Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

I went to the football at Eden Park on Friday night. It was great, an almost full stadium and probably -without a lie- the loudest roars from a crowd that I’ve ever heard.

All of the tech was there, they had a drone above the grounds- and everyone who was anyone was there. 

Government ministers, political figures, national sports bosses, small business owners, former national footballers, it was the place to be on Friday night.

And the thing that occurred to me was that it could’ve been a men’s game- that’s how good the quality of everything was. And isn’t that the crucial point?

The quality you get with women’s sport is different. If you want to watch a women’s Super Rugby game, you have to haul ass to Levin to watch an afternoon game in your gummies, like you're watching schoolboy rugby. Or you tune in to some grainy coverage that looks like something out of 1990s rugby coverage.

But this tournament had good stadia, good kick off times, good commentators and good camera operators. 

I had exactly the same thought when I watched the women’s Rugby World Cup final a while back. A good stadium, a good kick off time, good commentators, good camera operators- it was nice to watch. 

And that, I reckon, is part of the reason people have turned up and tuned into this World Cup. 

Because it is a good quality event, and it’s been given the resources to make it enjoyable for us as modern crowds. 

I'm not a hopeless optimistic and I'm not going to make the argument that if you simply resource women’s sport properly, you'll attract the same crowds as men’s sport. You won’t, it’s not going to happen.

At least part of the reason the stadia was full for this tournament was that the tickets were extremely cheap and the organisers gave thousands away. But even then, the turnout was impressive.

Because New Zealand is not a football country, and it is definitely not a women’s football country.

But the lesson here is that there’s not point hoping we will do the right thing and go watch women’s sport, and there’s no point in women’s sport advocates trying to harangue people into going.

The sports bosses have to make it quality if they want us to come. And we'll come. The crowds  won’t be as big as men’s crowds, that's life.

But people will go if it’s worth going, like this tournament has hands down proved.

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A reminder the trial of triple murder-accused Lauren Dickason case is decided by a jury, not the experts.

She doesn’t deny killing her three daughters in Timaru in 2021, but is mounting a defence of infanticide and insanity.

The jury retired for deliberations just before 2pm - returning to again watch the police interviews with the accused, and her husband.

The Herald's Anna Leask says Justice Cameron Mander told them to weigh up the evidence they've heard.

"Don't get bogged down on what these leading experts and police and all sorts have told them- take the evidence into account that they think is right and go from there."

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Confusion from some smaller supermarket outlets, as the Government announces an election policy to remove GST on fresh and frozen produce.

It says it would save the average household $20 a month, starting next April.

Supie founder Sarah Balle says it'll add administration costs throughout the supply chain - which will reduce any savings.

"To not just the fruit and vegetable growers themselves, but everyone else through the supply chain, whether it's the markets, the processors- and of course, us as a supermarket."

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has voiced support for a national holiday if the Matildas succeed in the World Cup.

Australia has made it to the semi-finals against England and could potentially make history if they advance to the finals and win.

Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson disagrees with this idea, saying the region doesn't need an extra public holiday.

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It's Australia versus Europe in the final four of the FIFA Women's World Cup.

The Matildas squeezed past France 7-6 on penalties in Brisbane, while England came from 1-nil down to beat Colombia 2-1.

The semis will also see Spain tackling Sweden in Auckland and England taking on Australia in Sydney.

Sportstalk host Jason Pine explains what we can expect come Tuesday.

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NZR seeks to make changes to provincial rugby, following chief Mark Robinson claiming the current model isn't 'fit for purpose'.

The NPC was launched two weeks ago with minimal promotion or fanfare, and interest in the sport has been sparse.

Former All Black Sir John Kirwan agrees with this assessment, and claims the NPC needs to be aligned closer to Super Rugby.

"They play a curtain-raiser, they extend the squads and it all becomes part of the high performance. You'd have some semi-professional people and professionals."

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The weekly grocery cost continues to sting Kiwis.

Food prices dropped 0.5% from June to July, although they're still up 9.6% from a year ago.

Meat, poultry, and fish increased 9.3% annually.

Fruit and veggies is up 6.2 points, although July's costs dipped 4.1% from June.

Vegetables NZ Chair, John Murphy, told Heather du Plessis-Allan that he thinks we are at the tail end of Cyclone Gabrielle's destruction, which wreaked havoc on growers.

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The Government insists it's not 'forcing change' to close New Zealand's gender pay gap.

Instead, Associate Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Priyanca Radhakrishnan says companies are being given the opportunity to outline their gap in pay.

She announced today nine-hundred entities —each with more than 250 workers— will need to report their pay gap before the requirement's expanded to organisations employing over a hundred people.

But there's no specific timeline to get there, nor any drafted legislation.

She told Heather Du Plessis-Allan that mandatory reporting values people for the work they do.

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The fatal wildfires in Hawaii's Maui caught thousands of people off guard.

At least 53 people are dead and around 11,000 are without power, with the rebuild expected to cost billions.

US Correspondent Dan Mitchinson told Heather du-Plessis Allan that a lot of bodies are washing up out of the water.

He says the fire was so strong that it jumped the streets and made its way onto boats and the pier, so people were forced to swim for their lives.

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A big rebuild job ahead for Maui locals once the wildfires start to ease.

At least 53 people are dead and around 11,000 are without power on the island as Hawaii faces one of the worst natural disasters in its history.

Former Prime Minister John Key has a property there, but it's not affected.

He told Heather du Plessis-Allan that having gone through the Christchurch rebuild, he understands the challenge ahead.

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