Daily Archives: February 21, 2022

When your opponent has a historically bad performance and a player scores an unheard-of three own goals, how do you evaluate a win?

That is the question for the United States women's national team and coach Vlatko Andonovski, who beat New Zealand 5-0 in the SheBelieves Cup on Sunday with the help of Kiwi defender Meikayla Moore, who was credited with three own goals.

Moore's goals were the USWNT's first three before the New Zealand center-back was substituted in just the 40th minute, setting up an easy win before the Americans had really even earned it. In truth, the 2-0 score without the own goals may have been a better representation of how the match actually played out: the USWNT were a step off throughout the first half, but found their footing and scored twice in the second.

- Murray: Rodman, Smith headline USWNT players to watch at SheBelieves- Carlisle: USWNT fails to click against Czechs, but shows promise for future- WATCH: SheBelieves Cup on ESPN, ABC, ESPN+

Moore's 50th cap started to unravel in just the fifth minute when forward Sophia Smith whipped a ball into the box and Moore tried to block it, but the ball skipped off her shin into the net from a wide angle. One minute later, full-back Sofia Huerta came from the opposite right side for a similar cross intended for Catarina Macario, but it knocked off the face of an unsuspecting Moore and in.

Only in the 36th minute did Moore make an obvious error: as Midge Purce whipped a short, skipping ball into the box, Moore's swipe to clear the ball was ill-timed, causing her to kick it into goal rather than toward the sideline as intended.

Three own goals scored by one player in a single match, let alone a single half, is exceedingly rare. ESPN Stats & Information couldn't find any other examples that weren't part of a deliberate protest in any recent major competitions. Stan Van Den Buys was credited with three own goals in a Belgian league match in 1995, but video footage shows one of them wasn't actually an own goal.

"This is a game and own goals are part of the game -- it just happens," Andonovski said. "It's unfortunate that it happened to the same player, but she's incredible and I actually thought her positioning was very well -- it's just unlucky sometimes."

1:13

Meikayla Moore commits three first-half own goals as the USWNT takes a 3-0 lead over New Zealand into halftime.

Andonovski, who has been using this SheBelieves Cup to evaluate new players that could be the USWNT's stars of tomorrow, insists that his side deserves credit for the moments that led to the own goals. He said: "Even though they were own goals, if you look at the way we built up to come to those opportunities, to come into the areas to create those goals, it was very good."

The USWNT did, however, struggle to generate clear-cut chances in the first half. By the time the USWNT found itself ahead 2-0, the Americans had not even registered a shot on target and they had only generated 0.11 in expected goals, or xG, which is an advanced stat that measures the likelihood of a chance resulting in a goal. When the second half finished with the USWNT up 3-0, they still only had .71 xG in seven shots, one of them on target.

In other words, the USWNT weren't dominating in front of goal, as much as the score made it look that way. New Zealand had just been very unlucky in a couple moments and sloppy in another. But, even if precision may not have been there in the first half for the USWNT, aggression was, and the Americans constantly put New Zealand under pressure, which played a crucial role in the result going the way it did.

"We all understand this is a process," Andonovski said. "It's not like, 'Oh, now we scored five goals and all the sudden we're so good.' No, we still have a lot of areas to build on and grow in."

Only in the second half did the USWNT seem to find their rhythm, and Ashley Hatch scored a splendid header that looked familiar for those who watched any of her Golden Boot-winning season last year in the National Women's Soccer League. In the 51st minute, Huerta picked her head up from the midfield and seemed to pick out Hatch, who had nestled between the center-backs -- Hatch rose up and clinically headed it inside the near post.

"We've been working on swinging the ball around our outside backs and our wingers, and making sure we're available in the box," Hatch said.

Ashley Sanchez, in her first USWNT start, and Huerta each stood out for their chance creation and both earned an assist. Sanchez, who at one point wowed the crowd by dancing past a defender hugging the slideline, recorded .20 expected assists, or xA. Huerta, who had the second-most touches of any player on the field and was all over, managed an xA of .26, the most of any player.

Mallory Pugh, who has been on the outs with the USWNT since the 2019 World Cup, capped off the scoring in the 93rd minute, racing behind on a breakaway and beating goalkeeper Erin Nayler one-on-one for a sweet finish. It was Pugh's 19th goal in 69 appearances.

The second half was likely what Andonovski was hoping to see after a disappointing, lackluster 0-0 draw to the Czech Republic on Thursday. In that game, the U.S. struggled with chance creation and was sloppy in the final third. But against New Zealand, the Americans were certainly better on the ball and they were better off of it too, making smarter runs to find seams within the box.

The USWNT also looked more aggressive than days earlier against the Czech Republic. The midfield players sat higher and attacked more, and the Americans were keen to play more direct and test New Zealand more, whipping the balls into the box that did turn into those own goals.

"We tried to put the ball into spaces where, no matter who touches it, it's gonna go into the goal and it's really hard to defend," Purce said.

The Americans finished the match with 19 shots and 2.64 xG compared to New Zealand's six shots and 0.41 xG, and their win reflected the dominance they enjoyed overall.

The starting lineup on Sunday skewed slightly older than Thursday's group, but it was less experienced, averaging just 36 caps per player. That number was inflated by the presence of defender Becky Sauerbrunn, who made her 201st cap on Sunday, as Andonovski made six changes Sunday to his starting lineup that faced the Czech Republic.

"We want to win every game, we want to win every tournament, but right now the development of this group of players is what is taking priority," Andonovski said.

Although it came from an own goal, the USWNT's first goal snapped a 181-minute shutout streak, which is a rather long scoring drought for a team that has historically been used to dominating opponents but has struggled lately.

The goalless draw on Thursday was the fifth time the USWNT had failed to score in their last 13 matches going back to the start of the Olympics. The Americans were held scoreless only four times in their previous 120 matches dating back to the 2015 World Cup.

Trinity Rodman came off after a knee injury in the 81st minute, but Andonovski said it didn't look serious. Rose Lavelle was held back from the game for a minor injury as well with Andonovski calling her absence precautionary.

The talking point from Sunday may continue to be the rare hat trick of own goals from New Zealand and the helping hand it provided the USWNT. But as the USWNT still looks to be recovering from a Tokyo Olympics where they struggled, and this summer's World Cup/Olympic qualification inches closer, a five-goal win and the major confidence boost it provides is nothing to ignore either.

The USWNT will have one more SheBelieves Cup game to evaluate where the team is at when they face Iceland on Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET, live on ESPN2.

Here is the original post:

What the USWNT learned from New Zealand win despite Meikayla Moore's 3 own goals - ESPN

New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has said Covid-19 restrictions, including mandates and vaccine passes, will begin to lift once the country gets well beyond the Omicron outbreaks peak.

At a post-cabinet press conference on Monday, Ardern said case numbers were likely to peak in mid-to-late March, or three to six weeks away. Case numbers were expected to double every three to four days.

Its likely then, that very soon, we will all know people who have Covid or we will potentially get it ourselves, she said.

Ardern said at an earlier stage of the pandemic, this prospect would have been scary, but now there are three main reasons why it is less so: the highly vaccinated population; Omicron being a mild to moderate illness due to high vaccination rates and boosters making hospitalisation 10 times less likely; and public health measures like masks, gathering limits and vaccine passes slowing down the spread to ensure everyone who needs a hospital bed can get it.

So far, that plan is working. We had 46 cases per 100,000 people compared to 367 in New South Wales, and 660 in Victoria, at the same point in the outbreak.

The country recorded 2,365 new cases of the virus in the community on Monday, 116 people in hospital and two further deaths, bringing the total number of deaths since the start of the pandemic to 55.

After the Omicron wave peaks, there will probably be a rapid decline, followed by cases stabilising at a lower level, Arden said. It is then that government can consider easing public health measures, beginning with loosening restrictions on gathering sizes, and later, moving on from using vaccine passes and mandates where vulnerable people are less likely to be affected.

If we hadnt had vaccine passes, as we managed Delta, we would have had to instead use more general restrictions across the whole population. They have always been the least bad option. But while they have been necessary, as Ive always said, they have also been temporary.

They will remain important in some areas though, for some time, she said.

Arden said it is difficult to set an exact date for easing mandates, but indicated the government needs to be confident New Zealand is well beyond the peak and that the pressure on the health system is manageable.

The announcement comes as hundreds of anti-mandate protesters enter their 14th day of occupying parliaments grounds. The protest has also operated as a vehicle for anti-vaccine sentiment, QAnon-style conspiracy theories, antisemitic views, and calls for the execution of journalists, politicians and health officials.

Ardern directed a message to the protesters: Everyone is over Covid. No one wants to live with rules or restrictions. But had we not all been willing to work together to protect one another, then we all would have been worse off as individuals, including losing people we love.

That hasnt happened here for the most part and that is a fact worth celebrating, rather than protesting.

Restrictions will ease when doing so would not compromise the lives of thousands of people, and not because the protesters demanded it, Ardern said.

Now is not the time to dismantle our hard work and preparation, to remove our armour just as the battle begins.

Continued here:

New Zealand will lift Covid restrictions only when well beyond peak, Jacinda Ardern says - The Guardian

As the club continues to prepare for their inaugural MLS NEXT Pro season, it appears Revolution II has made another addition to their midfield, as reports indicate they have added Trevor Zwetsloot to their roster.

Revolution Report on Twitter had reported that the 22-year-old midfielder was with Revs II during training Saturday morning. Revolution Report provided an update Saturday afternoon indicating that Zwetsloots new agency confirmed Zwetloot was signing with the MLS NEXT Pro-side.

Sporting Talent took to their Instagram account on Saturday with a post welcoming Zwetsloot to the agency.

Although only 22-years-old, Trevor Zwetsloot boasts an impressive resume that includes stints with the Melbourne Knights, Werder Bremen II, and IMG Academy. Zwetsloot has also appeared for his native New Zealands U-19 and U-20 teams.

According to Zwetsloots transfermarket page, Zwetsloot has seen 891 minutes of action over 16 career appearances. He also has one goal in his seven caps for New Zealand.

More here:

Rumor: Revolution II adding 22-year-old New Zealand international? - The Bent Musket

Men in Kilts -- Courtesy of Robert Wilson/STARZ

Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish took to New Zealand during February for Men in Kilts Season 2. That time has come to an end.

Sam and Graham have been extremely busy the last couple of weeks. Theyve been filming forMen in Kilts Season 2.

STARZ renewed the series toward the end of 2021 with the news that the duo would head to New Zealand. It made a lot of sense for a couple of main reasons: there is a lot of Scottish culture adopted in New Zealand, and Graham McTavish lives there.

We didnt know much about when filming would start. We were certainly surprised when the duo shared a photo of them in New Zealand starting their filming.

Heughan took to Instagram just days later to share the news that he was heading back home. He and McTavish were done with their road trip.

This is certainly surprising. The road trip took just a week. That is based on the images, anyway. It is possible that some filming happened earlier and that the duo just shared their promotional photos when they could.

There have been a few fan photos leaked around the internet. One of them makes it look like Heughan has a tattoo on his forearm. This is likely a temporary tattoo as there was another photo of McTavish with a similar-looking tattoo on the back of one of his arms. They likely had the temporary artwork put on for filmingMen in Kilts.

Could you imagine the makeup team forOutlander if Sam turned up with that? Poor Sam already spends hours in the makeup chair for the back scars.

Were certainly hoping that this meansMen in Kilts Season 2 will arrive sometime in 2022.

Men in Kilts is available to stream on STARZ.

Read the original here:

Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish wrap their time in New Zealand - Claire and Jamie

Franki began living on Aucklands streets at age 15, shortly after his father died in 2018. He hunted for secret spots to sleep the backs of buildings and cemeteries. There were times when he was frightened; times when the older street community took him under their wings.

He slept rough through New Zealands first pandemic lockdown, wandering the quiet roads, struggling to find food. There were few housing options for a teenager rentals would not accept him, nor many motels. In mid-2020, worried for his health, he walked through the doors of Lifewise, an organisation that supports people into accommodation.

Since then, he has been on the move, bouncing between motels and emergency housing units. The constant disruption was difficult and tiring, he says. Two months ago and four years after becoming homeless he secured a spot in Lifewises new youth-focused transitional housing, a more stable but not permanent solution.

When I lived in the park, I didnt have any goals. Now Ive been here for two months I want to achieve my goals to get a job, save up for a car and get my security licence, he says.

While it does give Franki a chance to reset, he is still in housing limbo. Lifewise will not evict him as long as he sticks to the house rules, but there is an expectation he will eventually find his own home. In the current rental market, that could take some time.

Franki is one of the tens of thousands of people either living in emergency accommodation, sleeping rough, or living in cars, garages and on couches across New Zealand people at the beginning of a long and distressing road to find a permanent home.

New Zealand has one of the highest levels of homelessness in the OECD. As far back as 2018, Jacinda Arderns government pledged $100m to shelter the homeless population, following one of her partys key 2017 campaign promises to tackle the housing crisis.

Then, at the start of the pandemic, New Zealand made headlines for appearing to eliminate sleeping rough it invested millions of dollars and resources into moving people into accommodation as the country closed its borders and its citizens locked down.

But in the nearly two years since, applications for public housing have jumped by 8,000. There are now more than 25,500 households waiting for a home, with 89% of those in significant and urgent need. Among these are more than 10,000 people living in emergency accommodation such as motels, while another 5,226 households are waiting to be transferred out of public housing that is no longer appropriate. New Zealands definition of homelessness includes people in temporary accommodation, so while more people may be off the streets, the number of people deemed homeless is growing.

I really struggle when I hear language like we solved the housing crisis in New Zealand, says Helen Robinson, the Auckland City Mission chief executive, because all weve done is transfer [people], by and large, to emergency accommodation, and thats just not appropriate or [a] good place for people to live permanently.

For many New Zealanders, that reality is grim, as the cost of living increases. Housing affordability is at a record low, with the average property now worth 8.8 times the average household income, according to property analysts CoreLogic. For those households, it would take nearly 12 years to save enough money for a deposit.

Nationally, the average house price is NZ$1.1m (US$740,000; 540,000) up by $300,000 from the start of the pandemic, according to Quotable Values latest index. A ministry of business innovation and employment report for December 2021 shows median rents nationwide have reached $540 a week, up by $50 from the previous year. Meanwhile, a single person on minimum wage takes home roughly $678 after tax, and inflation has hit a three-decade high.

The Salvation Army says the situation has morphed into a housing catastrophe. In its State of the Nation report released this week, it said the term housing crisis has become commonplace.

Maybe it is time after looking at these housing supply, affordability and debt challenges to consider elevating the term to something more than crisis, possibly towards catastrophic levels, it said.

Services, like the Auckland City Mission, are struggling to keep up with the ever-swelling need.

In 2021, it distributed 50,000 food parcels triple the number prior to the pandemic.

We have an incredibly low unemployment rate here relatively, but what were actually seeing is a growth [in the number of] people who have inadequate income, Robinson says.

Aaron Hendry, the youth coordinator at Lifewise, says the organisation is in touch with 60-70 young people in Auckland, like Franki, aged 14-25 years old who are either sleeping rough, living in toxic and unhealthy environments or are being shuffled between emergency accommodation. That number is growing every day.

Monte Cecilia Housing Trusts waitlist has grown from 12-15 families in 2017, to between 300 and 400 families in the last year.

I think while the governments done a brilliant job at keeping the nation safe, sadly, I think homelessness and other economic issues have gone to the background, and weve lost a bit of traction, its chief executive, Bernie Smith, says.

Whnau [families] that are feeling incredibly vulnerable, who are living in a temporary environment, need some sense that there is a hope and a future outside of all thats occurring at the moment.

Now, as an Omicron outbreak takes off, the services that assist those facing housing and food deprivation are worried about how both staff and the people they support will cope.

Many families are still living in overcrowded housing, even if they have been placed in emergency accommodation, Hendry says.

The ability to actually isolate in those spaces is going to be an extra challenge for those whnau.

Robinson adds: People who are vulnerably housed their physical and mental health is so compromised. People are suffering the reality of structural injustice, the impacts of long-term poverty, the impacts of long-term trauma, and then youre adding a pandemic on top of it.

Robinson worries that the phased reopening of New Zealands borders will mean motels being used for emergency accommodation could slip out of reach, as businesses swivel back to tourists and international students.

In a statement, the minister for social development and employment, Carmel Sepuloni, said the ministry was aware of the potential for pressure on motel demand once the international borders open, but that it is constantly monitoring the situation. However, they have no current indication that motels are intending to stop offering emergency accommodation, she said.

Across government, there is a wider program of work under way aimed at increasing the supply of public housing and improving housing affordability and supply.

This is the best solution to removing the ongoing need for emergency housing, but it will take time.

Read more:

New Zealands homeless have been moved off the streets, but the crisis endures - The Guardian

Correction: An earlier version of this story said that a fundraising website for the New Zealand occupation was linked to the Canadian freedom convoy and a website selling merchandise for that protest. This was based on the registration of the websites domains but this was incorrect. This story has been updated to remove the link between the two protests. We regret the error. (Amended 11.05am, February 22, 2022)

The massive operation to feed, power, and cover the occupation of Parliament is partly funded by a website registered in Toronto, Canada.

Protesters in Wellington have confirmed they had been told that any parking tickets could be taken to the occupation information tent, and they would be paid.

While it is not clear where all the money behind the protest has come from, the occupations fundraising page on Monday had individual donations in the hundreds or, in at least one case, $1000. By Monday evening, more than $30,000 had been raised.

Donations are currently being used to fund infrastructure and equipment for the ground team, including the food crew. Examples are kitchen items, generators, marquees, tarpaulins, tools etc, the fundraising site says.

READ MORE:* Southanders head north to join Wellington protest action * How American cash for Canada protests could sway US politics* Inside the Christchurch protest and the stalemate angering locals

The New Zealand protest website was first registered on Tuesday last week through Canadian firm Tucows Domains.

While the website was registered in Canada, there is no information available about the person who is running the website.

In an email, an unnamed spokesperson for the Wellington occupation said the Toronto registration is a red herring.

It is simply the registrar's details which are showing to protect the personal information of the domain holder given the harassment that is inevitable in situations like this.

Robert Bumsted/AP

Police move in to clear protesters from downtown Ottawa near Parliament hill on Saturday. Police resumed pushing back protesters on Saturday after arresting more than 100 and towing away vehicles in Canadas besieged capital, and scores of trucks left under the pressure, raising authorities hopes for an end to the three-week protest against the countrys Covid-19 restrictions.

They confirmed the website had received just over $30,000 in donations, and that its obvious that the amounts are modest donations from Kiwis.

Disinformation researcher Byron C. Clark said it is not totally surprising New Zealands protest website is registered in Canada, home of the Freedom Convoy movement.

But he said it is not clear whether there is any link to the Canadian protests.

Protest is really globalised now, and social movements are globalised now, whether theyre progressive movements like Occupy a decade ago, or Black Lives Matter, or Me Too, Clark said. This movement may be a more politically conservative movement, but its just as globalised as any of those others.

Early on in the Wellington protest, a number of Canadian flags were flying in an apparent reference to the similar protest in the Canadian capital of Ottawa.

AP reported that Canadian authorities used emergency powers to seize 76 bank accounts connected to protesters. They contained a total of NZ$3.75 million.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said it is not something being contemplated at the moment by the New Zealand government.

Ultimately... those decisions would sit with the police, Ardern said. Theyd have both the ability to investigate, and then enforce.

MONIQUE FORD/Stuff

Police move forward to claim an area for concrete blocks to be laid down while protesters hold their ground.

What weve seen at this stage has been more anecdotal than hard evidence around the connection to overseas protest.

Ardern said the Government would take advice before seeking any legislative pathway to ending the occupation.

Wed want to see the evidence to ensure that any steps or regulatory changes were actually targeted at the identified problem.

At least one of the groups behind the occupation, Voices for Freedom (VFF), has provided travel costs to those who wish to travel to the capital. The anti-lockdown group paid for flights for a 27-year-old woman, her 24-year-old partner, and a friend, 29, to travel from Queenstown to Wellington this week. She spoke to Stuff on the condition of anonymity.

The cost for return flights was around $500, she said. The group wouldnt join the encampment, but would stay with friends. She was told food would be provided, and that organisers have gathered enough to feed the camp for four months.

The former hospitality worker attended a local VFF meeting some time ago. More recently, she signed up to the groups online database and attended a meeting on the shores of Lake Wakatipu where she expressed a desire to join the protest Ive lost my job and my home, so Im free to go and stand with these people who have lost the same as me, she said.

Over the weekend, she was contacted by the organiser of the meeting and told funds could be provided from a donor to facilitate her travel.They called me to say they have a fund from people within the group who cant physically be there but want to donate and support someone else to get there. They were like: we are willing to fund you as much as we can.

Two donors offered me a little bit of help. Its mind-blowing. Everything in my world has just opened for me to go there. People are saying: just go.

Once she booked the flights and provided an invoice, the cash was transferred to her bank account. It didnt come directly from Voices for Freedom, but was donated by the owner of a tourism business. Stuff agreed not to publish the names of the organiser or donor.

The woman said she lost the restaurant job she held for five years over her refusal to be vaccinated. She said her employers were very understanding but had no choice. Because she couldnt pay rent, she said she also lost her home.

I didnt want to get [the vaccine.] It went against all of my values. I believe in it, I just dont personally want it... and then to be forced out of my job and my home... the losing of my basic rights was very upsetting. I felt shoved out of society, which is what this protest is all about and the reason Im going.

The trio were also friends with Rory Nairn, a 26-year-old Dunedin plumber, who died in November. An autopsy found Nairn's death was consistent with vaccine-related myocarditis and the coroner is now investigating. Myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart muscle, is a rare side effect of Pfizers Covid-19 vaccine, affecting about three in every 100,000 people vaccinated. Most cases are mild and do not require treatment.

Supplied/Stuff

New Plymouth District councilors Murray Chong and Anneka Carlson at the anti-mandate protest in Wellington.

New Plymouth District Council councillor Murray Chong, who is at the occupation, said he had been approached by a very wealthy person in the far north wanting to make a sizeable donation amounting in the thousands.

He had not received a parking ticket but had been told that, if he did, he could take it to the information tent at the occupation site and it would be taken care of.

He was aware of many others some who supported the cause but couldnt get to Wellington who had donated money, food, or petrol.

Protester Ben Norton was also told he could take parking tickets to the information tent, and they sort it out for you.

Wellington City Council spokesman Richard MacLean confirmed that, so far, just five of the parking tickets handed out at the site had been paid. The council issued 335 tickets last Tuesday and a further 184 the week before.

Link:

New Zealand occupation fundraising website registered in Canada - Stuff.co.nz

Our Berlin bureau chief, Philip Oltermann, reports on the rollout of Novavaxs Covid-19 vaccine in Germany:

Germany will offer its population a new protein-based Covid-19 vaccine comparable to conventional flu jabs this week, in the hope of swaying a sizeable minority that remains sceptical of the novel mRNA technology used in the most commonly used vaccines.

About 1.4m doses of the Nuvaxovid vaccine developed by the US biotech company Novavax are to arrive in Germany this week, the countrys health minister, Karl Lauterbach, confirmed last Friday. A further 1m doses are to arrive the week after, with the German governments total order for the year 2022 amounting to 34m doses.

Novavaxs product has until now only been used in Indonesia and the Philippines, but was permitted for use in the EU last December. It is still awaiting authorisation in the US, as some concerns about the companys production capacity persist.

Unlike the novel mRNA vaccines produced by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna or viral vector made by AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, Nuvaxovid is a protein subunit vaccine. It contains a non-infectious component on the surface of the Sars-CoV-2 virus, which induces a protective immune response when the bodys immune cells come into contact with it.

Novavax announced last Junethat its vaccine had proven more than 90% effective against symptomatic infections with the Alpha variant, in trials including nearly 30,000 volunteers in the US and Mexico.

The company says its product is similarly effective against the Delta and Omicron variants, especially after a booster shot administered six months after the second jab. Germanys Paul Ehrlich Institute notes that the data proving the vaccines efficacy against more infectious variants remains limited.

Surveys in Germany suggest a considerable interest in the Novavax jab among the 19.8 million people in the country who have so far declined to take a jab against Covid-19. Out of 4,000 unvaccinated hospital workers surveyed in Berlin, 1,800 expressed an interest in the protein-based vaccine.

In the northern states of Lower Saxony, the health ministry said 6,000 people had put their name on a waiting list for Nuvaxovid by early February.

Some scientists question whether the new vaccine will prove a game changer in a country whose overall vaccination rate has been flatlining around 75% for months. Lars Korn, co-author of a current survey of anti-vaxxer attitudes conducted by the University of Erfurt, told public broadcaster ZDF that two-thirds of respondents would continue to completely reject any form of vaccination.

Go here to read the rest:

Covid live: Germany to begin rollout of Novavaxs jab; New Zealand to end vaccine mandates after Omicron peak - The Guardian

A FORMER All Blacks coach has claimed the former Manchester United and Ireland captain Roy Keane convinced him not to take a coaching role with the English rugby team.

Wayne Smith has revealed how Roy Keane talked him out of taking the job.

Smith held the New Zealand post in 2000 and 2001 and then returned to help out as an assistant coach for the Kiwi's World Cup win in 2011 and 2015.

The links around England started to emerge and Keane gave Smith advice on taking the job.

Smith was speaking to New Zealand publication Stuff about the meeting with Keane in 2008.

Keane was invited into the All Blacks training camp to provide some insight on leadership and this also was part of his UEFA pro license coaching course.

Ill tell you a story that made a real difference to me. Roy Keane came into the All Black environment for about a week in the build-up to a test match down in Wellington. He was an intriguing guy, said Smith

We asked him if he would get up and talk to the boys at dinner. So he stood up and he said something really interesting. He talked about going from Man United to Celtic. It seems like it was a bit of a finger to Fergie.

He said as soon as he pulled the new jersey over his head he realized it was the wrong jersey. It made a real impression on me. I kept thinking about that. If I pulled the white jersey over my head would it be the right fit for me?

And I decided at that point that I probably wouldnt coach against the All Blacks. Its not set in concrete. But thats how I felt. It would have been the wrong jersey to pull over the head.

Keane also gave advice to Ireland players Alan Quinlan, Ronan OGara, and Paul OConnell in Wellington before a game between the All Blacks and Ireland in 2008.

He warned O' Gara to be prepared for what the All Blacks were about to produce

Speaking to the Times O' Gara gave an insight into the encounter

To be honest Ronan, they mentioned you on Monday morning at nine o clock, said Keane

I fucking knew it! Theyre fucking always going after me!, claimed O' Gara

"It was brilliant. I went to the Test match on Saturday. The weather was atrocious. One of the worst games ever."

New Zealand went on to win the match on a 21-11 scoreline so it's not known whether Keane was lying or O' Gara wasn't listening.

More here:

Roy Keane talked a former New Zealand coach out of the England rugby job - Irish Post

New Zealand's daily Covid-19 numbers have surpassed the 2000 mark for the first time, with a record 2522 new community cases reported today.

Photo: 123rf.com

In a statement, the Ministry of Health said there were 100 people in hospital with the coronavirus. None are in ICU.

Today's new cases include 1799 in the Auckland DHBs, with the other cases reported in the Northland (41), Waikato (188), Bay of Plenty (86), Lakes (11), Hawke's Bay (24), MidCentral (13), Whanganui (2), Taranaki (9), Tairwhiti (12), Wairarapa (14), Capital and Coast (54), Hutt Valley (25), Nelson Marlborough (53), Canterbury (76), South Canterbury (1) and Southern (111) DHBs.

There were also 17 new cases reported at the border, including four historical cases.

There were 1901 new community cases reported yesterday, with 1929 new cases reported on Friday.

The total number of cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand has now gone past the 30,000 mark, at 30,694.

The ministry was unable to provide any information on yesterday's vaccination numbers, due to a "database reporting issue".

The ministry also issued a reminder today that rapid antigen tests will be made available at all Auckland testing sites to those who fit the appropriate clinical criteria, with access to the tests expanded further during the coming week.

"As the outbreak grows more people will have Covid and there will be more close contacts we need to test. As planned we will now increase the use of RATs in phase 2 and phase 3 of our response in order to relieve pressure on the PCR testing and reserve it for those most likely to have Covid.

"As we've previously said, only those with symptoms or who have been identified as close contacts of a case, or directed by a health professional to get tested should be turning up at testing sites."

The ministry said testing continued to be one of the best defences against Covid-19, but it was important to reiterate that people do not need to get tested unless they are unwell with cold or flu symptoms, have been identified as a close contact of a case or have been instructed to do so by health officials.

"As this demand has grown, some Covid-19 test results for Auckland and Waikato are currently taking longer to process at laboratories.

"The use of rapid antigen testing, alongside PCR testing, will improve this process at a time of exceptional demand in Phase 2, provided the testing centre queues are freely available for those who really need a test."

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Covid-19 update: Record 2522 new cases reported in New Zealand today - RNZ

ReadingRoom

Online literary magazines are giving breath to a new wave of gender diverse writing

Poet Lily Holloway sits on her living room floor, surrounded by op-shop books, vintage magazines, and a stickers pack from the 90s. She is gluing together a paper eel. It twists and turns in her hands, a mix of blues and greens and a pop of yellow. The creature now lives on the home page of Eel MagNew Zealand's newest literary magazine.

Eel Mag is a collaboration between poets Shaina Pablo, Nathan Joe, and Lily Holloway. Its a queer literary publication for poets of Aotearoa.

"It's about creating a space of inclusion and queer celebration. And in doing so energising and facilitating the community that is queer literature, and queer poetry in our country," Holloway says.

Eel Mag is the latest of Aotearoa's online literary magazines, which are making space for new writers, giving breath to gender diverse voices, and opening the door to New Zealand literature. Journals like Starling, Sweet Mammalian, Stasis and now Eel Mag are often the first place new Kiwi poets share their work.

Writer Paula Green calls them a "conversation between things you know and things you don't know". Green thinks there is something fascinating going on in these spaces. "If you look at any issue [of Starling] now, you see that a lot of those writers are women. And I just find it really fascinating that there's a real groundswell of young women writing who are appearing online. And it's the same if you pick the journal Sweet Mammalian. The majority of writers in there are young women.

"You'll see [people with the pronouns] he, she, they. You'll see Pkeh, Pasifika, Asian, Mori, a range of voices. And also, our taonga, old voices, are part of the mix as well as secondary school students, people who haven't had a book out.

"It's so many different ways of writing. I cant pinhole it into 'this is the way young voices are writing at the momenteverything and anything goes. The form changes, the politics, the subject matter, the degree of the personal in there, and the melodies, the music of the writing, the experimentation. And if you think about thatthat whole kind of diversity in voiceout of that comes connection."

Online literary journals survive on a diet of government grants, volunteered time, and pure editorial passion. Lily Holloway says she picked Eel as the name for a reason: as fresh and salt water travellers, secretive creatures who breed only in the ocean, eels embody a spirit of queerness. "Eels are queer because they're constantly transforming. They're transients. They exist in multiple forms, and there is an element of unknown to them that kind of resists definition."

Her eel collage is a collection of many different things: stickers, picture books, scientific magazines, encyclopaedias. It is one thing and many things at the same time. You cant pin it down. This messiness is emblematic of young New Zealand writing.

Eel Mag fills a gap in the New Zealand literary environment. Before it came along, Aotearoa had no online queer journals. Holloway: "I engaged with overseas literary publications, queer literary publications as well. And I felt like New Zealand really had a gap in the literary environment for a journal such as this because in Australia and in America, they do have dedicated literary publications for queer writing."

Shaina Pablo got swept into Eel Mag's editorial team through a Facebook message. On Zoom, they told me about Eel Mag's kaupapa.

"It is a place to be openly queer, but also to feel safe while doing so. Because I've been in a lot of spaces where I feel like I have one foot in the door and one foot out."

Pablo, a spoken word poet, smiles as they talk.

This is queer poetry by queer people. It just gives me a little more assurance that I'm okay with [sharing work], and I feel safe doing so. That's the kind of thing that we're hoping to spread with this, Pablo says.

Or as co-editor Nathan Joe puts it, "We should always be historians for our own community, in whatever capacity."

*

Many emerging poets have their roots in the online literary scene. Ruby Macomber (Oinafa/Taveuni/Ngpuhi) was walking down supermarket aisles with her mum when an acceptance email from the journal Starling popped into her inbox.

"I was so so excited. You know, being a little 16-year-old and not really submitting it with the expectation of any confirmation or affirmation in return. So, to receive that from two writers who are incredible and whose work I've read, that was a very empowering experience."

Macomber's work was for a school poetry performanceit grieved the loss of her Nan. Her high school English teacher encouraged her to submit.

"I can go back and say it all started there. I'm pretty proud of how my writing has been published in different places. I've done with writing things that I never even anticipated were possible," she says.

"I would say that the hardest part about getting work published and getting into the poetry community is the first stephaving the courage to submit your first piece. Just make the first step and then every other step after that."

Since then, Macomber has been published in Awa Whine, Taumata Rau, Signals, and more. She works in Te Kahui, a program that brings creative writing to prisons.

While still writing for print, Macomber is cropping up more and more in Aotearoa's Slam poetry events.

"I think growing up around incredible oratorsyou know, my Nan was an incredible storytellerI really want to challenge myself in that space and honour my family in that space."

Modi Deng sent off her first poems from her university hall bedroom. It was the same room she dyed her hair in on her nineteenth birthdaythe same flat where she started cooking for herself. Deng pulled three poems from her desktop and sent the email.

"I was probably falsely confident. Honestly, it wasn't even scary. I just did it because I think I just really liked writing," she says.

Deng now has a poetry chapbook out in AUP New Poets 8. She's a pianist and writer living in London. But without online literary journals, she's not sure she would have got there.

"I had no idea how to become a writer. Starling felt approachable just because of the way it presents itself for young writers. I didn't take any creative writing classes. I didn't know anyone else [who was writing], and then you'd just see these names continuously being in issues, and you're like 'Oh, okay, I really like her writing or 'Oh, that's so cool'."

This sense of community is a tidal pull. Tate Fountain, poet and member of Starling's editorial board, was also drawn in by her peers.

"I was watching a bunch of other people my age start to [get published]. Hera Lindsay Bird's book came out, and other people's chapbooks and things were happening.

"I started reading and looking through Starling; it would be people like Vanessa Crofskey, or Nina Mingya Powles, or even Sinead Overbye, who is now on the editorial committee with me."

Fountain sent her first poems off while she was on a student exchange to Dublin. But it wasn't until she came back to Aotearoa that she started to get experimental with her poetry.

"I noticed the prevalence of young women writers, and I was really inspired by that. Because so many of them seemed to be doing so well and putting out such different work, you couldn't put a pin on what young New Zealand poets were."

*

Aotearoa has a long history of literary journals that challenge what it means to be a Kiwi writer and break the rules of what belongs on the page. As Paula Green says, "Its like the oceana constant groundswell of writing and ways of writing, communication and connection across time. It's not just happening now. It's always happening. You can look at it and see that it's always slightly different."

There was Phoenix (established at Auckland University in the 1930s), then Tomorrow (which published 29 of Frank Sargesons short stories), then Landfall But for much of our literary history, these magazines have been filled with one kind of writer.

"New Zealand journals were pretty much dominated by white men, Pkeh men, and women hadn't had a look in," says Paula Green. "In the early 20th century a lot of women writers were not getting published. They were full of self-doubt, they were writing at home along with being a mother and a house wife and everything else.

But over the years, that started to change. The internet has "definitely made a difference" in the diversity of Kiwi writing, Green says.

Rebecca Hawkes, co-editor of Sweet Mammalian, is very aware of the history of exclusion in Aotearoa literary magazines.

Sweet Mammalian has been around for eight years. It publishes a mix of established and emerging writers. If you flick through its editions youll find writing about climate change, decolonisation, Hobbiton, and everything in between.

Hawkes and Nikki-Lee Birdsey took over editing the journal in 2019. "There is kind of a gatekeeping role of journals that I think people are much more aware of now, particularly when it comes to representation of Mori voices and any [marginalised] voices, Hawkes says.

We spoke on Zoom, her head bobbing slightly out of frame. Hawkes' steady voice rose with excitement as we talked.

"I think we're lucky to have more diversity and awareness now. And part of that is because of the enhanced accessibility of journals."

It's not just the accessibility of journals that are important, but their ability to "engage with what's happening right now", Hawkes says. It takes a while for books to be published, for poetry collections to hit the shelves. But online literary journals can respond to what's happening in the moment. "You can really keep your finger on the pulse of what's fresh."

The journal Stasis is a perfect example. Created in 2020 by editors Sinead Overby and Jordan Hamel, Stasis published work created during lockdown. It sprung up to support artists whose income has been impacted by the pandemic.

Stasis came back to life after Delta knocked Auckland into lockdown round two. While running, it published a new piece every weekdaybringing a spark of daily poetry to the lockdown experience.

"Stasis is a really wonderful example of the kind of immediate power of online journals at the moment," Hawkes says.

The journal released two issues, both during times of lockdown. You can still find all the published writing online.

Starling is yet another glowing example of the strength of online journals. Co-editors Louise Wallace and Francis Cooke launched the magazines first edition in 2016, after a series of long email threads and the occasional coffee shop planning session. They accept work by any writer under the age of 25.

Since its inception, Starling has blossomed into a go-to spot for young writersearly editions include work by Tayi Tibble, Nina Mingya Powles, and Sharon Lam.

Francis Cooke says, "We've always wanted Starling to help create a community that gave space to young writers, and one of the particular things that we thought about as we started the journal is that we had always wished that there had been this kind of space for us when we were in our early 20s. In some ways, [creating a gender diverse journal] was just something that happened through reading the writing and finding the most interesting and exciting new writers, which naturally, is a spread. It feels almost like you'd have to put effort into being closed off to that.

"So long as you spread your net wide, you are going to have a wide and diverse community of writers."

Read more:

The future of New Zealand poetry - Newsroom