Well, the #Euro2016 is now under starters orders as hosts France opened up their campaign with a win against Romania 2 - 1 (With goals scored by Arsenal's Olivier Giroud & Dimitri Payet (Who scored the match winner) for France while Romania's Nicolae Stancu scored a penalty to equalize (I had the French flag to support France because I was backing the French to win).
And then it is over to Albania and Switzerland as the Swiss dominated from start to finish with a goal scored by Fabian Schar in the 5th minute but they held on until the end, 1 - 0 being the final score. And in Group B's action where tournament debutants Wales (Coached by Chris Coleman) triumphed over fellow newcomers Slovakia 2 - 1 with Real Madrid's Gareth Bale scoring a great goal along with Hal Robson-Kanu then Manchester United's Wayne Rooney led England (3 Lions) led 1 - 0 with a goal by Eric Dier and held on to the lead until stand in skipper for Russia Vasili Berezutski ended England's hopes of winning the game (Well I was backing England because of my ancestors but I ended up supporting Russia because I have got the Russian flag).
And then onto Group C where Poland dominated debutants Northern Ireland 2 - 1 while the world champs Germany (Die Mannschaft coached by Joachim 'Jorgi' Low) scored 2 goals (Shkodran Mustafi & Real Madrid's Toni Kroos were the goalscorers on that night) against Ukraine while in Group D Croatia stun the Arda Turan (Who plays for FC Barcelona) led Turkey with a great goal scored by Real Madrid's Luka Modric (Who is Gareth Bale & Toni Kroos's teammate) and then the Vicente del Bosque coached Spain (La Furia Roja) took on the Czech Republic and won 1 - 0 courtesy of a goal scored by Shakira's husband (And teammate of Arda Turan) Gerard Pique of FC Barcelona.
And then it's on to Group E when the Republic of Ireland drew with Sweden led by Paris St-Germain's Zlatan Ibrahimovic at the Stade de France 1 - 1 with Wes Hoolahan scoring 1st then his teammate Ciaran Clark scored an own goal ending their chances to beat the Swedish then the 12th ranked Italy (The Azzurri) beat the top ranked nation in Europe, Belgium by 2 goals to nil with goals scored by Emanuele Giaccherini and Graziano Pelle.
And finally, on to Group F where Hungary defeated the gallant Austria 2 - 0 then the Cristiano Ronaldo (Who plays for Real Madrid along with Bale, Kroos & Modric) led Portugal had a draw against newcomers Iceland 1 - 1 with ex Manchester United player Nani scoring 1st then Birkir Bjarnson with the equalizer but the score remained until the end.
And then the next day, Slovakia defeated Russia by scoring 2 goals by Vladimir Weiss and main talisman Marek Hamsik before conceding a goal scored by Denis Glushakov then the Vlad Chichires led Romania took on Switzerland with Nicolae Stancu took a penalty to put them 1 - 0 up and they held on to the lead until Admir Mehmedi equalized therefore the match ended in a draw before hosts France had beaten Albania to seal a place in the Round of 16 with Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann and Dimitri Payet providing 2 great goals right through to the death because they were absolutely on fire at the moment for Les Bleus so tomorrow England take on Wales so extra law enforcement personnel have been dispatched meaning that they have an enforced alcohol ban (+ Ukraine take on Northern Ireland in Group C as well as Germany take on rivals Poland).
So that is it for the football/soccer as we go into the rugby where the World Champion #AllBlacks side (Coached by Steve Hansen and led by the new captain Kieran Read) made a comprehensive start to the test series against the Warren Gatland coached #Wales (Led by Gareth Bale's old classmate from a Welsh High School, Sam Warburton) so let's see how the match unfolds in the 1st half:
1ST MINUTE: Aaron Cruden kicks off: the new era in All Blacks rugby is underway as Wales collect easily and recycle but poor kick straight to fullback Ben Smith. New Zealand put ball straight though hands and Julian Savea makes an early bust. Penalty to the AB's after Wales refuse to roll away at the ruck.
1 MINUTE LATER: Long attempt from Cruden looks good but hits the right upright and All Blacks recycle but Wales defend the line.
2 MINUTES LATER: Wales concede another penalty almost straight from contact after the drop out and New Zealand put the ball through hands under advantage. Nothing accrues and Cruden going for goal from straight in front. The Welsh unable to match the AB's pace, or their strength at the ruck.
1 MINUTE LATER: 3-0 Penalty to the All Blacks! Cruden scores
1 MINUTE LATER: Wales finally get into New Zealand territory but only because they have restarted from the goal kick. Short kick-off but the AB's recycle before the Welsh win a scrum as the AB's outside backs in particular looking dangerous with ball in hand.
1 MINUTE LATER: Solid Wales scrum under pressure and Tongan born Taulupe Faletau (Formerly as Toby) feeds Rhys Webb to go left but tourists going side to side rather than up and down and Webb kicks an up-and-under.
1 MINUTE LATER: Liam Williams looks dangerous on the right flank after Ben Smith had spilled the high ball. Come back left and Hallam Amos and George North combine to put Faletau over the tryline on the left corner. Brilliant try. Brilliant.
1 MINUTE LATER: 3-5 IT'S A TRY! Faletau scores for Wales
2 MINUTES LATER: Fijian born Waisake Naholo spills the ball centre field fust inside the All Black 22, and Wales have after great attacking platform.
1 MINUTE LATER: Wales settling into the game now after being dominated in the opening eight minutes. Ball runners running straighter and forwards hitting the ruck with more meaning.
1 MINUTE LATER: Fantastic break on the outisde from Naholo who stands up his defender and simply burns past. All Blacks now deep in Wales territory.
1 MINUTE LATER: Cruden launches a chip kick into space on the left wing and Julian Savea rises high over George North to collect the ball and touch down. Result of good ball running in the middle of the pack after Naholo had burned Hallam Amos.
1 MINUTE LATER: 8-5 1ST TRY TO THE ALL BLACKS! 'The Bus' Julian Savea scores for New Zealand.
1 MINUTE LATER: Wales kick off short again in an attempt to create a content in center field, Kieran Read collects but a tactic, nice in and away from George North to go past Julian Savea. Shaping as a strong contest on that flank.
1 MINUTE LATER: Cracking try for the AB's after Ben Smith collects a high ball outside his 22 and burns through the defence. Feeds Cruden who passes to Naholo on the bust to come inside and touch down unopposed.
1 MINUTE LATER: 13-5 TRY! Naholo scores for the All Blacks.
1 MINUTE LATER: 15-5 Cruden makes the conversion as the tries have boosted New Zealand, who are hitting the rucks harder again, but the Welsh are creating spaces on the right side of the AB's defence if they can exploit them. Penalty to Wales after the All Blacks were caught offside in the defensive line.
2 MINUTES LATER: 15-8 Penalty to the Welsh! Dan Biggar scores
1 MINUTE LATER: New Zealand making ground around the edges of the ruck perhaps a little too easily for Wales' liking, but the Welsh showing great initiative on the counter attack -- this time on the right flank through Jonathan Davies.
1 MINUTE LATER: Lovely bust from Liam Williams on a short ball from Rhys Webb but the fullback lacked support and kick was the wrong option. Rewarded when Dane Coles offside from the rebound from Williams' kick.
3 MINUTES LATER: 15-11 Penalty to Wales! Biggar scores
1 MINUTE LATER: The Welsh showing great commitment and no little skill and footwork to get back in the game. Producing a genuine challenge and this is shaping as a fine game. Rhys Webb at halfback is highly influential but Strong defensive from lock Brodie Retallick to haul down George North after Jonathan Davies had effected a turnover. Try saver.
2 MINUTES LATER: Naholo burns past Amos once again after lightning hands from Ben Smith and Malakai Fekitoa but the winger bombs a certain try when holding the ball rather than passing to free support runners.
1 MINUTE LATER: Great try Wales to get back in front. Tremendous break from Liam Williams after collecting a high ball in his own half and stepped inside locks to clean through. Then fed Rhys Webb to touch down. Great try by the Welsh but imagine Steve Hansen will be fuming at slow linespeed in the chase of a long kick.
1 MINUTE LATER: 15-16 TRY! Rhys Webb scores for Wales
1 MINUTE LATER: 15-18 Biggar makes the conversion then the Welsh had scored only 4 tries in seven All Blacks tests in New Zealand. They now have half that number again in 30 minutes. Blistering game plan from Wales, anything but the bash and barge we had perhaps expected.
2 MINUTES LATER: Key stat to this point: 8-2 handling errors, with the AB's execution clearly off in the face of the Welsh challenge as All Blacks captain Kieran Read.
1 MINUTE LATER: George North makes a half-break after the Welsh finally effected another turnover at ruck ball. Wales have really stepped up at the breakdown after the opening five minutes, and they're clearly the better team with momentum at the moment. Strong also at set-piece.
2 MINUTES LATER: Close escape there for New Zealand. Clever chip from Biggar exploits space behind the All Black line. Best halfback in the world Aaron Smith collects and Cruden saves the halfback after he spills the ball backwards under pressure from Jonathan Davies. Scrum Wales.
1 MINUTE LATER: Wales bashing the New Zealand line and looking threatening.
1 MINUTE LATER: New Zealand just hold out Wales under increasing pressure, and Aaron Smith a relieved man to find touch from a 5-metre lineout.
1 MINUTE LATER: 15-18 End of 2nd half. Fielding born Aaron Smith says Wales playing good rugby but laments All Blacks' inability to hold on to the ball. What a brilliant 1st half #NZLvWAL, June 11th, 2016
And I mean what a brilliant 1st half by the Welsh but the 2nd half was about to start so let's see how it unfolds during the 2nd half:
41ST MINUTE: 15-18 Start of 2nd half as we are back underway at Eden park with Biggar kicking off long right. History in the making here for Wales. the AB's have started as they did the first half, on the front foot and putting the ball through phases. Looking perhaps to go up the guts with the forwards a little more however.
1 MINUTE LATER: More poor execution from the All Blacks as they knock-on when trying to go wide in second phase. Poor pass was behind Ben Smith. All Black center pairing struggling against Jamie Roberts and Jonathan Davies.
1 MINUTE LATER: Julian Savea is taken off, Beauden Barrett is brought on, Ben Smith has gone to the wing, replacing Julian Savea, with Beaudy Barrett at fullback.
1 MINUTE LATER: New Zealand -- whisper this a little quietly -- look just a little short of ideas at the minute. They seem rattled by the scoreline as Alun-Wyn Jones off for a concussion test after a hefty knock minutes ago.
1 MINUTE LATER: Jake Ball is brought on, Jones is taken off.
1 MINUTE LATER: Owen Franks is taken off, Charlie Faumuina is brought on. All Blacks firmly on the attack after Liam Williams fumbles on a grubber kick behind the line on the right wing. Fekitoa certain to score only for Rhys Webb to make a textbook covering tackle.
2 MINUTES LATER: 18-18 Penalty to the AB's! Cruden scores, Joe Moody is taken off, Wyatt Crockett is brought on as Luke Romano penalised for tackling the lineout jumper in the air but Biggar misses away to the left from outside the 22. Alun-Wyn Jones has been cleared by the concussion test.
1 MINUTE LATER: Huge bust from North who really is threatening every time he gets the ball on the right. Stopped only by a brutal tackle by Barrett. Late tackle on Rhys Webb by Aaron Smith gifts Biggar another opportunity.
2 MINUTES LATER: Jones is brought on, Jake Ball is taken off.
1 MINUTE LATER: The All Blacks have not been lost in 34 Tests at Eden Park, but Wales are a real chance here. No reason to fear the hosts on any evidence this evening.
1 MINUTE LATER: 18-21 Penalty to the Welsh! Biggar scores, Patrick Tuipulotu is brought on as Luke Romano is taken off and most notably the Wales defensive line that looked stretched very early in the first half is now the dominant factor of the game. Plus that defensive line is very quick in chasing and pressuring kicks.
1 MINUTE LATER: Great work by Biggar to collect an almost impossible mark one-handed the roost the ball inside All Black territory.
1 MINUTE LATER: Aaron Smith told to use the ball at the back of a driving maul and perhaps for the first time ever he looks confused in his decision-making. Penalty almost immediately after a poor kick and Wales are back deep inside New Zealand territory.
1 MINUTE LATER: Big bust from the AB's after Tuipulotu turns over a Wales lineout. Simple handling and Barrett goes over halfway. Penalty to the All Blacks after the Welsh go off their feet at the ruck.
2 MINUTES LATER: Cruden's kick is poor, and short, but Jonathan Davies fails to find touch with his clearing kick. New Zealand back on offence on the Wales 22.
1 MINUTE LATER: New Zealand come to the left with quick hands to Naholo, who again makes ground in limited space before putting a foot in touch.
1 MINUTE LATER: Biggar clears to the 22 under immense pressure deep inside his end goal from the 5m lineout, by the AB's win the subsequent lineout and they're back with 5m of the whitewash under advantage.
1 MINUTE LATER: Sam Cane is taken off as Ardie Savea is brought on for his test debut as All Black number 1147.
1 MINUTE LATER: 23-21 TRY! Naholo in again as he scores for the All Blacks as New Zealand ignore the goal attempt as Aaron Smith takes a quick tap straight to Waisake Naholo, who runs straight through Biggar. Simple try and Wales will be disappointed to concede.
1 MINUTE LATER: 25-21 Cruden makes the conversion but the Welsh back on the attack rumbling forward after almost losing a second straight lineout, but they then spill the ball forward after Ryan Crotty hammers Jamie Roberts.
1 MINUTE LATER: Fair to say that New Zealand's substitues Barrett, Tuipulotu and Ardie Savea have had a major effect in the second half, perhaps even turning the tide towards the hosts
1 MINUTE LATER: Scott Baldwin is brought on, Ken Owens is taken off, Gethin Jenkins is taken off, Rob Evans is brought on, Scott Williams is brought on, Jamie Roberts is taken off, Liam Williams is taken off, New Zealand born Gareth Anscombe is brought on but Wales have now cleared the decks in terms of the substitutes; they'll need their bench players to match the impact of the home replacements.
1 MINUTE LATER: Clever kick to space from Cruden followed by extreme pressure by Naholo wins the hosts a lineout.
1 MINUTE LATER: Skipper Kieran Read goes over after good work around the ruck, particularly from Aaron Smith, but perhaps lucky after the ball had bounced around behind the ruck. Good ball from Patrick Tuipolotu put his captain over.
1 MINUTE LATER: 30-21 TRY! New Captain Read scores for the AB's
1 MINUTE LATER: 32-21 Cruden makes the conversion as TJ Perenara is brought on while Aaron Smith is taken off.
1 MINUTE LATER: The Welsh seem to be running out of gas, basic errors under pressure at key times of a movement cruelling their progress. New Zealand also edging extra metres each time they go into contact.
1 MINUTE LATER: Cruden ghosts into space through the halfway line, but referee Wayne Barnes overrules TMO George Ayoub to disallow Perenara's try for a forward pass from his first-five eighth. Somewhat controversial.
1 MINUTE LATER: Gareth Davies is brought on, Rhys Webb is taken off, Samson Lee is taken off, Tomas Francis is brought on, captain Sam Warburton is taken off, Ellis Jenkins is brought on, Jake Ball is brought back on, Bradley Davies is taken off, Nathan Harris is brought on, Dane Coles is taken off and another try disallowed, this time from Faletau. Back-rower a long way in front of the kicker before chasing down the ball and barrelling over the line from halfway. Not so controversial.
1 MINUTE LATER: Length of the field break sparked by Naholo, Retallick and Crotty before the ball has been lost forward by Faumuina in midfield. Wales looking increasingly tired.
1 MINUTE LATER: AB's effect another turnover on halfway and once again come towards Naholo on the left wing. Wales defend the counter well and then effect a turnover of their own. Faletau good to effect that turnover at a ruck.
1 MINUTE LATER: Fekitoa is taken off as Fijian born Seta Tamanivalu is brought on to become the 1148th All Black.
1 MINUTE LATER: Wales lose another lineout. From being imperious in winning the first four straight they're really struggling now.
1 MINUTE LATER: Free-kick to the Welsh after All Blacks scrum unstable but Gareth Davies comes short with his darting run and New Zealand create another turnover and Ben Smith clears out on the right wing.
1 MINUTE LATER: Naholo loses the ball on the left flank after busting past George North but Wales now deep in their own territory and Jonathan Davies loses the ball forward.
2 MINUTES LATER: Siren sounds as Perenara looks to feed the scrum. Tamanivalu busts through on a cutback in first phase attack from the scrum. The ball then comes back left and the front-rowers combine with great hands for Nathan Harris to go over in the corner. That is all she wrote. The All Blacks have run out ultimately convincing winners on the scoreboard, but the score does not tell the story of the game from the point of view of Wales.
1 MINUTE LATER: 37-21 TRY! Nathan Harris scores for New Zealand
1 MINUTE LATER: 39-21 Cruden makes the conversion
1 MINUTE LATER: 39-21 End Of Second Half
And that is the game, the AB's are the winners, over Wales as they go 1 - 0 up in the test series, moments before the Stephen Moore captained Wallabies (Coached by Michael Cheika) lost but how about England (Captained by Rotorua born Dylan Hartley who missed the Rugby World Cup due to disciplinary reasons) with their new coach from Australia, Eddie Jones (Former Wallabies and Japan coach), they have just won le Six Nations Grand Chelem title by going into the test series, beating Australia 39 - 28 in the 1st test to win in Brisbane for the very 1st time and gain revenge following that Rugby World Cup Pool match defeat in which the last Rugby World Cup hosts crashed out on their own then Ireland (Who had a disappointing Rugby World Cup after losing to Argentina) beat the Springboks for the 1st time on South African soil with just 14 men on the park after South African (Coincidentally/quite frankly) born CJ Stander got red carded by deliberately taking out Springbok first five-eighth Patrick Lambie for a late challenge but Pat Lambie is ruled out of the 2nd test with concussion as he is being replaced by Morne Steyn of French club Stade Francais.
And what about the Stephen 'Beaver' Donald led Chiefs (Coached by Dave Rennie who are missing several key players due to All Blacks duties or injury) thrashing Wales in a mid-week fixture 40 points to Wales 7 because the Chiefs produced a huge defensive effort on Tuesday night on the way to handing Wales a 40-7 rugby crushing in Hamilton as the home side had limited attacking opportunities, but still conjured up six tries to one. Former All Black 1st 5 8th Stephen Donald set up one try, almost scored another and landed all four of his conversion attempts before going off late to a big ovation as the Chiefs had 20 players unavailable because of injury or international duty, including eight away with the All Blacks.
Donald, handed the captaincy in the absence of regular co-skippers Sam Cane and Aaron Cruden, who are with the Test squad, was delighted with his side's performance. "I'm so proud of the boys," he said "It wasn't pretty and we had to defend for probably 80 per cent of the game, but this group of battlers did well tonight."
Donald said there was plenty of excitement beforehand about the chance to play a touring side."There are a lot of guys who haven't had much opportunities," he said "The Welsh are a good team, but we just thought, hell, we're going to rip into them and, hopefully, it was going to be enough and, in the end, it was."
Lock Luke Charteris, Wales' captain for the match, said the Chiefs won the battle of the gain line and the breakdown. "We let ourselves down; we didn't match them," he said "They gave us a lesson there and we have to look at ourselves. It's just not acceptable to lose by that sort of margin." Wales had 10 players backing up from their first Test loss to the All Blacks, including skipper Sam Warburton.
The openside flanker wasn't originally selected, but started after Ellis Jenkins withdrew with a thigh strain. Wales had the lion's share of possession and territory, and constantly turned down penalty shots at goal, but they struggled to find the cutting edge against a resilient defence. They were behind in the seventh minute after Donald made a half break that set up halfback Brad Weber for a try.
Against the run of the play, the home side went further ahead on the half-hour when No.8 Tom Sanders finished off a 17-phase attack. Donald, after another galloping run, was then denied a try after the officials ruled he was held up. But from the subsequent scrum, lock Dominic Bird went over and Donald added the extras for a 21-0 halftime scoreline. Wales finally managed to get on the board in the 56th minute as they drove replacement hooker Kristian Dacey over from a lineout.
But the Chiefs finished with a flourish via further tries to fullback James Lowe, winger Toni Pulu and replacement back Sam McNicol. Wales have four days to recover before Saturday's 2nd Test in Wellington.
And today we saw the Danish Terminator of Hanne at New World (Well, she used to work there but she is a good old lady) and talked about Euro 2016 because her brother has been reading Leon's texts every time the goal had been scored then had lunch at Poppa's which is Asian because I had Italian last night & tonight for dinner and it was a great meal then we had fruit salad with coconut cream for dessert then did the job by blowing the leaves while Poppa did mow the leaves then we had before we had a last card challenge and for the 3rd time in history that I produced a clean sweep, 5 - 0, then we had cake with moccachino for me for afternoon tea then headed to the Mad Butcher then headed back to New World to get the low alcohol beer that I need to take home before we hit home to end an incredible day it was so Pops is in Fielding (Birthplace of World Cup winning All Black halfback Aaron Smith) now for a play but tomorrow I'm going with Pops to Stellar for a dinner and take part in a quiz night before we head off to 15A Kells Avenue to stay for the night then we leave Wanganui at 9:00am to see the All Blacks play Wales in the 2nd test (Yes because John Coburn has got 3 tickets to the game) in Wellington which is a 2 and a half hour drive (Not 2 and a half men) but we need to go through towns such as Kaitoke, Whangaehu, Turakina, Bulls, Sanson, Himatangi, Foxton, Poroutawhao, Levin (Which is All Black Codie Taylor's birthplace), Ohau, Manakau, Otaki, Te Horo, Waikanae, Paraparaumu, Mackay, Paekakariki, Pukerua Bay, Plimmerton, Mana, Paremata, Porirua and Johnsonville.
P.S. The All Blacks team for the 2nd test in the capital has been named but there are 2 changes to the starting lineup such as Sam Whitelock returning from injury replacing Luke Romano while Israel Dagg makes his 1st start at fullback while Ben Smith elevates to the right wing and Waisake Naholo moves to the left wing side replacing Julian Savea so here's the All Blacks team lineup against Wales in the Windy City of Wellington:
1 (Loose head prop): Joe Moody (Canterbury/Crusaders)
2 (Hooker): Dane Coles (Wellington/Hurricanes)
3 (Tight head prop): Owen Franks (Canterbury/Crusaders)
4 (Lock): Brodie Retallick (Hawke's Bay/Chiefs)
5 (Lock): Sam Whitelock (Canterbury/Crusaders)
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): Waisake Naholo (Taranaki/Highlanders)
12 (Second five eighth): Ryan Crotty (Canterbury/Crusaders)
13 (Centre): Malakai Fekitoa (Auckland/Highlanders)
14 (Right Wing): Ben Smith (Otago/Highlanders)
& 15 (Fullback): Israel Dagg (Hawke's Bay/Crusaders)
And in the reserves are Nathan Harris (Who had won his place again ahead of Codie Taylor because now he is the All Blacks 2nd choice hooker), Wyatt Crockett, Charlie Faumuina, Patrick Tuipulotu, Ardie Savea, TJ Perenara, Beauden Barrett & Seta Tamanivalu.
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