Steve Hepburn

The Highlanders came better in the second half but still fell 28-15 to the Crusaders in Motueka last night.

The Crusaders have beaten the Highlanders 28-15 in a damp pre-season game in Motueka today.

Shaun Treeby has been on the Highlanders' train for a good while now.

The Highlanders will again send out two shadow sides for their pre-season game against the Crusaders on Friday night.

Most sportsmen go to the United States to get better at certain sports - basketball, athletics or, at a pinch, a shot at a baseball career.

Scotland got back to winning ways with a convincing result over Nepal in a World Cup qualifying match in Queenstown yesterday.

Otago has named a predictable squad to contest the final of the twenty20 tournament in Hamilton tomorrow night.

Adam Milne is the latest fast bowler to get New Zealand cricket fans excited. Sports reporter Steve Hepburn looks back over the past 30 years to find an XI made up of players who threatened to become the next big thing in the New Zealand fast bowling ranks.

Northern Ireland, Russia and now Oamaru.

Meet Kane Hames.

Rahan Ali has been to the Highlands in the north of Scotland for his football experience and is continuing it in the lowlands of Dunedin.

The bowlers did the job but the Volts batsmen had a nightmare as Auckland smashed Otago at Eden Park last night.

Otago went close but ultimately did not feature at the business end of the national sevens tournament in Rotorua over the weekend.

Caddies are still required to work at the New Zealand Open and it could be a chance to earn some cash.

Otago will take a relatively new-look team to the national sevens tournament in Rotorua this weekend but confidence is still high it can repeat the good efforts of the past couple of years.

Aaron Joy has been appointed the Dunedin venue manager for next year's Fifa under-20 World Cup, and has high hopes the city will gain some real benefits from being part of the tournament.

The Otago Rugby Football Union is advertising for two board members, with one incumbent confirming he will stand again.

Otago has a mix of old and new in its women's sevens team making its debut at the national tournament in Rotorua this weekend.

Every year someone new emerges and is going to be the next big thing. The next Jeff Wilson, the new Susan Devoy. But for every Wynton Rufer there is a Reon Sayer. Sports reporter Steve Hepburn looks at some New Zealand sporting prodigies and how it panned out.