{"id":542570,"date":"2026-07-24T21:43:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T21:43:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/542570\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T21:43:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T21:43:13","slug":"karl-te-nana-reveals-key-player-to-watch-as-npc-rugby-kicks-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/542570\/","title":{"rendered":"Karl Te Nana reveals key player to watch as NPC rugby kicks off"},"content":{"rendered":"

The good old days of free-to-screen rugby are being revived for Kiwi fans this season with the NPC streaming live and free on TVNZ+<\/a>. Joining Scotty Stevenson in the commentary box will be renowned broadcaster and former sevens and rugby player Karl Te Nana, who boldly agreed to be subjected to our inaugural 1News Grill.<\/p>\n

What is your worst character trait? Impatience.<\/p>\n

What’s a rugby memory that lives rent-free in your head? My first ever New Zealand Rugby Sevens training.<\/p>\n

\"Karl<\/p>\n

Karl Te Nana playing for the New Zealand Sevens in 2001. (Source: TVNZ)<\/p>\n

What’s the biggest issue on your mind when you vote this November? Policies for M\u0101ori.<\/p>\n

What’s your favourite place in Aotearoa? Wherever my loved ones are \u2013 and the golf course. <\/p>\n

In your view, who is the provincial rugby player to watch this season? Meihana Grindlay (Taranaki). <\/p>\n

\"Meihana<\/p>\n

Meihana Grindlay of Taranaki, NPC Quarter Final, Hawkes Bay v Taranaki, McLean Park, Napier; October, 2025. Photo: Kerry Marshall (Source: Photosport)<\/p>\n

What’s one vice you’d like to quit or reduce? Eating potato chips in the afternoon.<\/p>\n

What’s something you’ll never understand? My kids video calling their cousins or friends so they can watch each other watch the TV or play video games.<\/p>\n

What was the last great book you read? River God, by Wilbur Smith.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(Source: 1News)<\/p>\n

What do you bring when asked to bring a plate? BBQ meat.<\/p>\n

What are the five elements that make a perfect weekend? Good people, having great food, and amazing drinks, all of us with a similar outlook, and all equally contributing to whatever we decide to do.<\/p>\n

Watch the first match of the Hilux NPC season – Waikato v Bay of Plenty – live on TVNZ+<\/a> on Thursday, July 30, at 7pm. <\/p>\n

TVNZ will show all NPC matches live and free on TVNZ+, with three games also broadcast on TVNZ 1 on Saturdays at 2pm and 7pm, and Sundays at 2pm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The good old days of free-to-screen rugby are being revived for Kiwi fans this season with the NPC…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":542571,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[111,139,69,2114,384,97379,213,417],"class_list":["post-542570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-opinion","tag-people","tag-sport-news","tag-sports","tag-television"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542570","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=542570"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542570\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/542571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=542570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=542570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=542570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}