Set against a 900-metre-long stretch of picturesque Caribbean Coast, Playa Papaya Project is a luxe hippie paradise in the middle of Telum, Mexico. The feel is commune-like and down-to-earth with holistic activities like yoga, tai chi and meditation, plentiful offerings of fresh local food, drink and snacks at the Beach Club and relaxing massages and beauty treatments. It’s the perfect place to unplug, reconnect with nature and just lie back in a hammock and listen to the melodic crash of waves.

Created as a collaboration between Design Hotels and owner Emilio Heredia, the vision was to create a sustainable, creative hub in the idyllic beach town but with a focus on social responsibility, through giving back to the local Mayan people and crafting ecologically built rooms with local materials such as palapa (thatched) roofing, timber/plaster composite walls and bamboo window coverings.

The property features 100 rooms of many types, from intimate casitas (with your very own plunge pool on the roof) to treehouse jungle hideaways, plus rustic thatched roof cabanas on the sand and three bedroom villas complete with numerous lounging spaces. Add to this a 20 person outdoor dining area, hammocks galore and a private pool, there really is something for everyone. The design is simple and organic, utilising natural and imperfect materials like varying shades of timber, grey linen, textured cushions and tactile, creamy rendered walls to give a rustic and authentic air.

If a dance is your thing, then the world’s best DJs head to the Mexican town to play their hypnotic beats almost every night. Full moon parties are notorious here. The communal areas are intended to encourage creativity and play – like the amphitheatre on the beach to facilitate performances and readings, and outdoor local art at every twist and turn of the winding pathways along the property.

If you manage to time your visit at the right time of year – between May and October, you may be lucky enough to witness a moonlit sea turtle nesting. Loggerhead and Green turtles travel across the ocean back to the exact same beach where they hatched from to nest. A magical experience.

Playa Papaya Project’s setting could not be perfect – it’s right in the thick of the buzzing Tulum main street where you can borrow a bike to get to plentiful nearby attractions. Another drawcard is the proximity to many types of must-visit, awe-inspiring Cenotes – refreshing natural springs all stemming from the one natural underground reservoir, only found here, in Yucatán, Mexico.

Set against a 900-metre-long stretch of picturesque Carribean Coast, Playa Palaya Project is a luxe hippie paradise. The feel is commune-like and down-to-earth with holistic activities like yoga, tai chi and meditation, plentiful offerings of fresh local food, drink and snacks at the Beach Club and relaxing massages and beauty treatments. It’s the perfect place to unplug, reconnect with nature and just lie back in a hammock and listen to the melodic crash of waves.

Visit: Papaya Playa Project

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Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham isn’t worried about leaving Perth without a bonus point, after a 31-14 win over the Force.

An 80th minute  Josh Mann-Rea try was the Brumbies’ fourth of the night, which would have handed them a bonus point under the 2015 system.

This season a three-try advantage is needed over your opposition to clinch a bonus point and with the Force scoring two tries, the Brumbies fell one short.

It’s a kink that some players are still yet to fully commit to memory but Larkham said his first concern was always on the win.

“I think there was a call from some of the boys at the end saying, ‘We get this try, we’ve got a bonus point so I think there’s still a bit of confusion around that,” he said.

”The goal for us each week is to take four points away.

“We can probably look at every game last year and say we could’ve scored more tries and it’s the same this year.

“We could’ve probably scored more tries but the main thing is getting that win.”

While the Brumbies have scored at least four tries in every match this season, Larkham said it wasn’t a try at all costs mentality, when it came to decision making on the field.

“That’s the decision Squeak makes on the momentum of the game,” he said.

“The beauty of this team is we’re able to play different styles of footy.”

Larkham was quick to shell praise on to the Force for their increased versatility too.

“Foles (Force coach Michael Foley) has been talking to me about that new attacking game they’ve got and they showed a bit of that tonight,” he said.

“They’re a much better side this year than they were last year.

“We probably didn’t see that in the first two games, in reviewing their first two games we didn’t see it but tonight we certainly saw the full brunt of the Force.”

Brumbies breakdown maestro David Pocock was back to his best against his former side after working his way into the season, including a trademark gushing of blood.

The Brumbies head to South Africa next week to take on the Stormers.

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Tries from Cory Jane and Beauden Barrett have given Victor Vito the perfect send-off as the Hurricanes claimed their maiden Super Rugby title with a 20-3 win over the Lions.

Vito was able to celebrate his 100th and final match for the Wellington-based side in style on Saturday night as the Hurricanes finally ended their title drought.

Tries were at a premium in the wet, cold and windy conditions as the match became a battle of attrition rather than an exhibition of free-flowing rugby.

But the Hurricanes – who were boosted by the return of captain Dane Coles to their starting line-up – have shown in recent weeks just how good they are at soaking up pressure then pouncing on opportunities.

It was no different in Wellington as Jane and Barrett scored off Lions mistakes and Barrett chipped in with 10 points from the boot to spark joyous scenes in the capital.

The Lions, who had been perennial strugglers in the competition even before South African rugby politics resulted in their relegation in 2013, have come a long way.

But in the white-hot atmosphere of a final they couldn’t find a way to unlock the Hurricanes defence, while No.10 Elton Jantjies had an off night in front of goal, missing two of his three kicks.

Going into the match, the Lions had scored 81 tries, while the Hurricanes hadn’t conceded a try in 221 minutes of rugby, and it was the Hurricanes defence that held sway, keeping the Lions to just two shots at goal in the first half.

The opening 10 minutes saw Jantjies miss an early penalty and then Jane have a try disallowed after the TMO ruled Brad Shields had knocked the ball on in the build-up.

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But the veteran winger was not to be denied on 22 minutes, when the Hurricanes defence again proved its worth.

Jantjies threw a wild pass under pressure in his own 22, which forced Rohan Janse van Rensburg to kick, but the ball went straight to Jane, who raced in at the corner.

Barrett slotted the conversion to add to his 11th-minute penalty to give the Hurricanes a 10-0 lead.

Jantjies reduced the deficit with a penalty three minutes later.

The remaining 15 minutes were an arm wrestle as both sides continued to struggle to hold on to the wet ball and turned instead to kicking for territory.

It was more of the same in the second half as the Lions continued to run into a yellow-and-black wall and the Hurricanes soaked up the pressure.

Barrett extended his side’s lead to 13-3 with another penalty midway through the second spell.

And the match was effectively sealed 11 minutes from fulltime when the Lions botched a lineout clearance close to their own line.

Replacement hooker Ricky Riccitelli hacked the ball on and the All Blacks fly-half pounced on it in the in-goal area for his side’s second try.

Hurricanes 20

(TriesL Jane, Barrett Cons: Barrett 2 Pens: Barrett 2)

Lions 3

(Pens: Jantjies)

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27th Sep 2019

As yet another year rolls around, so too does the abundance of talent within the Australian fashion industry. Particularly at this time in the year, our awareness of those creatives who possess the kind of talent we’re talking about becomes increasingly apparently, with the finalists for the Australian Fashion Laureate being announced on September 23.

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As the country’s pinnacle fashion industry honour—established by IMG and the New South Wales Government in 2008—the many categories covered by the Laureate acknowledge those industry figures who have, over time, made a significant contribution to the growth and development of our local fashion industry, with awards in the past received by our very own editor-in-chief, Edwina McCann, together with designer Dion Lee, Zimmermann and Carla Zampatti.

In addition to the Australian Fashion Laureate’s primary lifetime achievement honour, a number of additional awards also recognise additional accomplishments across categories including womenswear, menswear, retailer, and accessories, as well as ‘Model of the Year’, ‘Outstanding Creative’ and ‘Emerging Talent’.

And 2019 has also seen the introduction of a brand new category dubbed ‘Sustainable Innovation’, an honour that is extremely reflective of the eco-conscious direction the industry is moving towards. The inaugural award will recognise brands that are pioneering best practices, implementing long-term strategic goals, or otherwise demonstrating leadership in sustainability.

“With the introduction of the Sustainable Innovation award, we are celebrating the Australian industry’s growing dedication to lessening fashion’s impact on our environment,” said IMG Australia’s executive director of fashion, Natalie Xenita. “This award category complements our existing accolades, which not only celebrate Australia’s exceptional talent, but highlight the most noteworthy innovations shaping our industry and its future.”

This year, nominees for the 2019 Australian Fashion Laureate include Bernie Leser, Laura Brown, Maggie Tabberer and Malcolm Carfrae, who were each nominated by a voting panel of more than 30 industry leaders, including media, buyers, communications professionals, brand executives, creatives and designers, called the Australian Fashion Industry Alumni.

Across the additional categories, Australian labels including Bassike and Lee Mathews have been nominated for a number of awards, models including Charlee Fraser and Duckie Thot are being recognised, and Vogue Australia’s fashion director, Christine Centenera, is in the running to receive the laureate’s Outstanding Creative Award.

As for who will be taking out each prize, you’ll have to hold your breath until October 23 for the celebratory luncheon where each winner will be announced.

Image credit: Instagram.com/princesseugenie

Congratulations are in order for Princess Beatrice and partner Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, with news of their engagement breaking just minutes ago.

As was confirmed by both Buckingham Palace and the Duke and Duchess of York via Twitter, Princess Beatrice and her property tycoon beau are set to tie the knot.

According to the palace’s official announcement, which they themselves had posted to the social media platform, the newly-engaged couple became engaged while vacationing in Italy earlier this month, with their nuptials anticipated to take place some time in 2020.

With the palace confirming that more details surrounding their royal wedding are soon to come, we wait with bated breath and filled with excitement for yet another royal wedding!

Following the palace’s official announcement, they had also issued a statement on behalf of the newly-engaged couple in which they express their excitement for the happy occasion: “We are extremely happy to be able to share the news of our recent engagement. We are both so excited to be embarking on this life adventure together and can’t wait to be married.”

In addition to the sweet words in their initial statement, the couple went on, issuing yet another comment on their impending nuptials of the Duke and Duchess of York’s Twitter page: “We share so many similar interests and values and we know this will stand us in great stead for the years ahead, full of love and happiness.”

Of course, sisters being sisters, Princess Eugenie also wanted to send well wishes to her sister and her newly-minted fiance, sending her very own congratulations via her official Instagram account.

“Beabea – wow! I’m so happy for you my dearest big sissy and dear Edo. It’s been a long time coming and you two are meant to be…” And much to our delight, her congratulatory posts came with a whole lot of photographic evidence captured by her of the newly-engaged couple, with a number of them putting Princess Beatrice’s gorgeous engagement ring on full display.

Image credit: Instagram.com/princesseugenie

The princess’s mother, Sarah Ferguson, also pitched in with posting photographs from her daughter’s engagement, as any proud mother would.

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According to the Duke of York’s official website, Mozzi designed the ring—which features a round brilliant cut diamond cushioned between two rectangular baguette diamonds—in collaboration with the British jewellery designer Shaun Leane. No further details on the diamond yet, so watch this space.

But what we do know is who designed the dress in Princess Beatrice’s engagement portraits, and it’s none other than Australian label Zimmermann, selecting their Allia floral print linen dress for their shoot, as identified by Metro UK. We love to know that Australia had some small part in the happy occasion!

Scroll on to see more of Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi’s engagement portraits.

Image credit: Instagram.com/princesseugenie

Image credit: Instagram.com/princesseugenie

Image credit: Instagram.com/sarahferguson15

Image credit: Instagram.com/sarahferguson15

Image credit: Instagram.com/sarahferguson15

Image credit: Instagram.com/sarahferguson15

For Queensland Reds recruit George Smith, there was never any doubt as to where he would resume his glittering Super Rugby career.

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With a young family to raise, the 111-cap Wallaby and his family had their hearts set on the laid back Brisbane lifestyle after seven years of Smith playing rugby in the UK and Japan. “The decision was made a while back and it was very much a family based decision,” Smith said.

“My wife and children wanted the opportunity to live up here in Brisbane and it was hard to move away from the Northern Beaches in Manly but we made the decision a while back and I still feel I’m playing really competitive rugby at the moment.”

The 36-year-old was also enticed by the chance to join forces with fellow recruits and returning Reds, Stephen Moore and Quade Cooper.
“The squad that the staff have put together and the management have been fantastic,” he said.

“We’re not here to just play competitive football, we want to be up there with the best teams.

“It’s up to us players to be detailed in our analysis and in our work to be a better team and turn around the fortunes for the Reds.”

With his Wallabies days behind him, Smith also jumped at the opportunity to work with some of Queensland’s best young talent – including highly touted openside flanker prospect Michael Gunn.

“Having played the game for a number of years the experience does flow off into the younger group and I will try to mentor players as much as possible.

“In saying that, I don’t want to participate within teams, I want to be a dominant players in the teams that I’m a part of.”

He also dismissed any concerns regarding fitness after playing non-stop rugby for almost three years.

“I tend to go well backing up and playing – I’ve played a lot of games over the past few years but my body is just built for that and I enjoy that,” Smith said.

“The more I play, the better I feel, the more I can contribute to the team.”

Not only was it the win the Brumbies desperately needed, it was the win they dearly deserved.

After two losses by a combined margin of nine points to start 2017, coach Stephen Larkham and captain Sam Carter cut relieved figures immediately after their 25-17 win against the Force last night.

The Canberrians looked bound for another bonus point loss before Ross Haylett-Petty’s yellow card turned the game on its head with 10 to play, the home side scoring two tries to notch a tough win.

“There’s a good feeling in the group at the moment,” Larkham said.

“It was certainly an emotional rollercoaster through that game but we showed much better composure at the end and superb execution to finish the game off the way we wanted to finish it off.“We’re not getting ahead of ourselves but we will certainly enjoy that victory because it’s been a long time coming.”

Larkham’s faith in the halves pairing of Joe Powell and Wharenui Hawera is paying dividends, as the combination starts to gel as he envisioned.

“Our halves has been fantastic in all three games so far but I think we learned some lessons as a group and lessons you probably wouldn’t learn in your first two games of the season,” he said.

“They’re quick learners.

“We’re very happy with the way we played and I think our discipline was superb tonight.”The coach was also quick to compliment the cool head of new co-captain Carter.

“Carts is doing a fantastic job leading and he has composure all the time,” he said.

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“The boys feed off that and there was never any stage over the last three weeks where we lost our confidence or our direction.”

Larkham said Scott Fardy would be refreshed after the week off but stopped short of declaring him a certainty to start in round four.

He added that he was impressed with the performance of Fardy’s replacement, Ben Hyne.

“I was always looking at Hyney’s game pretty closely and that was effectively his first Super Rugby game.

“He came into the game off the back of a five-day turnaround and played 60 minutes there and backed it up with a pretty good performance tonight.

“Fards is a world class player and we are just being smart with how we are managing him.”

Wallabies coach Michael Cheika says coaching collaboration might just set a good example for national and state administrations in rugby.

While stopping short of endorsing a centralised model, Cheika said the burgeoning trust he’s built with coaches across the country might start some executive moves to work together, in a sport where tensions and politics can undermine the good of the game.

The tensions across the board are being brutally exposed as the moment as the ARU mulls over which of the Force or the Rebels to axe in 2018, with both clubs threatening legal action over the call.

Cheika has had his own tensions with national bodies before, with a dispute over a medical clearance for Israel Folau when Cheika was Waratahs coach, but those days seem long gone.

Forty-eight players were part of a Wallabies camp this week, some of whom were playing four days later and pointed to the goodwill of the state coaches in releasing players as a step forward.

“From a technical point of view and also from the strength and conditioning and physio point of view, a lot of good relationships been building there,” he said.

“Doesn’t mean it’s all perfect and we’re all holding hands or anything like that but there’s a lot more constructive work going on together .

“The Melbourne coach (Tony McGahan) called me and said you should be taking this other player you haven’t taken, because he’s been really good and he’s been strong in a difficult season and I took him in.

“You think about the pressure he’s under and how hard he’s doing, he’s been copping plenty of grief and yet he’s still thinking about us to say I suggest that player, he should be coming in and I really appreciate that.”

Cheika said administrations might want to take a leaf out of their book in that respect.

“That’s what we’re trying to build and it doesn’t happen in one night,” he said.

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“You’ve got to keep doing it and have respectful relationships with those coaches and we’re hoping that maybe at the next level up…that will start to follow about working together to get the right outcome instead of everyone smashing together.”

Asked to pinpoint the failings of Australia’s Super Rugby teams, Cheika said he’d been clear with coaches about areas where he can help but didn’t want to air that dirty laundry in public.

“I don’t want to judge publicly, because I’ve been in that situation,” he said.

“I also know how quickly it can change. The year we (Leinster) won the European cup there was a game we played in the south of France that we lost, we played pretty average, chaps were calling for my head.

“Sometimes it goes pear-shaped and then not even three months later we were European champions. You’ve got to believe  in people and believe in what they’re going to do.

“Everyone’s throwing grenades left, right and centre right now and that’s not going to help with rugby here at all.”

Force coach Dave Wessels believes Super Rugby will still have 18 teams next year, despite ‘unsettling’ reports over his club’s future this week.

While an official call over Super Rugby’s future is yet to be made, an in-principle agreement to cut the competition to 15 teams is believed to have come in last month’s SANZAAR executive meeting.

The Force was hit with another bombshell on Monday, with reports that the ARU had already decided to cut the Force should a 15-team competition be ratified.

South Africa has a general assembly on April 6 where it is expected to make an official decision on whether it is willing to cut the required two teams for the 15-team format, while Australia’s board may meet as early as Monday.

Wessels has been bullish about his side’s survival and was confident again when asked whether news had affected his view.

“(I’m) extremely confident of the future, for any number of reasons. I have connections back to South Africa and I feel like there’s a high chance that things (won’t) change in South Africa,” he told RUGBY.com.au.

Despite his own optimism, Wessels was open about the impact the week had on his team, even though the playing squad has been across the ditch for a fortnight.

“I’d be lying to say the boys haven’t heard the news and aren’t a little bit anxious about it because obviously many of us have kids and different things and this is how we support our families,” he said.

“The thing that I do think is that this is a pretty special group of people.

“They are unbelievably dedicated and wherever we go from the airline staff to the hotel staff to the bus drivers all comment on it and I feel like we are building something pretty significant here.”

Wessels said axing a team wouldn’t bridge the gulf between Australia and New Zealand that has yielded a 31-3 record in New Zealand’s favour in the past 34 trans-Tasman Super Rugby clashes.

“The biggest frustration for me in the whole argument is if we took our team – let’s say we took 15 guys and we divided them against four other teams  is that really going to make the difference between us and the Kiwi teams at the moment?,” he said.

“The answer is no.”

Wessels said national pathways and collaboration needed to improve before any decisions to cull teams.

“New Zealand rugby is better than us at the moment because their entire ecosystem is better and I think the old adage of, ‘you only fix the leak in the roof when it starts raining,’

“It’s been raining in Australian rugby for the last little while and there are certainly people who are now working very hard to fix the hole in the roof.

“We’re not seeing the benefit of that just yet but I think some of the systems that particularly (ARU high performance manager) Ben Whitaker is putting in place are going to really pay dividends over the next couple of years and I think there’s a really good future for Australian rugby.”

The Force return to Perth on Sunday ahead of a home match with another under-fire team, South Africa’s Kings. 

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Former Reds defender Sami Hyypia believes Jurgen Klopp has pieced together a squad that is capable of competing for domestic and European honours

Liverpool are capable of competing for “the two biggest trophies” this season, says Sami Hyypia, with there no reason why “great additions” cannot challenge for the Premier League title and Champions League crown.

The Reds came agonisingly close to conquering the continent for a sixth time in 2018, with Jurgen Klopp’s side falling at the final hurdle against Real Madrid.

They are back in the hunt for European glory 12 months on, having reached the last 16 stage, and are pushing for a first taste of domestic supremacy in 29 years.

Hyypia believes Liverpool should be looking to land both prizes, with Klopp now boasting the depth in his ranks that means there should be no prioritising of major honours.

The former Reds defender told the Liverpool Echo: “We were in the final of the Champions League last year and the mindset will be to go one step further.

“We made some great additions to the squad last summer and the team is looking even stronger. There’s no reason why we can’t go all the way this time around.

“Just because Liverpool are doing so well in the Premier League that doesn’t mean that the Champions League becomes less important.

“It’s going to be tough but it’s possible. You want to keep challenging for both trophies for as long as possible.

“It makes it more interesting for the supporters. This is what they want – seeing their team competing for the two biggest trophies.”

Next up for Liverpool is the first leg of a Champions League clash with Bayern Munich.

The German giants are due at Anfield on Tuesday and Hyypia believes a notable scalp is there for the taking, even with talismanic defender Virgil van Dijk set to sit out an initial meeting through suspension.

“Bayern haven’t done that well in their domestic league this season but they are still dangerous,” added a man who spent 10 years on Merseyside in his playing days.

“We cannot afford to under-estimate them. We have to go full on in both these games.

“Virgil will be missed but I’m not too worried. That creates an opportunity for someone else to step up and take more responsibility. There are other players who can take his place.

“We need to be very sharp from the off in the first game. Ideally, you want a lead to take over to Munich.

“I know Bayern quite well and I think their weakness is in defending counter-attacks. We aren’t that bad at counter-attacks and I can see us scoring a few goals against Bayern in that manner over the two legs.”

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