Today's sports news: What you need to know

Latest - Rugby's national provincial competition will kick on for the next three weeks without Auckland-based teams.

New Zealand Rugby is considering options for re-integrating Auckland, North Harbour and Counties-Manukau into the competition.

The government's announcement that the Auckland region will drop down to Covid-19 alert level 3 for two weeks from 11.59pm Tuesday meant teams within that region are still unable to train or play.

"We remain hopeful Counties-Manukau, North Harbour and Auckland will re-join the competition at a later stage. We are reviewing the impact of the latest Government announcement and working through a number of options to enable those teams to re-enter the competition," NZR general manager community rugby Steve Lancaster said.

For the 11 teams outside of Auckland week four will kick off 24 September when Premiership champions Tasman host Waikato at Trafalgar Park in Nelson.

Auckland, Counties-Manukau and North Harbour have pulled out of the remainder of women's national provincial rugby competition due to their inability to train or play under Covid-19 alert levels.

Phoenix unveil new strip

The Wellington Phoenix have today unveiled their new playing kits for the upcoming season.

The Wellington Phoenix have today unveiled their new playing kits for the upcoming season.

The home strip features the return of the club's black stripes on a yellow background, while the away strip retains the aqua and blue look first introduced last season.

Striker Ben Waine is a fan of the new kit and its look.

"I definitely like the stripes; it's taking us back to our roots," he said.

Boks determined to bounce back

Hooker Bongi Mbonambi says South Africa have pinpointed where they fell short in the demoralising 30-17 defeat by Australia last weekend and are determined to bounce back in the Rugby Championship clash with old foes New Zealand on Saturday.

The match in Townsville will be the 100th between the Springboks and All Blacks since their first in 1921, and the Boks will go in as underdogs despite their status as world champions.

This is after back-to-back losses to Australia, the second of which on Saturday was arguably their poorest display in years as the players appeared mentally fatigued and were beaten in every facet of the game by the Wallabies.

"We have gone through the game, we recognise our mistakes and that there is room for improvement. Every player is professional here and they know where the errors were made," Mbonambi said.

"When it comes to the All Blacks, they present a different challenge, but we are just going to focus on ourselves and the training we need to put in this week to make sure we pitch up on Saturday," Mbonambi said.

"The rivalry between South Africa and New Zealand will always be massive. But we must focus on ourselves and carry on with the processes we have been doing."

South Africa should have key lock Lood de Jager back after he missed this past weekend due to concussion protocols, but wing Cheslin Kolbe remains a doubt with a leg injury.

-Reuters

Fifa to meet with associations

Fifa will hold an online summit with its member associations at the end of the month to discuss the international men's and women's calendar.

A World Cup every two years rather than four is part of Fifa's plans.

The current match calendar for the women's game runs to the end of 2023, while the men's expires in 2024.

"There is a broad consensus within the game that the international match calendar should be reformed and improved," said Fifa.

"This is one of several opportunities to establish a constructive and open debate, at a global and regional level, over the coming months and Fifa is looking forward to it."

World football's governing body said Arsene Wenger, Fifa's chief of global football development, and former United States women's team manager Jill Ellis were heading technical advisory groups looking at the men's and women's calendars.

European governing body Uefa, South American confederation Conmebol and Europe's major leagues have declared their opposition to plans for a biennial World Cup.

-BBC

Kiwi cyclist down the field

New Zealand's Logan Currie finished 11th and Finn Fisher-Black 13th in the men's under-23 time trial at the road cycling world championships in Belgium.

Currie was a minute slower than winner Johan Price Pejtersen of Denmark over the 30km ride.

Fisher-Black was another five seconds back.

Ellen van Dijk of the Netherlands won the women's time trial beating Tokyo Olympic medallists Marlen Reusser of Switzerland and compatriot Annemiek Van Vleuten to claim the title.

Van Dijk also won the title in 2013.

There were no New Zealand women in the field.

Jack Carswell and Lewis Bower compete in the junior men's time trial tonight.

Beckham makes his debut

A player named Beckham on the right wing, drawing in football fans in the US - sound familiar?

Romeo Beckham, son of former England captain David Beckham, has made his debut for American third-tier club Fort Lauderdale.

The 19-year-old started in his famous dad's midfield position for the reserve team of Inter Miami - the Major League Soccer side owned by Beckham - in a 2-2 draw at home with South Georgia Tormenta.

"Blessed to have made my pro debut tonight," Romeo wrote on Instagram.

The teenager, who signed a contract with the club in early September, showed some good touches and created an early chance for his new team.

He also linked up well in the midfield with Harvey Neville, the son of Inter Miami head coach Phil Neville - who graduated from Manchester United's Class of '92 with Beckham senior.

Young Neville was making his 16th appearance for the Florida-based side after leaving Manchester United's academy to join his father in the United States.

Beckham senior created global headlines when he made a surprising switch to LA Galaxy from Spanish giants Real Madrid in 2007.

-BBC

RWC qualifiers to be played in France

The African qualifiers for the 2023 Rugby World Cup will be staged as a knockout tournament in France next year.

The top eight African teams compete in the Rugby Africa Cup 2022 in France, which will serve as the last qualifying round for the 2023 World Cup.

The French are also hosts of the 2023 World Cup, which will be held in September-October.

The African knockout tournament will be in July 2022, with the winning team directly qualifying for the World Cup and set to join hosts France, the All Blacks, Italy and the Americas 1 qualifier in Pool A.

The runners-up will get a place in the final qualification tournament for the world showpiece event.

-Reuters