100 Years of ZB: Your home for Sport

Sport is in New Zealand's DNA.  

From backyard rugby and beach cricket to the All Blacks and Silver Ferns dominating on the global stages, sport has been a regular part of Kiwis' lives since the beginning. And as your home for sport, Newstalk ZB has made sure to cover all the latest, greatest, and biggest events and stories of the past decades.  

ZB has had a long affiliation with our national game and has been the Radio Broadcast Partner of New Zealand Rugby for many years. We've been bringing the All Blacks action to you, everything from the Northern Tours and Rugby Championship to the British and Irish Lions Tours, broadcast live and free on the station.  

But the event that's always captured the nation's attention is the Rugby World Cup. New Zealand hosted the inaugural edition in 1987, and when the All Blacks lifted the Webb Ellis Cup for the first time, ZB was there to capture it. 

All Black captain David Kirk with the cup after defeating France in the 1987 Rugby World Cup final. Photo / John Stone 

Our luck changed after our initial win, the All Blacks coming close in 1991 and 1995, but falling short of the title. Although there was the stomach bug and 'Suzie the Waitress' scandal in 1995, Coach Laurie Mains told ZB all they can say about it is that some players were a bit flat.  

The pain continued up until 2011, when the All Blacks had a chance to make history at home. ZB followed every moment, and when they lifted the Cup once more at Eden Park, you could barely hear our commentary team, led by Nigel Yalden, over the crowd's celebrations. 

Four years later we travelled to the UK to cover the successful title defence, but unfortunately the three-peat wasn't to be, 2019's defeat seeing the All Blacks enter the 2023 World Cup with no claim to world domination. 

They weren't even expected to make it past the quarterfinals, but they upset Ireland and swept past Argentina, just for our biggest rivals, South Africa, to claim the Cup by a single point. Now the preparations for the 2027 World Cup are well underway – the All Blacks chasing their fourth title.  

ZB doesn't only celebrate the game itself, we also celebrated the legends of the game, including the great Jonah Lomu. He had formed a close friendship with Sir Paul Holmes and often joined him for a chat. 

Paul Holmes with Jonah Lomu, during a press call for the 2011 Fight For Life - League v Rugby. Photo / Brett Phibbs 

We mourned his loss in 2015, and then in 2016, another legend of the game, Sir Colin Meades gave ZB one of his last interviews before he died of pancreatic cancer. 

Another sport synonymous with ZB is sailing, beginning with PJ Montgomery's coverage of the 1995 America's Cup. When the Cup made its way to New Zealand after our victory over the Stars and Stripes, ZB was all over the celebrations. 

We were able to hold onto the Cup until Alinghi poached Sir Russell Coutts in 2003, but after that it was 14 heartbreak-filled years until we reclaimed the title. We've held it since, but Team New Zealand’s recent defences have controversially been staged overseas.  

No international stage is bigger than the Olympics, and like the Rugby World Cup, ZB has long been the official Radio Partner of the summer games, which means our audience has heard every golden moment live – going right back to the 1988 Seoul Games.  

Sir Mark Todd, Sir Ian Ferguson, Paul MacDonald, and Bruce Kendall secured our golds in '88, and at the 1992 Barcelona Games, Barbara Kendall was the one to bring home the top prize. 

As the years passed, New Zealand continued to bring home the golds, and Newstalk ZB continued to bring home the news – showcasing iconic moments such as the Kiwi quinella in 2004's triathlon.   

Hamish Carter and Bevan Docherty after winning gold and silver in the 2004 Olympic Games men's triathlon in Athens. Photo / Mark Mitchell 

London 2012 saw yet more golds and the arrival of our greatest Olympian – Dame Lisa Carrington, who became the first New Zealand woman to win a canoeing world title, and has earned a record eight gold medals.  

The 2020 Tokyo Games were postponed a year due to Covid, but that could hardly keep our athletes down. And three years later, the 2024 Paris Games have gone down as our most successful Olympics to date – a total of ten golds coming back home.  

As the weather turns warmer, the nation often turns its attention to cricket, and ZB has ensured our audience hears all the big moments. 

From hosting (and narrowly falling short) in Cricket World Cups, to winning the Inaugural World Test Championship, and a test triple century from Brendon McCullum, there's been plenty of successes to celebrate. 

Our tiny country at the bottom of the world is well known for punching above its weight, especially when it comes to cars. 

One of the country's original motorsport stars was Chris Amon – the best Formula 1 Driver to have never won a Grand Prix. When he died in 2016, legends Mario Andretti and Sir Jackie Stewart joined Mike Hosking to pay tribute, praising his clean and tactical driving. 

Among our greatest are Greg Murphy, who's won the Bathurst 1000 four times, and IndyCar legend Sir Scott Dixon, who has six championship wins under his belt, as well as 2008's famous Indy500.  

And of course, in recent years we've seen more Kiwis making it to Formula 1: Brendon Hartley, and more recently, Liam Lawson. Mike Hosking's been a long-time supporter of his, and we celebrated his second year on the F1 grid at the start of 2026. 

But even though sport is in our DNA, we don't always dominate, and rugby league fans know that quite well. ZB was there when the Warriors joined the NRL in 1995 and have been keeping one of the most passionate fanbases up to date ever since.  

The Warriors are still yet to win the title, but 2026 could be our year.  

Chanel Harris-Tavita celebrates with teammates during the Warriors clash against the St. George Illawarra Dragons, Saturday 18th of July. Photo / Photosport 

Football's popularity has skyrocketed in the last few years, but ZB has always made sure we've covered the key moments. Jason Pine ensured listeners stayed up to date when the All Whites made history at the 2010 Football World Cup, and when Auckland FC stunned the A-League in only its second year, he was all over it. 

ZB has celebrated plenty of sporting achievements over the years. After his surprise victory at the 2005 US Open, Michael Campbell joined Paul Holmes to celebrate, and this year, when Ryan Fox took home the trophy at the British Golf Open, he joined Mike Hosking to reflect on the tournament.  

David Tua led a boxing revolution in New Zealand, earning the right to fight for the world heavyweight title in 2000, and 16 years later, Joseph Parker became the first Kiwi to win it.  

In the past, we hadn't been quite as lucky with the Winter Olympics as we are with the Summer, but our fortunes have changed in recent years. And of course, 2019 saw Dame Noeline Taurua and the Silver Ferns claim their fifth title at the Netball World Cup. 

Sport is part of the very fabric of New Zealand, and as long as it continues to be so, Newstalk ZB will ensure our audience can follow every moment.  

Archival audio from the collections at Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision.