Well, the All Blacks have done it meaning that they have clinched the 2016 Rugby Championship in style with only 2 rounds remaining beating Allister Coetzee & Adriaan Strauss's Springboks (Our old foe & rivals) 41 - 13 (And hey guess what, it is the same scoreline as New Zealand beat the Wallabies at Eden Park in Auckland last year way back in 2015 (The same year that the AB's for the 1st time won back to back Rugby World Cups as well as becoming the 1st team to win 3 Rugby World Cups because they have never done that before & ensured it that they finally achieved it or should I say deserved it by earning our right) at AMI Stadium (In Addington since the one at Lancaster Park was badly damaged by the earthquake on February 22nd, 2011 (The same year that the All Blacks won the Rugby World Cup after 24 years of agony & pain or should I say get rich & die tryin'), but however it has since been closed for good) in Christchurch so here's the full match commentary that went down in the full 80 minutes:
This weekend sees more Rugby Championship action. It all starts in New Zealand at AMI Stadium in Christchurch with the match between the All Blacks and the Springboks (The last meeting between the 2 sides was indeed a Rugby World Cup semifinal last year in which New Zealand won a whisker against South Africa by 2 points).
The Kiwi hosts have seemed unbeatable to date and the team from South Africa has not performed at its best in the Championship so far, but each game is a contest in itself and the Boks will be looking to cause an upset.
Conditions look perfect with a clear night and just a light breeze at the stadium.
Teams are making their way onto the field lead by the captains Kieran Read and Adriaan Strauss - lining up for the national anthems of each nation ahead of the kickoff.
That's the haka done to a great reception by the crowd - kickoff next!
Angus Gardner is the referee for tonight's match.
1ST MINUTE: And we're off in the 92nd Test match between these two teams.
Springboks with possession strike a long kick downfield where Julian Savea replies in kind. Eventually the Boks put the ball into touch.
1 MINUTE LATER: All Blacks lineout
1 MINUTE LATER: Play now into South Africa's half as Smith kicks it deeper into attack.
PENALTY: No clear release
1 MINUTE LATER: Springboks try for a kick to clear but it deflects off a NZ player but regather
1 MINUTE LATER, SCRUM FEED: Knocked on by South Africa inside the 22 in their own half.
1 MINUTE LATER: Free kick awarded to South Africa as Dane Coles is pinged for moving in early.
All Blacks have possession now.
1 MINUTE LATER, PENALTY: Off-side at the ruck.
Barrett has the ball & kicks to the corner
All Blacks lineout inside the 22
1 MINUTE LATER: Referee calls advantage
PENALTY: Player advancing at the lineout
1 MINUTE LATER, PENALTY GOAL: Beauden Barrett slides in past the inside of the right post and gets the 3 points.
2 MINUTES LATER, PENALTY & SCRUM FEED: Early movement in the lineout
South Africa clears the ball through a deep kick almost to the halfway line.
1 MINUTE LATER, PENALTY: Retallick was coming in from the side
1 MINUTE LATER: Springboks now with the lineout throw in inside the 22 in the All Blacks' half
1 MINUTE LATER: Pass out wide is fumbled by the Boks and goes into touch after being knocked forward.
1 MINUTE LATER, SCRUM FEED
1 MINUTE LATER: Aaron Smith sends the ball high but not far. But the Boks fumbled the claiming of the kick and All Blacks get possession.
All Blacks win their lineout and are in attack in the Springboks half.
1 MINUTE LATER, PENALTY: Player holding on to the ball
1 MINUTE LATER: Springbok lineout
Springboks get a run and are inside the 22 in attack
1 MINUTE LATER, TRY: Bryan Habana charges over the line and runs the ball to middle behind the posts.
1 MINUTE LATER, CONVERSION: Jantjies slots it through for the extras.
Having kicked the conversion, Jantjies knocks it on from the kickoff and the All Blacks have the scrum close to their try line.
2 MINUTES LATER, SCRUM FEED & TRY: Israel Dagg runs over untouched in the corner.
1 MINUTE LATER, CONVERSION MISS: Beauden Barrett lines it up but it slides to the left of the post. New Zealand lead 8-7
1 MINUTE LATER, PENALTY
1 MINUTE LATER: Barrett kicks to the corner and the lineout is at the 22
1 MINUTE LATER: Pass fumbled and goes forward for the All Blacks.
SCRUM FEED
1 MINUTE LATER: Passing inside their own 22 the Boks make a forward pass.
1 MINUTE LATER, SCRUM FEED
Offload to Savea in the corner and he looks to be over next to the flag
TMO: Grounding good yes or no?
TRY: Savea awarded the try
1 MINUTE LATER, CONVERSION: Barrett's kick is good. New Zealand lead 15-7
3 MINUTES LATER: All Blacks throw in at the halfway line.
2 MINUTES LATER: Referee goes to the box for a check on a possible neck roll.
TMO recommendation is a penalty only against the All Blacks
PENALTY: dangerous play
South Africa with the lineout throw in close to the 22 in the All Blacks' half.
1 MINUTE LATER: Boks still in attack just 5m out from the line.
1 MINUTE LATER, PENALTY: Off-side at the ruck
PENALTY GOAL: Jantjies puts the kick straight through. New Zealand lead 15-10
1 MINUTE LATER: All Blacks with possession and they get a big run into the attacking zone inside the 22.
1 MINUTE LATER: Turnover from some strong defensive work by Du Toit in front of the new Zealand posts.
1 MINUTE LATER, SCRUM FEED
Ball is kicked to clear but does not make it into touch. All Blacks with possession.
1 MINUTE LATER: Ball lost forward by Fekitoa.
SCRUM FEED
1 MINUTE LATER: Scrum reset as the halftime siren sounds
Ball comes out and is kicked into touch to take the teams to the break.
HALF-TIME: New Zealand leads South Africa 15-10
The second half should be a cracker. Will the All Blacks move it up a gear as they did last week against Argentina to finish the game convincingly or will the Springboks be able to hold their hosts in check and get past them for the win?
40TH MINUTE: South Africa with the kickoff and we're underway in the second half.
1 MINUTE LATER: Elton Jantjies opens proceedings with a huge mistake - poor kick that goes straight out.
SCRUM FEED
1 MINUTE LATER: All Blacks in attack now at the 22
PENALTY: Player went of his feet
Springbok lineout throw in
1 MINUTE LATER: All Blacks with the ball in their own half just past the 22
1 MINUTE LATER, SCRUM FEED
Ball is out, Barrett skies the kick. Springboks get the ball but kick it out on the full.
SUBSTITUTION: Springbok captain Adriaan Strauss goes off for a concussion check, Marx comes on.
2 MINUTES LATER, SCRUM FEED
1 MINUTE LATER: Free kick to South Africa for early engagement by the New Zealand scrum front row.
Lineout throw in by the Boks is not straight. All Blacks get the ball.
1 MINUTE LATER, SCRUM FEED
1 MINUTE LATER: All Blacks with possession and strong in attack in front of their goal posts.
TRY: Ben Smith runs over the line through two defenders
1 MINUTE LATER, CONVERSION: Barrett makes no mistake from directly in front.
1 MINUTE LATER, SCORE UPDATE: New Zealand lead 22-10
1 MINUTE LATER, PENALTY: Offside
1 MINUTE LATER, PENALTY GOAL: Jantjies lines up the shot for goal and puts it through.
1 MINUTE LATER, SCRUM FEED: At the halfway line.
1 MINUTE LATER: Barrett kicks to touch at the 10m line inside the All Blacks half.
1 MINUTE LATER, TRY: Ardie Savea joins his brother on the scorers list.
2 MINUTES LATER: As the referee calls advantage Aaron Smith runs through the defence and passes it to Ardie Savea who just makes it to the line.
CONVERSION: Barrett slots the ball between the posts to give the All Blacks a 16 point lead.
1 MINUTE LATER, SCORE UPDATE: New Zealand leads 29-13
1 MINUTE LATER: Coles tries a chip kick and run but it goes across into touch.
South Africa with the throw in
1 MINUTE LATER: South Africa gets a run and goes inside the 22
1 MINUTE LATER: Ball is knocked on by the Boks at the halfway line.
1 MINUTE LATER, SCRUM FEED & PENALTY: Collapsed front row
Barrett kicks to touch inside the South African 22
1 MINUTE LATER: All Blacks passing wide looking to get through the Springbok defence
1 MINUTE LATER, TRY: Sam Whitelock is over in the left corner
1 MINUTE LATER, CONVERSION MISS: Barrett misses to the left. New Zealand lead 34-13
1 MINUTE LATER: Whistle blows after the ball comes down into a pack off the restart kick.
All Blacks with the free kick
1 MINUTE LATER: Ball is knocked free and bounces into the try zone where Perenara thinks he may have got a hand on it for grounding.
TMO: grounded or not?
Decision is not grounded but off a knock on so back for a 5m scrum.
SCRUM FEED
1 MINUTE LATER: Scrum reset
Ben Smith drops the pass out of the scrum, Turnover.
1 MINUTE LATER, SCRUM FEED
Whistle blows for a free kick against the Springboks in the scrum.
1 MINUTE LATER, SCRUM FEED & TRY: TJ Perenara just grabs the ball out of the scrum and charges to the line
1 MINUTE LATER, CONVERSION: Barrett kicks an easy additional two points. New Zealand now leads 41-13
1 MINUTE LATER: Restart has the All Blacks with possession but the whistle blows for a forward pass.
SCRUM FEED
2 MINUTES LATER: Springboks in attack but finding it hard to get past the halfway line against a strong defence.
PENALTY: Dangerous tackle
1 MINUTE LATER, PENALTY: All Blacks caught offside
1 MINUTE LATER: Springboks kick to the corner for the lineout just a few metres from the try line.
Throw not good in the lineout by the Boks but the All Blacks knock the ball forward when trying to retrieve it.
1 MINUTE LATER, SCRUM FEED
Whistle blows as the Springbok scrum collapses
1 MINUTE LATER, PENALTY: front row collapsing.
1 MINUTE LATER: Springboks with possession
Turnover from the grubber kick
1 MINUTE LATER: Hooter sounds as the ball is taken into touch in the tackle and the final whistle blows.
FULL-TIME: New Zealand defeats South Africa 41-13
And what do I think of that game? Well, yes, that was fun because South Africa had nowhere to run in the Rugby Championship so probably New Zealand must do something else like it's the Stairway To Heaven but the Boks joined Wales, Australia twice & Argentina to fall victim to the so called #Blackout of 2016.
And finally in this blog & after the AB's beat the Boks it was the Michael Chieka coached & Stephen Moore led Wallabies taking on Daniel Hourcade & Agustin Creevy's Argentina so here's the news report about it when the 2 sides faced each other (The last meeting between the 2 was also at a Rugby World Cup semifinal last year in which the Wallabies dominated against Argentina 29 - 15 in an action-packed fast paced entertaining game so far) at NIB Stadium in Perth WA for their last test match on Australian soil:
WALLABIES BONUS POINT VICTORY AGAINST ARGENTINA
Australia scored 5 tries to 2 in their 36-20 bonus-point win over Argentina in Perth on Saturday.
This result was secured in the first 12 minutes of the contest after a 3-try blowout by the Wallabies left Argentina insane and it proved too big a task for them to pull this one back. It also confirmed New Zealand as this year's Rugby Championship champions with only 2 test matches remaining to spare.
One look at the statistics for this game makes it difficult to believe Argentina lost this one. Apart from the first 15 minutes they dominated territory (68%) and possession (67%) and comfortably won the penalty count by conceding just seven and winning 16.
It was a open yet sloppy game and one which suited someone of Quade Cooper's talents perfectly. The Australian fly-half was a menace on attack and twice he created tries with clever inside passes.
But few teams can expect to concede 21 points in the first 12 minutes and still expect to win the game. The Wallabies started the game at a brisk pace and it took just 45 seconds for them to score the first try of the match when quick hands down the line created space for Samu Kerevi to score in the corner. Eight minutes later Cooper received the ball from a line-out inside Argentina's 22 and without looking threw a clever inside pass to Dane Haylett-Petty who ran a great line to score.
The third try followed four minutes later when Will Genia, back to his best here, dislodged the ball while making a tackle on Nicolás Sánchez. The half-back reacted quickly, kicked the ball forward and had enough pace to recollect while diving over the line.
Suddenly the home side were 21-0 up and one sensed that it would take something special from the Argentinians, and a rather spectacular implosion from Australia, to get them in a position where they could win the game.
It never happened despite the Wallabies twice being reduced to 14 men (Not 10 men because it's rugby, not football/soccer). The visitors could only add 3 points in the 10 minute period that Scott Sio spent in the sin bin as they trailed 21-6 at half time.
Argentina needed to score 1st in the second 40 to give themselves a chance and they did just that when Santiago Cordero stepped inside running down the touchline to score after a break by Joaquín Tuculet took them into the Wallabies 22.
But a second try for Genia and another clever inside ball by Cooper to put Michael Hooper away secured the result despite Cooper's yellow card in the 68th minute for a no-arms tackle without the ball. Argentina managed a consolation try with their numerical advantage but in the end those fatal first 12 minutes killed them and the contest.
And that's it for my 24th blog of the year 2016 (MMXVI) and of course the 64th overall since 4 years ago in 2012 (MMXII), see you next time.
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