New Zealand’s players insist they are not upset by former England scrum-half Matt Dawson’s ’Hakarena’ video, poking fun at traditional war dance the Haka.

ARMED police stormed into this quiet village at dawn, threw up roadblocks, shot out truck tyres and forced families out of their homes at gunpoint.

Tribal chiefs wearing wreaths of green leaves opened a traditional mourning period today for the revered queen of New Zealand’s indigenous Maori, Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu, who died after a long illness aged 75.

New Zealand’s relationship with the US could enter a new era of co-operation if the country’s opposition National Party wins parliamentary elections tomorrow.