Wes Goosen of the Hurricanes is tackled by Sonny Bill Williams of the Blues @gettyimages
Chris Boyd was a happy man as his Hurricanes wrapped up their Super Rugby preparations with a quality 26-14 victory over the Blues in Warkworth, north of Auckland, on a sunny Thursday afternoon.
The Blues will at least take some heart from the fact that after the first 40 minutes, when both sides had their strongest lineups on the field, they were able to eke out a 14-12 lead, even if it did take something truly spectacular from superstar wing Rieko Ioane to achieve it.
Melbourne starters celebrate the big input from their 2nd unit @gettyimages
Melbourne United shrugged the monkey off their back, with back-to-back victories over the Breakers in round 18, punctuated by a statement 100-82 win at Spark Arena on Sunday that was their first ever in Auckland since joining the league in 2014-15.
That seals the minor premiership, and top playoff seeding, for Dean Vickerman's side who are now 19-7 and cannot be headed. At 15-11 the Breakers would need everything to go their way in the final round to clinch second spot, and home advantage for the semis.
Mika Vukona of the Breakers competes for a loose ball against Nick Kay of the Hawks @gettyimages
The Breakers are back in the playoffs thanks to their first back-to-back Australian NBL victories since November.
Paul Henare's men ground out a second successive win over the Illawarra Hawks at Spark Arena on Sunday, backing up their 77-73 Friday night victory in Wollongong with an 88-84 result that seals their return to the post-season after missing the playoffs in 2016-17. The clean sweep of round 17 improves the Kiwi outfit to 15-9 and seals their spot in the playoffs with still four games remaining.
Sam Myers of Australia makes a break against Wales @gettyimages
New Zealand finished day one of the Hamilton Sevens with a perfect record after beating France, Scotland and Argentina with plenty of dazzle, flair and guts on show on Saturday.
In the first New Zealand leg of the World Sevens Series staged outside of Wellington, New Zealand started in electric form before a packed out FMG Stadium Waikato, and Etene Nanai-Seturo showed a glimpse of what the code-hopping teen can do.
Pakistan celebrate the wicket of Colin de Grandhomme of New Zealand @gettyimages
Pakistan have halted the Black Caps' winning run at 13, and set up a Twenty20 series decider in Mount Maunganui.
They won by 48 runs at Eden Park, grabbing control of the game early on with the bat and never letting go. Having lost six from six so far on tour, they looked a different team as they posted 201-4 after winning the toss and batting.
Dean Brownlie of the Knights celebrate with the team after the victory @gettyimages
The Northern Knights as they claimed the Super Smash Twenty20 title by nine wickets over the Central Stags.
The hosts at Seddon Park dictated terms after the visitors won the toss and opted to bat first, with the Stags managing only to limp to 99-8 off their 20 overs. Victory came with 11.1 overs to spare, handing Northern Districts $80,000 prizemoney while Central Districts, runners-up last season also, took $20,000 for second place.
Tom Abercrombie of the Breakers is introduced at the NSEC @gettyimages
The NZ Breakers pulled off a dramatic and potentially season-defining win over Melbourne United on Thursday night. The 98-81 victory at a packed North Shore Events Centre was one where they got a big lead, that Melbourne steadily chipped away at, but the Breakers were able to hold strong at the death.
This is heritage round in the Australian National Basketball League (ANBL) and the Breakers created some history in it, with this being their 100th victory at North Shore Events Centre, in what was also Paul Henare's 49th game as head coach of the team.
Lockie Ferguson of New Zealand runs up to bowl @gettyimages
New Zealand looked in a spot of bother at one stage when they lost four wickets in a hurry despite getting a flying start. The target of 263 runs in the fourth ODI at Hamilton posed a challenge for the hosts. Kane Williamson and Henry Nicholls steadied the innings but in that attempt, the required rate climbed up. As Williamson tried to up the ante, he perished and out walked Colin de Grandhomme. With 109 required from 90 balls when he entered the middle, the middle order batsman and a handy add with the bat, blew Pakistan to smitherins to score 74 runs from 40 balls with seven boundaries and five sixes.
With the 5 wicket win, New Zealand have taken a 4-0 lead in the five-match series and continued their winning run at home to 11 matches.
Dhananjaya Lakshan of Sri Lanka slides to his ground @gettyimages
Dhananjaya Lakshan’s unbeaten 101 and captain Kamindu Mendis’s unbeaten 74 ensured the young Lankan lions didn’t stumble in their first 2018 ICC U19 CWC encounter at the Cobham Oval in Whangarei. Their unbroken 157-run stand helped Sri Lanka win by seven wickets.
Ireland’s Jamie Grassi had scored a 75 and added 73 for the opening partnership with Mark Donegan (36). It had set them up well for big total, but a middle-order slide – with Mendis returning 3/35 – meant they were restricted to 207/8 in a match that was reduced to a 48 overs a side after rain delayed play by an hour.
Qais Ahmad of Afghanistan celebrates the win with a pack of passionate fans @gettyimages
Afghanistan made their intentions clear at the Cobham Oval in Whangarei on Saturday, comfortably beating Pakistan by five wickets in their Group D 2018 ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup opener.
In what was largely a see-saw encounter, the 75-run stand for the fourth wicket between Ikram Ali Khil and Darwish Rasool proved the difference as Afghanistan rode on the latter’s unbeaten 78-ball 76 to open their account.
Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain celebrates wining his semi final match against Robin Haase of the Netherlands @gettyimages
After two contrasting semifinals, former champions Juan Martin del Potro and Roberto Bautista Agut will square off for the 2018 ASB Classic title.
Whereas Bautista Agut prevailed in an epic three-set clash over Robin Haase, Del Potro scrapped his way to a 6-4 6-4 victory over David Ferrer under lights on Centre Court.
Denis Shapovalov of Canada with some big serves in his first round win @gettyimages
Denis Shapovalov didn't just deliver on the hype around him on Monday night at the ASB Classic, he rocked the place.
The 18-year-old Canadian has been called the next Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer and like those two greats of the game Shapovalov has come to Auckland early in his career. His 6-3 6-2 win over Rogerio Dutra Silva will be long remembered by everyone who came along to the ASB Tennis Arena to witness it. His one-handed backhand is a joy to watch, his serve is massive and net play is superb.
Tom Abercrombie of the Breakers goes after a rebound @gettyimages
Paul Henare demanded a big response and his side did not disappoint as the Breakers kicked off the new year with a confidence-boosting win over Cairns Taipans.
While it was by no means a perfect display, the Auckland outfit led from start to finish at Spark Arena, ahead by as much as 17 in second half before sealing a 82-69 victory in front of their biggest home crowd of the season of 5793.
Polona Hercog of Slovenia plays a shot @gettyimages
While the weather was no where near as bad as Thursday and Friday, constant showers made for a frustrating day all-round.
Wozniacki and Radwanksa, the biggest names in the tournament, were on a collision course to meet in the semifinals before the latter ran into American qualifier Sachia Vickery on Saturday. Second seed Julia Goerges will meet Taiwan's Su-Wei Hsieh in the first semifinal after the German beat Polona Hercog 6-4 6-4.
Fans turned up only to sit in the rain @gettyimages
For the second straight day, play was washed out without a ball being hit in the women's singles draw due to the storm that has battered Auckland, wreaking havoc with the tournament's schedule.
With all four quarterfinals as well as the semifinals moved to Saturday, the final is now scheduled to take place at 2:30pm the following day - the first time the decider has been held on a Sunday since Zheng Jie beat Flavia Pennetta indoors in 2012.
Tournament Director Karl Budge faces the media for yet another washed out day @gettyimages
The short-term problem is finishing off this week's women's ASB Classic, but the long-term issue remains getting a roof on Centre Court. ASB Classic tournament director Karl Budge has commended the players for being willing to have an extraordinarily long day on Friday.
It's a logistical nightmare to make up for the loss of a full day of tennis, but it highlights something Tennis Auckland have been looking to do for at least the last 15 years, which is to get a roof at Stanley Street, so days like these are a thing of the past.
Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark serves in her match against Petra Martic of Croatia @gettyimages
The terrible weather mostly stayed away with Agnieszka Radwanska looked more assured in her 6-3 7-5 victory over American Taylor Townsend to join the other top seeds in making it to the quarterfinals of the ASB Classic on Day 3.
Classic second seed Julia Goerges staked her claim as being a contender for this year's tournament with an impressive 6-4 6-0 win over Viktoria Kuzmova.
Caroline Wozniack of Denmark serves in her first round match against Madison Brengle of USA @gettyimages
After watching Agnieiszka Radwanska struggle her way through to the second round at the ASB Classic, Caroline Wozniacki showed her good friend how it's done.
The world No 3 and tournament's top seed put on an absolute masterclass under the Centre Court lights, demolishing American Madison Brengle 6-3 6-0 in just 58 minutes. It was the perfect start to 2018 for Wozniacki, who fully intends to make it fifth time lucky by finally winning the title in Auckland.
The crew tried their best to dry the court again, again, again and again... @gettyimages
This year's ASB Classic didn't so much get off to a bang, more of a splat as rain disrupted play on the first day of the fortnight of tennis.
With the two stars, Caroline Wozniacki and Agnieszka Radwanska, not playing until Tuesday and local hope Jade Lewis also having her singles match on day two of the tournament, the Classic showcased some lesser lights on the opening day.
Nathan Sobey of the 36ers jumps into the team huddle in celebration @gettyimages
Adelaide import Ramone Moore has dragged his NBL side across the line for a last-quarter comeback 90-75 win over the New Zealand Breakers.
As much as 14 points down earlier in the game on Friday, the Sixers outscored the home-team Breakers by 23 points in the fourth term to seize control with three minutes to play in Auckland. Inspired by Moore's stunning all-round game (27 points, four rebounds, five assists) and dogged team defence, the Sixers made it back-to-back wins over the New Zealand side having also beaten them five days ago.