Source: Radio New Zealand
There were a plethora of bizarre, quirky, and eye popping moments in the world of sport in 2025. Photosport
What happened in the unpredictable world of sport in 2025? Jonty Dine takes a look back.
Whistling Webby
Sick of a lack of accountability for referees, Warriors coach Andrew Webster was not going to tolerate the same from Kiwi journalists, blowing his whistle every time a ‘shit’ question was asked at this memorable press conference.
Reece Walsh drinks toilet water
There was no evidence to support his claim of toilet water being a performance enhancer, but based on Walsh’s performance in the NRL final, who would argue the point?
Marlborough Boys’ cheeky try
Whether they called it innovation, or against the spirit of the game, this audacious MBC try had people across the country talking and certainly would have made Rassie Erasmus proud.
Connor Zilisch breaks collarbone celebrating
Hard to say whether the pain from the break or the embarrassment was worse for the NASCAR driver.
Alan Bunting serenades crowd with ‘Levitating’
Bunts came in clutch with this crowd pleaser at a Black Ferns farewell at Manurewa Intermediate.
Raiders wrestling goes wrong
A bit of team bonding turned into a battle for alpha status in a Las Vegas hallway as Hudson Young and Morgan Smithies tussled into an elevator, forcing police to be called to deal with what was believed to be a dangerous weapon, but was later revealed as an inflatable baseball bat.
Phone falls out of cricketers pocket
When the screen addiction is very real, Lancashire’s Tom Bailey dropped his phone while running between the wickets during a match against Gloucestershire.
Rohit gets fat-shamed
A sure fire way to alienate yourself from the Indian public and tank re-election odds, politician Shama Mohamed decided to attack the nation’s cricket captain, calling Rohit Sharma “fat for a sportsman” and “unimpressive”.
Boisson gets smell-shamed
British tennis player Harriet Dart was forced to say sorry after commenting that her opponent, France’s Lois Boisson, “smells really bad.”
Serena’s Superbowl crip walk
As if we couldn’t love the tennis superstar any more, she went and threw shade at Drake in the most epic way possible as well as the stuffy elitists who derided her for performing the Compton-born dance move at Wimbledon.
Dog eats passport
Leroy Carter’s canine was clearly not too chuffed with his owner’s All Black call-up, all while validating generations of student excuses.
Woakes bats in a sling
A defiant act of bravery, England bowler Chris Woakes, who had dislocated his shoulder earlier, strode onto the Oval with his left arm strapped under his jersey and a bat in his right hand in a heroic bid to save the test against India.
Hangman’s backyard scraps
Beloved UFC veteran Dan Hooker kept himself busy while sidelined with a hand injury as he launched his one minute scraps Youtube series hosted in his Auckland backyard. The events attracted international headlines, police attention, and heavy criticism from boxing purists.
Gallen no-shows press conference
Billed as the biggest grudge match in Australasia since Cameron vs Tua, former NRL enforcer Paul Gallen continued the mind games when he skipped the press conference with Sonny Bill Williams, further fuelling the flames.
Ioane claps back
The All Blacks answer to Regina George, Reiko Ioane was a symphony of sass this season, putting fans firmly in their place in response to criticism over his performances.
Cow bells banned
Chiefs supporters were unceremoniously silenced at the Super Rugby final in Christchurch, unable to bring their primary weapon, a blunted Chiefs side was bested and the Crusaders empire returned.
Penrith trainer cuts off conversion
In a pathetic display of poor sportsmanship, Panthers trainer Corey Bocking ran in front of Jayden Campbell as he was about to take a kick at goal, the club being slapped with a $50,000 for the childish act.
No shirt, no play
Liverpool’s Hugo Ekitike was shown red after scoring the winner against Southampton for removing his shirt in celebration. If only the same rule applied to Phoenix fans at the Cake Tin.
Bringing back the bite
Paying homage to some of her male counterparts of the past, French forward Axelle Berthoumieu took a bite of Ireland’s Aoife Wafer during the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final, copping a 12 match ban.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
