Well, the Rugby Championship is now officially under way as the All Blacks took on the Wallabies in Sydney (Host of the summer Olympics 16 years ago for those who are watching in Rio because we almost ended our successful Olympic campaign with 18 medals including 4 gold (Hamish Bond & Eric Murray, Mahe Drysdale, Lisa Carrington & of course Peter Burling & Blair Tuke), 9 silver (Natalie Rooney, the New Zealand women's rugby sevens team, Luuka Jones, the men's team sprint of Eddie Dawkins, Ethan Mitchell & Sam Webster, Valerie Adams, Genevieve Behrent & Rebecca Scown, Jo Aleh & Polly Powrie, Alex Maloney & Molly Meech & of course Lydia Ko) & 5 bronze (Sam Meech, Carrington, Tom Walsh, Eliza McCartney & of course Nick Willis) so here's a recap of the match that went down to the wire for the full 80 minutes:
The Rugby Championship 2016 kicks off with the Bledisloe Cup clash between the Wallabies and All Blacks in Sydney.
The away side have an unfamiliar look to their backline. Beauden Barrett wears the #10 jersey after leading the Hurricanes to Super Rugby glory.
Ben McCalman plays at flanker for the Wallabies, while Kane Douglas also gets a start in the pack. Will Genia and Bernard Foley partner in the halves. Several players (Such as David Pocock, Matt Toomua, Matt Giteau & Will Genia as well as Argentina half back Tomas Cubelli) amongst the Wallabies line-up have shaved their heads in support of teammate Christian Lealiifano, who was recently diagnosed with leukemia.
The national anthems will precede the haka...
1ST MINUTE, KICK-OFF: Foley does the honours.
1 MINUTE LATER: After a All Blacks handling error, the Wallabies' first scrum holds up very well. They put it through the hands towards Dane Haylett-Petty on the right side and the Western Force man makes good ground. A penalty is looming for offside...
1 MINUTE LATER: Codie Taylor is forced from the field for a concussion test so a less than fully-fit Dane Coles comes on...
1 MINUTE LATER, PENALTY GOAL: Foley, central, makes no mistake from the edge of the 22. He goes past 300 Test points, the sixth Wallaby to do so. 3-0
1 MINUTE LATER, TRY: After a strong kick return from Israel Dagg, the ABs switch the ball to the left and Malakai's Fekitoa puts Kieran Read on the overlap. He tips it on to Ryan Crotty, who is 25 metres out, but he palms off Haylett-Petty and outpaces the cover to score a great try. 3-5
1 MINUTE LATER, CONVERSION: Barrett, just 6 or 7 metres in from touch, strikes it cool and calmly. 3-7
5 MINUTES LATER: Matt Giteau has limped out of action and straight down the tunnel. It may be a bad one. Matt Toomua comes on early.
1 MINUTE LATER, MISSED PENALTY: Barrett, close to the left sideline, pushes this attempt right.
2 MINUTES LATER: Brodie Retallick is over the line but is held up. All Blacks penalty for offside. Once again the visitors have enjoyed success by attacking the left edge, with Waisake Naholo going close in the first instance.
1 MINUTE LATER, PENALTY: Barrett, out on the left once more, makes no mistake this time. 3-10
4 MINUTES LATER, TMO
1 MINUTE LATER, NO TRY: Retallick is over after some amazing handling and counter-attacking. The chance came about from a charged down Folau kick, but the recipient of the loose ball was in an offside position. It is a great shame as the offloading was Rugby Sevens like.
Another penalty against Australia, this one against Sekope Kepu for going off his feet.
2 MINUTES LATER, PENALTY: Barrett, from a similar position to the rest of his goal-kicks, is benefiting from that familiarity. 3-13
3 MINUTES LATER, TRY: The man of the moment, Beauden Barrett, goes over! Once again it is down the left that Naholo wins his side field position, before a brilliant Read offload allows the fly-half to slice through the line from just inside the 22. 3-18
1 MINUTE LATER, CONVERSION: Barrett tags the extras on from an angle he made easy by cutting inside. 3-20
3 MINUTES LATER: New Zealand threaten again after making their way upfield with ease. But the danger disappears when Dagg is caught for a high shot on Genia when chasing a chip through.
1 MINUTE LATER: Further reshuffles for the Wallabies, Toomua leaves the field as well so on comes Rob Horne. They will have limited options later on.
1 MINUTE LATER, TRY: This is becoming a nightmare for Australia. This time the charge down pays off when Jerome Kaino gets himself in front of Foley's clearance. He follows up himself to score. New Zealand are already in bonus point territory. 3-25
1 MINUTE LATER, MISSED CONVERSION: Barrett, 20 in from the right touchline, sees his kick go the wrong side of the right stick!
4 MINUTES LATER, TRY: Aaron Smith wins a turnover for his side and the All Blacks move quickly. Barrett dances through in midfield after taking Naholo's pass, before returning the favour to the winger to make it home. 3-30
1 MINUTE LATER, CONVERSION: Barrett from close range. 3-32.
HALF-TIME: AUSTRALIA 3 - 32 NEW ZEALAND The All Blacks are turning in one of their all-time best Bledisloe Cup performances, while it can be described as no less than a shambles from the home side who look completely lost. Just before the half-time siren, Horne limped off, as did Naholo. The Wallabies have lost three second five-eighths in this half.
40TH MINUTE, 2ND HALF KICK-OFF
4 MINUTES LATER: We have been camped in Wallabies territory once again. The All Blacks' handling has been sublime and it is constantly punching holes into this tired-looking Australia defensive line.
1 MINUTE LATER: Almost another try when Ashley-Cooper fumbles a kick close to his line. It's a 5 metre scrum as he just managed to ground it. Dagg was lurking.
1 MINUTE LATER: Read picks and goes from the resulting scrum but the ball comes loose from his grasp.
4 MINUTES LATER: Almost another spectacular try for New Zealand. Fekitoa attacks from deep and releases Aaron Cruden on the inside. The first five-eighth stabs a kick forward for Julian Savea to chase...The replacement winger hacks it forward but it just evades him over the dead ball line.
5 MINUTES LATER, TRY: Coles is over! Kuridrani knocks it on cold and Fekitoa races away with the ball. But the numbers are there despite Foley's try-saver on the centre, they shift it right for the hooker to finish well. 3-37
1 MINUTE LATER, MISSED CONVERSION: Barrett pushes it to the left.
2 MINUTES LATER, TRY: Savea scores his 40th Test try, his 1st at ANZ Stadium! Barrett came on the second phase to release the big winger after more good offloading from the forwards. 3-42
1 MINUTE LATER, MISSED CONVERSION: Cruden takes over but misses from the left edge.
4 MINUTES LATER: The Wallabies have a rare visit to the All Blacks' 22 but provide little threat. There has been nothing for the home crowd to shout about tonight.
7 MINUTES LATER: With 10 minutes to go a good finish from the All Blacks could hand them their biggest ever win over their Tasman rivals. Their current largest points difference win over Australia is the 43-6 despatch in Wellington in 1996 (Well David Campese (The Mario Andretti (Father of Michael (Brother of John & 1st cousin of Jeff) & grandfather of Marco) & Sylvester 'Sly' Stallone (Brother of Frank) of rugby) was there at the old Athletic Park, so too is his opponent, the late Jonah Lomu (Also the 'Iron' Mike Tyson of rugby).
3 MINUTES LATER: Australia's lineout has been wretched this evening but they are going to kick a penalty to the five-metre line to attempt the catch and drive.
1 MINUTE LATER, YELLOW CARD: Uh-oh! Read drags down the maul and that will be his night over.
1 MINUTE LATER, TRY: Phipps squeezes over in the left corner. Some quick ball and quick hands from the Wallabies, who of course have the extra man, leave New Zealand short out wide. 8-42
1 MINUTE LATER, MISSED CONVERSION: Foley's sideline attempt is wayward.
3 MINUTES LATER, TMO
1 MINUTE LATER, NO TRY: Dagg manages to dot down from a cross-field kick from Barrett, despite the attempts of Phipps. However, there was a knock-on in the build-up.
All Blacks hoping to rub salt into the wounds by searching for a final try via a scrum penalty. Read's night might not be done, we are deep into added time.
FULL-TIME: AUSTRALIA 8 - 42 NEW ZEALAND
A crushing performance from the All Blacks who probably would have wiped the floor with any side this evening. Australia, who were rough around the edges, certainly did not make things easy for themselves.
And finally, the Springboks took on Argentina in the other match of the Rugby Championship held in Nelspruit so here's the full news report:
South Africa fought back from 13-23 down to beat Argentina 30-23 in their Rugby Championship opener in Nelspruit.
Nerves of steel are becoming a mandatory requirement for players and fans alike in the Allister Coetzee era after Warren Whiteley scored a last minute try to complete a strong comeback by the hosts.
There certainly were moments when South Africa must have feared the worst in losing only a second ever home game against the Pumas. But like they showed in the series against Ireland, this Bok team can grind out a win even if they looked wholly unconvincing for large parts of this contest.
Argentina gave everything and will be kicking themselves that they allowed the Springboks back into the game after taking an imposing ten-point lead with 12 minutes to play. The wet conditions definitely played a part in the standard of the game but Argentina will still feel they had a great chance to secure a memorable victory in South Africa.
In the end it wasn't to be thanks to some sublime combination play at the death. The Boks took the ball through the phases from a line-out inside Argentina's 22. Jaco Kriel and Juan de Jongh carried the ball well before the ball went out wide. Eben Etzebeth and Bryan Habana both drew defenders before Habana offloaded to Whiteley, who beat his man to crash over in the left-hand corner.
South Africa started the game strongly and looked up for the game. Jantjies missed an early penalty but soon made up for it when he exploited a gap in broken play. The ball was recycled quickly to Johan Goosen who found himself in space before putting Ruan Combrinck away for a try in the corner.
Argetina were reduced to 14 men when Manuel Montero was yellow carded for a dangerous tackle on Damian de Allende, but the Boks failed to capatalise on their numerical advantage. Instead they conceded 10 points during that period through a penalty and a try.
Some thrilling running rugby by los Pumas, which started inside their own 22, resulted in a brilliant try for Matias Orlando which Nicolas Sanchez converted for a 13-10 lead.
South Africa had a great chance to take the lead and ease the pressure when Lionel Mapoe went over after some build-up play following a 5 metre line-out. However, replays confirmed he lost the ball going over and the try was disallowed.
The 2nd half didn't start well for the hosts when Habana received a yellow card after slipping and taking out Cordero in the air. Still, Jantjies managed to level the score with a penalty despite Argentina enjoying a greater percentage of the possession throughout the game.
The Boks were guilty of too many basic mistakes, especially in the second half and didn't do enough with the ball when they did have it. Cordero punished some poor tactical kicking by Jantjies to stretch the lead to 23-13 after Argentina launched a counter-attack following a pointless up-and-under by Jantjies.
Etzebeth made a great cover tackle but the visitors recycled quickly before Sanchez chipped the ball over the Bok defence for Cordero to pounce.
South Africa looked down and out at this stage, just like they did in the 2nd Test against Ireland, but they composed themselves and hit back with a try through Goosen to get back into the game. From a scrum, the excellent Faf de Klerk gathered the ball and ran down the blind side, sucking in three defenders in before giving the inside pass to Goosen who timed his run well to run through unapposed.
A Jantjies penalty levelled things at 23-23 before Whiteley finished off with the match-winning try to spare the home side an embarrassing defeat.
And on Monday the closing ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympic games took place so here's the full rundown of the closing ceremony according to Wikipedia:
The closing ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics was held on 21 August 2016 from 20:00 to 22:50 BRT at the Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro.
As per traditional protocol, the ceremony featured cultural presentations from Brazil and Japan, as well as closing remarks by International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach and the leader of the Games' organizing committee Carlos Arthur Nuzman, the official handover of the Olympic flag from Rio de Janeiro mayor Eduardo Paes to Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike, whose city will host the 2020 Summer Olympics, and the extinguishing of the Olympic flame.
The creative director for the ceremony was Rosa Magalhães. Amid heavy rainfall, the ceremony began with interpretive dancers representing various landmarks in the host city. Martinho da Vila then performed a rendition of the classic song "Carinhoso (pt)" by Pixinguinha. In another segment, introducing the athletes, pop singer Roberta Sá channeled Carmen Miranda, the fruit-headdress-wearing, midcentury Hollywood diva who endures as a beloved camp figure. The Parade of Flags followed shortly after a choir of 27 children, representing the states of Brazil, sang the Brazilian national anthem.
The ceremony featured a performance of "Carry Me" by Norwegian electronic tropical music producer Kygo and singer-songwriter Julia Michaels, as part of a segment that promoted the new Olympic Channel service launching after the Games. The games' final medal awards for the men's marathon were also presented, along with the Kenyan national anthem.
Four newly elected members of the IOC Athletes' Commission were introduced: fencer Britta Heidemann (Germany), table tennis player Ryu Seung-min (South Korea), swimmer Dániel Gyurta (Hungary) and pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva (Russia). Lenine then performed his song "Jack Soul Brasileiro" in celebration to those who volunteered during the games. The flag handover ceremony began as standard with the Greek national anthem and the Olympic anthem. Rio de Janeiro mayor Eduardo Paes handed the flag to IOC president Thomas Bach, who then handed it over to Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike. The flag will be raised in PyeongChang for the 2018 Winter Olympics that will take place on 9 February 2018.
The directors for the show were Hiroshi Sasaki (creative supervisor), Ringo Sheena (creative supervisor and music director), Mikiko Mizuno (choreographer and stage director) and Kaoru Sugano (creative director). Tokyo 2020's presentation for the next Olympics featured swimmer Kosuke Kitajima, long-distance runner Naoko Takahashi, boxer Ryōta Murata and Prime Minister Shinzō Abe. The Japanese national anthem arranged by Jun Miyake was sung while the flag of Japan was projected onto the stadium grounds. The flag then faded out to thank those who aided the country during the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.
A video presentation featuring characters from famous Japanese anime and prominent video games such as Captain Tsubasa, Doraemon, Pac-Man and Hello Kitty led up to Abe's appearance, which consisted of him transforming into Mario from Nintendo's Mario franchise and jumping out of a Warp Pipe given by Doraemon to help him get from Tokyo's Shibuya Crossing to Rio de Janeiro's Maracanã Stadium on time. Abe appeared at the Maracana dressed up as Mario.
Male rhythmic gymnasts from Aomori University and dancers then performed a dance routine highlighting Japan's electronic culture (choreographed by MIKIKO (jp), music by Yasutaka Nakata), before the presentation ended with the logo of the forthcoming Tokyo games. The last sequence of presentation used the music from Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre's 2012 play "Egg" (written by Hideki Noda, with music by Ringo Sheena) – contains the message: "sports, music or Olympics" and "War or Nationalism" shall not be linked again.
Speeches by organising committee chairman Carlos Arthur Nuzman and IOC president Bach marked the end of the games. Mariene de Castro sang in front of the Olympic cauldron as the flame was extinguished via piped rain. The ceremony ended with a fireworks display and a tribute to Rio's signature event, the Carnival, which takes place during the four days before Ash Wednesday. The segment showcased Brazil's musical dance culture. The 250-person strong parade was led by Brazilian model Izabel Goulart and street cleaner Renato Sorriso, with the carnival anthem Cidade Maravilhosa playing in the background. The performers in the closing ceremony consisted of actual dancers that will be in the 2017 Rio Carnival.
P.S. I did not know that I have another cousin because her name is Rosalie because she is Gemma's daughter & well I have never met her before in my whole life & I did not know that I have uncles & aunties because Ashley (Who is Bryan & Viv's son) is my uncle (Bryan is my grand uncle) or 2nd cousin but I do have 2 aunties (Actually my 3 2nd cousins) Gemma & Huia (Daughters of Poppa's sister Kathryn who is my grand aunty) & 1 uncle who is Ben (Kathryn's son) & also Paige Williams (My biological aunty Cathey Middelplaats's daughter who is my friend now despite that the fact that we are just cousins), Luca & Nico Mitchell (Cathey's 2 little sons with her husband John Mitchell & Paige's 2 little brothers) are my cousins that I really know that much & I did not know that Cathey is the sister of both Aunty Tania (Although she's coming here with Raejean/Giuseppe on December for Christmas, new year & the 1 year anniversary for Nan's passing) & my Dad but they did not grow up together with them.
And my cousin & friend Paige has sent me an email so here's her message being displayed in it's full entirety:
Hi Whetu,
Sorry for taking so long to reply, I am extremely busy with work at the moment.
I bet you have been watching the Olympics - didn't we do great!
Yes your right, I went to Sacred Heart College. Its was a good school, I loved it and made lots of friends whom I am still very close with :)
I recently graduated in May - four long years of study but I loved it so all paid off in the end.
I listen to any music- usually just what is on the radio.
Wish Jansen a Happy Birthday from me, hope you guys had a good birthday for him.
Love Paige xx
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