All Blacks

The 34-year-old, a two-time World Cup winner, made his debut in 2004 and played 81 tests.

He is the third most capped Blues player in history with 127 games to date, behind fellow All Blacks Keven Mealamu (164) and Tony Woodcock (137).

One of the highlights of his All Blacks career was playing all but one minute of the All Blacks' successful 2011 World Cup campaign.

He had a two-year stint overseas playing in Japan before returning to New Zealand and playing his way back into the All Blacks.

Kaino scored 12 test tries.

The 35-year-old, who made his professional rugby debut in 2006, is the most capped Super Rugby player of all time and ran out for his 13th Super season and in his 188th Crusaders match on Saturday in their opening match win over the Chiefs.

He played his 71st and final Test for the All Blacks against Wales in the last Test of 2017.

Despite finishing his international and Super Rugby career, Crockett will still play domestic rugby in New Zealand after signing a two-year deal with the Tasman Mako.

Bordeaux revealed the news on their club website on Thursday (NZ time), with Tamanivalu making the move at the end of the 2018 Super Rugby season on a three-year contract.

Confirmation of the shift for the 25-year-old, who has five All Blacks caps, came just a day after it was announced Chiefs midfielder Charlie Ngatai had signed with another French club, Lyon.

The playmaker last week revealed he will leave Highlanders and turn his back on the All Blacks at the end of the 2018 Super Rugby season.

Wasps on Monday announced that Sopoaga, capped 16 times by the world champions, will link up with the Coventry-based club for the 2018-19 campaign.

And director of rugby Young felt the opportunity to recruit the 26-year-old was good to pass up.

"When a world-class fly-half became available we jumped at the chance, as that doesn't happen very often," the Welshman stated.

The 26-year-old Highlanders star announced on social media that he's signed a three-year deal with English club Wasps.

Sopoaga, who recently became a father for the first time, said it was a difficult decision to make.

"It's with a heavy heart that I announce that my family and I will be leaving NZ at the end of the 2018 season," Sopoaga wrote on Instagram.

The rugby star this month signed a two-year deal with the Kobe Steelers in Japan, starting in June when the current French season ends.

But Carter has appeared out-of-sorts in recent times, French journalist Catherine Field told NewstalkZB on Tuesday, with him cutting a sorry figure during his last appearance for the Paris club, in October. 

"He's not well, even if you talk to the man who owns the club. Dan Carter is 35 years old, has played rugby most of his life, his body is telling him it is time to take it easy," Field said.

The master coach wants to see his 27-year-old wing – stranded on the 46-try mark from his 54 tests when he was dropped from the All Blacks mid-year – rediscover his love of the game. He wants to see "the smile" back on the face of the man they call 'The Bus'.

Savea, who was in Auckland on Thursday to undertake promotional duties for February's Brisbane Global Tens which he hopes to use to launch a successful comeback season, says the All Blacks' boss can rest assured on that front.

Piutau and Halai, who both have Tongan ancestry, want World Rugby to loosen the eligibility rules to allow capped players to return to tier-two nations.

An identical policy has been introduced in rugby league and the Daily Mail report that Nonu and Vito could also make themselves available for Samoa under the proposals.

"If there's a way to do it, I want to give something back and play for Tonga at the 2019 World Cup," Piutau told the Mail on Sunday.

Tonga are in the same pool as England for the World Cup.

Defending series' champions South Africa won the tournament beat the All Blacks Sevens 24-12 in the decider.

The South Africans led 19-0 at half time, but the New Zealanders closed with two tries to Andrew Knewstubb and Scott Curry, before the Boks sealed the game with a late try.

New Zealand had a player sin-binned in the first half and South Africa in the second half.

New Zealand had beaten Kenya 14-12 and England 14-5 on the way to the final.

The New Zealand women finished fifth in their tournament yesterday.

The match was closer than the scoreline suggested, with the All Blacks powered to a 30th successive victory over their opponents by their powerful wings Waisake Naholo and man of the match Rieko Ioane, who each scored two tries.

But they were given a mighty scare by the home side, who hinted at an upset just before the interval with a well-worked move that let in Scott Williams for a try in his 50th international.