And so on to my 50th blog which I will celebrate the best bits of 2012 - 2016 so here it is starting in 2012 (That was 4 years ago when I 1st started blogging) which is Jansen's Birthday Blog (London 2012 Olympics Report) is about Jansen turning 9 years old as well as the review of the 2012 Summer Olympics held in London, England, United Kingdom & the final of the 2012 Super Rugby season between the Chiefs & the Sharks:
Today is Jansen's birthday & I have not been doing a blog ever since Nan & Pops went away to Vanuatu.
Almost 2 weeks ago, the 30th Summer Olympic Games in London, Great Britain already started then a week later, we picked up our 1st gold medal of London 2012 (After already winning Bronze medals) with the rowing double sculls duo of Nathan Cohen & Joseph Sullivan, then a day later, another gold was won by Hamish Bond & Eric Murray in the pairs, then nek minnit, Mahe Drysdale picked up his 1st gold medal ever (And 3rd for New Zealand at the games) in the single sculls 4 years after settling for the bronze medal due to being plagued by a stomach problem which cost him his chance of getting his 1st gold medal in Beijing, China. But after the Beijing nightmare, Drysdale does what he now does best in London.
Then on Saturday after the Kiwis golden hour in London, we cross over to Hamilton (AKA 'the Tron') for the Super Rugby final between the Chiefs (Hosts) & Sharks (Away team), The start of the game did not go well when the Frenchman playing for the Sharks of Frederic Michalak nailed the 1st penalty kick of the final until according to plan when Tim-Nanai Williams (SBW's cousin because they are related) scored the 1st try of the final with Aaron Cruden successfully took the conversion before nailing 2 penalties before halftime when the Chiefs were leading 13 - 3, but in the 2nd half, another Chiefs try was scored by Kane Thompson with the assistance of a TMO (TV Match Offical) then Michalak scored another successful penalty which put the Sharks to 6 despite being down by 13 points & in the 61st minute, Sonny Bill Williams (Who is having his last Super Rugby match here) made a great tackle, allowing the Sharks player to lose the ball before Lelia Masaga picked the ball up & scored the Chiefs their 3rd try of the final, moments before SBW was embraced by his loyal fans after scoring his famous farewell try in the 77th minute but 3 minutes later, the match was over when the Chiefs made history of taking the Super Rugby title honours for the 1st time ever with the final score of 37 - 6 as well as 2 commanders in chief (Co-captains Craig Clarke & Liam Messam), grab their 1st taste by lifting the Super Rugby trophy.
Then now a week later on Friday (Yesterday we did have a birthday dinner for Jansen, as we asian/chinese food for dinner that we got at the chinese takeaway shop in Victoria Avenue & dessert is blue jelly, cream & yoghurt before having Jansen's birthday cake), another gold medal was won by the women's sailing duo of 'Team Jolly' consisting of Jo 'Jox' Aleh & Olivia 'Polly' Powrie (New Zealand's 1st golden girls of London 2012), not only because I watched these ladies win, then next morning, went off to Palmy and rode on a go-kart at the Daytona Indoor Raceway before having Macca's for lunch and went for a swim at the Lido Aquatic Centre moments before we left Palmy hours before tuning in to the Olympics & the women's kayaking final was on as Lisa Carrington competed for the gold medal & she did because it was a success so she was good now that Carrington won (However, she too joined the London 2012 NZ Olympic golden girls ranks as Aleh & Powrie did), bringing the gold medal tally to 5 (Now 6 since Val Adams handed the gold medal when Nadzeya Ostapchuk was stripped of her Olympic women's shot put title crown).
And on Monday, London 2012 Olympics was now officially finished but nek minnit on Tuesday, there was big news about Valerie Adams (Formerly Valerie Vili), in Switzerland after leaving London post Olympics & now disappointed and devastated about losing the Olympic women's shot-put title to Nadezya Ostapchuk by getting a silver medal, Chef de mission Dave Currie made a decision to call Adams and he also had to say: ''Valerie Adams....and I quote, you are now & still, once again, the Olympic women's shot put champion because of your Belrussian rival, Ostapchuk, had been disqualified after failing a drug test so congrats Val, good on ya MATEY!!!'' And this moment was changed when Adams had been awarded the gold when Ostapchuk is stripped of gold medal following her drug testing scandal failure then a day later, the 4 of the 6 gold medalists arrived back home at Auckland International Airport as well as all the 2 Silver medalists (Not Adams since she got the gold from Ostapchuk) including Sarah Walker (BMX) & the men's sailing duo of Pete Burling & Blair Tuke plus the 3 of the 5 bronze medalists came home with Peter Taylor & Storm Uru (Men's lightweight rowing), the ladies rowing pair of Juliette Haigh & Wanganui's own Rebecca Scown who was born in Hawera which is located in the Taranaki (AKA 'the Naki') region (She has a brother named Sam who plays rugby for the Wanganui Heartland Rugby Championship team) & of course, Simon Van Velthoven in the keirin cycling because he was a joint bronze medalist (British cycling great Sir Chris Hoy got the gold medal) & finally last night as of today, I finally went to Vision's for the 1st time ever by having dinner over there plus a free dessert before me & my father went home to wrap up Thursday, the 16th of August 2012 (4 days post Olympics).
And now onto 2013 featuring Rush Movie Review (+ Other News Including the All Black & Indycar Spirit):
This one is about seeing the Formula 1 movie Rush (A movie about the rivalry of 2 Formula 1 legends James Hunt and Niki Lauda back in 1976 (The same year that Montreal (Which is Aunty Tania & her French Canadian partner Raejean/Giuseppe's hometown) hosted the summer Olympics when New Zealand took home 2 gold medals including 1500 metre runner John Walker as well as the New Zealand men's hockey team) back in 2013 as well as the All Blacks retaining the Rugby Championship in Johannesburg against South Africa as well as beating the Wallabies in the 3rd Bledisloe Cup encounter at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin and Scott Dixon winning his 3rd of his 4 elusive Indycar Series titles because this one is called Rush Movie Review (+ Other News Including the All Black & Indycar Spirit)
Well, it has been a great but terrible/wayward day of setbacks such as Emirates Team NZ missing out on bringing the America's Cup home by losing to Oracle Team USA who went down to win all 8 races to defend the Auld Mug & truimphs such as the All Blacks winning the Rugby Championship...again (Just like last year + Brilliant super All Black tries scored by Ben Smith, Liam Messam (Twice), Beauden Barrett & Kieran Read), beating South Africa in Johannesburg by 38 points to 27 for only the 4th time at Ellis Park as well as maintaining the AB's Rugby Championship record to still 100% (A record total of 12 out of 12 victories so far in the history) + SBW's Sydney Roosters claim the NRL Premiership in 11 years, beating the Sea Eagles of Manly-Warringah 26 to 18.
But last week, me & Poppa finally went to see the movie about the ultimate rivalry in Formula 1 between James Simon Wallis Hunt (Played by Chris Hemsworth who appeared on the Avengers as Thor, Norse God of Thunder) & Andreas Nikolaus ''Niki'' Lauda (Played by Daniel Brühl) called Rush which is set during the 1976 Formula 1 Season but the movie starts when both highly skilled racing drivers who first develop a fierce rivalry (Although they were close friends off the track) in 1970 at a Formula 3 race at the Crystal Palace circuit in England, when both their cars spin out before Hunt eventually wins the race.
James Hunt AKA Hunt The Shunt is a brash young Briton with a tendency to vomit before every race, while Niki Lauda (The Austrian) is a cool, calculating technical genius who relies on precision. After a fallout with his father, Lauda takes a large bank loan and buys his way into the BRM Formula 1 team, meeting teammate & friend from Switzerland, Gianclaudio ''Clay'' Regazzoni for the first time.
Meanwhile, Hesketh, the fledgling racing team Hunt drives for, enters Formula 1 as well when Lauda then joins Ferrari (One of the best teams in the F1 business) with Regazzoni and wins his first of his 3 F1 world championships in 1975 but Hesketh closes down shop after failing to secure sponsorship, but Hunt makes a decision to go to McLaren (However, I did react in the movie that after James Hunt left Hesketh because I was explaining that Hunt is going to McLaren) after Emerson ''Emmo'' Fittipaldi departs the team. During this time, Hunt marries supermodel Susie Miller, while Lauda begins his relationship with socialite Marlene Knaus.
The 1976 F1 World Championship begins with Lauda dominating the first two races while Hunt struggles to catch up before Hunt wins the Spanish Grand Prix, but is immediately disqualified following a post-race inspection rules that his McLaren was illegal & too wide. Struggling to comply with F1 rules & regulations, McLaren suffers a series of setbacks on the next few races, and Hunt's situation is further investigated (Dealt with) when Suzy is discovered to have a relationship with movie director Richard Burton. Following his divorce, he regains his competitive spirit and his disqualification in Spain is overturned, reinstating the points he lost and putting him back into championship contention. Meanwhile, Lauda marries Marlene in a private ceremony but starts to have fears about the concerns of both, his marriage & on his racing career which put him up like a lightning bolt.
At the Großer Preis auf Deutschland, Lauda requests the sports governing body FIA to boycott the race due to wet weather conditions on a race track which is considered very dangerous at the Nürburgring (AKA The Green Hell by Sir Jackie Stewart) containing a total of 160 corners (According to the stats that the Nürburgring is considered be the most challenging and demanding circuit in the entire universe); the urgency is revoked by majority of the racers after Hunt convinces them that Lauda fears losing the points race meaning that the event would go ahead despite dangerous conditions. Both Hunt and Lauda start the race with wet tires, which proves a costly disadvantage due to most of the circuit becoming dry, but on lap 2, both drivers pit for a tyre change, but halfway through lap 3, Lauda's Ferrari (Which had a suspension arm issue), snapped to the right and spun through the fencing into an enbankment when the car bounced back onto the track, before the Ferrari managed to burst into flames and is further struck by other cars on the circuit, resulting a serious accident. After being pulled out of the flaming wreckage, he is airlifted to the Bundeswehr hospital in Koblenz with 3rd-degree burns to his head and toxic fumes in his lungs but from there, he was flown to the Trauma Clinic in Ludwigshafen, home to Germany's most advanced burn ward at the time, where he fought for his life for the next few days & for the next 6 weeks, Lauda is treated for his injuries while he watches his rival Hunt dominate the races in Austria (At the Österreichring) & the Netherlands (At Zandvoort) in his absence, but Lauda had to wait against his doctor's orders that he returned to the sport as World Championship leader behind the wheel of his Ferrari and after his near fatal accident in Germany at the Gran Premio D'Italia to finish fourth upon his return while Hunt fails to finish the race.
But well, it all has come down to this as the championship deciding 1976 season cliffhanger closes in the land of the rising sun, Japan, as Niki Lauda has a 3 point lead ahead of James Hunt when the race is held at Fuji Speedway near Mount Fuji, in wet weather conditions after organisers agreed to run the race, but at the start, James Hunt took the lead with John Watson and Mario Andretti behind but Nek Minnit, at the end of the 2nd lap, Lauda returns to the pits by retiring from the race (Although there's nothing wrong about his Ferrari as he believed the weather conditions made the track way too dangerous), electing to stay with his wife Marlene instead of risking his life again on the circuit just like his near fatal crash in Germany last time; But now with Lauda withdrawn, James Hunt just needed to win the F1 World Driver's crown by finishing on the podium, but after facing stiff competition under grueling conditions (Hunt began to drop positions once the circuit began to dry out) and overcoming tyre issues (When Hunt's left rear tyre began to wear and he managed to pit), Hunt ended up 3rd on the podium, giving him enough points required to beat Lauda by a single point and win the World Driver's championship (Hunt was the last British F1 World Champion before Nigel Mansell in 1992 and McLaren's 1st British F1 World Champion), to his surprise, in all of a sudden.
After claming his 1st & only F1 WDC, James Hunt spends the rest of the year with fame, sex, and drugs, while Lauda (Who lost the F1 driver's crown but would eventually regain the championship from Hunt in 1977 & claim his last in '84), begins an interest in flying private planes but at a private airfield in Bologna, Lauda suggests Hunt to focus on the next racing season, but later on realizes that Hunt no longer has anything to prove, as Hunt continues to race until his retirement in 1979, and becomes a motorsport broadcast commentator with the legendary Murray Walker until he died in 1993 at 45 after drinking & smoking too much which caused the death.
And the end result: A fine absolute movie ending on a high note like a swashbuckling chapter because it wasn't even bad, it felt good after all (The beginning was like the start of a actual classic Grand Prix when Niki Lauda tried to risk his own life before the crash had happened, but moving on to the next scene 6 years earlier where James Hunt had been involved in an accident when she met his future wife, who was a medic off the track before becoming a supermodel).
+ Here is some other news such as the reigning champion No.1 ranked All Blacks of New Zealand (According to Temuera ''Tem'' Morrison (AKA Dr Hone Ropata (A guy who is not in Guatemala anymore), Jake 'Da Muss' Heke, Jango Fett & the Galactic Republic Clone Troopers) that the AB's are like a Clone Army in a bid for Galactic dominance but of course he said that New Zealand was Once Were Warriors...nah brother...still warriors but he also said that they never lost a rugby game, because they just ran out of time) played their final test match in Aotearoa, deep in the heart of the south in Dunedin, in an indoor venue (Which is Forsyth Barr Stadium), against the Wallabies of Australia, beating them 41 - 33 (Including gr8 tries from Julian Savea, Sam Cane, Aaron Cruden & Kieran Read who is the Captain filling in for Richie McCaw for the 6th time this year) by absolutely roadkilling them 1...last...time...of...2013...but, this my friends, this...is...All...Black...Rugby & for...Scott...Dixon, for claiming his 3rd...Indycar...title, but Scott Dixon's Indycar Championship contention started when he took victory in Pocono + both victories in the streets of Toronto (Which is in Ontario, Canada), motivating his chances of grabbing a 3rd Indycar title (Although, he did not win in Lexington, Ohio as his winning run ended) but however, he thought he was going to take victory in Sonoma, California, moments before the officials have given Dixon a drive-through penalty after hitting one of Will Power's pit crew members, ending his chances of both, a win & his 3rd Indycar Championship, by ending up in 15th after rejoining 21st after serving a drive-through penalty then another setback in Baltimore, Maryland came when Power collided with Dixon and was sent spinning into the wall just before Dixon was later also penalized for interference and after the race, Dixon was 49 points behind with his nearest rival from Brazil, Helio Castroneves, but however, Dixon managed to come back with a victory in Houston, Texas (1st of 2 races) when Castroneves was in trouble by suffering mechanical issues as well as Dixon closed the championship deficit to 8 points with 2 races remaining but a day later, as the 2nd race of the doubleheader was marred by a huge crash involving Dario Franchitti (One of Scott Dixon's Teammates), Takuma Sato & Ernesto ''E.J.'' Viso. On the final lap (Moments before Scott Dixon finished 2nd behind the winner Will Power as well as taking the points lead for the 1st time, managing a 25 point advantage ahead of Castroneves (Who had another bad day by suffering gearbox problems, dropping him down to 23rd) with only 1 round remaining), Franchitti made contact by touching wheels with Sato, and his car was launched up into the catch fence, as debris on the track may have injured 13 spectators, while Franchitti was injured & taken to hospital (Like Niki Lauda did in the movie & real life) with a concussion, fractured ankle, and two spinal fractures while both Sato and Viso were uninjured by managing to walk away the impact and that Indycar crash reminds me straight out of a movie (Not like Rush where the huge accident was entirely different like there was no fire getting caught because there was no clear evidence of a Niki Lauda esque crash).
But well, it all has come down to this as the championship deciding 2013 Indycar Series season cliffhanger closes in Fontana, California at the Auto Club Speedway (Where the late Canadian Indycar racer, Greg Moore was killed in a fatal crash which sent the car into the wall way back in 1999 during a CART/Champ Car event) as Scott Dixon has a 25 point lead ahead of Helio Castroneves, but only Scott Dixon just needed to win the Indycar Series crown by finishing 5th or above, but in the end, Dixon not only ended up finishing 5th, collecting enough points required to defeat Castroneves by 27 points and win the Indycar Series title for only the 3rd time (He previously did that before in 2003 (When he entered the series after spending 2 years in CART/Champ Car as well as taking his rookie of the year honours way back in 2001, his debut year after claiming the Indy Lights title (Which is America's answer to Formula 3000 (Now GP2) in 2000) & 08 (When Champ Car got folded post re-unification, effectively ending the 12 year split which began in 1996 + Dixon also won the Indy 500 during his last, successful championship season) to his surprise, in all of a sudden.
And so, there it is, the end of an unforgettable but lengthy blog about the Rush movie + the All Black rugby & Scott Dixon stuff.
P.S. Oh, hang on, there is a late addition about the German Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel being crowned Formula 1 World Champion of 2013 for the 4th consecutive time (Vettel is indeed a record breaker, meaning that he is the sport's youngest ever, quadruple F1 World Driver's Champion, so that's how a driver feels) after winning the race in India (He was the pole man for that race but not only wanting to score another title by finishing 5th or above), only to get pinged by the stewards for a celebratory doughnut which is deemed to be illegal under the rules by repremanding him (Failing to go straight to Parc Ferme) as well as a fine worth $40k, but a week later, he won again in Abu Dhabi (He did not take pole position cause the poleman for that race was his teammate, retirement bound Australian, Mark Webber (Who had a fallout in Round 2 back at Lim/Sophie's home country in Malaysia following that Multi-21 Affair (Much more like the Len Brown/Bevan Chuang sexual scandal and of course, the highly controversial Roastbusters group), where Vettel took the victory by passing his teammate & ignoring team orders), equalling the number of consecutive victories set by Vettel's worthy predecessor, the great Michael Schumacher, of 7, but was once again celebrating by doing a burnout again before putting his Red Bull back to Parc Ferme to avoid getting penalised again.
And onto 2014 about the review of the FIFA World Cup final with Germany (Who coincidentally crushed hosts Brazil 7 goals to 1 in the semifinal) winning their 4th title with a match winning goal scored by Mario Gotze during extra time against the Lionel Messi (Best footballer/soccer player in the world) led Argentina because this one is called #2014FIFAWorldCupFinal, #GermanyVsArgentina: THE REVIEW:
The #2014FIFAWorldCup ended in a final at the Maracana in #Rio, #Brazil/#Brasil (Host nation) which #Germany/#Deutschland prevailed over @LeoMessi (The wonder boy from Rosario) & Co of #Argentina in a 1 - 0 extra time victory scored by another super-sub by the name of @MarioGötze to lift their 4th World Cup trophy along with #Italy/#Italia (Eliminated in the group stage along with #England), but allow me to introduce myself auf deutsch in honor of the victory, meine name ist Whetu Ngapo, ich bin dreiundzwanzig (23) jahre alt und ich komme aus Neuseeland, glauben sie das!
It was before Sunday night when I had to leave my apartment (after having chilli con carne on my own for late lunch) when Nan & Pops have just arrived, so we were on our way to go to Stellar but nek minnit, the restaurant was so full so I had to go with my decision whether we go to Thai Villa, and we had accepted our offer so off we went for dinner & I had some awesome appetizers like spring rolls & satay chicken skewers + the main course was: satay chicken noodles & for dessert was a caramel, ice-cream sundae, and after our memorable pre-world cup sunday night dinner, we headed to 15A Kells Avenue to spend the night here but at 6:00am Monday morning on Bastille day, I was all fired up! By having a shower & getting prepared before going to the embassy for the final & for breakfast, Pops & I had both brekkie muffins & a hot chocolate + an apple each that we took, & here we go! As we are about to approach the movie theatre as dozens of fans took to the stage (And Ja, there are dozens of German fans are in attendence, so ist gunter glieben glauten globen, vorsprung durch technik (Advance/progress through technology, according to car maker Audi, but Mercedes-Benz is Deutsche Fußballnationalmannschaft's official vehicle sponsor), but before the game started, the head coach/manager of Germany, @JoachimLoew has made an unchanged lineup of personnels (The Goalkeeper is @ManuelNeuer, then the right back: Philipp Lahm (the team captain), the centre backs: @JérômeBoateng & @MatsHummels, the left back is @BenediktHoewedes, then the midfielders: @ChristophKramer (Originally Sami Khedira) & @BastianSchweinsteiger (He's no pig farmer, eh?), the left wing is Thomas Müller, the attacking midfielder is Toni Kroos, then the right wing: Mesut Özil & finally, the centre forward: Miroslav Klose & the subs are: Großkreutz (Defender), Ginter (DF), Schürrle (Forward), Podolski (FW), Zieler (GK), Draxler (Midfielder), Durm (DF), Mertesacker (DF), Götze (MF) & Weidenfeller (GK) with Khedira & Mustafi (DF) being unavailable due to injuries + Germany are playing in the 4-2-3-1 formation which could usually work) which humiliated Brazil, but they put Christoph Kramer in the starting XI instead of Sami Khedira because he can't play because of an injury, with Italian Nicola Rizzoli in charge of the final (The last Italian to take charge of the final was Pierluigi Collina in 2002 when Brazil beat Germany & won).
And yes, after the teams came out onto the venue & the national anthems are played, it is time to get the match underway, with a kick-off by Germany so let's see how it unfolds the World Cup Final in Brazil to remember as the stage is set once more:
29th minute: Schweinsteiger commits a yellow card
31st minute: Christoph Kramer, not looking in good shape as he gets replaced by the almighty super-sub of André Schürrle
34th minute: Hoewedes cops a yellow from the referee Rizzoli, 11 minutes before half-time
But during the 1st half, Argentina had got some good chances like @GonzaloHiguaín having to miss an opportunity by dragging his shot wide after being put through on goal by a misjudged header from Kroos, then he scored a goal, only to be denied by the assistant referee as he was ruled offside after tapping in a cross by @EzequielLavezzi from the right wing, then Germany came so close on different occasions: including a including a header by Hoewedes that struck the Argentine goalpost just before halftime as we tell you the analysis of the 2nd half:
46th minute: Sergio 'Kun' Agüero, comes on for Lavezzi.
64th minute: @JavierMascherano gets booked by the referee
65th minute: So too is Agüero, as he gets yellow carded
78th minute: Argentina is about to make a replacement with @RodrigoPalacio is on for Higuaín
86th minute: And another change for Argentina as @FernandoGago makes his way for @EnzoPérez
88th minute: Then it is Germany's turn to make a 2nd substitution 2 minutes before full-time as Miroslav Josef Klose (Born in Poland but that was Klose) bids his FIFA World Cup career farewell when he is about to be replaced by the match-winning goalscorer of 'Super' Mario (Never mind Balotelli as he failed to adapt) Götze
And during the 2nd half, Messi wasted a chance early, firing wide of the German goal from inside the penalty area after receiving a through pass, so both teams have no score to settle as they enter into extra-time as Schürrle later struck a close-range shot straight at Argentine goalkeeper Romero early in the first half of extra time, after a pass from Götze, then during extra time, when the lob of Palacio went across Neuer by just getting it wide after the forward received a cross, missed by Hummels, in the German penalty area (Moments before Schweinsteiger was summoned off the field by the referee, forcing Germany to play with 10 men after he was lacerated from in the line of fire challenge from Agüero), and now (Wait for it), presenting the here it comes, here it comes, here it comes (Formerly the balls of steel) moment in the 113th minute: and IT IS A GOAL!! GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!!!!!!! FROM SUPER MARIO GOETZE OUTTA NOWHERE!!!!! AND HE GOT IT!!! AS GERMANY GO 1 - 0 UP AGAINST ARGENTINA WITH 8 MINUTES LEFT ON THE CLOCK!!! WOW!! STUNNER, ABSOLUTE STUNNER!!! WHAT A SPECIAL GOAL THAT IS!!! FINALLY! The breakthrough at last has come for Die Mannschaft but poor Albiceleste, they have now conceded a goal at extra time for the 1st time in a World Cup (They were once the experts/masters of extra time, but they have now fallen in German hands), but it was a great assist from Schürrle anyway.
And then the 120th & last minute: Final sub of the tournament from the would-be, eventual, champions of the football world as Mertesacker, brought on for Mesut Özil, as 2 minutes of time being added as oh dear! Schweinsteiger commits a foul so Argentina may have to brace themselves for the equaliser to go into penalties, but step up to Leo, as he is about to take the free kick but however, fails to fire moments before the final whistle as THE REFEREE SAYS THAT'S IT!!! IT'S OVER!!! GERMANY/DEUTSCHLAND ARE THE CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD!! FOR THE FOURTH TIME!!! (EINS, ZWEI, DREI UND VIER, DAS IST FANTASTISCHE, EH!!)
P.S. OH JA!!! ES LEBE DEUTSCHLAND!!! WELTMEISTER ENDLICH!!!
HEIL DEM KÖNIG, BABY!!!
And I like to pay tribute, to the list of World Cup winners spanning from 1930 - 1938 & 1950 - 2014
1930: Uruguay
1934: Italy
1938: Italy
1950: Uruguay
1954: West Germany
1958: Brazil
1962: Brazil
1966: England
1970: Brazil
1974: West Germany
1978: Argentina
1982: Italy
1986: Argentina
1990: West Germany
1994: Brazil
1998: France
2002: Brazil
2006: Italy
2010: Spain
& last but not least, 2014: Germany
And I would like to say apologies for the German because I never speak that language fluently.
And so we fast forward to last year such as Breaking Dawn: the 2015 Rugby World Cup preview but this one is about the preview of the 2015 Rugby World Cup (Won by the All Blacks who had a great but excellent campaign compared to the 1987 & 2011 ones by beating Argentina (Who advanced through to the quarterfinal after finishing runner up in Pool C with victories after losing to New Zealand against Georgia, Tonga & Namibia by beating Ireland (Who topped Pool D with wins against Canada in the opener, Romania, Italy & France (Who took on the AB's in the quarterfinal after losing to Ireland to finish runner up in Pool D after victories against Italy in the opener, Romania & Canada & lost) before losing both to the Wallabies (Who topped the pool of death in Pool A with wins against Fiji in the opener, Uruguay, hosts England (Who got knocked out of their own home turf) & Wales (Who took on South Africa in the quarterfinals after finishing the pool of death in Pool A with victories against Uruguay, hosts England (Who won the World Cup back in 2003) & Fiji before losing to Australia & lost) to advance through to the quarterfinal to take on Scotland (Who beat both Japan & Samoa & losing to the Springboks to finish runner up in Pool B) in which they won (In which the game should've & could've gone to the Scottish under controversial circumstances, they were livid) before beating Argentina in the semifinal & facing the All Blacks in the final in which they missed out by losing to them) in the semifinal & South Africa (Who famously lost to Japan in the opener in one of the greatest upsets & famous wins in the history of the World Cup before topping Pool B with victories against Samoa, Scotland & the United States before advancing through to the quarterfinal by beating Wales before losing to New Zealand in the semifinal & winning against Argentina to claim 3rd place) to determine who will claim 3rd place) in the opener then wins against Namibia, Georgia & Tonga by topping Pool C to advance through to the quarterfinal to take on France in which they won before beating the Boks (Winners in 1995 & 2007) in the semifinal & facing Australia (World Champions in 1991 & 99) in the final in which they won in a convincing fashion because they became the 1st team to go back to back, the 1st to win 3 titles & the 1st time that the All Blacks have won the Rugby World Cup on foreign soil because they have never achieved that before because they finally deserved it by earning our right) held in England (With some matches being played in Wales) which is called Breaking Dawn: the 2015 Rugby World Cup preview.
Well, it is finally here after 4 long years, the 2015 Rugby World Cup...now in this blog, I'll preview about the upcoming 2015 Rugby World Cup being held in England as well as telling the history of both Rugby and previous World Cups.
But 1st off, it is #rugbyworldcup fever time in #england as it plays host to this years tournament so I will give you the full rundown on all the 20 teams competing in the Pools:
Pool A: Australia/Wallabies (Rugby Championship champions of 2015 led by the incomparable hooker Stephen Moore and coached by the highly controversial Michael Cheika), England (The hosts captained by Chris Robshaw with Stuart Lancaster being the coach), Wales (Sam Warburton is the captain, while New Zealander Warren Gatland is the coach), Fiji (Crusaders star player Nemani Nadolo is the danger man) & Uruguay (Who hasn't been competing at the World Cup since 2003)
Pool B: South Africa/Springboks (Led by the influential Jean de Villiers, coached by Heyneke Meyer), Samoa (Featuring Chiefs player & Sonny Bill Williams cousin, Tim Nanai-Williams), Scotland (also featuring NZ born player Sean Maitland coached by Big Vern Cotter), Japan (And also featuring halfback Fumiaki Tanaka who plays for the Highlanders as well as the team being coached by Australian Eddie Jones because he is of Japanese descent) & the United States (Chris Wyles is the skipper)
Pool C: New Zealand/All Blacks (Defending world champions led by World Cup Winner Richie McCaw and coached by Steve Hansen who took over from Sir Graham 'Ted' Henry), Argentina (Captained by Agustin Creevy), Tonga (Nili Latu is the captain), Georgia (Led by Mamuka Gorgodze) & Namibia (Jacques Burger is the skipper)
Pool D: France (Led by Thierry Dusautoir and coached by Philippe Saint-Andre), Ireland (Six Nations Champions captained by Paul O'Connell with another New Zealander Joe Schmidt being the coach), Italy (Sergio Parisse is the captain), Canada (Led by Tyler Ardron and coached by ex All Black Kieran Crowley) & Romania (Mihai Macovei is the skipper).
And who is going to win it, we will find it out, once the tournament's over before we know it, but all will be revealed.
And yes the game was indeed invented by William Webb Ellis the great who invented the game by picking up and ran the ball with it because it was against the rules in football/soccer so a new sport was created way back then.
The 1st World Cup was held back in 1987 with the All Blacks dominated the tournament in which they beat Italy (Including that all time great try from John Kirwan as well as Michael Jones scoring the 1st genuine try of the World Cup because the very 1st try of the World Cup was a penalty try), Fiji and Argentina in the pool games before taking on Scotland in the quarterfinals in which they won and Wales in the semifinals (Huw Richards got sent off for throwing that punch before Wayne 'Buck' Shelford threw a punch on Richards which went unpunished) before clashing with traditional rivals France (Who beat Australia with a desperate last minute try scored by Serge Blanco) in the final moments before New Zealand beat France 29 - 9 (With some great tries being scored by captain David Kirk as well as Kirwan) to win the very 1st ever Rugby World Cup title with Kirk lifting the World Cup title as seen on national television.
And then in 1991 (The year that I was born), the All Blacks world cup curse had begun, losing to eventual champions Australia in the semifinal who beat hosts England in the final...then in 1995, disaster struck as New Zealand (Which featured rugby's 1st global superstar, Jonah Lomu) failed to regain the crown (With several players fell victim to food poisoning with the exception of captain Sean Fitzpatrick and the Brooke brothers of Robin & Zinzan), losing to debutants and hosts South Africa in the final in which united the host country as well as their leader Nelson Mandela, but in 1999, the All Blacks took on rivals and eventual runners up France (Who lost to the eventual champions Australia) in the semifinal but nek minute, they were torn sky blast apart from the French who enjoyed an insane amount of rugby during the 2nd half and then in 2003, something went wrong for the All Blacks during the semifinals as Stirling Mortlock's intercept try for the Wallabies ended New Zealand's hopes of reaching the World Cup final, which was won by England and in 2007 during the quarterfinals, France terminated the All Blacks dream of winning the World Cup just like as it was repeating the heroics way back in '99 through a blatant forward pass not seen by English referee Wayne Barnes (Although South Africa won the tourney beating England in the final).
And so on in 2011, the All Blacks opened with a win over the kingdom of Tonga (Who hijacked us at the start) at Eden Park in Auckland (41 - 10) followed by Japan at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton 83 - 7 (The night before the mighty green throng of Ireland turned the tables on Australia, causing an upset), then France in Auckland (37 - 17) with captain Richie McCaw becoming the 1st All Black to reach 100 test caps followed by beating Canada at Wellington Regional Stadium in Wellington 79 - 15 (The day after Tonga providing another upset victory over France as well as Dan Carter, who was ruled out of the tournament altogether with a groin injury), then it is quarter final time as we scraped Argentina 33 - 10 in Auckland (Although Colin Slade suffered an injury similar to Dan Carter's), then finally beating against our traditional Trans Tasman rivals Australia (Who defeated South Africa in the quarter final which was better off forgotten) in the semifinal 20 - 6 (It was the night after the French flair titans (Who gave England the chop in the quarterfinal) defeated the Welsh (Who had beaten the mighty green throng in the quarters) in the other semifinal in which Sam Warburton got sent off for that famous spear tackle) before we once again took on France in the final, just as it was back in 1987, with the weight of the nation above our shoulders (Although Stephen 'Beaver' Donald was called up in the last minute whilst he was white baiting, YA GOT THAT!! WHITEBAITING), we have won us the CUP!!! HAIL TO THE KING BABY!!! I'VE GOT BALLS OF STEEL!!! And yeah, not only that we have ended our Rugby World Cup curse after 24 years of agony and pain, as if, not ONLY we beat France 8 - 7, we have managed to lift the World Cup trophy, not only because it is the greatest moment of my life.
P.S. England has just opened up their RWC campaign with a win over Fiji 35 - 11 with fullback Mike Brown claiming man of the match honours as well as the All Blacks had already named their team to play against Argentina in our bid to retain the William Webb Ellis trophy with several players making their World Cup debut in the starting lineup including hooker Dane Coles, lock Brodie Retallick, halfback Aaron Smith, wingers Julian Savea & Nehe Milner-Skudder & fullback Ben Smith. And on the bench is props Wyatt Crockett & Charlie Faumuina, openside flanker Sam Cane, halfback TJ Perenara & 1st five eighth Beauden Barrett.
And finally, now onto this year about the preview of the Euros as well as the best international rugby team in the world, the All Blacks taking on Wales in a 3 match test series because this one is called Euro 2016 & All Blacks vs Wales preview:
Well, today I will be previewing both Euro 2016 (Which is held in France) and the All Blacks versus Wales test series so let's get started on Euro 2016 because I am still looking forward to it so let's have a look at the teams:
Group A
France (Hosts & 2 time winners in 1984 and 2000 (The last time they won with the likes of Patrick Vieira, Didier Deschamps (Who is the current coach/manager of France), Zinedine Zidane (Future Real Madrid coach/manager) & Thierry Henry). Led by Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Hugo Lloris + Paul Pogba of Italian champions Juventus is the key player for Les Bleus)
Romania (Featuring Vlad Chichires as a less familiar star player)
Albania (Tournament debutants featuring Lorik Cana as the key player)
Switzerland (Led by Stephan Lichtsteiner while Xherdan Shaqiri is the star player)
Group B
England (Led by key player from FA Cup champions Manchester United, Wayne Rooney)
Russia (Winner of the 1st European Championship in 1960 (under the Soviet Union name) led by Roman Shirokov while the star player of that team is Aleksandr Kokorin)
Wales (Tournament debutants featuring key man Gareth Bale of European champions Real Madrid (Who beat Atletico Madrid in the Champions League final in Milan, Italy) who is the world's most expensive footballer/soccer player)
Slovakia (Fellow tournament debutants led by Martin Skrtel who has taken over the captaincy from star man Marek Hamsik)
Group C
Germany (Reigning world champions & 3 time winners in 1972, 1980 & 1996, captained by Manchester United's Bastian Schweinsteiger while Bayern Munich's Thomas Muller is the star man of Die Mannschaft)
Ukraine (Anatoliy Tymoschuk cpatains the side while the key player for the Ukrainians is Yehven Konoplyanka)
Poland (Led by star man for Bayern Munich, Robert Lewandowski)
Northern Ireland (Tournament debutants featuring key player Kyle Lafferty)
Group D
Spain (3 time winners in 1964, 2008 & 2012 & defending champions led by Iker Casillas of Porto while David Silva is the star man for La Furia Roja along with the likes of Alvaro Morata, Gerard Pique, Andres Iniesta, Thiago Alcantara and Sergio Ramos (Who captained Real Madrid to UEFA Champions League glory (#undecima)
Czech Republic (Winners in 1976 under the Czechoslovakia name to be led by Tomas Rosicky of Arsenal while his teammate is goalie Petr Cech who is the key player)
Turkey (Led by the influential star player of FC Barcelona (Champions of the Club World Cup, the La Liga and the Copa Del Rey), Arda Turan)
Croatia (Led by Darijo Srna with Luka Modric from the UEFA Champions League winning side Real Madrid as it's star player)
Group E
Belgium (Led by Chelsea's Eden Hazard with Kevin de Bruyne as it's star player)
Italy (Winners in 1968 with World Cup winning goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon leading the side and also featuring is Daniele de Rossi who won the FIFA World Cup for his country a decade ago)
Republic of Ireland (Led by the ageing key player from LA Galaxy in the MLS (Major League Soccer) Robbie Keane)
Sweden (Led by Paris Saint Germain's star man Zlatan Ibrahimovic)
& last but not least, Group F
Portugal (Led by Real Madrid's star player, Cristiano Ronaldo)
Iceland (Tournament debutants led by Aron Gunarsson but the key player for Iceland is Gylfi Sigurdsson)
Austria (Led by Leicester City's Christian Fuchs while David Alaba of German champions Bayern Munich is the star man)
Hungary (Led by key player Balasz Dzsudzak who is trying to emulate Ferenc Puskas's hopes)
And of course the All Blacks will go into the test series against Wales (Led by Gareth Bale's answer to rugby Sam Warburton & featuring the likes of Alun Wyn Jones, Taulupe Faletau, Rhys Webb (Who missed the 2015 Rugby World Cup due to injury), Dan Biggar, Jamie Roberts and George North) as World Champions but the team has been named so here is the starting lineup for the 1st test match at Eden Park (Remember folks that Poppa and I are going to the Wellington one in 9 days time):
1 (Loose head prop): Joe Moody (Canterbury/Crusaders)
2 (Hooker): Dane Coles (Wellington/Hurricanes)
3 (Tight head prop): Owen Franks (Canterbury/Crusaders)
4 (Lock): Luke Romano (Canterbury/Crusaders)
5 (Lock): Brodie Retallick (Hawke's Bay/Chiefs)
6 (Blindside Flanker): Jerome Kaino (Auckland/Blues)
7 (Openside Flanker): Sam Cane (Bay of Plenty/Chiefs)
8 (Number 8): Kieran Read (Captain, Canterbury/Crusaders)
9 (Half-back): Aaron Smith (Manawatu/Highlanders)
10 (First five eighth): Aaron Cruden (Manawatu/Chiefs)
11 (Left Wing): Julian Savea (Wellington/Hurricanes)
12 (Second five eighth): Ryan Crotty (Canterbury/Crusaders)
13 (Centre): Malakai Fekitoa (Auckland/Highlanders)
14 (Right Wing): Waisake Naholo (Taranaki/Highlanders)
& 15 (Fullback): Ben Smith (Otago/Highlanders)
And in the reserves are Nathan Harris (Who had won his place ahead of Codie Taylor), Wyatt Crockett, Charlie Faumuina, Patrick Tuipulotu, Ardie Savea (Who makes his debut on the bench), TJ Perenara, Beauden Barrett & Seta Tamanivalu (Who also makes his debut on the bench).
So that is my 50th blog for today, look forward to seeing you next time, bye from us.
P.S. (SPOILER ALERT BOYS AND GIRLS, DON'T YA FORGET IT!!! REPEAT AFTER ME FELLAS, SPOILER ALERT!!!) The All Blacks have named their team for the 3rd and final test against Wales at Forsyth Barr Stadium with 12 changes being confirmed with Julian Savea after his poor performance in the 1st test is back at left wing replacing Waisake Naholo who goes to the bench replacing Seta Tamanivalu as well as Highlander Elliot Dixon making his test debut replacing Jerome Kaino who is rested along with Liam Squire who gets his 1st opportunity on the reserves bench replacing ''the Pineapple'' or should I say ''the Pineapple Express'' Ardie Savea with Lima Sopoaga replacing Beauden Barrett in the reserves with Beaudy starting at first-five eighth replacing Aaron Cruden who had a neck injury during the last test match in Wellington (Although Cruden is fine because he was cleared of any serious injury) then Ofa Tu'ungafasi gets his chance by also making his test debut on the bench replacing Charlie Faumuina who will start a tight-head prop effectively replacing Owen Franks as well as George Moala replacing Malakai Fekitoa at centre + the return of the 2nd choice All Black halfback of Tawera Kerr-Barlow replacing TJ Perenara and Codie Taylor returns by replacing Nathan Harris in the reserve bench as well as Luke Romano returns by replacing Patrick Tuipulotu in the reserves so here's the All Blacks team lineup against Wales in Dunedin at the Glass House:
1 (Loose head prop): Joe Moody (Canterbury/Crusaders)
2 (Hooker): Dane Coles (Wellington/Hurricanes)
3 (Tight head prop): Charlie Faumuina (Auckland/Blues)
4 (Lock): Brodie Retallick (Hawke's Bay/Chiefs)
5 (Lock): Sam Whitelock (Canterbury/Crusaders)
6 (Blindside Flanker): Elliot Dixon (Southland/Highlanders)
7 (Openside Flanker): Sam Cane (Bay of Plenty/Chiefs)
8 (Number 8): Kieran Read (Captain, Canterbury/Crusaders)
9 (Half-back): Aaron Smith (Manawatu/Highlanders)
10 (First five eighth): Beauden Barrett (Taranaki/Hurricanes)
11 (Left Wing): Julian Savea (Wellington/Hurricanes)
12 (Second five eighth): Ryan Crotty (Canterbury/Crusaders)
13 (Centre): George Moala (Auckland/Blues)
14 (Right Wing): Ben Smith (Otago/Highlanders)
& 15 (Fullback): Israel Dagg (Hawke's Bay/Crusaders)
And in the reserves are Codie Taylor (Who had finally rewarded his place ahead of Nathan Harris), Wyatt Crockett, Ofa Tu'ungafasi (Who makes his debut on the bench), Luke Romano, Liam Squire (Who also makes his debut on the bench), Tawera Kerr-Barlow, Lima Sopoaga & Waisake Naholo.
And guess what, my cousin Paige (AKA The Female Revenant) has sent me an email writing that she had a great morning meeting me and having breakfast with me also, she also wrote that they sent the photo they took to my Dad and that is how he would have seen it so I can get the copy of it from him also because she also wrote to me that my lunch sounded very yummy that she must go there for lunch one day if she drives up that way and she has got lots of favourite actors! Don't think that can pick a favourite. And finally she wrote to me that she must stay in touch and hopefully that she will be able to come up and visit me soon.
And finally also my aunty Cathey (The Sorceress) managed to send me an email writing about that she is going to print the selfie and put it on the photo board in the kitchen because my Dad is her brother although she did not grow up together because that is another story because she also wrote that it was great to see me and Poppa because I am welcome whenever I like as well as I was the highlight of the visit because Paige enjoyed getting to know me better and the boys know who, I am, when she was writing about me because I am our oldest cousin and they liked it that I know about Star Wars. And she also said that they liked Indian food a lot but they liked Thai food better because they must try spice guru in Wanganui when they visit and she does not know her favorite actor was but she likes British comedian James Corden (Not Corben because he was the one who does the carpool karaoke segment with famous celebrities such as Justin Bieber, One Direction, Gwen Stefani, George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers, Elton John, Iggy Azalea, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Adele, Jennifer Lopez, Rod Stewart, A$ap Rocky and Sia as well as most recently, Selena Gomez) and Irish talk back host Graham Norton and finally she said that she does not know the band Stone Sour, but she will listen to their music on Spotify.
