It was today that a Fijian woman named Silo took me to Poppa's for lunch & dessert that we had & it was fantastic I have got to say (Although me & Pops did some work on the fence so it was not that easy though) but John & Lim arrived to see Nan's memorial garden once more before we had a smoothie while I was reading 2 Richie McCaw books but I have another favourite part of the Richie McCaw book The Open Side that it was a referee at a World Cup final in 2011 saying to the players when trying to turn the ball over in a ruck, the referee said ''Hands off, get out of there'' so that was my most interesting part of the book there along with ''Hands off, it's a ruck'' & I HOPE YOU'RE READY QUADE, RICHIE IS. So I had to say goodbye to John & Lim because they were leaving so I had to leave by finishing my smoothie & reading The Open Side book so I had to go home to end an incredible day it was (And it was on Thursday that I was with Poppa because he was running late so we headed to 15A Kells Avenue for some garden work before we headed to Nan's grave then to Caroline's to have afternoon tea so I had a carrot cake with mocchachino there & went to New World to get some stuff there).
Well, this is part 4 of my year in review which is about the best of 2016 so I wrote a blog about the round up of Euro 2016 which is about that morning of the Euros in Lyon during the Semifinal stages when the Cristiano Ronaldo led Portugal (Well, Portugal has been to a final before so it was 2004 (The same year that Athens hosted the Summer Olympics) that the last time Portugal (Who had hosted a tournament which featured the likes of the great Luis Figo) had played in the final and lost against Greece which is a miracle for the Greeks because they were doing the Leicester City way back then) beat his Real Madrid team-mate Gareth Bale's Wales (Who made their successful tournament debut by topping Group B ahead of England and Slovakia before beating Kyle Lafferty's Northern Ireland in the round of 16 & Belgium featuring Kevin de Bruyne in the Quarterfinals) to go through to the final of UEFA Euro 2016 after winning the match by 2 goals to nil (Ronaldo scored the 1st goal while he created the 2nd goal for his former team-mate of Manchester United, Nani) but who will take on Portugal whether it's the world champions Germany (Led by goalkeeper Manuel Neuer permanently for Bastian Schweinsteiger) or the hosts France (Led by Spurs goalie Hugo Lloris) at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille.
It has been a rocky road start for Thomas Muller's Germany as they beat Ukraine in the opener before settling for the draw against the Robert Lewandowski (Who plays for German champions Bayern Munich) led Poland (Who beat Xherdan Shaqiri's Switzerland in the Round of 16 and lost to Portugal in the quarterfinals on penalties) then beating Northern Ireland (Who lost to Wales in the round of 16 match) to top Group C and qualified by taking on the Marek Hamsik's Slovakia in which they won in a convincing fashion then they had to take on Daniele de Rossi's Italy (Who knocked out holders Spain which featured Manchester City's David Silva in the Round of 16 after losing to Robbie Keane's Republic of Ireland in the final game of Group E) in the Quarterfinals but during the match, Arsenal's Mesut Ozil scored the 1st goal of the game before the Italians awarded a penalty through a Jerome Boateng (Who is Robert Lewandowski's team-mate) handball as defender Leonardo Bonucci equalized and after 90 minutes, the game went into extra time and both teams didn't get their 2nd goals so they went into penalties but in the end, Germany proved too strong against Italy to progress through to the semifinals taking on Paul Pogba's France which began their campaign with wins against Romania in the opener and Albania before drawing with Switzerland (Who lost to Poland on penalties in the Round of 16 & during the match against the hosts, the ball did however burst during a challenge between Griezmann and Valon Behrami) to top Group A to take on Republic of Ireland in the Round of 16 as they beat them by 2 goals scored by Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann to 1 before facing debutants Iceland who caused the big upset in the Round of 16 dismantling the Wayne Rooney (Who plays for Manchester United) led England 2-1 in the Quarterfinals and they thrashed them 5-2 with goals scored by Ozil's team-mate of Arsenal, Olivier Giroud who netted in twice, Paul Pogba of Juventus, Dimitri Payet and Griezmann for the hosts to advance through to the Semifinal stages of Euro 2016 as well as Kolbeinn Sigporsson and Birkir Bjarnsson for Iceland who are out of the competition.
And it's been 12 days since my cousin Paige sent me an email so she wrote about that she is great to hear from me and she is actually watching test match rugby at the moment so fingers crossed that they will win and she also wrote that she is a faculty administrator at open polytechnic and she is loving it which is good and she also wrote that she will read my blog when she gets the chance but she also wrote that she must bring her boyfriend Jarrod up to meet me in a couple of months and see my Dad and also the All Blacks 3rd and final test match against Wales under the roof at Forsyth Barr Stadium as Wales slumped to their heaviest defeat to New Zealand in 13 years as Beauden Barrett inspired the All Blacks to a 46-6 victory in the 3rd Test in Dunedin. First five eighth Barrett scored 26 points, including two 2nd-half tries, as the world champions swept aside the tired tourists to secure a 3-0 series whitewash. Dan Biggar kicked two penalties to give Wales an early lead at the Forsyth Barr Stadium, but it was all New Zealand thereafter as they blitzed the visitors with six tries. Ben Smith and George Moala scored in the first half before Dane Coles, Barrett twice and Israel Dagg in stoppage time completed the rout. The All Blacks showed 5 changes, including a debut for Highlanders blindside flanker Elliot Dixon at his home stadium. Biggar twice kicked Wales ahead in the opening quarter with penalties, the first inside three minutes and the second just seconds after Barrett briefly levelled. Barrett controlled the hosts' play but Ben Smith proved the danger. The pair combined for a counter-attack but Smith was held up by Rhys Patchell. Kieran Read attacked from the resulting scrum before halfback Aaron Smith, winning his 50th cap, switched direction to Ben Smith on the right wing. He rode the tackle of Hallam Amos to touch down for the opening try on 23 minutes. Barrett missed the conversion but swiftly kicked a penalty for an 11-6 lead. Wales' kicking game continued to hand the All Blacks plenty of possession and new centre Moala went close to a second. Dagg and Ben Smith burst clear but Moala was ruled to have lost the ball under the challenge of Liam Williams, who was injured in the process. Wales thought they had cleared the danger only for Dagg to mount another swift attack as he brushed past opposite number Patchell with ease. Brodie Retallick, Julian Savea and Aaron Smith kept the move going and Moala picked up and drove over from close range for the second try on 33 minutes. Barrett converted for an 18-6 lead that they held until half-time despite a strong Wales surge just before the break. Luke Charteris, Sam Warburton and Jamie Roberts all went close but, unlike in the final stages in Wellington last week, Wales could not find the scoring pass. New Zealand began the 2nd half at the same blistering pace, while Welsh errors meant they struggled to clear the danger. A forward pass by Jonathan Davies behind his own try line handed New Zealand an attacking scrum and Barrett crashed through for a try that he converted himself. Wales were given a glimmer of light when New Zealand were reduced to 14 men after Sam Cane was shown a yellow card early in the 2nd half. But Wales could not capitalise and the All Blacks struck next just moments after Cane returned. Barrett, now playing at fullback, raced onto Lima Sopoaga's long pass to beat Amos and Biggar to his second try. Hooker Coles burst through for the All Blacks' 5th try on 62 minutes but Sopoaga saw his effort ruled out for failing to ground the ball after Welsh replacement Ellis Jenkins spilled a lose-ball. Wales kept searching for a try but were caught in the third minute of stoppage time when Dagg raced upfield to complete a big win.
And in other international rugby news such as 6 Nations Grand Chelem champions England getting a clean sweep against the Rugby Championship champions the Wallabies at Allianz Stadium in Sydney as well as the Springboks in all of a sudden won the test series 2 - 1 against Ireland over in Port Elizabeth but the Super Rugby season is back in full swing (The matches were held in 6 different countries including Argentina, Australia, Fiji, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa) as the Chiefs moved top of the Super Rugby standings on Friday after they beat the Crusaders 23 - 13 in Suva (Ni sa Bula Vinaka eh? Which means greetings in Fijian) in a gripping New Zealand derby. 3 points adrift of their rivals before kick-off and with a worse points differential, the outfit from Waikato knew they had to deprive their opponents of any points if they could not claim the try bonus. And the former is what they managed thanks to a late penalty goal. James Lowe and Brad Weber scored the Chiefs' tries while Damian McKenzie kicked 13 points. Jone Macilai crossed for the Crusaders. The weather was atrocious in Suva for expansive rugby but such is the quality of the sides that the skill sets were outstanding, as the Fijian crowd enjoyed its first taste of Super Rugby. ANZ National Stadium was packed in what is hopefully their first of many matches. It was all the Crusaders for the opening 15 minutes but credit to the Chiefs who held firm on their own line before eventually an offence was spotted by referee Andrew Lees. Richie Mo'unga sent over the simple penalty on 19 minutes and the Crusaders deservedly led. Such is the class of this Chiefs outfit though that they only need a sniff and that was all it took when centre Seta Tamanivalu's lovely grubber through saw Lowe ground in the rain. McKenzie judged the wind perfectly to knock over the extras as suddenly the it was 7-3. The lead became 7 on the half-hour mark when Crusaders hooker Codie Taylor was penalised at the ruck and McKenzie did the rest. High class rugby kept coming until the break and it was the Chiefs who would increase their lead when a moment of magic from McKenzie saw him break and offload to Weber, who showed pace to score. At 17 - 3 this result would be enough to take them above the Crusaders. But credit to the pre-game Super Rugby leaders as they were not to be outdone late in the half, when a move started by Nemani Nadolo went out to the right where Jordan Taufua put the ball inside to Macilai for the finish. That made it a 17-10 deficit to cap an excellent half. The Chiefs thought they had their third try of the game in the 46th minute when Anton Lienert-Brown crossed after a breakout that involved replacement Sam McNicol and McKenzie. However the latter's foot was in touch so it was chalked off. In truth it deserved five points. Both sides continued to try their hand and refused to go into their shell as the contest reached a key period coming up to the hour, with only three points from the boot of McKenzie troubling the scorers. That meant it was 20-10, this after Aaron Cruden had been introduced. So with time ticking on the Chiefs knew their objective was to keep the Crusaders outside the seven-point zone. It looked they hadn't managed it when Mo'unga made it 20-13 from 25 metres out with six minutes remaining but when McKenzie responded with the last kick of the game, the result and top spot was secured with just two rounds to play.
The Brumbies made a winning return to Super Rugby after securing a deserved 43-24 victory over the Reds in Canberra (G'day eh?) & The Waratahs kept their play-off hopes alive when they cruised to a convincing 57-12 victory over the Sunwolves in Tokyo (Konnichi wa eh?).
The Hurricanes fought back from a seven-point half-time deficit to claim a 37-27 victory over the Blues in Wellington (Kia Ora eh?). In yet another superb advert for New Zealand rugby, both sides stayed true to their attacking roots, running the ball from all areas of the field and the result means the Hurricanes moved into second place in the New Zealand Conference standings, above the Crusaders who lost against the Chiefs in Suva on Friday. The Blues, meanwhile, are still at the bottom on the New Zealand Conference and look set for another season without play-off rugby. The opening half was a thrilling affair with both sides attacking at every opportunity and after Beauden Barrett and Piers Francis traded early penalties, it was the Blues who drew first blood via a Kara Pryor try in the 12th minute. This after Male Sa'u set him up with a strong run in the build-up, in which he showed great strength in shrugging off the attentions of Vaea Fifita before getting a pass out to the on-rushing Kara Pryor, who outpaced the cover defence before diving over. The Hurricanes didn't take long to reply, and five minutes later Reg Goodes burrowed his way over the whitewash from close quarters for his side's opening try. The home side replied with the first of two tries from Jerome Kaino. The All Blacks enforcer displaying great determination as he powered his way through a Barrett tackle close to the Hurricanes' try-line. 2 minutes later, an Ihaia West fumble inside his 22 was pounced on by Dane Coles, who kicked the ball ahead before diving on it and Barrett's conversion meant the sides were level at 17-17 by the 20th minute. Kaino then showed great pace as he burst through a ruck and set off on a 25 metre run before crossing for a deserved try. Piers Francis slotted the conversion which meant the visitors led 24-17 at half-time. Francis extended his side's lead with a three-pointer from the kicking tee, three minutes after the restart, but Barrett narrowed the gap with two penalties of his own which meant the deficit was reduced to four points by the 50 minute mark. Shortly afterwards, the hosts regained the lead when Vaea Fifita got over after Coles, Victor Vito and Vince Aso were prominent in the build-up. The next 15 minutes saw both sides giving their all in a bid to secure the result. It was the Hurricanes who managed to do that however when Fifita breached the visitors' defence in the 70th minute with a strong run, before going over for his second try which secured a crucial victory for his side.
The Stormers recorded a bonus point win as they beat the Rebels 57-31 in Melbourne as the visitors dominated the set pieces while the Cheetahs won 30-29 against the Force in Bloemfontein (Hallo daar eh?) after fighting off a courageous comeback from the Perth side and the Jaguares picked up only their third victory of the Super Rugby season on Saturday as they beat the Bulls 29-11 in Buenos Aires (Hola eh?).
The Highlanders kept in touch with New Zealand's high-flying teams with a 48-18 win over the Kings at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday. It wasn't pretty but the visitors got the job done with the try bonus point also secured thanks to a late onslaught that saw them cross at will. Earlier Matt Faddes had gone over for two tries while Dan Pryor and Jack Wilson also crossed before Patrick Osborne went over and Faddes added his third, with Aki Seiuli scoring at the death to add the gloss. Wandile Mjekevu and Steven Sykes replied for the Kings, who were spirited in defeat as the scoreline did not reflect how the game played out. It was an error-strewn first half in Port Elizabeth as only two tries were claimed, despite numerous chances especially for the visitors. Jamie Joseph had opted to name a largely second-string side for the fixture but he was forced to bring Lima Sopoaga into his starting XV after Marty Banks was injured in the week. They were still however without the likes of stars Aaron Smith, Waisake Naholo and Ben Smith. The Kings could have been in front in the seventh minute when Highlanders second-row Mark Reddish, making his 50th Super Rugby appearance, took out halfback Ntando Kebe at the base of a ruck. But Elgar Watts missed with his attempt as it remained 0-0 after a scrappy opening. Sopoaga made no such mistake in the 14th minute after Kings hooker Edgar Marutlulle was penalised for making a high tackle and then came a contentious moment as centre Shane Gates was yellow carded for dropping Tom Franklin on his shoulder at a ruck. It could have been a red. The Highlanders though made the most of their man advantage as sustained pressure led to Faddes going over from a standing start for 10-0. However, the Kings then had something to cling to in the closing stages of the half when Watts landed three points before Mjekevu crossed from a flat pass from Kebe. Unfortunately for the hosts, Watts could not add the conversion that would have levelled matters at the break. The Highlanders were forced into a change at half-time as Shane Christie suffered an injury with Dan Pryor replacing the skipper on the flank. And he was a tireless worker in the second period, but not before Faddes had claimed his brace on the left, making it 15-8 after 46 minutes. The aforementioned Dan Pryor was next to cross on 54 minutes from the back of a maul as suddenly the Highlanders were hunting the bonus point. But those hopes of a maximum looked to have been quashed when the Kings went over through Sykes, capping a lovely move that made it 20-18. Such is the quality of the defending champions though that they regrouped and launched a late onslaught, with tries from wing duo Wilson and Osborne wrapping up not only the victory but also the bonus point before Faddes raced over for a treble and Seiuli made it 48-18.
And of course the Lions (Which includes 2 danger men including captain Warren Whiteley as well as Springbok winger Ruan Combrinck) secured top spot in Africa 2 on Saturday after they beat the Sharks 37-10 in a one-sided clash at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.
And I also went to the unveiling on Saturday which is about both Nan's grave and garden but 2 days ago it was Poppa's birthday and we had dinner there as well as dessert then we had a chat to him but today Me & Pops went to the garden centre to pick up some stuff for the garden splash centre to go on a warm pool then a cold pool before I went on a rowing machine and after that we went to 15A kells avenue to do our jobs before we went to Caroline's for lunch because I had a steak there with chips and salad and after that we went back to 15a Kells Avenue to do our jobs for Nan's garden for several minutes before we had our last card challenge which I always win and then after that, we had a dessert there before we went to New World to get the meal deal which is pasta as well as the cold meat and Clausthaler's and guess who I saw, I saw Leon Benbaruk my good old mentor and we had a short chat to him about the Euros as well as Sophie (That Malaysian chick straight outta Penang) coming here next week because I will be seeing him and Hanne (That good old Danish Terminator) next week when we have dinner x lunch before heading back home to do my blog which I am writing right now & well, I have been doing a blog about the history of the Euros because I have covered every European Football Championship ever since 2000 so it all comes down to this as 2 teams battle it out for glory in the UEFA Euro 2016 final between Portugal (Led by Cristiano Ronaldo of European champions Real Madrid and co) and hosts France (Featuring Paul Pogba of Italian champions Juventus who beat Germany (Also featuring Thomas Muller of German champions Bayern Munich) 2 - 0 in the semifinal).
It was in 2000 (Well I have been covering the Euros since then) that the last time that France (Who had won the FIFA World Cup 2 years earlier and featuring the likes of current Real Madrid coach/manager Zinedine Zidane, Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, Marcel Desailly, Lilian Thuram, Laurent Blanc, David Trezeguet & current France manager Didier Deschamps) had last won the title as well as appearing in the final because it was against Italy (Which also featured the likes of Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Nesta, Fabio Cannavaro, Alessandro Del Piero, Francesco Totti & former Italy & now Chelsea manager Antonio Conte) as France became the first team to win the UEFA European Championship as Champion Du Monde as David Trezeguet came off the bench to score a golden goal because it left Italy crestfallen having been seconds from winning the contest in normal time, leading through Marco Delvecchio's second-half strike before Sylvain Wiltord's last-gasp effort forced extra time. Trezeguet did the rest as well as the final had got off to a similarly frenetic start. France almost took the lead when Thierry Henry's hooked shot came back off the post and Youri Djorkaeff had headed just wide from a corner before Italy came to life, Demetrio Albertini curling a free-kick narrowly over the bar. The game was still only 15 minutes old as Both sides settled and les Bleus came desperately close to breaking through six minutes before the interval. The livewire Henry weaved into the penalty area and drove the ball goalwards, Djorkaeff seized possession and turned to fire in a low shot but Toldo made a fine point-blank stop within seconds of Alessandro Del Piero's second-half introduction Italy came close themselves, as Laurent Blanc was forced to head desperately behind from a dangerous Paolo Maldini cross and finally, on 55 minutes, the deadlock was broken. Francesco Totti's back-heel released Gianluca Pessotto down the right and his cross eluded Marcel Desailly, allowing Delvecchio to volley in from point-blank range. Italy should have doubled that advantage six minutes later when Totti sent Del Piero clear, but the Juventus forward pulled his shot across goal and at the other end France were struggling to find a way past the brilliant Toldo, who denied Wiltord and Henry as Zidane began to weave his creative magic. Yet despite the introduction of a third striker – Trezeguet – Roger Lemerre's side seemed destined for defeat, until Wiltord broke free on the left of the penalty area in injury time to send a low drive squirming past Toldo but France, buoyed by their late reprieve, began extra time on the offensive, Zidane having a shot deflected wide from a Robert Pirès cross. And the Arsenal FC-bound winger was the source for the winner, tricking his way down the left before pulling the ball back for Trezeguet to crash a first-time shot into the roof of the net. With the French fans exultant, Didier Deschamps lifted the Henri Delaunay Cup.
And onto 2004 that Portugal (Which featured the likes of young Ronaldo way back then as well as the great Luis Figo, Paulo Ferreira, Ricardo Carvalho, Pauleta, Rui Costa, Maniche, Brazilian born Deco & Nuno Gomes) were hosting the tournament, had last been to a final by taking on the underdogs Greece (Which also featured the likes of Angelos Basinas, Theodoros Zagorakis, Angelos Charisteas, Giorgios Karagounis (Who didn't play due to suspension) & Kostas Katsouranis) who beat them in the opening match of the tournament as Greece, who began the tournament as 80-1 outsiders, pulled off arguably the biggest shock at a major football tournament as Angelos Charisteas' goal earned a 1-0 victory over Portugal in the final of UEFA Euro 2004 while Portugal thus became the first host nation to lose a UEFA European Championship showpiece and they will have to wait at least another two years to claim their first senior title. For the likes of Luís Figo and Rui Costa it was an agonising end to glittering international careers, but they can look back with pride on the past three weeks as Luiz Felipe Scolari's side in Lisbon were unchanged from the team that beat the Netherlands in the semi-finals, with goal-scorer Pauleta preferred to the in-form Nuno Gomes in attack. Greece made just one change, Stelios Giannakopoulos replacing the suspended Georgios Karagounis in midfield but perhaps contrary to some expectations, the game was an attractive spectacle from the start, with both sides playing fluently. Portugal playmaker Deco was involved twice early on, combining with Pauleta and then Cristiano Ronaldo, but first Greece captain Theo Zagorakis and then Traianos Dellas – man of the match in the semi-final win against the Czech Republic – made timely interceptions but Pauleta was just beaten to a long through ball by Greek goalkeeper Antonios Nikopolidis before Greece showed their class with a sweeping move down the right involving Konstantinos Katsouranis and Zagorakis that was only halted with a crude foul by Costinha on Giourkas Seitaridis, for which the Portuguese midfield anchorman was booked as Portugal hit back and Miguel, on his home ground, sent a powerful low drive fizzing across the face of goal; Nikopolidis had to tip the ball away in spectacular fashion. At the other end Ricardo was forced to race from the Portuguese line to deny Charisteas, who had been played in by Katsouranis but a speculative Pauleta effort was saved comfortably enough by Nikopolidis but only a fine tackle from Dellas prevented Ronaldo causing havoc with his dancing feet. The hosts were getting on top and Maniche shot wide from a corner as the crowd held its breath, hoping for a repeat of his stunning goal against the Dutch as Mihalis Kapsis, doubtful for the game owing to a knee injury, then broke up another promising Deco-Ronaldo attack on the edge of the area. At this point the Greece fans, heavily outnumbered, took the initiative on behalf of their team and created a deafening wall of sound at the end Portugal were attacking: an invisible barrier the hosts could find no way past for the remainder of the 1st half but the 2nd half opened with a Pauleta effort that was blocked when he might have done better, a microcosm of his frustrating tournament, and then the unthinkable happened – Greece took the lead. A surging right-wing run from Seitaridis won them a corner which Angelos Basinas swung over and there was Charisteas climbing above Costinha to head in from close range but Costinha was immediately withdrawn in favour of Rui Costa and the veteran midfielder nearly made an instant impact, tricking his way into the area before delivering a wayward final pass. Seitaridis was then cautioned and Figo shot straight at Nikopolidis as nerves on and off the pitch began to fray as Ricardo Carvalho had to be alert to prevent Zisis Vryzas doubling the lead just past the hour mark, and the home fans now did their best to rally their team. For a time Greece had their backs to the wall as Rui Costa, Deco and Figo probed for an opening, but the defensive discipline that has stood Rehhagel's team in such good stead throughout the tournament once again came to their rescue as Portuguese attacks broke down time after time while Scolari swapped Pauleta for Nuno Gomes with 17 minutes of normal time remaining and soon after that Ronaldo almost latched on to a long pass by Rui Costa but, off-balance, his shot was high and wide. Rui Costa himself went closer but his deflected shot was palmed away by Nikopolidis, while Figo also saw an effort rebound behind as Greece held on for a famous win.
And then to 2008 that Spain (Who had never won since 1964 and featured the likes of Carles Puyol (Who missed Spain's 2012 triumph due to injury), Andres Iniesta, David Villa (Who also missed Spain's 2012 triumph due to injury along with Puyol), Xavi, Fernando Torres, Cesc Fabregas, Santi Cazorla, Xabi Alonso & Sergio Ramos) took on Germany (Who was trying to add their successes of 1972, 80 & 96 European Championship titles and also featuring the likes of Michael Ballack (Who would be his last major football/soccer tournament before in 2010 when Thomas Muller took over the reins after Ballack got injured by Jerome Boateng's brother from Ghana, Kevin-Prince Boateng in the FA Cup final between Chelsea & Portsmouth), Per Mertesacker, Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Lukas Podolski, Miroslav Klose & Mario Gomez) as Spain became European champions for the second time after Fernando Torres's first-half goal in Vienna proved enough to defeat Germany in the final of UEFA EURO 2008 but Spain had won their only previous piece of silverware in this competition in 1964 and had not been beyond the quarter-finals of any tournament in 24 years, yet Luis Aragonés's men chose to use that history as an inspiration rather than a burden. After a strong start from Germany, seeking a fourth title themselves, Spain were the more dangerous side throughout an entertaining final at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion although it took just one goal – in the 33rd minute, courtesy of Torres's pace, perseverance and unerring finish – to end their long wait while Germany received a significant boost before kick-off with captain Michael Ballack included despite a much-publicised calf problem, and, perhaps buoyed by that news, Joachim Löw's team settled quickly. Much had been made of the contrast in style between the sides yet in the opening exchanges it was Germany whose passing looked crisper, Miroslav Klose and Thomas Hitzlsperger failing to make the most of glimpses of goal. Meanwhile Spain, shorn of four-goal leading scorer David Villa due to a thigh injury, struggled to find their feet in a new 4-5-1 formation in which Cesc Fàbregas was rewarded for a fine semi-final display with a starting place as an indicator of the pattern of the match, however, Germany's bright beginning proved misleading. Spain soon worked their way into the contest, with Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann – becoming, at 38, the oldest player to appear in a UEFA European Championship final – forced into action for the first time in the 14th minute. Although his instinctive save came when his own defender, Christoph Metzelder, inadvertently deflected Andrés Iniesta's cross towards his own goal, Xavi Hernández's fine through pass had unpicked the Germany defence and showed the Spanish were finding their feet as right-back Sergio Ramos was then allowed to cut inside and deliver a deep cross, Torres peeling away from Per Mertesacker to create space for the header only for the right-hand post to come to Lehmann's rescue. The warning signs were there for Germany, yet they failed to heed them and duly fell behind three minutes past the half-hour. Again Xavi was the architect, playing a pass in behind the Germany back line towards Torres, who outmuscled a hesitant Philipp Lahm and clipped the ball over the diving Lehmann and just inside the far post. David Silva then volleyed over Iniesta's cross when given time and space inside the area as Spain threatened to increase their lead but Spain had more openings in the early stages of the second half, Lehmann getting the merest of touches to Xavi's low shot before Ramos nearly guided in Silva's drive from the resulting corner. Yet a hint of the threat Germany still posed arrived on the hour, substitute Marcell Jansen and Bastian Schweinsteiger combining for Ballack to shoot centimetres wide. Klose then deflected a Schweinsteiger effort past the post and, in response to Germany's renewed menace, Spain coach Aragonés promptly introduced Xabi Alonso and Santi Cazorla in place of Fàbregas and Silva. The switches reinvigorated Spain instantly, Lehmann making smart stops from Ramos and Iniesta while Torsten Frings blocked another Iniesta effort on the line as the final moved into the last 20 minutes, Spain had had seven shots on goal to Germany's one, but with the Mannschaft having turned virtually one in two of their attempts on target into goals en route to the final, that would have been scant consolation to Aragonés and his side. In the event, however, it was Spain who continued to carve out chances as the match reached its conclusion, Marcos Senna narrowly failing to apply the finishing touch to an unselfish header from substitute Daniel Güiza – but the celebrations would not be delayed much longer.
And finally in 2012 that the World Champions Spain (The returning players from the Euro 2008 squad are captain Iker Casillas, Raul Albiol, Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Fernando Torres, Cesc Fabregas, Xabi Alonso, Sergio Ramos, Alvaro Arbeloa, Santi Cazorla, David Silva & Pepe Reina) are attempting to successfully defend the European Championship crown by taking on Italy (Which featured the likes of Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chellini, Andrea Pirlo, Claudio Marchisio, Riccardo Montolivo, Daniele de Rossi, the emerging Mario Balotelli, Antonio Cassano, Antonio Di Natale and of course Thiago Motta) in the final after drawing against them in the opening match of the tournament as Spain saved their best until last at UEFA Euro 2012, a final-record 4-0 victory in Kyiv completing an unprecedented hat-trick of major tournament wins and against a flagging Italy side whose thrilling knockout campaign looked to have caught up with them, Spain were in control from the moment David Silva broke the deadlock with a rare header on 14 minutes. A barnstorming second with half-time approaching from the indefatigable Jordi Alba, his first international goal, left the Azzurri with a mountain to climb. The sight of Thiago Motta, their third substitute, being carried off on a stretcher ended all hope, causing Italy to play out the last 28 minutes with ten men – and Spain replacements Fernando Torres and Juan Mata fully capitalised but this was billed as a meeting of great creative minds, of conductors in their prime, of Xavi Hernández against Andrea Pirlo; but for much of the opening phase it was a one-man show. Spain's No8 picked up the baton from the off, in harmony with Andrés Iniesta, dictating La Roja's now familiar staccato movement as Italy were forced deeper and deeper. The olés had already begun among the sizeable Spanish contingent in the 63,170 crowd when, just before the quarter-hour, the pair combined to devastating effect as Xavi, who had fired narrowly over moments earlier, fed Iniesta and his finely weighted pass allowed Cesc Fàbregas to easily outstrip Giorgio Chiellini on the inside-right channel. There was still plenty to do but how simple Spain made it look as Fàbregas pulled a sharp ball back for Silva, all 170cm of him, to glance his header in. It proved a disappointed Chiellini's last real action as he soon succumbed to the thigh problem that has hampered him throughout his time in Poland and Ukraine but a heavy-legged Italy could ill afford the double blow, but impressively they fought their way back into the contest. Pirlo, inevitably, was their driving force, the beating drum that pulled the strings at the back and sounded the horn to attack. Not that there was much of that. In fact, Pirlo's most telling contribution of the first half was a superb last-ditch block on Iniesta. Yet try as he might – and he did try – the 33-year-old could not be everywhere but Spain's second was a little too easy, though. Standing on the touchline near halfway, Fàbregas nodded Iker Casillas's clearance to Alba who turned the ball into Xavi before haring forward. The Azzurri back line did not seem to notice but the erudite Xavi did, advancing forward before slotting his new FC Barcelona club-mate in. The composed left-footed finish that followed would have pleased even the injured David Villa, watching in the stands with Carles Puyol & if it appeared that nothing could now deny Spain a first competitive victory against the Azzurri in 92 years – at least over 90 minutes – but Italy were not done yet. Antonio Di Natale, scorer in the 1-1 group stage draw between these sides three weeks ago, came on for Antonio Cassano and within six minutes he might have scored twice. His first chance, a header, was far from straightforward, but the striker could have done better when Riccardo Montolivo's pass found him in space. He snatched at the opportunity and the advancing Casillas blocked & of course yet Italy's slender hopes of mounting a comeback disappeared when Motta departed forlornly down the tunnel. It was left to Xavi to resume his conducting, slowing things down until, with six minutes remaining, he upped the tempo for a rousing crescendo. First he robbed Pirlo in midfield and set up Torres for a goal to add to his strike in the UEFA EURO 2008 final – a 'double' no one had managed before – then he combined with Torres to release Mata, just on, to seal an emphatic win. It has been an emphatic four years.
And who's gonna win that final of UEFA Euro 2016, Portugal or France, but all will be revealed after the final (Well my money is on France at the moment because I have the French flag right here, allons y (Let's go) and if the French win, it's Vive La France (Long live France) baby (They could be celebrating Bastille Day on the 14th of July (4 days after the final) in style) because it is the Postmodern Jukebox of the French Revolution because they don't want to lose against Portugal just like Napoleon Bonaparte lost the battle during the battle of Waterloo way back 201 years ago on the 18th of June, 1815).
And don't forget the curse behind the All Blacks Rugby World Cup campaigns way back in both 1999 & 2003 are ruined by a 1997 movie Anaconda (A movie which is about a film crew (Which includes a Latina and a Black man who are protagonists of the film) is taken hostage by an totally insane hunter (Known as the Demon all the way from Hell), who takes them along on his quest to capture the world's largest & deadliest snake (Which is a deadly animal, mercy me) starring artist/musician Jennifer 'JLo' Lopez (Filmmaker Terri Flores, a Latina like no other who shares the same role with Alice from Alice in Wonderland), rapper O'Shea 'Ice Cube' Jackson (Cameraman Danny Rich, a Black man with no intentions who also shares a similar role with Wolfenstein protagonist BJ Blazkowicz) as well as Angelina Jolie's father John Voight (Totally insane hunter Paul Sarone, who acts like a Demon from Hell by sharing a role with the T-1000 from Terminator 2: Judgment Day) being shown on Sky Movies at the same time (Or should I say, the wrong place at the wrong time) as the All Blacks were pounced by the French in 1999 (Even though the All Blacks were torn sky blast apart by the French who enjoyed an insane amount of rugby during the 2nd half) and again when the All Blacks got dismantled by the Wallabies in 2003 (Well 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) when the movie was shown this time on TV3 at the same time (And again at the wrong place at the wrong time because they were getting isolated about it).
Some blame Keith Quinn, others say it's Foxy's (Grant Fox) inverted sideburns or Helen Clark's (Was the Prime Minister of New Zealand before John Key took over 8 years ago) childlessness, whatever the cause, there's no doubt that a makutu (Which is Maori for sorcery or witchcraft) is keeping us from winning the World Cup, But we can now reveal a startling new theory as to why we weren't there, in 1999, while New Zealand were being beaten by the French, Sky TV was showing the movie Anaconda, 4 years on, and the curse of the snake struck again, this time the movie was on TV3, at exactly the same time as the All Blacks were being squeezed by the Wallabies...And I quote, I didn't watch the movie but I did watch the game because it was really difficult situation to watch either the movie or the game because I was in Raetihi (My birthplace & my old hometown for 16 years before I moved here to Wanganui so I have been living here for like 9 years) way back in 2003 (BY CRIKEY! STREWTH!) and in 1999 (OH SACRE BLEU!), Aunty Tania said to either the late Nan or Pops on the phone that she was shocked that her beloved All Blacks team lost so the French rugby fans went crazy because she was living in Clermont-Ferrand way back then (She had lived there for 4 years before moving to Canada in 2004 and after Australia where she lived for also 4 years) and well, watching the Anaconda movie is a bit like taking on 2 Barons of Hell at Phobos Anomaly (Episode 1 (Knee-Deep in the Dead) Mission 8) in the 1993 video game Doom (And remember, use your rocket launcher to destroy both Barons of Hell but be careful about this weapon as it may cause splash damage from it) but this is more like BJ Blazkowicz trying to take on Hans Grosse in the 1992 game Wolfenstein 3D.
And I also wrote a blog about the review of the Euro 2016 final between eventual champions Portugal led by Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo & hosts France featuring former Juventus player now playing for Manchester United alongside England captain Wayne Rooney & recently retired Swedish international Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Well Manchester United's so called 3 amigos/muskeeters is similar to FC Barcelona featuring the dynamic trio of Argentina's Lionel Messi, Brazil's olympic gold medalist & hero Neymar & Uruguay's Luis Suarez), Paul Pogba as well as the entire list of the famous Canadians in history but I won't tell you about it because it is a secret & it was on Sunday, the 10th of July (The day before the final of the Euros) as I went to McDonald's with Poppa for breakfast but before that, we went into Countdown to get the shampoo because I have run out of shampoo then we finally heading over to McDonald's by having a breakfast hunger buster there (Well I had the bacon and egg McMuffin as well as the massive McMuffin & of course the hash brown) as well as having hot cakes and both drinks like the orange juice and hot chocolate but I really enjoyed that experience so Pops told me to have the massive McMuffin & hash brown for lunch because he did not eat all of it so I went back home because the Super Rugby game between the Jaguares and the Highlanders (The Highlanders won that match) was on so I ate all of the massive McMuffin as well as another hash brown that Pops didn't have.
And well, it's all over till another 4 years, the #Euro2016 final ended in fashion as the Cristiano Ronaldo (Well, he got injured in the process during the opening minutes because he was sad about it & he looks a bit like world famous All Black rugby star player, Dan Carter as Dad told me about it) led Portugal (Coached by former Greece manager Fernando Santos (Who took over from former player Paulo Bento after the 2014 FIFA World Cup) who is still undefeated in competitive level & featuring the likes of Ronaldo himself of course, goalkeeper Rui Patricio, Bruno Alves, Pepe, Ricardo Carvalho (The veteran & ex-Chelsea player), Joao Moutinho, Eder, Joao Mario, William Carvalho, Andre Gomes, the young Renato Sanches (Who is heading off to play for German club Bayern Munich after the tournament), former Manchester United player Nani & Ricardo Quaresma) win the UEFA European Championship for the 1st time (And the 10th different nation after the Soviet Union/Russia (1960 only), Spain (3 times in 1964, 2008 & 2012), Italy (1968 only), West Germany/Germany (3 Times in 1972, 80 & 96), Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic (Once in 1976), France (Twice in 1984 & 2000), the Netherlands (Once in 1988), Denmark (Once in 1992) & Greece (Once in 2004) and of course, finally achieved immortality after their failure in 2004 against Greece in which they hosted that tournament) beating the hosts France (Who won't be celebrating Bastille Day today because they lost just like the Battle of Waterloo 201 years ago) featuring Paul Pogba (Who still plays for Juventus) 1-0 at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis with that match winner scored by Portuguese substitute Eder at extra time (And that was the 1st time that he had scored a goal in a competitive match) but Pepe (Cristiano Ronaldo's teammate at Real Madrid) has been awarded man of the match after missing the semi-final victory against Gareth Bale's Wales (One of both Ronaldo & Pepe's teammates at Real Madrid) due to injury.
And so here is the full report of the Euro 2016 final held in Saint-Denis, France:
Portugal are UEFA EURO 2016 champions. The team that drew all three of their group games, that won only once inside 90 minutes all tournament, beat hosts France after extra time at Saint-Denis to get their hands on their first major trophy.
They did it without the talismanic Cristiano Ronaldo too, their captain forced off early in the 1st half through injury. Fernando Santos's side clung on at times but, with Ronaldo orchestrating things from the technical area as much as their coach by the end, they eventually provided the one moment of magic required. Éder's fizzing 20-metre strike in the second half of extra time was just too good.
uch a scenario looked impossible after eight minutes, Ronaldo initially continuing after a heavy collision with Dimitri Payet before eventually being replaced. There were tears and a standing ovation from all corners as he was taken off. All the talk, all the analysis, all the predictions – out the window. Off went 61 international goals.
One man chasing only his second was Moussa Sissoko. The France midfielder was rampant and threatened to break the deadlock soon after Ronaldo's departure yet his shot was saved.
Rui Patrício had earlier thwarted Antoine Griezmann, athletically tipping away the in-form forward's looping header. Portugal offered little in those opening exchanges, three passes straight out of play encouraging the hosts.
Kingsley Coman came on for Payet inside the hour and soon teed up Griezmann for surely the chance of the game – Les Bleus' No7 was unmarked but headed over. Though Olivier Giroud briefly got in on the act with a low effort, Rui Patrício was again up to the task. He had to be sharper still to keep out Sissoko's thumping strike later in the half.
Only once, well into added time, was the Portugal keeper beaten. Substitute André-Pierre Gignac turned in the box and scuffed a shot into the ground which bobbled towards the net only to bounce agonisingly back off a post.
Hugo Lloris had been far less employed in regulation time, only really called into action to claw away Nani's miscued cross and then hold Ricardo Quaresma's acrobatic attempt from the rebound. Though he subsequently dealt with Éder's header, the French captain was rescued by the crossbar when Raphael Guerreiro fired in a free-kick and, with 109 minutes on the clock, could do nothing to keep out the sensational winner.
Pepe missed the semi-final with a thigh injury but returned in style, keeping adidas Golden Boot winner Griezmann as quiet as could have been hoped. "We've written a brilliant page in the story of Portuguese football," said the centre-back.
The man Portugal's hopes apparently rested on was out of action after less than ten minutes. To watch him battle on for a quarter of an hour was both desperately sad and hugely admirable. It was indicative of his relentless drive to have an impact – a desire that is heightened on the big occasion. For him then to cajole his players before extra time and gesticulate desperately throughout the additional 30 minutes was testimony to his team spirit. He was, if only briefly, a coach as well as a star player.
This was not exactly thrill-a-minute stuff. Clear-cut opportunities were at a premium and some of the biggest names on the field were either not at their best or not on the pitch at all. However, it quickly became evident that one moment would decide this. That knowledge that someone was only a split-second from becoming a hero made for a gloriously nervy night. The tension was palpable throughout the stadium.
And what do I think of the final, well I did enjoy that game except Portugal won of course with Cristiano Ronaldo got injured (He played on but he came off the field on a stretcher in the process following a heavy collision with France's Dimitri Payet so Ricardo Quaresma came on as his replacement in the 25th minute but the Portuguese put the hosts France beyond doubt so that they can score a goal during extra time and they did, thanks to that match winning goal scored by Eder during the 109th minute of the 2nd period of extra-time (Both Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann & Andre-Pierre Gignac (Who plays for a Mexican club) almost scored to put France into the lead).
And so, FC Barcelona's Lionel Messi was a failure for his country (Although he was successful only in club level because he is now retired from the international fold), Argentina in the Copa America Centenario final against Chile (Who had won on penalties) but no wonder that Cristiano Ronaldo had succeeded by winning both his club (For Real Madrid in the Champions League) & country (And finally he did get some redemption following his failure in 2004 (Although former Chelsea, Real Madrid & newly appointed Manchester United coach/manager Jose Mourinho would be very proud following his efforts of his country of birth) in the same year, so that's what you call a double, imagine that but a little fancy, as Portugal say Obrigado (Thanks in Portuguese) & Adeus (Goodbye) to France as they return home from their triumph because the Henri Delaunay Cup is heading west across the border (In the Iberian peninsula) from Spain to of course, Portugal now.
And finally I did several blogs such as the history of New Zealand in the Olympics (And did a bit of Asian pop culture stuff featuring the 3 famous Malaysians), & did a record breaking blog about rugby becoming a professional sport in 1995 & the history of both the 1987 & 2011 Rugby World Cups won by the All Blacks because it took so many years to fufill their rugby destiny by achieving immortality so here are some bits from the 3 blogs that I did.
From Chinese Democracy/Get Out/Runnin' Wild/When The Lights Go Down: 2016 Rio Summer Olympics preview (+ New Zealand's history at the Summer Olympics & a bit of Asian pop culture stuff):
In 1980, New Zealand did not compete in Moscow, Soviet Union as the government of that time supported the American-led boycott but however, only 4 New Zealand athletes competed as independents under the banner of the New Zealand Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association but in 1984 (Although the Soviet Union & Eastern Bloc countries withdrew after they also boycotted the games), New Zealand had its best Olympic Campaign in Los Angeles, California with a record 8 gold medals won along with only a single silver medal & 2 bronzes on that occasion but the gold medalists are:
Ian Ferguson in Canoeing, Men's K1 500m Kayak Singles
Alan Thompson in Canoeing, Men's K1 1,000m Kayak Singles
Ian Ferguson and Paul MacDonald in Canoeing, Men's K2 500m Kayak Pairs (My Dad's favourite Olympic moment)
Ian Ferguson, Alan Thompson, Grant Bramwell and Paul MacDonald in Canoeing, Men's K4 1000m Kayak Fours
Mark Todd in Equestrian, Three-Day Event Individual Competition
Rex Sellers and Chris Timms in Sailing, Men's Tornado Team Competition
Shane O'Brien, Les O'Connell, Conrad Robertson, and Keith Trask in Rowing, Men's Coxless Fours
& Russell Coutts (Future America's Cup winner with Team New Zealand, Alinghi & Oracle Team USA) in Sailing, Men's Finn Individual Competition
And of course Kevin Barry won silver in Boxing, Men's Light Heavyweight & Bruce Kendall won bronze in Sailing, Men's Windglider Individual Competition & the Men's Coxed Fours in Rowing (Consisting of Brett Hollister, Kevin Lawton, Barrie Mabbott, Don Symon & Ross Tong)
And from Alive & Amplified/All Along The Watchtower/Cornflake Girl/Dreams: 3 weeks that shook the rugby world in 1995 (21 years ago):
For months in the lead up to the 95 World Cup there was a phony war, WRC man Ross Turnbull has secretly begun talking to the world's top rugby players who were keen, but coincidentally the Blazer Brigade, the men from the rugby unions in New Zealand, Australia & South Africa, had also secretly begun their moves to protect their players, things began to move with surprising speed. Admist great secrecy of their own, the southern hemisphere rugby unions under the banner of SANZAR, came up with the new Tri Nations competition (Which is now the Rugby Championship when Argentina joined the competition since 2012 as well as the southern hemisphere's equivalent to the 6 Nations), which they could sell to a broadcaster, and then pay real money to their star players, the All Blacks, & Wallabies, & Springboks. It was Ian Frykberg a Kiwi connection who made it happen, he introduced the unions, to the real money, Frykberg then put the southern unions together with another ex pat Kiwi, Sam Chisholm, Rupert Murdoch's right hand man. The southern hemisphere unions elected South Africa's Louis Luyt to do a deal with the volatile Chisholm, Doctor Louis Luyt is the hugely wealthy and influential businessman & rugby administrator, who also just happens to own the cathedral of South African rugby, Ellis Park, venue for much of the 1995 Rugby World Cup. At the World Cup, Jonah Lomu exploded onto the world stage. On June the 18th in a semi-final against England, the single try convinced Rupert Murdoch and his money men, their were huge obtainment dollars to be made out of rugby union, but they had to have Jonah Lomu, and everything went with him, the All Blacks, the Springboks, and the Wallabies. Sam Chisholm immediately summons Louis Luyt to London for a secret meeting, in which hundreds of millions of dollars, would be on the table.
The All Blacks played a blinder that day, they were back on a high after the disappointment of the World Cup final (Oh well, 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 at full time something happened which turned the rugby world on it's head, something that told every rugby supporter on both sides of the Tasman, that the union controlled game they knew it, was dead.
Normally after a Bledisloe Cup match, the All Blacks would shower, change and head off to the after match function, here at the ground, but that night in 1995, instead they came down here, boarded a bus and took off. All Blacks spend hours on bus journeys, but the short trip from the Sydney Football Stadium (Now Allianz Stadium present day) to the upmarket inner city suburb of Vaucluse, must be the most remarkable. Here we have the entire squad of more than 20 players, the 2 coaches Laurie Mains & Earl Kirton, & manager Colin Meads being driven, not to the home of Geoff Levy, but to the plush mansion of Brian Powers, Kerry Packer's top man in Australia. The last minute change of address was to provide the final proof to the All Blacks, that Packer was committed to making the WRC, an absolute reality.
So how has it turned out? Well the century long All Black tradition survived, Murdoch's SANZAR deal has produced the very successful Tri Nations and Super 12 (Then Super 14 when both the Cheetahs & the Western Force joined the competition and now Super Rugby (Used to be Super 15 when the Melbourne Rebels joined which is now Super 18 (The Southern Kings rejoined the competition along with 2 newcomers the Jaguares/Jaguars of Argentina & the Sunwolves from Japan) competitions, rugby is the winner, as indeed are the players now earning hundreds of thousands of dollars. And the 2 All Blacks who were 1st to sell out the WRC dream, Kronfeld & Wilson, have gone on to enjoy spectacular success, but it hasn't been without it's odd moments of tension with senior players.
And from Bullitproof/The General Electric/Wait & See/You Again: Sir Graham Henry celebrates The World Cups 1987 to 2015:
The semifinals were contrasting affairs. The All Blacks blitzed their traditional rival Wales 49-6 at Ballymore in Brisbane, scoring 8 tries to 1, while the epic France-Australia game (Watched by a paltry 17,768 spectators at Concord Stadium in Sydney) went to the wire.
Not only did the Brisbane contest produce Wales' heaviest defeat in 107 years of international rugby but its lock, Huw Richards, had the dubious distinction of being the 1st player sent off in a World Cup contest.
Richards learnt of his penalty in bizarre circumstances. After losing his cool and weighing into Gary Whetton, he in turn was knocked to the ground by All Black No 8 Buck Shelford.
It took some time to revive Richards, after which referee Kerry Fitzgerald told him he was sent off! These days, video replays would have seen Shelford shown a red card too.
The 1st semifinal was virtually decided by referee Alain Rolland in the 17th minute when he red-carded Welsh captain Sam Warburton for a tip tackle on French winger Vincent Clerc.
Yes, it was a dangerous tackle and, yes it certainly deserved a yellow card (Francois Pienaar, the 1995 Rugby World Cup winning captain for the Springboks said that at best the yellow card, never a red card in the final he also said that Warburton had been one of the cleanest players in the tournament just because Rolland killed the game so Pienaar was livid because he was absolutely livid that it's wrong, it is wrong because he may have calmed them down a bit). But in so diligently applying the law relevant to dangerous tip tackles, Rolland effectively destroyed a World Cup showpiece, an occasion for which the Welsh had spent 4 years planning.
Against 14 men for the final 63 minutes, France, even without scoring a try, held on to win 9-8. The plucky Welsh almost salvaged an amazing victory through a late try by halfback Mike Phillips, but Stephen Jones, on for the hapless James Hook, who'd had a wretched night as a goalkicker, struck the upright with his conversion.
24 hours later, the All Blacks eliminated the Wallabies, thanks to an explosive opening, which produced the game's solitary try in the 5th minute by Ma'a Nonu.
The contest was effectively over by halftime, although the Wallabies fought bravely throughout the 2nd half & deserved a greater reward than 1 penalty goal & 1 dropped goal.
And from Money For Nothing: The Life & Times Of Scottish Rally Driver Colin McRae
By the '93 season, Subaru were ready to give the young superstar a shot on the world stage.
Despite huge investment, the team were yet to win a single rally in the World Championship.
But the car he won 2 British titles in, Colin was totally at ease.
As the results came in, the final outcome was impossible to call.
But Colin had done it.
By 1995, Subaru's fortunes were changing, they had a powerful new car, the Impreza. And had signed up double world champion Carlos Sainz to lead the team.
With 2 rallies to go, McRae was just ahead of Sainz in the race for the driver's prize.
But Subaru were worried that the fight might end in a crash.
In the penultimate rally of the season, the pair were way ahead of the pack, when they ordered to stop racing each other.
But when the order came, Colin was in 2nd place.
In Spain, Colin recorded a faster time than Carlos, but his disobedience had jeopardized his chances of winning anything.
Colin was forced to give the victory to Sainz, meaning that they went to the final rally of the season on equal points.
Determined to become Britain's 1st ever world champion, Colin McRae drove like never before in front of his home crowd.
Quite simply, he was unbeatable.
And from Comfort Me/Home Again/La La Land/My Mind's Sedate: The 2016 Super Rugby Final review & short Rio 2016 Olympic Games report:
Wellington’s Hurricanes beat the Lions 20-3 at Westpac Stadium to become the 2016 Super Rugby Champions.
The Hurricanes also hosted the Super Rugby final last year but they were beaten 14-21 by the Highlanders.
The Hurricanes were the only New Zealand team who had not won a Super Rugby title but now all five New Zealand teams have won a title.
The victory makes New Zealand the first nation to have all of it’s teams win a title as only the Bulls have won a title for South Africa while the Brumbies, Waratahs and Reds have won Super Rugby titles for Australia.
The Hurricanes outscored the Lions by two tries to none which means that Hurricanes did not concede a try throughout the play offs and went through almost 300 minutes without conceding a try.
And from Coming Down/Run: The Saturday Dinner Report:
And then 2 days later, Pops picked me up here to go to 15A Kells Avenue to prepare for lunch x dinner because Leon, Hanne & that Malaysian princess of Sophie were about to arrive & they did because I greeted Leon & Hanne 1st before I had to embrace my Malaysian friend Sophie because I have never seen her for like 9 long years! (That is a long time ago not in a galaxy far far away). So anyway, Pops has told the visitors to look at Nan's memorial garden before we start having our lunch or dinner so we had chicken casserole before having dessert and then afternoon tea but we did chat & I once told Sophie that she liked my glasses as well as my signature/trademark long locks or should I say rock star hair (That's just why because I'm into the alternative rock/heavy metal environment) because my Dad once looked like a rastafarian because he once had dreadlocks back in the day (Well I showed a photo of them) as well as she likes both her sister Amelia & brother Jason & of course that her greatest moment of her life was meeting me (Although she is heading back home on the 29th of August but I told her when will I see her next, she would come back to Wanganui once she gets a job in Auckland but the greatest moment of my life has to be the All Black's Rugby World Cup victories of 2011 & 2015 because we mastered the art of the sport 3 times in 1987 & the 2 that I've mentioned before) & I also told her that I thought Sophie was my only Asian friend but I have just found out that I have 2 Asian friends, 1 is Sophie & the other is John Coburn's partner Lim Chin Keong because Lim comes from KL in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia's capital) because I know where Sophie comes from because she hails all the way from Penang.
And finally from Cochise/I Think I'm Paranoid/I Miss The Misery/Little Sister: The 2016 Rugby Championship Round 1 report (+ the end of the Olympics)
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...
So that's it, see you next time because that is my 38th (XXXVIIIth) blog of the year 2016 (MMXVI) & my 78th overall.
P.S. Boxer Joseph Parker has beaten the 'Mexican Destroyer' Andy Ruiz Jr last night on Saturday to end a boxing year on a high (I don't know what his next fight & title defense his because defending a boxing title is incredibly but relatively difficult) & become the 1st Kiwi to win the WBO World Heavyweight Boxing Championship with a unanimous decision victory at the Vector Arena held in Auckland but how good must that boy be feeling because he is so proud to be a New Zealander like that not only because he is of Samoan descent so both the Samoan & Kiwi people are so proud of him not only because he is 24 years old & the best part was the 1st judge revealed their scorecards because it was a draw & the other 2 judges were in favour of Joe meaning that Parker had a unanimous decision win to become the new WBO champion of the world but I told Dad that he lost so Dad told me that Parker won instead so it was touch & go from the self proclaimed Samoan New Zealander so his trainer Kevin Barry & his family were so proud because the championship belt was Joseph Parker's early christmas present meaning that he had to win comfortably to get the big prize early for christmas because he had wins this year against Jason 'Iron Man' Bergman in Samoa (His family's homeland), a world title eliminator against Carlos Takam (In which he won the 3rd of his 4 unanimous decision victories), Kiwi born Aussie Solomon Haumono & Russian or Ukranian boxer Alexander Dimitrenko (In which he won with a clear & obvious body shot KO because it was not even an illegal low blow below the belt) before Ruiz Jr because his record now is an astonishing 22 - 0 record.
And on Tuesday that Pops took me to 15A Kells Avenue to stay for 7 days so I was the nightwatchman for the light up your home Christmas competition (For dinner on Tuesday night was salmon with pasta & salad & Pops pays me 15 bucks each night that I was the nightwatchman but nobody pays me & all I wanted for Christmas is money & there was about 60 people on Tuesday, 55 on Wednesday & 59 or 60 last night & we did arrange those lollies for the kids when they visit Nan's Memorial Garden during the dark) & Wednesday we went to remembrance where I saw Dad which is about the people including my Nan who lost their lives this year (We had a BLT (Bacon, lettuce & tomato) sandwich for lunch & dinner was turkey stir fry) & Yesterday that we went to a Japanese restaurant called Japanese Kitchen Wa where I had sushi for starters & a chicken teriyaki bento box for the main course where we had a big meal because we had a cold meat sandwich for dinner (Although today for lunch we had a salad because we drank a 0.5% low alcoholic Clausthaler beer & for dessert was hokey pokey ice cream with weet-bix bites, canned apricots & coconut cream & for dinner tonight that we are having is pasta (Well it has always been my favourite food for like 16 years since 2000 (Well I 1st tried pasta & it felt so good), superb) after we went to the prize giving at the church were head boy Jansen picked up his awards (And I was doing the lights yesterday & today because we brought these at The Warehouse) & I'm always reading the Rules Of The Game book as well as the 2 Richie McCaw books Richie McCaw: The Openside & Richie McCaw 148 & the book that I have got at the moment for my birthday which is Sir Graham Henry celebrates The World Cups! 1987 to 2015 so lets see how it unfolds on the Richie McCaw: The Openside which is about Richie McCaw in the events leading up to the 2011 Rugby World Cup (Held & won by New Zealand after 24 years of get rich & die trying) after the agony of 2007 against hosts France in Cardiff (Which is in Wales at the moment) with my 3 favourite parts of the book (And today I was watching on YouTube about the 2016 New Zealand rugby awards sponsored by ASB which is about World Rugby player of the year & the All Blacks 1st choice first-five eighth Beauden Barrett winning both Super Rugby (Last year went to Lima Sopoaga) & the Kelvin Tremain memorial player of the year (Last year's honours went to Ma'a Nonu because I thought Dan Carter was going to win) because he not only managed to complete the rare double award just like his younger brother who is a utility back, Jordie Barrett who got both age grade (Akira Ioane won the award last year) & Mitre 10 Cup player of the year (George Moala also won the award last year) as well as the All Blacks winning team of the year (Last year went to the All Blacks too) & Steve Hansen winning coach of the year (Also last year went to Steve Hansen too) & finally hooker Dane Coles of the Ngati Porou tribe winning the Tom French memorial Maori player of the year (Because last year went to Nehe Milner-Skudder):
Broken
''The ball's just sitting there with no one over it, so I pick it up just before Dickinson says 'Hands off, it's a ruck'. I drop the ball and look at him, still basically on my own, as he raises his arm for a penalty. I'm bewildered.''
Semi tough
''On the way to the ground on the bus, I looked out on the Great North Road part of the Fan Trail and saw a sign on one of the car yards.
I HOPE YOU'RE READY QUADE. RICHIE IS.
I wondered whether Cooper had seen it when the Aussie bus went by.''
And The right picture
''Trench warfare. France has gone 16 phases. We're still hanging in there. The penalty is the danger. Andy's trying to referee us, I hear him screaming at us - Hands off! Get out of there!
JK has a dab at the next ruck, is blown away, too late, we think, appealing. Joubert holds his hands wide again - play on.''
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