Hon Chris Bishop
Minister of Sport & Recreation

New Zealanders have a huge amount to be proud about after five national sporting teams celebrated historic wins over the weekend, Sport & Recreation Minister Chris Bishop says.

“In New Zealand’s history there haven’t been too many sporting weekends like the one we’ve just seen, with epic wins from Team New Zealand, the White Ferns, the Black Caps, the Silver Ferns and the Paddle Ferns,” Mr Bishop says.

“I know lots of Kiwis will be bleary-eyed today after a couple of long nights watching our teams go up against the best, but I bet they’re as stoked at the results and as proud of our teams as I am.

“The excitement started around 1am Sunday morning when Emirates Team New Zealand, who were on match point, took to the water off Barcelona with INEOS Britannia. Kiwi sailing fans with long memories were probably pretty nervous at this point, and they probably chewed through their fingernails as the Brittania clawed their way back to dead even around the midway mark - but Team New Zealand’s Taihoro was dominant in the end, finishing 37 seconds ahead. This three-peat victory by Team New Zealand was the first time any team has won the Cup three times in more than 30 years – a brilliant achievement by the team.

“The next sporting victory was on Sunday evening from the Black Caps who took out the first test in the series against India. This was just New Zealand’s third win against India in India ever, and our first since 1988. The Hutt Valley’s own Rachin Ravindra (deservedly Man of the Match) made a century in the first innings and helped chase down the target in the second innings, finishing unbeaten.

“There was also sporting action in Wellington on Sunday evening with the Silver Ferns taking on the world champion Diamonds in the Constellation Cup. The Ferns were dominant from the start, playing a bold attacking game which showed in the final score of 64-50 – the highest the Silver Ferns have ever scored against the Diamonds in regular time. The Ferns and the Diamonds have been pretty even in recent years so a 14 goal victory is an awesome achievement. While there are still three games to go, this is a brilliant start.

“That wasn’t all for Sunday evening though: over in China the Paddle Ferns, our women’s national Canoe Polo team, took on Italy in the final of the Canoe Polo World Cup and stormed home with the silverware. The final score of 6:1 shows how strong the Paddle Ferns were – continuing a long and proud history of excellence in the sport.

“And then to round out a truly amazing sporting weekend, at 3am Monday morning the White Ferns, led by Sophie Devine, stepped up to face South Africa in the women’s T20 World Cup final in Dubai and absolutely smashed it, bringing home their first World Cup since the One Day International in 2000. Amelia Kerr’s 43 runs off 38 balls, and then taking 3 wickets for 24 set our team up for their magnificent performance.

“All in all, I think this was a weekend that will go down in New Zealand’s sporting annals. All five teams should know that their country is enormously proud of them.

“And I think Kiwi sports fans can be forgiven if they’re caught yawning at work today, after so much sporting excitement packed into one weekend!”

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