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First, on mental health. I’m keenly aware of the issue. In fact, I even admit from time to time I have not made much of some players injury status, when it has been explained to me by rugby officials that doing so would have an impact on their mental health. These occasions are rare, but I have no interest in harming somebody going through a difficult time. So, it s demonstrably false that I play fast and loose with mental health. Second, in terms of providing a safe place for players to talk about their experiences, and report on it positively, check out recent stories with Freedom Vahaakolo and Mitch Hunt. No one s perfect of course, but journalists do try and, quite frankly, players often are their own worst enemies when it comes to coverage.
A road made and named after prisoners who worked in Dunedin. More than a century ago, nearly 100 Māori men were punished for defending their land rights in Taranaki and sent to Dunedin for hard labour. Some men never made it home. Hamish McNeilly reports. Two groups of Māori men: one who took up arms, and the other who protested peacefully. All wanted the return of their ancestral land, and all received the same sentence. Hard labour. The labour of those Taranaki prisoners: 74 from Pakakohi in 1869 and a decade later 91 from Parihaka, is visible around Dunedin. There is Māori Rd, carved between two city hill suburbs and named after the prisoners, other main arterial roads, and land reclamation.