Gritty England oust New Zealand in Dubai
England has ended New Zealand's reign as Dubai Sevens champions in a hard-fought semi-final this morning.
Gordon Tietjens' side crashed out 19-14 against England who will play reigning World Series champs Samoa in the decider.
Tietjens says they didn't get the rub of the green from the referee and were caned with the penalty count which did not help their cause.
New Zealand had earlier beaten Wales 35-7 in the quarter finals.
Barry to pick up the Harbour pieces
Liam Barry has been confirmed as the North Harbour ITM Cup Head Coach for the next three years.
The 39-year-old Barry replaces the dumped former All Black Craig Dowd, who led the underperforming union to a disappointing 11th place finish in the ITM Cup this year.
But Jeff Wilson, who was Dowd's assistant, has been re-hired by the province and will team up with Barry.
Barry, a former All Black flanker, has spent the last six years with the Blues franchise, as Skills Coach from 2006-2009 and Assistant Coach in 2009, 2010 and will continue in that role for the upcoming Super Rugby season until the conclusion of the Blues' campaign.
North Harbour CEO Brett Hollister says it was not an easy decision to make due to the high calibre of applicants but explains Barry came through the interview process with flying colours.
"Liam's strong leadership skills, coaching experience and long-time affiliation with the region stood out for the interview panel amongst a high quality field of applicants," Hollister says.
Born in Takapuna, Barry attended Rosmini College before joining the East Coast Bays Club.
Debuting for North Harbour in 1991 at the age of 20, Barry had a distinguished career for the province, spanning a decade and racking up 83 games. He also had two spells in Japan playing for NEC from 1997-2001 and Kubota from 2002-2004.
In 1993 he was selected for the All Blacks and was part of the first family to provide three generations of All Blacks, following his father Kevin and grandfather Ned.
Heat dump Bucks for fifth straight win
The Miami Heat continued to look like the elite team many envisioned in the offseason as they defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 88-78 today for their fifth straight win.
Dwyane Wade had a team-high 25 points and 14 rebounds, LeBron James scored 17 points and the Heat continued to play inspired defence in achieving their longest win streak of the NBA season.
Miami (14-8) had a rough start to the season and fell short of expectations created when James and Chris Bosh signed with the Heat to join fellow All-Star Wade, but have found their rhythm since having a players-only meeting Nov. 27.
In the opener of a four-game road trip, the Heat never trailed and held the Bucks to 34% shooting from the field.
Corey Maggette had 20 points off the bench to leACad Milwaukee, which fell to 7-13 on the season.
