Within many school contexts physical education and sport have historically been positioned as polemic, and while there has been plenty of rhetoric about physical education as well as sport within education, there has seldom been engaged debate or discussion about the relationship between physical education and sport in school settings. This article revisits Elizabeth Murdoch's heuristic of five conceptualizations for the physical education and sport interface (Murdoch, 1990), reflecting that two decades have passed and neither physical education nor sport are what they used to be. Murdoch's interface invites teachers and coaches to apply policy, practices and pedagogies that have influenced the relationship of physical education and sport at a local level. While focusing on the policy and pedagogy of sport and physical education in a New Zealand context, this article draws on similar trends and issues at an international level to reaffirm the global relevance of the issues and challenges being raised. Attention is drawn to the need to keep pace with and satisfy the ever-increasing needs and wants of the next generation of young people. It behoves teachers and coaches to present young people with sport experiences that are full and enriching, based on sound maxims that help students understand how sport can strengthen a culture. (Contains 1 note.)