New Zealand

The skilful fly-half joins All Blacks great Richie McCaw as the only player to have retained the award, while Barrett, McCaw and the great Dan Carter are the only three to have won the prize more than once.

Barrett enjoyed another stellar year in international rugby, helping New Zealand retain the Rugby Championship, while he was also a part of the side that drew a thrilling series with the British and Irish Lions 1-1.

Manly released the 31-year-old five eighth yesterday after securing disgruntled Roosters halfback Mitchell Pearce.

Green, who was one of Manly's stars in 2017, had a year left remaining on his contracts.

Signed until the end of the 2020 NRL season, Green is moving to Auckland after helping the Sea Eagles surge to sixth this season from 13th in 2016.

New Zealand collapsed in limp fashion to a 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Fijians, and in the aftermath Blair attracted the ire of many with his nonchalant reaction, which included him suggesting the loss wasn't a negative for this side.

Just a week after falling 28-22 to Tonga, the Kiwis have been beaten by a second tier-two side in a low-scoring match they had never looked like winning.

Two Apisai Koroisau penalties to a sole Shaun Johnson effort on Saturday were enough to give the Bati a well-deserved win over a Kiwi team which never managed to get out of first gear.

An error-ridden performance from the Kiwis was comprehensively punished by a Fijian outfit, who showed more pace, poise and precision than the lacklustre New Zealanders.

New Zealand v Fiji

New Zealand take on Fiji in tomorrow night's Rugby League Cup quarter-final in Wellington, with the Bati hoping to replicate Tonga's efforts in upsetting the tournament co-hosts.

As RNZ sports reporter Joe Porter discovered, the Fijians are bullish, with Tonga's victory breathing life into the tier two nations.

This is Deputy Secretary, Pacific and Development Group, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) Jonathan Kings’ message to the 22 NZ Scholarship students taking part in the AUT MFAT NZ Scholarships Programme Completion Celebration.

Years of hard work, dedication and sacrifice have been celebrated at Tuesday’s gathering at AUT, hosted by the University Scholarships Office – an event which also recognises scholars’ achievements while on award.

Ever since star forward Jason Taumalolo, and later several other players, made the shock decision to play for Tonga rather than the Kiwis, the clash between the two nations at Waikato Stadium has been billed as the must-see match of the Rugby League World Cup group stages.

'Moana Pacific Storytelling' featured stories from Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Cook Islands and Tuvalu, including the Samoan myth 'Sina and the Eel'.

Project manager of the Pacifica Arts Centre Tuaratini Ra'a, organised the event, which is part of the Pacific Heritage Arts Fono 2017.

Ms Ra'a said storytelling in the Pacific, apart from being entertaining tales, was also a vehicle for the language and culture.

"It's an opportunity for those to turn up to observe that and they are not telling the stories to entertain the audience.

Shaw is already working on allowing Pacific people to migrate to New Zealand if climate change forces them to flee their homes.
 
Shaw and Pacific Peoples Minister Aupito William Sio are attending the COP23 climate change meeting in Bonn, Germany, and also heading to Rome, Italy, for a meeting between the Pacific Island Forum leaders and Pope Francis.
 
COP23 lead by Fiji, and focus on the threat rising seas pose to low-lying nations such as Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, Fiji and Vanuatu.