Two weeks’ ago, Dubbo cricket was called off in the midst of one of our hottest and longest heatwaves. Last weekend, after a downpour on Friday night, matches were abandoned due to rain!

Such are the vagaries of choosing life out west!

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In tough times for Australian rugby, any win over the mighty All Blacks is good news. So it was for Dubbo College ex-student Jayden Blake who, with the Australian rugby Seven’s team, performed a hoodoo-busting 21-14 win over New Zealand in the world series event in Perth.

The Aussie men broke a nine-match losing streak to the All Blacks, before going on to beat France 29-14 and Great Britain 24-21, setting up a final-four match-up against South Africa.