Sam Coughlan

Family connections feature strongly in the Canterbury Bulls squad for their men’s national premiership campaign which kicks off in early September.

Despite sealing the Miles Toyota Premiership title with their biggest win over Christ’s College in a decade, Christchurch Boys’ High have had to quickly refocus on Saturday's South Island first XV final.

“You start turning up in December, all the Tuesday and Thursday trainings, so it’s always rewarding when you get what you’ve prepared for," says grand-final-winning Linwood Keas coach Andrew Auimatagi.

Mad Mondays are a traditional rite of passage for grand final-winning sports teams. But for try scoring hero Shun Miyake, he could not go overboard after his last-minute try won Marist Albion the Metro premier title.

The last time Christchurch United reached a Chatham Cup quarter-final, they went on to win the competition.

Forty years after their famous title-winning season in 1985, a Marist Albion team with deep ties to the club’s past will take on Linwood in the Metro premier final on Sunday.

Not many people involved in the Christchurch running scene can claim to be more well-known than The Frontrunner Colombo owner Oska Baynes.

Linwood are taking a novel build-up into the preliminary finals of the Metro premier competition on Saturday.

Rugby teams around the country will sport bright yellow shoelaces this weekend to remember a Christchurch boy who died from cancer five years ago.

Rowan O’Gorman is in his 25th season of premier rugby, and even after notching another remarkable milestone the veteran hooker shows no sign of slowing down.

Eric Sincock has spent 26 years coaching at Papanui Boxing but says he will "never stop learning" and has no plans to quit.