Sports in brief

The third installment of the annual Multicultural Football Festival saw the most diverse set of teams ever. With 16 teams represented from all over the world mixed in with a couple of local squads, it was a day of celebration of culture. Organiser and Nelson City Council welcoming communities coordinator Bill Huppler says the day is about using football as an international language to make connections, with the day supported by NCC, Multicultural Nelson Tasman, FC Nelson and Health Action Trust’s CAYAD (Community Action on Youth and Drugs) programme.

After earning his spot into the Top Eight AC Invitational, held at Nelson Hinemoa Croquet Club this year, Jarrod Coutts has earned the biggest win of his career.

Having started playing croquet at Richmond Club, he says it was his first time with the “big boys” in the top grade, which saw him earn a career highlight win over the number five ranked player in the world, Paddy Chapman.

The countdown for the NBS Nelson Giants return to The Hangar is well and truly on as the team's season kicks off next week.

Starting with an away game on Wednesday, the team's first home game will be against the Franklin Bulls on Easter Sunday, with the Rapid League tipping off from 5:30pm and the main event from 6:30pm.

The Giants competed in the Westside Blitz as part of their preseason preperations, walking away with wins over the Auckland Tuatara (75-69) and the Manawatu Jets (77-64), while falling to the Taranaki Airs (70-46) in a game that saw the rookies get strong minutes.

New import and New Zealand Tall Blacks representative Dan Fotu was in top-form in his first appearance for the team, picking up MVP for the tournament.