during the week and sticking to a solid game plan.

At the end of the championships, the final standings;

Mata'afa is arguing that countries like hers should not be seen merely as "outposts" which "grow" labourers for developed nations.

Key points:

An outstanding display from Captain Manaia Elliott was the driving force for the defending champions, scoring twice in the first-half and setting up another as the Kiwis took control in the opening 45 minutes at HFC Bank Stadium.

New Zealand threatened from the off, pinning Fiji deep in their half and able to quell any threats of counter-attacks from the hosts.

Fiji looked to rely on the pace and athleticism of Preeya Singh and Kasanita Tabua to create chances but more often than not found themselves swamped by their opponents defence.

He stated this during the meet with the New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister and Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carmel Sepuloni.

“We note Samoa's concern of skilled shortages it experienced, which resulted in it suspending its participation in the programme at the moment. However, for PNG we have a lot of semi-skilled youth population that we want to utilize under this programme,” Minister Tkatchenko stated.

The encounter was prior to the Special Leaders' Retreat where Minister Tkatchenko offered PNG's support to New Zealand following the extreme disaster caused by Cyclone Gabrielle.

“We will send our PNGDF to support New Zealand with clean up exercises, if required,” said Minister Tkatchenko.

Sepuloni acknowledged PNG's offer of support and said; “New Zealand is used to offering support to other Pacific Island countries in times of need and to receive that in return is indeed overwhelming.”

It is only the third time such a declaration has been made, with the previous two being for the Christchurch earthquakes and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Professor John Hopkins, Director, LEAD Institute of Law Emergencies and Disasters, University of Canterbury said the state of emergency declaration provides extensive powers to the National Controller (and by extension the government) to order individuals and groups to act in a way that is required to address the emergency.

“These powers include forced evacuations, closing roads, providing supplies, etc.

Foreign Affairs Minister, Justin Tkatchenko and his New Zealand counterpart Hanaia Mahuta discussed ways of enhancing the current status of the labor mobility program to include more Papua New Guineans across various industries in the New Zealand market - an objective that mirrors that of Australia.