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Speaker 1: You're listening to the Weekend Sport Podcast with Jason Vine

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Speaker 1: from Newstalks EDB, New.

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Speaker 2: Zealand Rugby Women's High Performance Pathways Manager and member of

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Speaker 2: the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to rugby

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Speaker 2: Kendra cockxedge to preview this one for us, Kendrack, can

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Speaker 2: we start with the Blues firm favorites? You'd have to

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Speaker 2: say five wins from six in the regular season home advantage.

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Speaker 2: What have been the main reasons for the Blues success

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Speaker 2: up to this point this season?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean the Blues are a classy side. You know,

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Speaker 3: they've got really talented athletes across the across the board

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Speaker 3: for one, probably to thirty in terms of their whole squad,

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Speaker 3: the type of footy that they're playing, their attacking style

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Speaker 3: in terms of playing on top and teams probably allowing

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Speaker 3: them to do that, and then just ability to be

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Speaker 3: able to if someone might push a w then outline

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Speaker 3: and Braxton Charnson mcgah, who's a young girl coming through

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Speaker 3: to be able to finish those opportunities off a.

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Speaker 2: Bit further on, how integral to their success has Hey DeMont.

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Speaker 3: We know what sher brains right, like her leadership and

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Speaker 3: her experiences is outstanding. And you know, we've seen what

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Speaker 3: she can do in the Black Jersey too, and you

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Speaker 3: know when she's playing and she's on the top of

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Speaker 3: her game and she controls, it's but it's women hard

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Speaker 3: to stop. So I think she's in plays an integral

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Speaker 3: part and I think you know, someone like her tonight

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Speaker 3: has an outstanding game. Must Ter two will struggle to

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Speaker 3: probably get into the game.

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Speaker 2: MUCHA two do know though, don't they? That they can

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Speaker 2: and have beaten the Blues, which they did in fun

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Speaker 2: at A just a couple of weeks ago. So how

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Speaker 2: much confidence, first of all will they take from that?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I think when you when you do get a one,

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Speaker 3: there's a there's an element of belief. So I think

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Speaker 3: they'll have a bit of belief now that they can

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Speaker 3: they can beat the Blues and they can win the competition,

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Speaker 3: and we know when it gets the final footy, it

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Speaker 3: becomes a whole different, different beast. Yet the Blues are

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Speaker 3: at home, but you know, the must To are sitting

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Speaker 3: in a position where you're the underdog and it's the

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Speaker 3: best the best place that you want to be. And

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Speaker 3: I think you know that. But Cardinal've progressed throughout the season.

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Speaker 3: They're I've probably got a team a team of like

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Speaker 3: rather than the team of individuals, a team of good

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Speaker 3: quality players, and it's each each week in week out.

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Speaker 3: It's been really hard to choose an outstanding player because

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Speaker 3: they're all playing as a group of players and as

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Speaker 3: a team.

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Speaker 2: I guess when you run your right down the teamless though,

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Speaker 2: and as you say, they are a true team, but

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Speaker 2: you naturally land on the lights of black ferns. Alana

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Speaker 2: Bremner Amy Doupless, do you feel as though they will

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Speaker 2: be particularly important tonight for the Matatu.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, and you know, your leaders in the team and

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Speaker 3: your black fans, they do become important. You know, you

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Speaker 3: need your big players to make big plays, and you

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Speaker 3: know someone like Amy do as well especial she said

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Speaker 3: the outstanding season, So I know that she'll want to

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Speaker 3: kind of want to continue to carry that and a

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Speaker 3: line of prem in the way she kind of leads

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Speaker 3: in the grind she puts and you do kind of,

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Speaker 3: you know, probably lean on that a little bit, so

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Speaker 3: you know, and there's a lot of them across both teams.

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Speaker 3: So that's why I think it's going to be an

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Speaker 3: exciting match because it's just the number of black Ferns

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Speaker 3: and quality out players that are coming through across both

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Speaker 3: teams is really exciting.

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Speaker 2: And the winner of course will play Australia's Super W

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Speaker 2: champion their finals this afternoon in North Sydney reds war Atas.

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Speaker 2: How much of an extra carrot will that be for

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Speaker 2: these two teams?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I think it's a cooler aage of carrot. Obviously,

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Speaker 3: it's it's new, it's the first time being done and

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Speaker 3: it's going to be great to be able to see

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Speaker 3: that crossover match get get played. And I think, you know,

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Speaker 3: like it's going to be a pretty short turnaround from

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Speaker 3: Sunday to Thursday in terms of the kickoff, but I

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Speaker 3: think there'll be a little bit of a carrot there

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Speaker 3: to want so one you know when when when you

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Speaker 3: know when you're in competition in country and then go

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Speaker 3: and hopefully top of a team from a different country.

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Speaker 2: So this game takes center stage at Eden Park tonight,

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Speaker 2: the Blues against Miner PACIFICA in the early game and

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Speaker 2: Super Rugby Pacific. What are you hoping for in terms

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Speaker 2: of a crowd and and and those who will maybe

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Speaker 2: come along to watch the Blues Minor Pacifica and hang

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Speaker 2: around for the for the five past seven game.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, what an exciting opportunity, right to be

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Speaker 3: on the main stage and then after what is going

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Speaker 3: to be an epic match Elkland with Minor and the Blues.

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Speaker 3: And I think, you know, the having a prime time

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Speaker 3: is you know, usually kind of stuck in the afternoon

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Speaker 3: at the moment and people have club rugby and that's

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Speaker 3: all started now, so that's kind of people having to

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Speaker 3: make decisions and you have to go play club footy

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Speaker 3: and missing the action of Opaki. So I think having

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Speaker 3: it on the primetime gives them an opportunity for people

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Speaker 3: to get along and watch it. And I think, you know,

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Speaker 3: both both the games will be spectacles.

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Speaker 2: What do you see, Kendra as the evolution the natural

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Speaker 2: next bit of evolution for Super Rugby, Opicky, What have

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Speaker 2: we had? We've had six rounds, so the four teams

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Speaker 2: each play each other three times. What would you like

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Speaker 2: to see in terms of expansion the longest season. What's

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Speaker 2: the ideal in the next few years.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I think in the next year you'd want to

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Speaker 3: have been an expansion and then hopefully it's an opportunity

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Speaker 3: for it to be a bit for full time as

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Speaker 3: well for the players, so they're getting more time together

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Speaker 3: and we're seeing it across this year with certain teams.

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Speaker 3: The teams that have spend a bit more time to

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Speaker 3: get it tend to yell a bit more so as

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Speaker 3: an expense expanding the competition as well as going full time.

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Speaker 3: I wud up to see that down and down the track.

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Speaker 3: I think that'd be a great opportunity for these classes

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Speaker 3: that continue be able to play more rugby at a

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Speaker 3: high level.

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Speaker 2: One hundred percent and huge year for the Black Ferns.

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Speaker 2: Of course the World Cup in August and September. How

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Speaker 2: confident should we be that this team can emulate what

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Speaker 2: what your team did three years ago?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean I'm back in there, you know, because

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Speaker 3: I've been part of a team that's done that. But

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Speaker 3: after watching this opake, we've definitely got the players to

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Speaker 3: be able to win a World Cup on the world stage.

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Speaker 2: And also just this week you launched New Zealand Rugby

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Speaker 2: Next Ferns nationwide search for new rugby talent in a

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Speaker 2: bid to uncover some future players for the fifteens and

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Speaker 2: sevens programs. How confident. Are you can uncover a few

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Speaker 2: gems through through this program.

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Speaker 3: Yeah. I'm really excited about this program. And it's such

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Speaker 3: a great opportunity to you know, to put the feelers

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Speaker 3: out there for athletes and you know they're not already

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Speaker 3: I guess in our path play and we know the

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Speaker 3: power of that. We don't want it's already done with

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Speaker 3: the lights of a Kada b Kayla mckels who came

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Speaker 3: through Paul Shwartsman. I think even Gail Bortter was kind

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Speaker 3: of ordering the system in terms of a little bit

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Speaker 3: of rag player in the league and other sports too,

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Speaker 3: so for her, you know. So it has worked in

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Speaker 3: the past, so you know, we wanted to give it

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Speaker 3: a crack. It spend wanted over a decade since we've

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Speaker 3: We've done it, and I think it's just yeah, it's

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Speaker 3: course want people to come in and give it a go.

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Speaker 3: If you want to be an explecter and you've got

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Speaker 3: a bit of height, you've got some speed, or you

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Speaker 3: offer some real serious power, you know, we want to

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Speaker 3: see that.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, looking forward to seeing the fruits of up all right,

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Speaker 2: are you willing to call it tonight Blues or Mata too?

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Speaker 3: I've actually I've been I've been becking my probably my

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Speaker 3: heads the last few weeks, and I'm going to back

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Speaker 3: my heart this week and I'm gonna go with the

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Speaker 3: Buster two twelve and wonderful.

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Speaker 2: Thanks Kendra, I really appreciate your time this afternon look

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Speaker 2: forward to our cracking game tonight at Eaton Park.

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Speaker 1: All Right, thank you for more from Weekend Sport with

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Speaker 1: Jason Fine. Listen live to news Talks b weekends from midday,

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Speaker 1: or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio