Two a penny

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Winter is expected to have one last hurrah with snow forecast over much of the country until the weekend.

The MetService said strong cold winds were expected to spread snow showers down to 200 metres over Otago overnight, and over Banks Peninsula and the Kaikoura Coast down to 400 metres tomorrow morning. .

Snow showers should lower to about 400 metres on the eastern ranges of Wellington, 500 metres for the central North Island and Hawke’s Bay, and to about 600 metres over Gisborne tomorrow.

Up to 20cm could fall on the Catlins through to late Thursday morning.

Severe frosts were expected on sheltered basins and valleys in the South Island on Friday morning and again on Saturday.

Showers south of Napier should clear on Friday but rain and strong winds were expected in Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay on the weekend.

Motorists were warned to take care in icy conditions.

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Cold southerlies were expected over the North Island late on Thursday, and farmers were warned the wind, cold showers and snow could be stressful for newborn lambs and calves

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The All Whites’ bench and players went up as one, arms in the air and hugs all around.

Rarely before had a 0-0 draw been greeted with such jubilation but for New Zealand football, this was a victory of sorts. It was also their first point at a senior men’s Fifa tournament.

The draw with Iraq at Ellis Park in Johannesburg this morning created a slice of history for the All Whites, who won their first ever point in their ninth match at a Confederations Cup. .

There were no goals, and the match won’t go down as one the greats, but the 23 players in black shirts couldn’t have cared less – they gained some of the credibility they were after from the very outset.

On another night they could’ve won 3-0, and the finishing left much to be desired, but they are small gripes in the scheme of things and certainly compared to the previous two performances here in South Africa, ones that can be overlooked. And it would have been a cruel blow, as the All Whites dominated the match in possession and chances created.

Leo Bertos, who was quiet against South Africa, led the charge and was prepared to use his considerable pace to take on defenders and create chances, which he did all night.

In contrast to the previous match, there were plenty of worthy individual performances.

Coach Ricki Herbert resisted any temptation to make wholesale changes to the team that performed so poorly against South Africa, opting for just the three.

Jeremy Brockie, too, had a good game on the other flank and rebounded in style having been substituted after just 27 minutes of the Spanish match and dropped for South Africa.

Herbert had a late change of heart and decided to play in-form goalkeeper Glen Moss for the third straight game despite earlier indicating Mark Paston would play against Iraq.

David Mulligan was dropped in favour of Aaron Scott at right back, Brockie regained his spot in the midfield from Jeremy Christie, and Ben Sigmund replaced Andy Boyens at centre back.

He made several vigorous challenges early in the match and let the Iraqis know he was on the pitch.

Sigmund, who certainly didn’t look as though he hadn’t played a game since January, was his usual uncompromising self and true to his pre-match words till he couldn’t last any longer and was replaced in the 71st minute.

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It was the sort of physical intensity the All Whites had been lacking in the first two matches

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Mapp eyes expanding roles of territorials

– Monday, 16 February 2009

The new defence minister has signalled increased overseas deployment of part-time soldiers is on the cards.
Wayne Mapp was at the army's West Melton range outside Christchurch yesterday visiting the Territorial Forces' week-long Southern Kiwi training exercise.
He was a commissioned officer in the regiment (3 Auckland North) specialising in military intelligence, infantry and signals.
Mapp described his own time in the Territorial Forces as "just the most direct expression of citizenship".
The forthcoming White Paper the Government was preparing to look at defence spending would include Territorial Force deployments, he said. He was not deployed overseas, but said the foreign missions Territorial Forces now regularly embarked upon "makes it so much more tangible"."
It was important to see troops in person rather than "sitting in offices receiving reports", he said. .
The two aspects of her life had started separately but had recently dovetailed, she said.
Lieutenant Rachel Boulton, 24, told the minister she had been in the territorials for four years while studying civil engineering at Canterbury University.
The Southern Kiwi exercise will see soldiers from all over the South Island practising foot and vehicle patrolling, cordon and search operations, vehicle checkpoints and small attacks on isolated locations.
Boulton joined "because she enjoyed it" but now, as she looked at jobs, employers were responding positively to the leadership and management skills she had picked up in the army.
"New Zealand Defence Force reservists have contributed to security and stability under the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands since July 2003, and this exercise, alongside their regular training, will help to prepare them for future deployments there and elsewhere around the world," Faulls said.
"This week offers reservists the opportunity to take on challenges that you would regularly experience full-time in the Army," Colonel Chris Faulls, Deputy Commander of the 3rd Land Force Group and the head of the South Island Territorial Forces, said.

.
Mapp eyes expanding roles of territorials

– Monday, 16 February 2009

The new defence minister has signalled increased overseas deployment of part-time soldiers is on the cards.
Wayne Mapp was at the army's West Melton range outside Christchurch yesterday visiting the Territorial Forces' week-long Southern Kiwi training exercise.
He was a commissioned officer in the regiment (3 Auckland North) specialising in military intelligence, infantry and signals.
Mapp described his own time in the Territorial Forces as "just the most direct expression of citizenship".
The forthcoming White Paper the Government was preparing to look at defence spending would include Territorial Force deployments, he said. He was not deployed overseas, but said the foreign missions Territorial Forces now regularly embarked upon "makes it so much more tangible"."
It was important to see troops in person rather than "sitting in offices receiving reports", he said. .
The two aspects of her life had started separately but had recently dovetailed, she said.
Lieutenant Rachel Boulton, 24, told the minister she had been in the territorials for four years while studying civil engineering at Canterbury University.
The Southern Kiwi exercise will see soldiers from all over the South Island practising foot and vehicle patrolling, cordon and search operations, vehicle checkpoints and small attacks on isolated locations.
Boulton joined "because she enjoyed it" but now, as she looked at jobs, employers were responding positively to the leadership and management skills she had picked up in the army.
"New Zealand Defence Force reservists have contributed to security and stability under the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands since July 2003, and this exercise, alongside their regular training, will help to prepare them for future deployments there and elsewhere around the world," Faulls said.
"This week offers reservists the opportunity to take on challenges that you would regularly experience full-time in the Army," Colonel Chris Faulls, Deputy Commander of the 3rd Land Force Group and the head of the South Island Territorial Forces, said.