Guinness has retired for the evening.

@sparky said in RWC squad. Who's in, who's out?:

Sparky's All Black RWC squad

Props: Nepo Laulala, Joe Moody, Atu Moli, Angus Ta'avao, Ofa Tu'ungafasi

Hooker: Dane Coles, Liam Coltman, Codie Taylor.

Locks: Scott Barrett, Brodie Retallick, Patrick Tuitupolou, Sam Whitelock

Back Row: Sam Cane, Luke Jacobson, Kieran Read, Ardie Savea, Matt Todd

Half Backs: TJ Perenera, Aaron Smith, Brad Weber

First Fives: Beauden Barrett, Richie Mo'unga

Midfield: Ryan Crotty, Jack Goodhue, Anton Leinert-Brown, Sonny Bill Williams

Back Three: Jordie Barrett, George Bridge, Reiko Ioane, Sevu Reece, Ben Smith

Some very tough decisions ahead for the selectors to get it down to 31..

Proof that a stopped clock is right sometimes.

His name is spelt "Ma'a Nonu" but it can be pronounced as "Living Legend".

This is a guy who made his NPC debut in 2002 and his Super Rugby debut in 2003. In his distinguished international career he donned the famous Black Jersey for 104 Tests, contributing to two World Cup wins with tries in the 2011 Semi Final and the 2015 Final.

Tonight he set up Tom Robinson for the first try with a superb pass, he set up Caleb Clarke for the second with another superb pass and had the instincts honed by nearly two decades playing and training at an elite level to be in the right place to take the offloaded from Reiko Ioane to run in and score a try himself.

A great signing for the Blues. Their young players must be learning so much from playing with perhaps the greatest ever 12 to play the game.

New Zealand have won the Netball World Cup!!!!

Classic Ted:

My happy life has been turned upside down to be honest. Worst thing I've been through apart from the death of immediate family. Missing Rugby and Cricket. Missing the normal routine. Really tough to be working fulltime away from place of work and trying to home school the kids at the same time. Lots of people I know are sick. I'm worried about everyone.

Really proud of the resilience of my kids. The dog seems really happy to have us around more. Listened to a few good podcasts. Able to go for a run around the park as a family each day. Great banter from 2 metre plus from neighbours. Heard from a few friends I've not heard from in ages. Glad not to have the constant background rumble of motorway traffic. Those are the postives.

We'll get through all of this, but it feels like a prison sentence. I go to sleep each night hoping normal will return very soon.

Ngani Laumape re-signs with the Hurricanes and NZRU until 2021:

@Chester-Draws Honestly, mate if you're looking for "top-quality analysis", you should skip my posts.

@Catogrande I'm sure there's a video completion of Jonny Wilkinson's drop goals you can watch.

Is it okay to admit I'm not okay today? Really very down.

There's only one thing for it. Always, always, always bring a smile to my face. Just perfect:

Looking increasingly likely that the Lions management are going to request the tests go ahead this year in the UK and Ireland.

Unless the NZ government comes to the rescue, NZR (like other nation unions and many sports organisations) is going to need a lot of investment to make up for revenue lost in the Covid-19 crisis. Silver Lake has a very strong track record of successful investments (Skype, Dell, UFC, Twitter).

For me, the chief stakeholders in New Zealand Rugby will always be the players and the fans, especially those closely involved in grassroots and Heartland Rugby. But if the piggy bank is so empty that Private Equity's involvement is necessary for competitive Rugby to survive in New Zealand then Silver Lake are a good organisation to be speaking to.

@Victor-Meldrew @MiketheSnow
At the moment, it is threat. I suspect areas that continue to be really poor at following the rules will face additional measures.

@KiwiMurph said in Australia v India:

Steve Smith again. Huge talent. What a shame that he keeps resorting to crap like this.

There are reports that Betsy De Vos, the Education Secretary, perhaps the US Cabinet member closest to Donald Trump has resigned. Are we looking at some sort of 25th Amendment scenario?

A rumour from inside the Beltway is that Trump has been trying to negotiate impunity from prosecution after he leaves office. Apparently, yesterday was meant to be a show of force of what his supporters might do if asked, but it got all rather out of hand. Certainly it was very ugly and damaging for the reputation of the USA. A otherwise peaceful transition is now crucially important.

I've been impressed by both Pence and Biden in the last 24 hours. Trump and Giuliani less so. The sooner those two disappear from public view the better for the rest of us.

@TeWaio said in US Politics:

Mike Pence has just changed his twitter banner to a photo of Biden and Harris and unfollowed Trump

No and No. It's a photo of Pence and his wife. And he didn't unfollow Trump. Both were widely reported and incorrectly reported.