Well, my so called god cousin & new friend named Sherry came here to stay from Thursday until today & she did enjoy her stay so she was stoked that she spent time with us & it was on Thursday that she arrived to meet us there at the airport but she gave me rugby magazines as a gift which is kinda nice before we had dinner because I was watching that MacGyver programme then on Friday that we had a picnic at Kowhai Park because we thought that we could go to Bason Botanic Gardens but the road was closed so after the picnic we went to 28 Koromiko Road where my Dad lives then we went to Nan's grave before we went back home we had sausages with potatoes & vegetables before we watched the rugby & yesterday we went to the market so we had a big breakfast at Mud Ducks (Although I refused to eat that hash brown because it has got corn in it) & I did enjoy that except the corn that I didn't like & we had Waldorf salad for lunch which is from New York so we had a dinner last night which is silver beet with eggs & bacon & cheese during halftime between the Chiefs & Sunwolves game that we watched last night & today we had feijoa pancakes for breakfast although I had to watch the Crusaders take on the Cheetahs & after the game, I raked the leaves just several hours before we went to Caroline's for lunch where I had starters then a chicken sandwich for the main course then I had a slice & moccachino for dessert so we headed back home so Sherry had to pack her bags then we headed straight to the airport to say goodbye to her so it was a great story about her.
And now onto Super Rugby as the Highlanders will travel to South Africa without injured All Black fullback & Highlander captain Ben Smith due to an ankle injury but he will be back in time against the embattled Western Force after a comprehensive win over the Stormers in Patrick Osborne's 50th appearance for the club at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin in this most exciting game of the round but the Chiefs win 2 in a row against the Sunwolves in their 1st meeting with a Damian McKenzie magic but the Chiefs have wasted a golden chance to secure a bonus point after cards fly late (Northlander Derek Carpenter for a deliberate knockdown which results in a yellow then a former Red of Jamie-Jerry 'JJ' Taulagi seeing red after a deliberate contact to the head with force) at FMG Stadium Waikato in Hamilton which was less exciting than the Highlanders Vs Stormers one then the Waratahs finished off the Reds at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane with a match winning penalty scored by first five-eighth Bernard Foley moments before the high flying Lions roar past the Western Force who are in danger of not competing in next year's Super Rugby competition then the Crusaders remain unbeaten with a win over the Cheetahs but they will be without 2 best players such as Kieran Read due to a fractured thumb & captain Sam Whitelock due to suspension after being cited for an elbow to the face for the game against the Bulls who will try to end the Crusaders unbeaten run next week before the Kings completely demolish the woeful Rebels outfit at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth then the Sharks were way too good against the Jaguares that decided the outcome for a spot in the playoffs but the game between the Australian conference leaders the Brumbies & the bottom placed team from the New Zealand conference the Blues is still in progression at GIO Stadium in Canberra but I will update once the game finishes but the Blues won the game at the end, beating the Brumbies by continuing our Super Rugby dominance here in New Zealand as well as earning a bonus point victory despite being rock bottom in the New Zealand conference.
So that was Round 10 of the 2017 Super Rugby season and here are the matches for Round 11:
Hurricanes Vs Stormers: Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Cheetahs Vs Highlanders: Toyota Stadium, Bloemfontein
Rebels Vs Lions: AAMI Park, Melbourne
Chiefs Vs Reds: Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth
Waratahs Vs Blues: Allianz Stadium, Sydney
Sharks Vs Force: Growthpoint Kings Park, Durban
Bulls Vs Crusaders: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
& the Jaguares Vs Sunwolves at Jose Amalfitani Stadium in Buenos Aires to end Round 11 of Super Rugby 2017 (With the Brumbies & Kings taking a week off to prepare for Round 12).
And Sebastian Vettel (Germany) in the Ferrari has taken pole position for the Russian Grand Prix so for the 1st time since the French Grand Prix in 2008 that Ferrari will lock out the front row ending Mercedes run of 18 consecutive pole positions which began last year in Canada where Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain) won the race after starting on pole but couldn't do the job for Vettel as Valtteri Bottas won the Russian Grand Prix...his 1st of his career after hanging on till the end after making a great start from 3rd of the grid so he had a great slipstream as he becomes the 107th different winner in Formula 1 & the 5th Finn to win a race because Keke Rosberg was the 1st Finn then followed by Mika Hakkinen, Kimi Raikkonen & of course Heikki Kovalainen.
And here's the points standings for both the drivers & constructors but 1st here's the drivers standings:
1st: Sebastian Vettel (Germany, Ferrari), 85 points
2nd: Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain, Mercedes), 73 points
3rd: Valtteri Bottas (Finland, Mercedes), 63 points
4th: Kimi Raikkonen (Finland, Ferrari), 49 points
5th: Max Verstappen (The Netherlands, Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer), 35 points
6th: Daniel Ricciardo (Australia, Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer), 22 points
7th: Sergio Perez (Mexico, Force India Mercedes), 22 points
8th: Felipe Massa (Brazil, Williams Mercedes), 18 points
9th: Carlos Sainz (Spain, Toro Rosso), 11 points
10th: Esteban Ocon (France, Force India Mercedes), 9 points
11th: Nico Hulkenberg (Germany, Renault), 6 points
12th: Romain Grosjean (France, Haas Ferrari), 4 points
13th: Kevin Magnussen (Denmark, Haas Ferrari), 4 points
14th: Daniil Kvyat (Russia, Toro Rosso), 2 points
And then the constructors to wrap up the Formula 1 report:
1st: Mercedes (Germany), 136 points
2nd: Ferrari (Italy), 135 points
3rd: Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer (Austria), 57 points
4th: Force India Mercedes (India), 31 points
5th: Williams Mercedes (Great Britain), 18 points
6th: Toro Rosso (Italy), 13 points
7th: Haas Ferrari (USA), 8 points
8th: Renault (France), 2 points
And finally in boxing news that the Olympic gold medalist from London in 2012, Anthony Joshua...is still...undefeated after winning by way of TKO against Ukrainian Wladmir Klitschko in round 11 to become the unified heavyweight champion because it is only 6 days until our very own Kiwi Joseph Parker (AKA Joe) puts his WBO title on the line against Hughie Fury's replacement from Romania, Razvan 'Big Foot' Cojanu.
So that is my 104th blog of the year 2017 (MMXVII) & my 8th of the month of April, see you soon as the new month begins tomorrow in May because April is about to end as we are onto the last day of April, unbelievable! Sensational!
Sunday, 30 April 2017
Monday, 24 April 2017
Aerials/Chop Suey!/Lonely Day/Toxicity: Traditions Of The Cardinal Sin (Blog 103: The Final Chapter)
Well, Pops & I went to Palmerston North yesterday but we through towns such as Kaitoke, Whangaehu, Turakina, Bulls (We walked through shops), Sanson, Awahuri and Newbury, before we approached Palmy so we had to go to the plaza then we headed over to the gas station & met up one of Poppa's friends so we had lunch at Cafe Esplanade then we had a walk there to see the river before we went back home so I watched a bit of Super Rugby then played Rugby Challenge on the Playstation 4 by managing to create a British & Irish Lions team then we had sausage curry for dinner & dessert before I went to sleep.
And today is Anzac Day (Well, we missed the traditional dawn service so we were sleeping) so this is the final part of the Cardinal Sin trilogy which is Aerials/Chop Suey!/Toxicity: Traditions Of The Cardinal Sin (Blog 103: The Final Chapter) which is the 25th of April this year in 2017 so I will be doing a blog today about the ANZAC invasion at Gallipoli in Turkey according to Wikipedia about Anzac Day (Well, 102 years have since been passed so I've already wrote on my previous blog about that 2 years ago that I was in the Coromandel with Nan & Pops because we were about to leave the town so we headed to Taupo for the night (Although we had afternoon tea at the motel we stayed which is Catelli's (Although the motel was renamed) went swimming as well as going to an Indian restaurant for dinner & watched a Super Rugby game between the Crusaders & Blues on TV) before we headed back home on the 26th of April, 2015):
Anzac Day marks the anniversary of the first campaign that led to major casualties for Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. The acronym ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, whose soldiers were known as Anzacs. Anzac Day remains one of the most important national occasions of both Australia and New Zealand, a rare instance of two sovereign countries not only sharing the same remembrance day, but making reference to both countries in its name. When war broke out in 1914, Australia and New Zealand had been dominions of the British Empire for thirteen and seven years respectively.
In 1915, Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of an Allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli Peninsula to open the way to the Black Sea for the Allied navies. The objective was to capture Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, which was an ally of Germany during the war. The ANZAC force landed at Gallipoli on 25 April, meeting fierce resistance from the Ottoman Army commanded by Mustafa Kemal (later known as Atatürk). What had been planned as a bold strike to knock the Ottomans out of the war quickly became a stalemate, and the campaign dragged on for eight months. At the end of 1915, the Allied forces were evacuated after both sides had suffered heavy casualties and endured great hardships. The Allied casualties included 21,255 from the United Kingdom, of which were some 4,000 Irish soldiers from the Royal Irish Fusiliers, an estimated 10,000 deceased soldiers from France, 8,709 from Australia, 2,721 from New Zealand, and 1,358 from British India. News of the landing at Gallipoli made a profound impact on Australians and New Zealanders at home and 25 April quickly became the day on which they remembered the sacrifice of those who had died in the war.
Though the Gallipoli campaign failed to achieve its military objectives of capturing Constantinople and knocking the Ottoman Empire out of the war, the actions of the Australian and New Zealand troops during the campaign bequeathed an intangible but powerful legacy. The creation of what became known as an "Anzac legend" became an important part of the national identity in both countries. This has shaped the way their citizens have viewed both their past and their understanding of the present. The heroism of the soldiers in the failed Gallipoli campaign made their sacrifices iconic in New Zealand memory, and is often credited with securing the psychological independence of the nation.
On 30 April 1915, when the first news of the landing reached New Zealand, a half-day holiday was declared and impromptu services were held.
In South Australia, Australia's first built memorial to those killed in the Dardanelles was unveiled by the South Australian Governor on "Wattle Day", 7 September 1915, just over four months after the first landings. The monument was originally in an area called "Wattle Grove" on Sir Lewis Cohen Avenue in the South Parklands but was later moved to a lawned area off South Terrace near the junction with Anzac Highway. Remnant seedlings of the original wattles still grow in "Wattle Grove". Also in South Australia, Eight Hour Day, 13 October 1915, was renamed "Anzac Day" and a carnival was organised to raise money for the Wounded Soldiers Fund.
The date 25 April was officially named Anzac Day in 1916; in that year it was marked by a wide variety of ceremonies and services in Australia and New Zealand, including a commemorative march through London involving Australian and New Zealand troops. In New Zealand it was gazetted as a half-day holiday. Australian Great War battalion and brigade war diaries show that on this first anniversary, units including those on the front line, made efforts to solemnise the memory of those who were killed this day twelve months previously. A common format found in the war diaries by Australian and New Zealand soldiers for the day commenced with a dawn requiem mass, followed mid-morning with a commemorative service, and after lunch organised sports activities with the proceeds of any gambling going to Battalion funds. This occurred in Egypt as well.
In Queensland on 10 January 1916, Canon David John Garland was appointed the honorary secretary of the Anzac Day Commemoration Committee of Queensland (ADCCQ) at a public meeting which endorsed 25 April as be the date promoted as “Anzac Day” in 1916 and ever after. Devoted to the cause of a non-denominational commemoration that could be attended by the whole of Australian society, Garland worked amicably across all denominational divides, creating the framework for Anzac Day commemorative services. Garland is specifically credited with initiating the Anzac Day march, the wreath-laying ceremonies at memorials and the special church services, the two minutes silence, and the luncheon for returned soldiers. Garland intended the silence was used in lieu of a prayer to allow the Anzac Day service to be universally attended, allowing attendees to make a silent prayer or remembrance in accordance with their own beliefs. He particularly feared that the universality of the ceremony would fall victim to religious sectarian disputes.
In London, over 2,000 Australian and New Zealand troops marched through the streets of the city. A London newspaper headline dubbed them "The Knights of Gallipoli". Marches were held all over Australia in 1916; wounded soldiers from Gallipoli attended the Sydney march in convoys of cars, accompanied by nurses. Over 2,000 people attended the service in Rotorua. For the remaining years of the war, Anzac Day was used as an occasion for patriotic rallies and recruiting campaigns, and marches of serving members of the AIF were held in most cities. From 1916 onwards, in both Australia and New Zealand, Anzac memorials were held on or about 25 April, mainly organised by returned servicemen and school children in cooperation with local authorities.
Anzac Day was gazetted as a public holiday in New Zealand in 1920, through the Anzac Day Act, after lobbying by the New Zealand Returned Soldiers’ Association, the RSA. In Australia at the 1921 State Premiers' Conference, it was decided that Anzac Day would be observed on 25 April each year. However, it was not observed uniformly in all the states.
During the 1920s, Anzac Day became established as a National Day of Commemoration for the 60,000 Australians and 18,000 New Zealanders who died during the war. The first year in which all the Australian states observed some form of public holiday together on Anzac Day was 1927. By the mid-1930s, all the rituals now associated with the day—dawn vigils, marches, memorial services, reunions, sly two-up games—became part of Australian Anzac Day culture. New Zealand commemorations also adopted many of these rituals, with the dawn service being introduced from Australia in 1939.
And finally the 2017 Formula 1 season heads to Mother Russia at Sochi where Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel (Germany) is leading the World Championship by 7 points (Although Vettel claimed both victories in Australia & Bahrain compared to Hamilton's win in China) ahead of his Mercedes adversary Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain) so here's the circuit guide to the Sochi Autodrome in Sochi who will host Round 4 of the Russian Grand Prix according to Collins Grand Prix circuits book that I've still got:
''After many false starts elsewhere, Sochi became the 1st Grand Prix in Russia. Built off the back of the 2014 Winter Olympics, using the same site with permanent pit & paddock facilities. 3rd longest circuit on the F1 calendar. Government backing ensures permanent prescence for time being.''
So that is my 103rd blog of the year 2017 (MMXVII), so I've broken the record now for most blogs in a month with 7 now.
#AnzacDay
Lest we forget
And today is Anzac Day (Well, we missed the traditional dawn service so we were sleeping) so this is the final part of the Cardinal Sin trilogy which is Aerials/Chop Suey!/Toxicity: Traditions Of The Cardinal Sin (Blog 103: The Final Chapter) which is the 25th of April this year in 2017 so I will be doing a blog today about the ANZAC invasion at Gallipoli in Turkey according to Wikipedia about Anzac Day (Well, 102 years have since been passed so I've already wrote on my previous blog about that 2 years ago that I was in the Coromandel with Nan & Pops because we were about to leave the town so we headed to Taupo for the night (Although we had afternoon tea at the motel we stayed which is Catelli's (Although the motel was renamed) went swimming as well as going to an Indian restaurant for dinner & watched a Super Rugby game between the Crusaders & Blues on TV) before we headed back home on the 26th of April, 2015):
Anzac Day marks the anniversary of the first campaign that led to major casualties for Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. The acronym ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, whose soldiers were known as Anzacs. Anzac Day remains one of the most important national occasions of both Australia and New Zealand, a rare instance of two sovereign countries not only sharing the same remembrance day, but making reference to both countries in its name. When war broke out in 1914, Australia and New Zealand had been dominions of the British Empire for thirteen and seven years respectively.
In 1915, Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of an Allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli Peninsula to open the way to the Black Sea for the Allied navies. The objective was to capture Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, which was an ally of Germany during the war. The ANZAC force landed at Gallipoli on 25 April, meeting fierce resistance from the Ottoman Army commanded by Mustafa Kemal (later known as Atatürk). What had been planned as a bold strike to knock the Ottomans out of the war quickly became a stalemate, and the campaign dragged on for eight months. At the end of 1915, the Allied forces were evacuated after both sides had suffered heavy casualties and endured great hardships. The Allied casualties included 21,255 from the United Kingdom, of which were some 4,000 Irish soldiers from the Royal Irish Fusiliers, an estimated 10,000 deceased soldiers from France, 8,709 from Australia, 2,721 from New Zealand, and 1,358 from British India. News of the landing at Gallipoli made a profound impact on Australians and New Zealanders at home and 25 April quickly became the day on which they remembered the sacrifice of those who had died in the war.
Though the Gallipoli campaign failed to achieve its military objectives of capturing Constantinople and knocking the Ottoman Empire out of the war, the actions of the Australian and New Zealand troops during the campaign bequeathed an intangible but powerful legacy. The creation of what became known as an "Anzac legend" became an important part of the national identity in both countries. This has shaped the way their citizens have viewed both their past and their understanding of the present. The heroism of the soldiers in the failed Gallipoli campaign made their sacrifices iconic in New Zealand memory, and is often credited with securing the psychological independence of the nation.
On 30 April 1915, when the first news of the landing reached New Zealand, a half-day holiday was declared and impromptu services were held.
In South Australia, Australia's first built memorial to those killed in the Dardanelles was unveiled by the South Australian Governor on "Wattle Day", 7 September 1915, just over four months after the first landings. The monument was originally in an area called "Wattle Grove" on Sir Lewis Cohen Avenue in the South Parklands but was later moved to a lawned area off South Terrace near the junction with Anzac Highway. Remnant seedlings of the original wattles still grow in "Wattle Grove". Also in South Australia, Eight Hour Day, 13 October 1915, was renamed "Anzac Day" and a carnival was organised to raise money for the Wounded Soldiers Fund.
The date 25 April was officially named Anzac Day in 1916; in that year it was marked by a wide variety of ceremonies and services in Australia and New Zealand, including a commemorative march through London involving Australian and New Zealand troops. In New Zealand it was gazetted as a half-day holiday. Australian Great War battalion and brigade war diaries show that on this first anniversary, units including those on the front line, made efforts to solemnise the memory of those who were killed this day twelve months previously. A common format found in the war diaries by Australian and New Zealand soldiers for the day commenced with a dawn requiem mass, followed mid-morning with a commemorative service, and after lunch organised sports activities with the proceeds of any gambling going to Battalion funds. This occurred in Egypt as well.
In Queensland on 10 January 1916, Canon David John Garland was appointed the honorary secretary of the Anzac Day Commemoration Committee of Queensland (ADCCQ) at a public meeting which endorsed 25 April as be the date promoted as “Anzac Day” in 1916 and ever after. Devoted to the cause of a non-denominational commemoration that could be attended by the whole of Australian society, Garland worked amicably across all denominational divides, creating the framework for Anzac Day commemorative services. Garland is specifically credited with initiating the Anzac Day march, the wreath-laying ceremonies at memorials and the special church services, the two minutes silence, and the luncheon for returned soldiers. Garland intended the silence was used in lieu of a prayer to allow the Anzac Day service to be universally attended, allowing attendees to make a silent prayer or remembrance in accordance with their own beliefs. He particularly feared that the universality of the ceremony would fall victim to religious sectarian disputes.
In London, over 2,000 Australian and New Zealand troops marched through the streets of the city. A London newspaper headline dubbed them "The Knights of Gallipoli". Marches were held all over Australia in 1916; wounded soldiers from Gallipoli attended the Sydney march in convoys of cars, accompanied by nurses. Over 2,000 people attended the service in Rotorua. For the remaining years of the war, Anzac Day was used as an occasion for patriotic rallies and recruiting campaigns, and marches of serving members of the AIF were held in most cities. From 1916 onwards, in both Australia and New Zealand, Anzac memorials were held on or about 25 April, mainly organised by returned servicemen and school children in cooperation with local authorities.
Anzac Day was gazetted as a public holiday in New Zealand in 1920, through the Anzac Day Act, after lobbying by the New Zealand Returned Soldiers’ Association, the RSA. In Australia at the 1921 State Premiers' Conference, it was decided that Anzac Day would be observed on 25 April each year. However, it was not observed uniformly in all the states.
During the 1920s, Anzac Day became established as a National Day of Commemoration for the 60,000 Australians and 18,000 New Zealanders who died during the war. The first year in which all the Australian states observed some form of public holiday together on Anzac Day was 1927. By the mid-1930s, all the rituals now associated with the day—dawn vigils, marches, memorial services, reunions, sly two-up games—became part of Australian Anzac Day culture. New Zealand commemorations also adopted many of these rituals, with the dawn service being introduced from Australia in 1939.
And finally the 2017 Formula 1 season heads to Mother Russia at Sochi where Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel (Germany) is leading the World Championship by 7 points (Although Vettel claimed both victories in Australia & Bahrain compared to Hamilton's win in China) ahead of his Mercedes adversary Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain) so here's the circuit guide to the Sochi Autodrome in Sochi who will host Round 4 of the Russian Grand Prix according to Collins Grand Prix circuits book that I've still got:
''After many false starts elsewhere, Sochi became the 1st Grand Prix in Russia. Built off the back of the 2014 Winter Olympics, using the same site with permanent pit & paddock facilities. 3rd longest circuit on the F1 calendar. Government backing ensures permanent prescence for time being.''
So that is my 103rd blog of the year 2017 (MMXVII), so I've broken the record now for most blogs in a month with 7 now.
#AnzacDay
Lest we forget
Saturday, 22 April 2017
Evidence/From Outta Nowhere/Last Cup Of Sorrow/Midlife Crisis: Revelations Of The Cardinal Sin (Blog 102: The Cardinal Sin Strikes Back)
Well, Pops & I have been to Whanganui East Club today to have a dinner of the day there where I had a buffet with beef as well as having dessert that I had so Pops was full after having a buffet with pork because he did not have a dessert like me.
And I have decided to do my 102nd blog today so this is the sequel of Cherry Bomb/From Yesterday/Just The Two Of Us/Lightning Crashes: Origins Of The Cardinal Sin (Cyberdyne Systems Blog 101) as part of the Cardinal Sin trilogy which is Easy/Evidence/From Outta Nowhere/Last Cup Of Sorrow: Revelations Of The Cardinal Sin (Blog 102: The Cardinal Sin Strikes Back).
So Round 9 of Super Rugby got underway as my beloved Hurricanes demolish the Brumbies 56 - 21 at McLean Park in Napier with a Vince Aso hat-trick as well as reserve openside flanker Callum Gibbins getting a brace after coming off the bench although at one point when the Hurricanes led 14 - 0 after tries by hat-trick hero Aso & Cory Jane at one point when the Brumbies scored 21 unanswered points with tries being scored by centre Tevita Kuridrani, Brumbies captain Sam Carter & young halfback Joe Powell by leading at halftime moments before the Hurricanes scored 42 unanswered points to win the game by clawing our way back into the game in this most exciting but epic game being played but the Highlanders have a 25 point win over the Sunwolves at Rugby Park in Invercargill as they easily fended off with a dominant 2nd half performance because that game was less exciting than the Hurricanes Vs Brumbies & Crusaders Vs Stormers one & what about the Crusaders (Who still top the New Zealand conference after 9 rounds so they are still undefeated because they put their unbeaten streak on the line against the previously unbeaten Stormers) last night because they played like the Hurricanes on Friday as they thrash the Africa 1 conference leaders the Stormers 57 - 24 in this most exciting game last night at AMI Stadium in Christchurch with a George Bridge hat-trick during the 1st half because he just plays like Vince Aso & a Kieran Read brace because he played like Callum Gibbins except Read was in the starting lineup playing at Number 8 (Known as eighthman so Read only appeared in the 1st half being replaced by Australian born Peter Samu who came off the bench to replace him to score a try) & the Chiefs beat the Force 16 - 7 at nib Stadium in Perth despite the sheer number of handling errors costing opportunities.
So that was Round 9 of the 2017 Super Rugby season and here are the matches for Round 10:
Highlanders Vs Stormers: Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
Chiefs Vs Sunwolves: FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton
Reds Vs Waratahs: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Force Vs Lions: nib Stadium, Perth
Cheetahs Vs Crusaders: Toyota Stadium, Bloemfontein
Kings Vs Rebels: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Jaguares Vs Sharks: Jose Amalfitani Stadium, Buenos Aires
& the Brumbies Vs Blues at GIO Stadium in Canberra to end Round 10 of Super Rugby 2017 (With the Bulls & Hurricanes taking a week off to prepare for Round 11).
So that is my 102nd blog of the year 2017 (MMXVII), as ANZAC Day is almost upon us in 2 days time so I will be doing a blog about the 102nd anniversary of the Australian & New Zealand Army Corps invading Gallipoli, Turkey on April 25th, 1915 (And it has been 2 years since the 100th anniversary so I was at the Coromandel with the late Nan & Pops because we were heading to Taupo for the night after staying several days before we headed back home) because I'm getting close of breaking my personal record for most blogs in a month so it currently sits at 6.
And I have decided to do my 102nd blog today so this is the sequel of Cherry Bomb/From Yesterday/Just The Two Of Us/Lightning Crashes: Origins Of The Cardinal Sin (Cyberdyne Systems Blog 101) as part of the Cardinal Sin trilogy which is Easy/Evidence/From Outta Nowhere/Last Cup Of Sorrow: Revelations Of The Cardinal Sin (Blog 102: The Cardinal Sin Strikes Back).
So Round 9 of Super Rugby got underway as my beloved Hurricanes demolish the Brumbies 56 - 21 at McLean Park in Napier with a Vince Aso hat-trick as well as reserve openside flanker Callum Gibbins getting a brace after coming off the bench although at one point when the Hurricanes led 14 - 0 after tries by hat-trick hero Aso & Cory Jane at one point when the Brumbies scored 21 unanswered points with tries being scored by centre Tevita Kuridrani, Brumbies captain Sam Carter & young halfback Joe Powell by leading at halftime moments before the Hurricanes scored 42 unanswered points to win the game by clawing our way back into the game in this most exciting but epic game being played but the Highlanders have a 25 point win over the Sunwolves at Rugby Park in Invercargill as they easily fended off with a dominant 2nd half performance because that game was less exciting than the Hurricanes Vs Brumbies & Crusaders Vs Stormers one & what about the Crusaders (Who still top the New Zealand conference after 9 rounds so they are still undefeated because they put their unbeaten streak on the line against the previously unbeaten Stormers) last night because they played like the Hurricanes on Friday as they thrash the Africa 1 conference leaders the Stormers 57 - 24 in this most exciting game last night at AMI Stadium in Christchurch with a George Bridge hat-trick during the 1st half because he just plays like Vince Aso & a Kieran Read brace because he played like Callum Gibbins except Read was in the starting lineup playing at Number 8 (Known as eighthman so Read only appeared in the 1st half being replaced by Australian born Peter Samu who came off the bench to replace him to score a try) & the Chiefs beat the Force 16 - 7 at nib Stadium in Perth despite the sheer number of handling errors costing opportunities.
So that was Round 9 of the 2017 Super Rugby season and here are the matches for Round 10:
Highlanders Vs Stormers: Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
Chiefs Vs Sunwolves: FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton
Reds Vs Waratahs: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Force Vs Lions: nib Stadium, Perth
Cheetahs Vs Crusaders: Toyota Stadium, Bloemfontein
Kings Vs Rebels: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Jaguares Vs Sharks: Jose Amalfitani Stadium, Buenos Aires
& the Brumbies Vs Blues at GIO Stadium in Canberra to end Round 10 of Super Rugby 2017 (With the Bulls & Hurricanes taking a week off to prepare for Round 11).
So that is my 102nd blog of the year 2017 (MMXVII), as ANZAC Day is almost upon us in 2 days time so I will be doing a blog about the 102nd anniversary of the Australian & New Zealand Army Corps invading Gallipoli, Turkey on April 25th, 1915 (And it has been 2 years since the 100th anniversary so I was at the Coromandel with the late Nan & Pops because we were heading to Taupo for the night after staying several days before we headed back home) because I'm getting close of breaking my personal record for most blogs in a month so it currently sits at 6.
Wednesday, 19 April 2017
Cherry Bomb/From Yesterday/Just The Two Of Us/Lightning Crashes: Origins Of The Cardinal Sin (Cyberdyne Systems Blog 101)
Well, after that I've reached exactly 100 blogs on Easter Monday, I have decided to do my 101st as part of the all new Cardinal Sin trilogy so here's the 1st chapter which is Cherry Bomb/From Yesterday/Just The Two Of Us/Lightning Crashes: Origins Of The Cardinal Sin (Cyberdyne Systems Blog 101).
And the Warren 'The Gatfather' Gatland (He has a 21 year old son named Bryn Gatland who plays for North Harbour in the Mitre 10 Cup, the Blues in Super Rugby as injury cover for first five-eighth Ihaia West & the NZ Provincial Barbarians after being selected for it against the British & Irish Lions) coached British & Irish Lions have revealed their squad to tour New Zealand this year so here's the 41 man squad for the DHL New Zealand Lions Series (And the squad consists of 16 Englishmen, 12 Welshmen, 11 Irishmen & 2 Scots):
Hookers
Rory Best (Ireland/Ulster)
Kristian Dacey (Wales/Cardiff Blues) *6
Jamie George (England/Saracens)
Ken Owens (Wales/Scarlets)
Props
Dan Cole (England/Leicester Tigers)
Alan Dell (Scotland/Edinburgh) *6
Tomas Francis (Wales/Exeter Chiefs (England) *6
Tadhg Furlong (Ireland/Leinster)
Joe Marler (England/Harlequins)
Jack McGrath (Ireland/Leinster)
Kyle Sinckler (England/Harlequins)
Mako Vunipola (England/Saracens)
Locks (Second rowers)
Iain Henderson (Ireland/Ulster)
Cory Hill (Wales/Dragons) *6
Maro Itoje (England/Saracens)
Alun Wyn Jones (Wales/Ospreys)
George Kruis (England/Saracens)
Courtney Lawes (England/Northampton Saints)
Loose forwards (Back rowers)
Taulupe Faletau (Wales/Bath (England)
James Haskell (England/Wasps) *1
Ross Moriarty (Wales/Gloucester (England) *7
Sean O'Brien (Ireland/Leinster)
Peter O'Mahony (Ireland/Munster)
CJ Stander (Ireland/Munster)
Justin Tipuric (Wales/Ospreys)
Sam Warburton (Captain, Wales/Cardiff Blues)
Billy Vunipola (England/Saracens) *2
Halfbacks (Scrumhalves)
Gareth Davies (Wales/Scarlets) *6
Greig Laidlaw (Scotland/Gloucester (England) *3
Conor Murray (Ireland/Munster)
Rhys Webb (Wales/Ospreys)
Ben Youngs (England/Leicester Tigers) *4
First five-eighths (Fly-halves)
Dan Biggar (Wales/Ospreys)
Owen Farrell (England/Saracens)
Finn Russell (Scotland/Glasgow Warriors) *6
Jonathan Sexton (Ireland/Leinster)
Midfielders (Inside Backs)
Jonathan Davies (Wales/Scarlets)
Robbie Henshaw (Ireland/Leinster)
Jonathan Joseph (England/Bath)
Jared Payne (Ireland/Ulster)
Ben Te'o (England/Worcester Warriors)
Outside Backs
Elliot Daly (England/Wasps)
Leigh Halfpenny (Wales/Toulon (France)
Stuart Hogg (Scotland/Glasgow Warriors) *5
George North (Wales/Northampton Saints (England)
Jack Nowell (England/Exeter Chiefs)
Tommy Seymour (Scotland/Glasgow Warriors)
Anthony Watson (England/Bath)
Liam Williams (Wales/Scarlets)
*1: Replaced Billy Vunipola
*2: Withdrew due to injury
*3: Replaced Ben Youngs
*4: Withdrew due to personal reasons
*5: Withdrew due to injury sustained during tour
*6: Called up as cover
*7: Withdrew due to injury
And here's the news report about the origins, revelations & traditions of the British & Irish Lions squad naming according to BBC News:
Wales back row Sam Warburton will captain the British and Irish Lions on their tour of New Zealand this summer, but England skipper Dylan Hartley has not been selected in the 41-man squad.
Coach Warren Gatland has chosen 16 England players, 12 from Wales, 11 from Ireland and two from Scotland.
The tour, which runs from 3 June to 8 July, features three Tests against the All Blacks, who are world champions.
"There were some pretty lively debates finalising the squad," said Gatland.
The New Zealander, who also took charge of the Lions in Australia in 2013, added: "We are very happy with the quality of squad we have."
'Gatland got his selections right & the Lions can win' - Guscott's verdict
The former Wales skipper is only the second player, after England's Martin Johnson, to captain the Lions in two tours.
He stepped down as Wales captain before the 2017 Six Nations and was replaced by lock Alun Wyn Jones, who also took over when Warburton was injured for the third Lions Test in 2013.
"It is going to be the toughest thing I've done but it is definitely the biggest honour I have had," Warburton said.
"I am really looking forward to captaining the Lions for the second time and, with it being in New Zealand, it definitely ranks as the pinnacle of my career so far."
Hartley, 31, misses out despite leading England to a second straight Six Nations title, with compatriot Jamie George, Ireland's Rory Best and Wales' Ken Owens the three hookers selected.
The Northampton Saints player is the 3rd England captain in succession to miss out on Lions selection, after Steve Borthwick in 2009 and Chris Robshaw in 2013.
England centre Jonathan Joseph is included, but there is no place for fellow Six Nations winners Joe Launchbury, George Ford, James Haskell and Robshaw.
Wales number eight Ross Moriarty is a surprise inclusion, while New Zealand-born Ireland centre Jared Payne is also selected.
And here's the match details for the British & Irish Lions of the 2017 tour:
NZ Provincial Barbarians: Toll Stadium, Whangarei (June 3rd)
Blues: Eden Park, Auckland (June 7th)
Crusaders: AMI Stadium, Christchurch (June 10th)
Highlanders: Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin (June 13th)
Maori All Blacks: International Stadium, Rotorua (June 17th)
Chiefs: FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton (June 20th)
New Zealand (1ST TEST): Eden Park, Auckland (June 24th)
Hurricanes: Westpac Stadium, Wellington (June 27th)
New Zealand (2ND TEST): Westpac Stadium, Wellington (July 1st)
New Zealand (3RD TEST): Eden Park, Auckland (July 8th)
So that is my 101st blog of the year 2017 (MMXVII), cheerio.
P.S. Guess what is on tonight on Prime? It is MacGyver (The 2016 remake starring Lucas Till (From films/movies such as Hannah Montana: The Movie (With Miley Cyrus, Emily Osment (Haley Joel's sister) & Miley's father, Billy Ray Cyrus), The Spy Next Door (With Jackie Chan (As Detective Lee from Rush Hour & Chon Wang from Shanghai Noon & its sequel, Shanghai Nights), Amber Valletta (From The Transporter 2), Billy Ray Cyrus again & George Lopez (From Balls Of Fury), X-Men: First Class (With James McAvoy (From The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe), Michael Fassbender (As Stelios from 300 who says ''We are with you sire! For Sparta, for freedom, to the death!''), Jennifer Lawrence (From American Hustle (With Amy Adams (Batman Vs Superman: Dawn Of Justice), Christian Bale (Empire Of The Sun, Equilibrium, Reign Of Fire, The Dark Knight Trilogy), Bradley Cooper (Guardians Of The Galaxy, The Hangover Trilogy) & Jeremy Renner (S.W.A.T., The Avengers) & the Hunger Games trilogy), Nicholas Hoult, Kevin Bacon (From Hollow Man), Rose Byrne (From Spy) & Zoe Kravitz (Daughter of Lenny Kravitz) & Monster Trucks (With Jane Levy (From Surburgatory), Rob Lowe (As the young Number 2 from Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me) & Danny Glover (From Lethal Weapon as Roger Murtagh) as the title character, Angus MacGyver (Originally played by Stargate SG-1 star Richard Dean Anderson in the original that ran for 7 years from 1985 to 1992) isn't it? Oh...Yeah! But I will watch that 1st then I have also got to watch Toyota Grassroots Rugby on Sky Sport 1 so I've got that programme on record. And tomorrow it's Round 9 of Super Rugby as the Hurricanes take on the Australian conference leaders, the Brumbies at McLean Park in Napier so I'm gunning for the Hurricanes because they have the best attacking team in the competition.
And the Warren 'The Gatfather' Gatland (He has a 21 year old son named Bryn Gatland who plays for North Harbour in the Mitre 10 Cup, the Blues in Super Rugby as injury cover for first five-eighth Ihaia West & the NZ Provincial Barbarians after being selected for it against the British & Irish Lions) coached British & Irish Lions have revealed their squad to tour New Zealand this year so here's the 41 man squad for the DHL New Zealand Lions Series (And the squad consists of 16 Englishmen, 12 Welshmen, 11 Irishmen & 2 Scots):
Hookers
Rory Best (Ireland/Ulster)
Kristian Dacey (Wales/Cardiff Blues) *6
Jamie George (England/Saracens)
Ken Owens (Wales/Scarlets)
Props
Dan Cole (England/Leicester Tigers)
Alan Dell (Scotland/Edinburgh) *6
Tomas Francis (Wales/Exeter Chiefs (England) *6
Tadhg Furlong (Ireland/Leinster)
Joe Marler (England/Harlequins)
Jack McGrath (Ireland/Leinster)
Kyle Sinckler (England/Harlequins)
Mako Vunipola (England/Saracens)
Locks (Second rowers)
Iain Henderson (Ireland/Ulster)
Cory Hill (Wales/Dragons) *6
Maro Itoje (England/Saracens)
Alun Wyn Jones (Wales/Ospreys)
George Kruis (England/Saracens)
Courtney Lawes (England/Northampton Saints)
Loose forwards (Back rowers)
Taulupe Faletau (Wales/Bath (England)
James Haskell (England/Wasps) *1
Ross Moriarty (Wales/Gloucester (England) *7
Sean O'Brien (Ireland/Leinster)
Peter O'Mahony (Ireland/Munster)
CJ Stander (Ireland/Munster)
Justin Tipuric (Wales/Ospreys)
Sam Warburton (Captain, Wales/Cardiff Blues)
Billy Vunipola (England/Saracens) *2
Halfbacks (Scrumhalves)
Gareth Davies (Wales/Scarlets) *6
Greig Laidlaw (Scotland/Gloucester (England) *3
Conor Murray (Ireland/Munster)
Rhys Webb (Wales/Ospreys)
Ben Youngs (England/Leicester Tigers) *4
First five-eighths (Fly-halves)
Dan Biggar (Wales/Ospreys)
Owen Farrell (England/Saracens)
Finn Russell (Scotland/Glasgow Warriors) *6
Jonathan Sexton (Ireland/Leinster)
Midfielders (Inside Backs)
Jonathan Davies (Wales/Scarlets)
Robbie Henshaw (Ireland/Leinster)
Jonathan Joseph (England/Bath)
Jared Payne (Ireland/Ulster)
Ben Te'o (England/Worcester Warriors)
Outside Backs
Elliot Daly (England/Wasps)
Leigh Halfpenny (Wales/Toulon (France)
Stuart Hogg (Scotland/Glasgow Warriors) *5
George North (Wales/Northampton Saints (England)
Jack Nowell (England/Exeter Chiefs)
Tommy Seymour (Scotland/Glasgow Warriors)
Anthony Watson (England/Bath)
Liam Williams (Wales/Scarlets)
*1: Replaced Billy Vunipola
*2: Withdrew due to injury
*3: Replaced Ben Youngs
*4: Withdrew due to personal reasons
*5: Withdrew due to injury sustained during tour
*6: Called up as cover
*7: Withdrew due to injury
And here's the news report about the origins, revelations & traditions of the British & Irish Lions squad naming according to BBC News:
Wales back row Sam Warburton will captain the British and Irish Lions on their tour of New Zealand this summer, but England skipper Dylan Hartley has not been selected in the 41-man squad.
Coach Warren Gatland has chosen 16 England players, 12 from Wales, 11 from Ireland and two from Scotland.
The tour, which runs from 3 June to 8 July, features three Tests against the All Blacks, who are world champions.
"There were some pretty lively debates finalising the squad," said Gatland.
The New Zealander, who also took charge of the Lions in Australia in 2013, added: "We are very happy with the quality of squad we have."
'Gatland got his selections right & the Lions can win' - Guscott's verdict
The former Wales skipper is only the second player, after England's Martin Johnson, to captain the Lions in two tours.
He stepped down as Wales captain before the 2017 Six Nations and was replaced by lock Alun Wyn Jones, who also took over when Warburton was injured for the third Lions Test in 2013.
"It is going to be the toughest thing I've done but it is definitely the biggest honour I have had," Warburton said.
"I am really looking forward to captaining the Lions for the second time and, with it being in New Zealand, it definitely ranks as the pinnacle of my career so far."
Hartley, 31, misses out despite leading England to a second straight Six Nations title, with compatriot Jamie George, Ireland's Rory Best and Wales' Ken Owens the three hookers selected.
The Northampton Saints player is the 3rd England captain in succession to miss out on Lions selection, after Steve Borthwick in 2009 and Chris Robshaw in 2013.
England centre Jonathan Joseph is included, but there is no place for fellow Six Nations winners Joe Launchbury, George Ford, James Haskell and Robshaw.
Wales number eight Ross Moriarty is a surprise inclusion, while New Zealand-born Ireland centre Jared Payne is also selected.
And here's the match details for the British & Irish Lions of the 2017 tour:
NZ Provincial Barbarians: Toll Stadium, Whangarei (June 3rd)
Blues: Eden Park, Auckland (June 7th)
Crusaders: AMI Stadium, Christchurch (June 10th)
Highlanders: Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin (June 13th)
Maori All Blacks: International Stadium, Rotorua (June 17th)
Chiefs: FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton (June 20th)
New Zealand (1ST TEST): Eden Park, Auckland (June 24th)
Hurricanes: Westpac Stadium, Wellington (June 27th)
New Zealand (2ND TEST): Westpac Stadium, Wellington (July 1st)
New Zealand (3RD TEST): Eden Park, Auckland (July 8th)
So that is my 101st blog of the year 2017 (MMXVII), cheerio.
P.S. Guess what is on tonight on Prime? It is MacGyver (The 2016 remake starring Lucas Till (From films/movies such as Hannah Montana: The Movie (With Miley Cyrus, Emily Osment (Haley Joel's sister) & Miley's father, Billy Ray Cyrus), The Spy Next Door (With Jackie Chan (As Detective Lee from Rush Hour & Chon Wang from Shanghai Noon & its sequel, Shanghai Nights), Amber Valletta (From The Transporter 2), Billy Ray Cyrus again & George Lopez (From Balls Of Fury), X-Men: First Class (With James McAvoy (From The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe), Michael Fassbender (As Stelios from 300 who says ''We are with you sire! For Sparta, for freedom, to the death!''), Jennifer Lawrence (From American Hustle (With Amy Adams (Batman Vs Superman: Dawn Of Justice), Christian Bale (Empire Of The Sun, Equilibrium, Reign Of Fire, The Dark Knight Trilogy), Bradley Cooper (Guardians Of The Galaxy, The Hangover Trilogy) & Jeremy Renner (S.W.A.T., The Avengers) & the Hunger Games trilogy), Nicholas Hoult, Kevin Bacon (From Hollow Man), Rose Byrne (From Spy) & Zoe Kravitz (Daughter of Lenny Kravitz) & Monster Trucks (With Jane Levy (From Surburgatory), Rob Lowe (As the young Number 2 from Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me) & Danny Glover (From Lethal Weapon as Roger Murtagh) as the title character, Angus MacGyver (Originally played by Stargate SG-1 star Richard Dean Anderson in the original that ran for 7 years from 1985 to 1992) isn't it? Oh...Yeah! But I will watch that 1st then I have also got to watch Toyota Grassroots Rugby on Sky Sport 1 so I've got that programme on record. And tomorrow it's Round 9 of Super Rugby as the Hurricanes take on the Australian conference leaders, the Brumbies at McLean Park in Napier so I'm gunning for the Hurricanes because they have the best attacking team in the competition.
Sunday, 16 April 2017
Operation: Knightfall, a century of blogs (Expect the unexpected, #100blogs)
Well, today on Easter Monday must be history, it's my 100th blog (My 1st blog was 5 years in 2012 & my 50th was last year) so here it is:
Kia Ora (Hello, Bonjour, Ciao, Salaam Aleikum, Hej, Ni Hao) ladies & gentlemen, boys & girls, welcome to my 100th blog so let’s get on to it, I was born in Raetihi on the 7th of June 1991 so my name is Whetu Ngapo & I have been living in Whanganui here since 2007 (I lived at 43 Rimu Street until 2013 where I moved to 31 Kings Avenue until December 2013 where I had to live on my own although Dad would sometimes help me at Alma Road until April 2014 where I lived in my flat at 28 Koromiko Road for nearly 3 years so I ended up here living at Poppa’s (I know he was born the day after Independence day in America which is the 5th of July, 1947) in 15A Kells Avenue (Pops (He is the son of the late Nana Minnie (1921 - 2016) & Jim & brother of Uncles Wal & the late Andrew & Aunty Kathryn (Who was born on the 23rd of January in 1960 when Pops was about 12 but I know that she has 3 children such as Gemma, Huia & Ben Blain & 2 grandchildren such as Gemma’s daughter Rosalie (She was born in 2011) & Huia’s son on the way) lived here since 1989 in when he became Principal at Aramoho School until he had to retire early in 2011) in Aramoho) after living in my hometown during my childhood, Raetihi for 16 years (The reason why I moved here to Whanganui was to be close with my grandparents (They were married from April 1967 or 68 until Nan’s passing on the 6th of January last year & has 3 children such as Aunty Tania, Cathey Middeplaats (Although Nan & Pops looked after Cathey until the Middelplaats family adopted her & has 3 children (A daughter from a previous relationship born on the 5th of April in 1994 & both sons born in 2006 & 2008 with her current partner who has been living for 11 years, John Mitchell (Not the All Black coach) such as my cousins Paige Williams, Nico & Luca Mitchell) & Dad) so I am a self confessed blogger since 2012 & my 1st blog was about Rules Of The Game Of Thrones so that blog is about Aunty Tania (My Dad’s sister & Nan & Poppa’s daughter that I did not know who was born on the 10th of June, 1968 (The year before my Dad’s because he was born on the 5th of June (2 days before mine), 1969) because she’s living in Canada since 2004 after spending 3 years in Australia & 5 years in France by learning the language & she has been with Rejean (Born on the last day of March in 1962), the good old French Canadian dude known as Giuseppe Pedersen since 2011) coming here to New Zealand to attend Poppa’s QSM award (Although Pops along with Uncle Bryan & Dad met Sir Graham Henry, the former All Black coach & had a photo with him in which Ted agreed) by having lunch at Stellar & last year, I reached my 50th so I did my 50th blog about the best bits from 2012 – 2016 (Including the best blogs of the year that I did with the most views such as Jansen's Birthday Blog (London 2012 Olympics Report) in 2012, Rush Movie Review (+ Other News Including the All Black & Indycar Spirit) in 2013, #2014FIFAWorldCupFinal, #GermanyVsArgentina: THE REVIEW in 2014, Cricket World Cup 2015 Shorts (My 1st blog of MMXV) & Breaking Dawn: the 2015 Rugby World Cup preview in 2015 & of course Euro 2016 & All Blacks vs Wales preview last year) so here I am, doing my 100th blog, up close & personal (And I once had a brother named Wiremu who passed away 3 months old in June 1993 & I also have a half-brother named Jansen who was born on August 9th, 2003 (The day before Ben Blain’s birthday because Ben was born in 1988 (Although his sisters Gemma & Huia were born in both 1980 on the 17th of October & 1986 on the 20th of September respectively) but I mainly listen to rock music such as alternative rock & heavy metal (I used to listen to electronic dance music as a kid such as house or techno) & my favourite food is not only pasta because it has been my favourite for nearly 17 years but I like pizza, stir fry & sushi & my 2 favourite sports are rugby (Our national game here unofficially) & motorsport especially Formula 1.
Kia Ora (Hello, Bonjour, Ciao, Salaam Aleikum, Hej, Ni Hao) ladies & gentlemen, boys & girls, welcome to my 100th blog so let’s get on to it, I was born in Raetihi on the 7th of June 1991 so my name is Whetu Ngapo & I have been living in Whanganui here since 2007 (I lived at 43 Rimu Street until 2013 where I moved to 31 Kings Avenue until December 2013 where I had to live on my own although Dad would sometimes help me at Alma Road until April 2014 where I lived in my flat at 28 Koromiko Road for nearly 3 years so I ended up here living at Poppa’s (I know he was born the day after Independence day in America which is the 5th of July, 1947) in 15A Kells Avenue (Pops (He is the son of the late Nana Minnie (1921 - 2016) & Jim & brother of Uncles Wal & the late Andrew & Aunty Kathryn (Who was born on the 23rd of January in 1960 when Pops was about 12 but I know that she has 3 children such as Gemma, Huia & Ben Blain & 2 grandchildren such as Gemma’s daughter Rosalie (She was born in 2011) & Huia’s son on the way) lived here since 1989 in when he became Principal at Aramoho School until he had to retire early in 2011) in Aramoho) after living in my hometown during my childhood, Raetihi for 16 years (The reason why I moved here to Whanganui was to be close with my grandparents (They were married from April 1967 or 68 until Nan’s passing on the 6th of January last year & has 3 children such as Aunty Tania, Cathey Middeplaats (Although Nan & Pops looked after Cathey until the Middelplaats family adopted her & has 3 children (A daughter from a previous relationship born on the 5th of April in 1994 & both sons born in 2006 & 2008 with her current partner who has been living for 11 years, John Mitchell (Not the All Black coach) such as my cousins Paige Williams, Nico & Luca Mitchell) & Dad) so I am a self confessed blogger since 2012 & my 1st blog was about Rules Of The Game Of Thrones so that blog is about Aunty Tania (My Dad’s sister & Nan & Poppa’s daughter that I did not know who was born on the 10th of June, 1968 (The year before my Dad’s because he was born on the 5th of June (2 days before mine), 1969) because she’s living in Canada since 2004 after spending 3 years in Australia & 5 years in France by learning the language & she has been with Rejean (Born on the last day of March in 1962), the good old French Canadian dude known as Giuseppe Pedersen since 2011) coming here to New Zealand to attend Poppa’s QSM award (Although Pops along with Uncle Bryan & Dad met Sir Graham Henry, the former All Black coach & had a photo with him in which Ted agreed) by having lunch at Stellar & last year, I reached my 50th so I did my 50th blog about the best bits from 2012 – 2016 (Including the best blogs of the year that I did with the most views such as Jansen's Birthday Blog (London 2012 Olympics Report) in 2012, Rush Movie Review (+ Other News Including the All Black & Indycar Spirit) in 2013, #2014FIFAWorldCupFinal, #GermanyVsArgentina: THE REVIEW in 2014, Cricket World Cup 2015 Shorts (My 1st blog of MMXV) & Breaking Dawn: the 2015 Rugby World Cup preview in 2015 & of course Euro 2016 & All Blacks vs Wales preview last year) so here I am, doing my 100th blog, up close & personal (And I once had a brother named Wiremu who passed away 3 months old in June 1993 & I also have a half-brother named Jansen who was born on August 9th, 2003 (The day before Ben Blain’s birthday because Ben was born in 1988 (Although his sisters Gemma & Huia were born in both 1980 on the 17th of October & 1986 on the 20th of September respectively) but I mainly listen to rock music such as alternative rock & heavy metal (I used to listen to electronic dance music as a kid such as house or techno) & my favourite food is not only pasta because it has been my favourite for nearly 17 years but I like pizza, stir fry & sushi & my 2 favourite sports are rugby (Our national game here unofficially) & motorsport especially Formula 1.
And so onto only 1 blog that I posted this year with the most pageviews or should I say audience by celebrating the best bits of this year but this one is about the start of the brand new 2017 Super Rugby season as well as Kathryn's 3rd visit to Whanganui this year & Diana Kent's 1st which is titled Swerve City/The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret: #SuperBoomBoom, A Start To Another Super Rugby Season (+ Kathryn Ngapo's 3rd visit to Whanganui & Diana Kent's 1st in 2017)
Well, the 2017 Super Rugby season has begun (Replacing #SuperBangBang for 2017 is #SuperBoomBoom), well...IT HAS BEGUN! (As the evil sorcerer Shang Tsung would say in the 1995 movie Mortal Kombat (Featuring characters such as Liu Kang (The protagonist/main hero from China who is a Shaolin monk), Johnny Cage (The world famous Hollywood actor who happens to be my favourite Mortal Kombat character), Raiden (The thunder god who doesn't fight or brawl in the movie), Sonya Blade (United States Special Forces soldier), Kitana (The Outworld princess), Kano (The Aussie criminal from down under), Scorpion (The yellow ninja & one of the iconic ninjas whose real name is Hanzo Hasashi who always says: GET OVER HERE!), Sub-Zero (The blue ninja of Bi-Han, the original who can freeze), Reptile (The green ninja) & of course, last but not least...Goro (The Shokan prince & reigning champion of Mortal Kombat) Well, not only that the Blues thrashed or should I say demolished the Rebels in the opener at AAMI Park in Melbourne as centre Rieko Ioane (Akira's brother) getting a hat trick of tries as they reach the half-century mark by winning the game 56 - 18 so here's the news report about that epic but most exciting game:
A hat-trick from Rieko Ioane gave the Blues a perfect start to their Super Rugby campaign as they beat the Rebels 56-18 at AAMI Park.
The youngster was outstanding on Thursday, with this result a message to the rest of the competition that the Blues will be a threat in 2017.
Other than Ioane, the visitors' try scorers were Pauliasi Manu, Matt Duffie, Augustine Pulu and Melani Nanai. Ihaia West kicked 16 points.
The Rebels were forced to make a late tweak to their backline as Mitch Inman was ruled out, meaning that Tom English moved to centre and Jonah Placid came onto the wing. The Blues meanwhile were hoping their new faces, such as halfback Pulu, capitalised on the disruption.
It was all the Blues early on as they were patient in possession and eventually moved 3-0 in front as pivot West slotted from 45 metres.
The Rebels struck back though on seven minutes as youngster Jack Maddock showed a calmness to put the ball back inside to halfback Nic Stirzaker who went over for the score, with the conversion from first five eighth Jackson Garden-Bachop making it a 7-3 lead to the home franchise.
That was cut to a point on 18 minutes when several picks for the line from the Blues ended with loosehead Manu getting the ball down.
The Rebels missed the chance to extend the lead to four soon after as Garden-Bachop was off-target, one of three missed kicks in the half. But he would have been a happy fly-half when West was charged down close to his line and the Rebels 10 grounded to make it 12-8 to the hosts.
From then on though the Blues dominated as first nice handling from left to right sent wing Duffie over for a converted try and after West and Reece Hodge traded penalties, a stray pass from Rebels flanker Jordy Reid near halfway led to Ioane sprinting over for a 25-15 buffer.
Hodge was again on target to open the scoring in the second-half, cutting the gap to seven points, but then the Blues onslaught went into full swing as halfback Pulu raced over from 40 metres out to make it 32-18 before Ioane claimed his second from distance for 39-18.
The Rebels were on the ropes and in their desperation were being picked off at will as a kick ahead saw wing Nanai the next to cross for the Blues on 58 minutes before number eight Akira Ioane set up his brother Rieko for a hat-trick. That was his last act to cap a fine game.
At 53-18 the match was starting to fizzle out as it neared its final 10 minutes, with a yellow card for replacement Rene Ranger giving the Rebels some welcome field position. But a loose line-out, which wasn't their first of the night, summed up a poor start to the season for the Rebels, with centre Piers Francis knocking over a late penalty soon after to put the seal on what was an outstanding victory for the Blues.
And it was yesterday that the rampant Chiefs have finally beaten the Highlanders after losing 6 straight games to open up their campaign at Forsyth Barr Stadium with a news report which is less exciting than the Rebels Vs Blues clash:
The Chiefs got their Super Rugby campaign off to a fine start when they claimed a desrved 24-15 victory over the Highlanders in Dunedin on Friday.
Strong defence and ability to takes their limited chances sees Chiefs win 24-15 in Dunedin 24-15 against the error-strewn Highlanders.
The result is a momentous one for the men from Hamilton as it ends a 6 match losing streak against the Highlanders.
With this being 2 New Zealand teams, it is no surprise that it was a thrilling affair as both sides ran the ball from all areas of the field although the Chiefs made better use of their chances and their execution inside the Highlanders' 22 was particularly impressive.
Although the Highlanders were competitive in the tight exchanges, they were unable to contain the Chiefs' ability to move the ball with pace and the visitors eventually outscored them by three tries to none.
The Highlanders drew first blood courtesy of a Lima Sopoaga penalty inside the 1st 5 minutes game but the came alive in the 10th minute when James Lowe went over for the 1st try.
This after he gathered a wayward pass from Aaron Smith close to the halfway line and the flyer showed great strength and determination to shrug off a couple of challengers before dotting down under the posts.
Aaron Cruden added the easy extras and the Chiefs did not increase their lead with Lowe again the chief protagonist when he intercepted a Waisake Naholo offload just outside the home side's 22 before racing away to score his 2nd try.
Cruden, once again, slotted the conversion which meant the Chiefs led 14-0 after the 1st quarter but the Highlanders didn't take that lying down and were soon camped inside the visitors' 22.
The 2015 champions thought they had opened their account in the 23rd minute when Naholo gathered a Lima Sopoaga crossfield kick before crossing the whitewash but his effort was disallowed when the Television Match Official (TMO) ruled that he had knocked the ball on in the process.
The hosts were dealt a massive blow on the hour-mark when their captain and fullback Ben Smith was forced to leave the field when he banged his head on the ground after competing for a high ball with Damian McKenzie.
The Highlanders continued to attack but the Chiefs stood firm in defence and 2 Sopoaga penalties, late in the half, was the home side's only reward before the interval.
The Chiefs continued to attack and were rewarded 2 minutes after the restart when Hika Elliot crossed for their 3rd try after combining brilliantly with Tawera Kerr-Barlow at a lineout inside the Highlanders.
That score caught the Highlanders by surprise and although they upped the ante on attack they couldn't breach the Chiefs' try-line.
Sopoaga added two further penalties midway through the half but Cruden secured the win for the visitors when he landed a three-pointer from the kicking tee in the 68th minute.
And the Reds had a 2 point win over the Sharks in a hard fought victory after a close quarters battle at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.
And yesterday Kathryn arrived here for her 3rd visit (She was with her English partner Ken Branch during her 1st visit this year then with her son Ben Blain during her 2nd) the same day as we moved the gnomes (I told her about the honorary Jedi of Huia thinking she's no longer a Kiwi girl (Although my cousin Paige Williams (Cathey Middelplaats's daughter & sister of brothers Nico & Luca Mitchell (Although both Nico & Luca are kinda cute as Kathryn told me) is because I told her that she's a New Zealand girl with a Welsh surname like Thomas or Jones, Jenkins, Evans & Davies) along with Gemma so she revealed that she's pregnant so she must be having a son on the way (And Rosalie (Who is exactly Gemma's daughter so Gemma was with Hamish) is going to have a cousin & I was like ''What? Huia's going to have a baby boy. Are you serious?'' And I told Dad that his cousin is pregnant) so we had dinner which is salmon pasta because me & Pops were watching the rugby when the Highlanders played the Chiefs so we had dessert during the game so Pops went for the Highlanders so I was backing the Chiefs to win because I live in the North Island so the Chiefs ended up winning so I had a chat with Kathryn before I went to bed but this morning I saw Dad taking my stuff in & we were having breakfast just moments before we went to the market & looked at a house we looked for Kathryn (Although she's a good woman or should I say wahine compared to Aunty Tania because not only she's good looking) to live moments before we headed back to my new home which is 15A Kells Avenue (Well I have been living in my flat for nearly 3 years or so after spending nearly 25 years & 8 months with my Dad so I am hoping to get my life back on track by redeeming myself) so we had cold meat, cheese & salad with croutons for lunch & after lunch, I dried dishes & watered the plants & now doing my blog so I have been doing my usual gimmick listening to rock music (Such as Bush, Audiovent, Queens Of The Stone Age, Deftones, 3 Doors Down, Nickelback, Faith No More, The White Stripes, Lenny Kravitz (He's a black (Or should I say African American) rockstar along with William DuVall of Alice In Chains, Living Color & the late Jimi Hendrix), Blink-182, Linkin Park (My Malaysian friend Sophie's favourite band), Red Hot Chili Peppers (Used to be my favourite band, because now it's Breaking Benjamin), Foo Fighters (Used to be my favourite band also), Shihad & of course Pearl Jam because I listen 20 songs a day so I am getting used to it) while blogging.
So that is my 10th blog of the year 2017 (MMXVII) & my 90th overall (Only 10 to go until I reach 100).
P.S. And my beloved Hurricanes (Although video blogger Shannon 'Shaaanxo' Harris is a self proclaimed Hurricanes fan who appeared in the #SuperBoomBoom ad) opened up our title defence with a demolition or should I say complete thrashing against the Sunwolves at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium over in Tokyo so here's the news report about the most other exciting but epic game played compared to the Rebels-Blues one:
The defending champion Hurricanes put on a master class at Prince Chichibu Stadium in Tokyo. The Sunwolves could not cope with the precision, pace and physicality of the visiors who scored 13 tries to win 83-17.
The defending champions were full value for their win as the Sunwolves had no answer to their power and strength and the men from Wellington eventually outscored their hapless hosts by 13 tries to three.
It was a one-sided performance from the Hurricanes who made a very big statement, to their rivals for the title, on where they are planning to go in 2017.
The Sunwolves were under the cosh for the full 80 minutes and although they tried gallantly throughout, they could not match the intensity levels and execution of their more illustrious opponents.
It was one-way traffic from the opening whistle and the Hurricanes scored four unanswered tries inside the opening quarter. Ardie Savea got two of those, the first coming in the sixth minute after his brother, Julian, laid the groundwork with a trademark in the build-up.
A minute later, Vince Aso - who was a late addition to the starting line-up after Cory Jane withdrew through injury at the captain's run - went over for a try after gathering his own chip kick down the right-hand touchline.
Savea's second try followed two minutes later before Ricky Riccitelli scored the champions' fourth try after running onto a pass from Ardie Savea at close quarters in the 13th minute.
Otere Black converted four of those tries which meant the Hurricanes were cruising with the score at 24-0 after 15 minutes.
The Hurricanes continued to dominate as the half progressed and TJ Perenara, Ngani Laumape and Julian Savea also crossed for tries before the break with Savea's effort the best of the lot.
The burly All Black gathered a cross-field kick from Black, just outside his 22, and bumped off two tacklers in trademark fashion and then outpaced the cover defence before diving over.
The Sunwolves' best moment of the opening half came in the 34th minute when Riaan Viljoen crossed for their opening try after gathering an inside pass from Kenki Fukuoka close to the visitors' try-line.
By half-time, the Hurricanes were cruising with the score at 45-5 and they continued to dominate in the second half. The one-sided nature continued during the opening 20 minutes of the half with Blade Thomson, Michael Fatialofa (2), Aso, Brad Shields and Wes Goosen all getting over for deserved tries.
Shields' effort in the 49th minute seemed to knock the wind out of the Sunwolves' sails as he intercepted a Shota Horie pass close to his try-line before running the length of the to score his five-pointer.
And by the time Goosen crossed for his try in the 60th minute, the Hurricanes were in total control with the score at 83-5. But to their credit, the Sunwolves did not surrender and Shokei Kin and Willie Britz crossed for consolation tries which added some respectability to the final score.
And the Crusaders battled the Brumbies to begin their 2017 campaign as Izzy Dagg celebrated his 100th Super Rugby appearance in a tight but intense win (Although they finally won in their Super Rugby opener since they beat the Blues in 2012 after losses to the Blues in 2013, the Chiefs in both 2014 & 16 & the Rebels in 2015) with a news report which is less exciting than the Sunwolves-Hurricanes one:
The Crusaders made a winning start to their Super Rugby campaign when they claimed a hard-fought 17-13 triumph over the Brumbies in Christchurch on Saturday.
The home side dominated for large periods and should have won this match by a bigger margin, but the Brumbies delivered a competitive effort.
The Canberra-based side will be wondering what could have been, however, as they had chances to win the game in the second half but failed to pull it off.
Both sides showed great intent on attack although the Crusaders made better use of their opportunities and outscored their visitors by three tries to one.
The seven-time champions made a bright start and after a prolonged period of attack in which they took the ball through 14 phases in the build-up, Israel Dagg delivered a perfectly-weighted long pass to Seta Tamanivalu, who burst through a tackle before crossing for the opening try in the fourth minute.
Richie Mo'unga added the extras but the Brumbies reduced the deficit five minutes later when Wharenui Hawera opened their account via a penalty, after Joe Moody was blown up for an indiscretion at a ruck.
The Crusaders had a bulk of the possession for the rest of the half although they had little to show for their dominance as the Brumbies managed to soak up the pressure with a solid defensive effort.
The visitors suffered a setback midway through the half, however, when James Dargaville was yellow carded for taking out Israel Dagg in an aerial challenge.
The Crusaders showed great patience on attack for the next ten minutes and were rewarded in the 34th minute when Whetu Douglas crossed for their second try after gathering a superb offload from Dagg close to the Brumbies' try-line.
The Brumbies were fastest out of the blocks in the second half and after the ball went through several pairs of hands shortly after the restart, Rory Arnold went over for an easy five-pointer in the left-hand corner.
Hawera slotted the conversion from close to the touchline which meant the Brumbies were back in this game with the score at 12-10 to the home side.
The home side didn't panic though and struck back in the 56th minute when Pete Samu went over for their third try from a dominant scrum by the hosts close to the Brumbies' try-line.
Mo'unga missed with the conversion attempt and the result was in the balance for the rest of the half as the Brumbies upped the ante on attack.
And when Hawera added a three-pointer from the kicking tee in the 68th minute, there were some worried looks amongst the Crusaders supporters in the crowd.
The hosts had a chance to seal the win in the 74th minute when Mo'unga lined up a shot at goal, but his effort was a poor one and went wide of the uprights.
The Brumbies tried desperately to secure the result at the end, but the Crusaders managed to see the threat out and held on for the win.
And in other Super Rugby news as the Waratahs edge the Western Force by 6 points as well as last season's runners up the Lions came back from the dead by downing the Cheetahs with a Rohan Janse van Rensburg double & the Jaguares of Argentina scraped past the Southern Kings by pulling clear in the 2nd half & the Stormers produced an impressive 1st half to end round 1 on a high with a win against the Bulls.
So that was Round 1 of the 2017 Super Rugby season and here are the matches for Round 2:
Force Vs Reds: nib Stadium, Perth
Chiefs Vs Blues: FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton
Hurricanes Vs Rebels: Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Highlanders Vs Crusaders: Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
Brumbies Vs Sharks, GIO Stadium, Canberra
Sunwolves Vs Kings: National Stadium, Singapore
Lions Vs Waratahs: Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg
Stormers Vs Jaguares: DHL Newlands, Cape Town
& the Cheetahs Vs Bulls at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein to end Round 2 of Super Rugby 2017.
And on Sunday that we went to 25 Somme Parade for breakfast this morning with Marjorie, Pops & his sister Aunty Kathryn & I had hot cakes which is kind nice & had a moccha there just before Kathryn left to return to Auckland with her son's car (Although Ben looks a little bit like Obi-Wan Kenobi, but he is gigantic) because she might be returning to work tomorrow at the Piratahi childcare over in Waiheke Island but trust me, Kathryn will be back, I promise & the force will be with her, always.
And today we had breakfast out there before heading of Ginza bargains as well as the recycling centre because it was getting full & when we got back, my American colleague from Palatine in Illnois...Diana Kent was here because I saw her rental car & I had a great chat to her before we had wraps for lunch then we headed downtown to go to Warehouse Stationary then back to the recycling because I'd forgot to put something in before we headed to The Warehouse to get some stuff before we headed back to my new home which is 15A Kells Avenue & I played that best Formula 1 game ever which is F1 2016 on my PS4 then we had nibbles while we watched the news & had burgers for dinner before we had a great dessert & right now I am updating my blog as of tonight.
And finally in the Six Nations as Scotland turn the tables on Wales for the 1st time in 10 years with a win as Scotland ended Wales' record 9-match winning streak over Scotland, by winning for the first time since their 21–9 victory in 2007 & Ireland get their 1st win against France in 2 years since France beat Ireland last year as Henry Chavancy made his test debut & of course what about England because they remain unbeaten under coach Eddie Jones as they go 3 from 3, defeating Italy at Twickenham as Leonardo Ghiraldini was named in Italy's started XV, but was ruled out before kick off due to injury then Owen Farrell (England) earned his 50th England cap as well as Mike Brown won his sixteenth consecutive Six Nations match, a championship record in the six-team format & Michele Campagnaro scored Italy's 900th try in tests.
#SuperBoomBoom
Investec Super Rugby
''I'm willing to take full responsibility for the horrible events of the last 24 hours, but you must understand: our interest in their world was purely for the betterment of mankind. Everything has clearly gotten out of hand now, yes. But it was worth the risk. I assure you...''
So that is my 100th blog titled Operation: Knightfall, a Century Of Blogs (Expect the unexpected), enjoy (As Duke Nukem would say: I've got balls of steel, Hail to the king baby!).
Whetu Haumia Moko Ngapo AKA Imanolchristian
#100blogs
Whetu Haumia Moko Ngapo AKA Imanolchristian
#100blogs
P.S. And I like to once again thank Dad, Raewyn, Jansen, Pops, Aunty Tania, Rejean, Uncle Bryan, Aunty Viv, Ashley, Charlotte, Leon Benbaruk, Hanne, Sophia Ong, John Coburn, Lim Chin Keong, Murray Gray, Viluz, Cathey Middelplaats, John Mitchell (Not the All Black coach but Cathey’s husband), Paige Williams, Nico & Luca Mitchell, Kathryn, Ken Branch, Nufemmia, Gemma, Huia, Ben Blain & Rosalie as well as Diana Kent for all my support.
And here are my favourite rock bands that I listen to as of today (And I've written down the origins of the band in brackets):
Breaking Benjamin (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA)
Red Hot Chili Peppers (Los Angeles, California, USA)
Foo Fighters (Seattle, Washington, USA)
Incubus (Calabasas, California, USA)
Faith No More (San Francisco, California, USA)
Deftones (Sacramento, California, USA)
Filter (Cleveland, Ohio, USA)
Green Day (Berkeley, California, USA)
Stone Temple Pilots (San Diego, California, USA)
Alice In Chains (Seattle, Washington, USA)
Pearl Jam (Seattle, Washington, USA)
3 Doors Down (Escatawpa, Mississippi, USA)
Queens Of The Stone Age (Palm Desert, California, USA)
Nickelback (Hanna, Alberta, Canada)
Chevelle (Grayslake, Illinois, USA)
Evanescence (Little Rock, Arkansas, USA)
Bush (London, England, United Kingdom)
Halestorm (Red Lion, Pennsylvania, USA)
Garbage (Madison, Wisconsin, USA)
Seether (Pretoria, South Africa)
Linkin Park (Agoura Hills, California, USA)
The Smashing Pumpkins (Chicago, Illinois, USA)
Third Eye Blind (San Francisco, California, USA)
Fuel (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA)
Live (York, Pennsylvania, USA)
Nine Inch Nails (Cleveland, Ohio, USA)
A Perfect Circle (Los Angeles, California, USA)
Shihad (Wellington, New Zealand)
Weezer (Los Angeles, California, USA)
P.O.D. (San Diego, California, USA)
Puddle Of Mudd (Kansas City, Missouri, USA)
System Of A Down (Glendale, California, USA)
Blink-182 (Poway, California, USA)
Jimmy Eat World (Mesa, Arizona, USA)
Alien Ant Farm (Riverside, California, USA)
Korn (Bakersfield, California, USA)
Disturbed (Chicago, Illinois, USA)
The Rolling Stones (London, England, United Kingdom)
Tool (Los Angeles, California, USA)
Korn (Bakersfield, California, USA)
Disturbed (Chicago, Illinois, USA)
The Rolling Stones (London, England, United Kingdom)
Tool (Los Angeles, California, USA)
& U2 (Dublin, Ireland).
And finally I have revealed my title for my 101st, 102nd & 103rd blogs that are part of the all new Cardinal Sin trilogy which is Cherry Bomb/From Yesterday/Just The Two Of Us/Lightning Crashes: Origins Of The Cardinal Sin (Cyberdyne Systems Blog 101), Easy/Evidence/From Outta Nowhere/Last Cup Of Sorrow: Revelations Of The Cardinal Sin (Blog 102: The Cardinal Sin Strikes Back) & Aerials/Chop Suey!/Toxicity: Traditions Of The Cardinal Sin (Blog 103: The Final Chapter).
Saturday, 15 April 2017
Feel Good Hit Of The Summer/Let You Down/Pray/Voices: 99 Blogs (And counting) but a girl ain't one (Super Rugby round 8 review & Formula 1 report episode 3: Bahrain)
Well, it is surely my 99th blog overall before my century, Wow! So this is going to happen like tomorrow than expected but today we went to Caroline's for breakfast on Easter Sunday today (Well I was listening to some rock & roll on the radio all day which is The Rock FM still so I had to listen to some good songs) so I did enjoy it so it felt great (And I watched both movies yesterday such as Guardians Of The Galaxy (Although my favourite part of the movie was the Star Wars esque battle scene in mid air) & 300 (Including that famous line which is ''This is blasphemy...this is madness! Madness? THIS IS SPARTA!!!'') because I have seen 16 films this year (Actually it's 17 now).
And it is round 8 of Super Rugby that got under way as the Crusaders brushed aside the Sunwolves 50 - 3 at AMI Stadium in Christchurch with Crusaders prop Wyatt Crockett breaking Keven Mealamu's record for most capped Super Rugby player with 176 (He was man of the match) as well as the return of All Blacks captain Kieran Read after an injury layoff & Seta Tamanivalu's nephew Manasa Mataele getting a hat-trick of tries but the Reds defeated the Kings to end their 6 game losing streak with Reds openside flanker George Smith celebrating his 150th appearance while the Hurricanes getting the better of the Blues with a 4 point victory at Eden Park in Auckland with a brace by Hurricanes lock Mark Abbott then the Rebels ended a 7 match losing streak with an upset win over the Australian conference leaders the Brumbies (Well that has been a bit of a surprise because the Rebels is 1 of 2 teams along with the Western Force who are in line to be axed or should I say omitted from next year's competition to make them competitive because Australian rugby is in deep trouble or in ruins) while the Chiefs avenged their Cape Town demons (Although their unbeaten run had ended by the hands of the Stormers) with a win against the Cheetahs at Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein because the Cheetahs led 24 - 0 at one point until the Chiefs clawed their way back into contention to win 41 - 27 & talk about the pet hate such as fight backs as the Chiefs managed to survive their massive scare before a comical mix-up led to the Chiefs 6th try of the game & with the Cheetahs on defence behind their own goal-line, substitute Fred Zeilinga threw a shocking pass, which Hika Elliot capitalised on, snatching the loose ball to score (I heard Homer Simpson's line (Which is D'oh!) during the Rugby Nation programme on Prime when one of the Cheetahs players knocks the ball on or should I say lost the ball forward in contact allowing Hika Elliot to score an all important bonus point try which is kinda hilarious & player of the game honours went to Chiefs halfback & La Rochelle bound Tawera Kerr-Barlow) but the Stormers unbeaten run ended by the hands of the dominant Lions side at DHL Newlands in Cape Town (Although the Stormers will head into Christchurch, hoping to end the unbeaten run of the Crusaders because the Crusaders is the only team in Super Rugby this year undefeated) & the Bulls return their winning ways against the Jaguares over at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.
So that was Round 8 of the 2017 Super Rugby season and here are the matches for Round 9:
Hurricanes Vs Brumbies: McLean Park, Napier
Waratahs Vs Kings: Allianz Stadium, Sydney
Lions Vs Jaguares: Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg
Highlanders Vs Sunwolves: Rugby Park, Invercargill
Crusaders Vs Stormers: AMI Stadium, Christchurch
Force Vs Chiefs: nib Stadium, Perth
Bulls Vs Cheetahs: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
& the Sharks Vs Rebels at Growthpoint Kings Park in Durban to end Round 9 of Super Rugby 2017 (With the Blues & Reds taking a week off to prepare for Round 10).
And finally Valtteri Bottas of Finland in the Mercedes has surprisingly taken pole position at the Bahrain Grand Prix for the 1st time in his career (Unbelievable!) after his British teammate Lewis Hamilton (Well, trust me because if Hamilton wins, he will take over the lead of the championship) committed a mistake by running wide during his last qualifying lap to start on the front row ending his hopes of a 7th straight pole position & talk about that important announcement...the decision that McLaren's Fernando Alonso (Spain) made that he announced his intentions to miss the Monaco Grand Prix (The crown jewel in motorsport as Formula 1's premier event & although, 2009 Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button is going to take over Alonso's seat at Monaco because he had missed a few calls just like Stephen Donald did way back in 2011 when the 4th choice first five-eighth (1st Dan Carter fell over because of his injured groin allowing Aaron Cruden (Originally not in the original squad) to replace him then Cruden injured his knee during the 2011 Rugby World Cup (And so on in 2011, the All Blacks opened with a win over the kingdom of Tonga (Who hijacked us at the start) at Eden Park in Auckland (41 - 10) followed by Japan at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton 83 - 7 (The night before the mighty green throng of Ireland turned the tables on Australia, causing an upset), then France in Auckland (37 - 17) with captain Richie McCaw becoming the 1st All Black to reach 100 test caps followed by beating Canada at Wellington Regional Stadium in Wellington 79 - 15 (The day after Tonga providing another upset victory over France as well as Dan Carter, who was ruled out of the tournament altogether with a groin injury), then it is quarter final time as we scraped Argentina 33 - 10 in Auckland (Although Colin Slade suffered an injury similar to Dan Carter's), then finally beating against our traditional Trans Tasman rivals Australia (Who defeated South Africa in the quarter final which was better off forgotten) in the semifinal 20 - 6 (It was the night after the French flair titans (Who gave England the chop in the quarterfinal) defeated the Welsh (Who had beaten the mighty green throng in the quarters) in the other semifinal in which Sam Warburton got sent off for that famous spear tackle) before we once again took on France in the final, just as it was back in 1987, with the weight of the nation above our shoulders (Although Stephen 'Beaver' Donald was called up in the last minute whilst he was white baiting, YA GOT THAT!! WHITEBAITING), we have won us the CUP!!! HAIL TO THE KING BABY!!! I'VE GOT BALLS OF STEEL!!! And yeah, not only that we have ended our Rugby World Cup curse after 24 years of agony and pain, as if, not ONLY we beat France 8 - 7, we have managed to lift the World Cup trophy, not only because it is the greatest moment of my life.) final allowing Beaver to replace him so Donald assumed the kicking duties & kicked the penalty that has won us the Rugby World Cup after 24 years of agony & pain & he was the unlikely hero of the final by redeeming himself despite French captain Thierry Dusautoir being awarded man of the match) had been called up into the All Blacks squad as injury replacement for Colin Slade (He had the same injury as Dan Carter's) during the Rugby World Cup) in order to take part in the Indianapolis/Indy 500 (It was once the most popular motorsport in America before NASCAR took over) but the race went to Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel (Germany) who won by beating his Mercedes adversary/rival Lewis Hamilton (Who picked up a 5 second penalty that he overcame to finish 2nd while Hamilton's teammate & pole sitter Valtteri Bottas (Finland) had to settle for 3rd to finish on the podium) in a hard fought thriller in Bahrain with all that 2 stop strategy gamble paid off because the next round of the championship will be in...you guessed it, Russia at the Sochi Autodrom in Sochi (Previous host of the Winter Olympics in 2014 (The same year that Brazil had last hosted a FIFA World Cup (Won by Germany (Who demolished the host nation (Who are without the injured star man Neymar) in the semifinal by 7 goals to 1 at the Mineirao in Belo Horizonte) for the 4th time who beat the star studded Argentina (Featuring once the best footballer/soccer player in the world who plays for FC Barcelona, Lionel 'Leo' Messi because his adversary/rival who plays for FC Barcelona's main rival, Real Madrid, Cristiano 'CR7' Ronaldo (Portugal) has now taken over as the best footballer/soccer player in the world) in the final at the Maracana in Rio (Previous host of the Summer Olympics last year in 2016 with the city of Tokyo in Japan (Next host of the 2019 Rugby World Cup with England (Although Wales hosted some games) last hosted it in 2015) will be host of the next Summer Olympics in 2020) as well as the city of Glasgow in Scotland which hosted the last Commonwealth Games) because Pyeongchang in South Korea will host the next Winter Olympics next year in 2018 (The same year as the city of Gold Coast (AKA 'The GC' which is in Queensland) in Australia will host the next Commonwealth Games as well as Russia will host the next FIFA World Cup).
And here's the points standings for both the drivers & constructors but 1st here's the drivers standings:
1st: Sebastian Vettel (Germany, Ferrari), 68 points
2nd: Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain, Mercedes), 61 points
3rd: Valtteri Bottas (Finland, Mercedes), 38 points
4th: Kimi Raikkonen (Finland, Ferrari), 34 points
5th: Max Verstappen (The Netherlands, Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer), 25 points
6th: Daniel Ricciardo (Australia, Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer), 22 points
7th: Felipe Massa (Brazil, Williams Mercedes), 16 points
8th: Sergio Perez (Mexico, Force India Mercedes), 14 points
9th: Carlos Sainz (Spain, Toro Rosso), 10 points
10th: Romain Grosjean (France, Haas Ferrari), 4 points
11th: Kevin Magnussen (Denmark, Haas Ferrari), 4 points
12th: Esteban Ocon (France, Force India Mercedes), 3 points
13th: Nico Hulkenberg (Germany, Renault), 2 points
14th: Daniil Kvyat (Russia, Toro Rosso), 2 points
And then the constructors to wrap up the Formula 1 report:
1st: Ferrari (Italy), 102 points
2nd: Mercedes (Germany), 99 points
3rd: Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer (Austria), 47 points
4th: Force India Mercedes (India), 17 points
5th: Williams Mercedes (Great Britain), 16 points
6th: Toro Rosso (Italy), 12 points
7th: Haas Ferrari (USA), 8 points
8th: Renault (France), 2 points
And here we go, so that is my 19th blog of the year 2017 (MMXVII) & my 99th overall (Only 1 blog remaining, so I might do my 100th on Easter Monday tomorrow, yay!), happy Easter, as Austin Powers would say: Yeah baby yeah! Oh behave.
P.S. And my 2nd cousin Gemma (Kathryn's eldest daughter in the family, sister of both Huia & Ben & Rosalie's mother) has sent me an email wishing me happy Easter so here's her message in it's entirety:
Hi Whetu
Me and Rosalie have had a pretty cruisy day - just stayed home eating chocolate!
I hope you have a great Easter weekend!
And here's Cathey Middelplaats's Easter email message that she sent to me (Well, isn't Cathey's daughter Paige Williams so adorable):
Happy Easter, Whetu🐰
And finally Kathryn (My grand aunty & Pops's sister) has sent me an email wishing me a happy Easter so here's her message in it's entirety:
Hi Whetu and Henry
We have had a quiet Easter. Just had Easter dinner with Ben and Gemma and Rosalie - roast lamb and apple crumble and we watched Cinderella on TV2.
Have you seen " the movie Moana"? I loved it .
I hope you and Pops are well, Whetu. Tell him that I can't go on Facebook just now. If I do then I lose my internet connection - somehow. No idea why.
i hope the two of you are still enjoying your lovely memorial garden for Helen.
Happy Easter
And I had a bento box for lunch at Japanese Kitchen Wa restaurant today after we went to the recycling centre & went to The Warehouse once Margot left after staying here for 2 nights I reckon & before we went back here to have a dessert which is hot cross buns with feijoas & coconut cream before listening to some rock & roll on The Rock FM & watched The Breakdown on Sky Sport that I recorded last night.
And finally I have handpicked Scott Evil (Who is the son of Doctor Evil & Frau Farbissina) as my favourite Austin Powers character (It was originally going to be the Fat Man/FB) because he is so absolutely funny & here are my favourite songs from my favourite rock bands:
And it is round 8 of Super Rugby that got under way as the Crusaders brushed aside the Sunwolves 50 - 3 at AMI Stadium in Christchurch with Crusaders prop Wyatt Crockett breaking Keven Mealamu's record for most capped Super Rugby player with 176 (He was man of the match) as well as the return of All Blacks captain Kieran Read after an injury layoff & Seta Tamanivalu's nephew Manasa Mataele getting a hat-trick of tries but the Reds defeated the Kings to end their 6 game losing streak with Reds openside flanker George Smith celebrating his 150th appearance while the Hurricanes getting the better of the Blues with a 4 point victory at Eden Park in Auckland with a brace by Hurricanes lock Mark Abbott then the Rebels ended a 7 match losing streak with an upset win over the Australian conference leaders the Brumbies (Well that has been a bit of a surprise because the Rebels is 1 of 2 teams along with the Western Force who are in line to be axed or should I say omitted from next year's competition to make them competitive because Australian rugby is in deep trouble or in ruins) while the Chiefs avenged their Cape Town demons (Although their unbeaten run had ended by the hands of the Stormers) with a win against the Cheetahs at Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein because the Cheetahs led 24 - 0 at one point until the Chiefs clawed their way back into contention to win 41 - 27 & talk about the pet hate such as fight backs as the Chiefs managed to survive their massive scare before a comical mix-up led to the Chiefs 6th try of the game & with the Cheetahs on defence behind their own goal-line, substitute Fred Zeilinga threw a shocking pass, which Hika Elliot capitalised on, snatching the loose ball to score (I heard Homer Simpson's line (Which is D'oh!) during the Rugby Nation programme on Prime when one of the Cheetahs players knocks the ball on or should I say lost the ball forward in contact allowing Hika Elliot to score an all important bonus point try which is kinda hilarious & player of the game honours went to Chiefs halfback & La Rochelle bound Tawera Kerr-Barlow) but the Stormers unbeaten run ended by the hands of the dominant Lions side at DHL Newlands in Cape Town (Although the Stormers will head into Christchurch, hoping to end the unbeaten run of the Crusaders because the Crusaders is the only team in Super Rugby this year undefeated) & the Bulls return their winning ways against the Jaguares over at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.
So that was Round 8 of the 2017 Super Rugby season and here are the matches for Round 9:
Hurricanes Vs Brumbies: McLean Park, Napier
Waratahs Vs Kings: Allianz Stadium, Sydney
Lions Vs Jaguares: Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg
Highlanders Vs Sunwolves: Rugby Park, Invercargill
Crusaders Vs Stormers: AMI Stadium, Christchurch
Force Vs Chiefs: nib Stadium, Perth
Bulls Vs Cheetahs: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
& the Sharks Vs Rebels at Growthpoint Kings Park in Durban to end Round 9 of Super Rugby 2017 (With the Blues & Reds taking a week off to prepare for Round 10).
And finally Valtteri Bottas of Finland in the Mercedes has surprisingly taken pole position at the Bahrain Grand Prix for the 1st time in his career (Unbelievable!) after his British teammate Lewis Hamilton (Well, trust me because if Hamilton wins, he will take over the lead of the championship) committed a mistake by running wide during his last qualifying lap to start on the front row ending his hopes of a 7th straight pole position & talk about that important announcement...the decision that McLaren's Fernando Alonso (Spain) made that he announced his intentions to miss the Monaco Grand Prix (The crown jewel in motorsport as Formula 1's premier event & although, 2009 Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button is going to take over Alonso's seat at Monaco because he had missed a few calls just like Stephen Donald did way back in 2011 when the 4th choice first five-eighth (1st Dan Carter fell over because of his injured groin allowing Aaron Cruden (Originally not in the original squad) to replace him then Cruden injured his knee during the 2011 Rugby World Cup (And so on in 2011, the All Blacks opened with a win over the kingdom of Tonga (Who hijacked us at the start) at Eden Park in Auckland (41 - 10) followed by Japan at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton 83 - 7 (The night before the mighty green throng of Ireland turned the tables on Australia, causing an upset), then France in Auckland (37 - 17) with captain Richie McCaw becoming the 1st All Black to reach 100 test caps followed by beating Canada at Wellington Regional Stadium in Wellington 79 - 15 (The day after Tonga providing another upset victory over France as well as Dan Carter, who was ruled out of the tournament altogether with a groin injury), then it is quarter final time as we scraped Argentina 33 - 10 in Auckland (Although Colin Slade suffered an injury similar to Dan Carter's), then finally beating against our traditional Trans Tasman rivals Australia (Who defeated South Africa in the quarter final which was better off forgotten) in the semifinal 20 - 6 (It was the night after the French flair titans (Who gave England the chop in the quarterfinal) defeated the Welsh (Who had beaten the mighty green throng in the quarters) in the other semifinal in which Sam Warburton got sent off for that famous spear tackle) before we once again took on France in the final, just as it was back in 1987, with the weight of the nation above our shoulders (Although Stephen 'Beaver' Donald was called up in the last minute whilst he was white baiting, YA GOT THAT!! WHITEBAITING), we have won us the CUP!!! HAIL TO THE KING BABY!!! I'VE GOT BALLS OF STEEL!!! And yeah, not only that we have ended our Rugby World Cup curse after 24 years of agony and pain, as if, not ONLY we beat France 8 - 7, we have managed to lift the World Cup trophy, not only because it is the greatest moment of my life.) final allowing Beaver to replace him so Donald assumed the kicking duties & kicked the penalty that has won us the Rugby World Cup after 24 years of agony & pain & he was the unlikely hero of the final by redeeming himself despite French captain Thierry Dusautoir being awarded man of the match) had been called up into the All Blacks squad as injury replacement for Colin Slade (He had the same injury as Dan Carter's) during the Rugby World Cup) in order to take part in the Indianapolis/Indy 500 (It was once the most popular motorsport in America before NASCAR took over) but the race went to Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel (Germany) who won by beating his Mercedes adversary/rival Lewis Hamilton (Who picked up a 5 second penalty that he overcame to finish 2nd while Hamilton's teammate & pole sitter Valtteri Bottas (Finland) had to settle for 3rd to finish on the podium) in a hard fought thriller in Bahrain with all that 2 stop strategy gamble paid off because the next round of the championship will be in...you guessed it, Russia at the Sochi Autodrom in Sochi (Previous host of the Winter Olympics in 2014 (The same year that Brazil had last hosted a FIFA World Cup (Won by Germany (Who demolished the host nation (Who are without the injured star man Neymar) in the semifinal by 7 goals to 1 at the Mineirao in Belo Horizonte) for the 4th time who beat the star studded Argentina (Featuring once the best footballer/soccer player in the world who plays for FC Barcelona, Lionel 'Leo' Messi because his adversary/rival who plays for FC Barcelona's main rival, Real Madrid, Cristiano 'CR7' Ronaldo (Portugal) has now taken over as the best footballer/soccer player in the world) in the final at the Maracana in Rio (Previous host of the Summer Olympics last year in 2016 with the city of Tokyo in Japan (Next host of the 2019 Rugby World Cup with England (Although Wales hosted some games) last hosted it in 2015) will be host of the next Summer Olympics in 2020) as well as the city of Glasgow in Scotland which hosted the last Commonwealth Games) because Pyeongchang in South Korea will host the next Winter Olympics next year in 2018 (The same year as the city of Gold Coast (AKA 'The GC' which is in Queensland) in Australia will host the next Commonwealth Games as well as Russia will host the next FIFA World Cup).
And here's the points standings for both the drivers & constructors but 1st here's the drivers standings:
1st: Sebastian Vettel (Germany, Ferrari), 68 points
2nd: Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain, Mercedes), 61 points
3rd: Valtteri Bottas (Finland, Mercedes), 38 points
4th: Kimi Raikkonen (Finland, Ferrari), 34 points
5th: Max Verstappen (The Netherlands, Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer), 25 points
6th: Daniel Ricciardo (Australia, Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer), 22 points
7th: Felipe Massa (Brazil, Williams Mercedes), 16 points
8th: Sergio Perez (Mexico, Force India Mercedes), 14 points
9th: Carlos Sainz (Spain, Toro Rosso), 10 points
10th: Romain Grosjean (France, Haas Ferrari), 4 points
11th: Kevin Magnussen (Denmark, Haas Ferrari), 4 points
12th: Esteban Ocon (France, Force India Mercedes), 3 points
13th: Nico Hulkenberg (Germany, Renault), 2 points
14th: Daniil Kvyat (Russia, Toro Rosso), 2 points
And then the constructors to wrap up the Formula 1 report:
1st: Ferrari (Italy), 102 points
2nd: Mercedes (Germany), 99 points
3rd: Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer (Austria), 47 points
4th: Force India Mercedes (India), 17 points
5th: Williams Mercedes (Great Britain), 16 points
6th: Toro Rosso (Italy), 12 points
7th: Haas Ferrari (USA), 8 points
8th: Renault (France), 2 points
And here we go, so that is my 19th blog of the year 2017 (MMXVII) & my 99th overall (Only 1 blog remaining, so I might do my 100th on Easter Monday tomorrow, yay!), happy Easter, as Austin Powers would say: Yeah baby yeah! Oh behave.
P.S. And my 2nd cousin Gemma (Kathryn's eldest daughter in the family, sister of both Huia & Ben & Rosalie's mother) has sent me an email wishing me happy Easter so here's her message in it's entirety:
Hi Whetu
Me and Rosalie have had a pretty cruisy day - just stayed home eating chocolate!
I hope you have a great Easter weekend!
And here's Cathey Middelplaats's Easter email message that she sent to me (Well, isn't Cathey's daughter Paige Williams so adorable):
Happy Easter, Whetu🐰
And finally Kathryn (My grand aunty & Pops's sister) has sent me an email wishing me a happy Easter so here's her message in it's entirety:
Hi Whetu and Henry
We have had a quiet Easter. Just had Easter dinner with Ben and Gemma and Rosalie - roast lamb and apple crumble and we watched Cinderella on TV2.
Have you seen " the movie Moana"? I loved it .
I hope you and Pops are well, Whetu. Tell him that I can't go on Facebook just now. If I do then I lose my internet connection - somehow. No idea why.
i hope the two of you are still enjoying your lovely memorial garden for Helen.
Happy Easter
And I had a bento box for lunch at Japanese Kitchen Wa restaurant today after we went to the recycling centre & went to The Warehouse once Margot left after staying here for 2 nights I reckon & before we went back here to have a dessert which is hot cross buns with feijoas & coconut cream before listening to some rock & roll on The Rock FM & watched The Breakdown on Sky Sport that I recorded last night.
And finally I have handpicked Scott Evil (Who is the son of Doctor Evil & Frau Farbissina) as my favourite Austin Powers character (It was originally going to be the Fat Man/FB) because he is so absolutely funny & here are my favourite songs from my favourite rock bands:
Breaking Benjamin: The Diary Of Jane
Red Hot Chili Peppers: Dani California
Foo Fighters: Everlong
Incubus: Drive
Faith No More: Epic
Deftones: Change (In The House Of Flies)
Filter: Take A Picture
Green Day: Waiting
Stone Temple Pilots: Plush
Alice In Chains: Would?
Pearl Jam: Black
3 Doors Down: Kryptonite
Queens Of The Stone Age: No One Knows
Nickelback: How You Remind Me
Chevelle: The Red
Evanescence: Bring Me To Life
Bush: Glycerine
Halestorm: I Miss The Misery
Garbage: I Think I'm Paranoid
Seether: Fine Again
Linkin Park: Somewhere I Belong
The Smashing Pumpkins: Bullet With Butterfly Wings
Third Eye Blind: Semi-Charmed Life
Fuel: Hemorrhage (In My Hands)
Live: I Alone
Nine Inch Nails: Just Like You Imagined
A Perfect Circle: Judith
Shihad: Home Again
Weezer: Say It Ain't So
P.O.D.: Goodbye For Now
Puddle Of Mudd: Blurry
System Of A Down: Aerials
Blink-182: All The Small Things
Jimmy Eat World: The Middle
Alien Ant Farm: Smooth Criminal
Korn: Blind
Disturbed: Stricken
Korn: Blind
Disturbed: Stricken
The Rolling Stones: Start Me Up
Tool: Forty Six & Two
U2: Beautiful Day
Saturday, 8 April 2017
American Woman/Are You Gonna Go My Way/Fly Away: The weekend round-up (Formula 1 report episode 2: China & Super Rugby round 7 review)
It was on Friday that we went to the Rutland Arms where Pops & I had dinner there because I had a burger & on Saturday that we went to the market before we went back when Dad & Raewyn came here for a chat (I'll be seeing them both on Good Friday) then we had salad for lunch with a visitor before we had pork chops with vegetables for dinner & watched rugby last night as well as watching the Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery movie today (I was like Yeah baby yeah! Oh behave) that I recorded last night along with the other 2 because the Austin Powers movie was my 10th movie that I have seen this year so I will be watching Austin Powers 2 tomorrow (I watched it today making it 11) & Austin Powers In Goldmember on Tuesday (I lost the coin toss for watching it today rather than tomorrow because it was popular on demand & I did today because it was my 12th different movie that I watched). And I know several characters from the movie such as Austin Powers (The hero & main protagonist played by Wayne's World star & famous Canadian actor, Mike Myers), Doctor Evil (Also played by Mike Myers who is the main antagonist & villain until Austin Powers In Goldmember where he became Nigel Powers's son & Austin Power's twin brother named Douglas 'Dougie' Powers), the Fat Man/FB (Also played by Myers who appeared in both Austin Powers 2 & Austin Powers In Goldmember), Goldmember (The flying evil Dutchman known as Johan van der Smut who only appeared in the 3rd & final film), Vanessa Kensington (Portrayed by Shane Warne's ex Elizabeth Hurley who turned into a fembot in the 2nd film), Felicity Shagwell (Heather Graham in Austin Powers 2 only who appeared in both Bowfinger with Eddie Murphy, Steve Martin & Robert Downey Jr & The Hangover with Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifinakis, Ed Helms, Justin Bartha, Ken Jeong & 'Iron' Mike Tyson), Foxxy Cleopatra (Jay-Z's wife Beyonce Knowles who appears in the 3rd movie), Basil Exposition (Michael York), Nigel Powers (Michael Caine from The Italian Job as Charlie Croker & the Dark Knight Trilogy as Bruce 'Batman' Wayne's butler Alfred Pennyworth), Frau Farbissina (Mindy Sterling), Mini-Me (Verne Troyer), Number 2 (Robert Wagner/Rob Lowe (Younger version), & Doctor Evil's son Scott Evil (Seth Green from Buffy The Vampire Slayer (With Sarah Michelle Gellar, Allyson Hannigan & Michelle Trachtenberg), Enemy Of The State (With Will Smith (Concussion), Gene Hackman, Jon Voight (Anaconda), Jack Black (Tenacious D lead singer), Jason Lee (My Name Is Earl), Gabriel Byrne (End Of Days, Stigmata), Jake Busey & Scott Caan), Family Guy, Idle Hands, Knockaround Guys (With Vin Diesel, Dennis Hopper & John Malkovich), Rat Race (With Rowan Atkinson (Blackadder, Johnny English, Mr Bean & The Thin Blue Line), Whoopi Goldberg (Sister Act), Amy Smart (Road Trip), Cuba Gooding Jr (Basic Instinct, Jerry Maguire), Breckin Meyer (Road Trip), & John Cleese (Fawlty Towers), Scooby Doo 2 Monsters Unleashed (With Freddie Prinze Jr, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Linda Cardellini & Matthew Lillard), The Italian Job (A 2003 remake with Mark Wahlberg (Shooter, Ted), Charlize Theron (Aeon Flux, Mighty Joe Young), Edward Norton, Jason Statham (From the Rogue Assassin movie (Well that movie is about an FBI agent becoming zealous by seeking revenge on an assassin after his partner & his partner's family were slain but however Rogue's return sparks a violent war between the 2 rival Asian gangs such as the Chinese Triads & Japanese Yakuza) as British born FBI agent Jack Crawford that I've seen last night (That was my 13th different movie that I have seen this year in 2017) featuring the likes of Jet Li (Cradle 2: The Grave, Kiss Of The Dragon & Romeo Must Die), Devon Aoki (Sister of DJ Steve Aoki who appeared on 2 Fast 2 Furious as Suki (With the late Paul Walker as Brian O'Conner, Tyrese Gibson as Brian's childhood friend, Roman Pierce, Eva Mendes as Monica Fuentes, rapper Ludacris as Tej Parker who is an old friend of Brian who allows him to participate in races hosted by him near his garage in Miami & Cole Hauser as Carter Verone), D.E.B.S. (With Jordana Brewster from The Fast & The Furious series, Sara Foster, Meagan Good, Jill Ritchie & the late Michael Clarke Duncan) as Dominique & DOA: Dead Or Alive as Kasumi (A female runaway ninja & protagonist of the Dead Or Alive series who is one of the characters who appeared in the movie along with Ayane (The purple haired female Japanese ninja known as The Killer Kunoichi), Bass Armstrong (The American pro wrestler & roughneck based on 'The Immortal', Hulk Hogan), Bayman (The Russian assassin & mercenary working for the evil Victor Donovan in the movie), Christie (The female British assassin), Hayate (A male Japanese ninja who is the brother of Kasumi formerly known as Ein), Helena Douglas (The French beauty who is the daughter of the late Fame Douglas), Leon (The Italian mercenary), Ryu Hayabusa (The Japanese Ninja who is the protagonist of Ninja Gaiden), Tina Armstrong (Daughter of Bass Armstrong who is also an American pro wrestler) & Zack (The African American Disc Jockey (DJ) based on former NBA basketball player Dennis Rodman), Luiz Guzman & Sung Kang (The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift as Han) & Mos Def) & Without A Paddle (With Matthew Lillard, Dax Shepard (He looks like Nickelback lead singer Chad Kroeger who appears on Employee Of The Month & CHIPs), Burt Reynolds (Smokey And The Bandit, The Cannonball Run, The Longest Yard (2005), Ethan Suplee (My Name Is Earl) & Kiwis Antony Starr (Outrageous Fortune) & Danielle Cormack (Channeling Baby, The Price Of Milk, Wentworth).
Round 7 of Super Rugby began because I label this round as boring so the Hurricanes won by 10 points against the Waratahs after star 1st five-eighth Beauden Barrett got sent off after a second yellow for deliberately knocking it down & the Highlanders win 2 in a row against the Blues (Who had Sonny Bill Williams back from injury) & the Chiefs went down by the Stormers (Who is now along with the Crusaders is one of 2 teams unbeaten in the competition) ending their unbeaten run + The Sunwolves win by 1 point in an upset win over the Bulls & the Force deservedly defeated the Kings in an high scoring game.
So that was Round 7 of the 2017 Super Rugby season and here are the matches for Round 8:
Crusaders Vs Sunwolves: AMI Stadium, Christchurch
Reds Vs Kings: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Blues Vs Hurricanes: Eden Park, Auckland
Rebels Vs Brumbies: AAMI Park, Melbourne
Cheetahs Vs Chiefs: Toyota Stadium, Bloemfontein
Stormers Vs Lions: DHL Newlands, Cape Town
& the Bulls Vs Jaguares at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria to end Round 8 of Super Rugby 2017 (With the Force, Highlanders, Sharks & Waratahs taking a week off to prepare for Round 9).
And tonight that I'm watching Formula 1 because Lewis Hamilton is on pole again after dominating qualifying at the Chinese Grand Prix (Although Max Verstappen was the fastest in the 1st practice session (There was no 2nd practice session after the medical chopper didn't operate due to bad weather) & Sebastian Vettel was also the fastest in the 3rd) & he did by winning the race after starting on pole position by leading by a entire lap as well as setting the fastest lap time not only because I am so happy about Hamilton winning because he is level on points with Sebastian Vettel on 43.
Well it looks like Mercedes has the fastest car on the track because of the straight line speed advantage compared to the Ferrari which is the 2nd fastest. And it looks like the Mercedes engine is reliable compared to the 2014, 15 & 16 seasons while the Ferrari's engine reliability is average along with Renault & TAG Heuer so this means that the reliability of the Honda engine is poor because it might even have a lack of power.
And here's the points standings for both the drivers & constructors but 1st here's the drivers standings:
1st: Sebastian Vettel (Germany, Ferrari), 43 points
2nd: Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain, Mercedes), 43 points
3rd: Max Verstappen (The Netherlands, Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer), 25 points
4th: Valtteri Bottas (Finland, Mercedes), 23 points
5th: Kimi Raikkonen (Finland, Ferrari), 22 points
6th: Daniel Ricciardo (Australia, Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer), 12 points
7th: Carlos Sainz (Spain, Toro Rosso), 10 points
8th: Felipe Massa (Brazil, Williams Mercedes), 8 points
9th: Sergio Perez (Mexico, Force India Mercedes), 8 points
10th: Kevin Magnussen (Denmark, Haas Ferrari), 4 points
11th: Daniil Kvyat (Russia, Toro Rosso), 2 points
12th: Esteban Ocon (France, Force India Mercedes), 2 points
And then the constructors to wrap up the Formula 1 report:
1st: Mercedes (Germany), 66 points
2nd: Ferrari (Italy), 65 points
3rd: Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer (Austria), 37 points
4th: Toro Rosso (Italy), 12 points
5th: Force India Mercedes (India), 10 points
6th: Williams Mercedes (Great Britain), 8 points
7th: Haas Ferrari (USA), 4 points
And finally here's the circuit guide to Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir who will host the Bahrain Grand Prix according to Collins Grand Prix circuits book that I've still got:
''Brand new facility in the desert. Immaculate facilities, initially lacking racing passion & energy. A tricky layout, undulating in parts, provides a tough test in the heat & occasional good racing. Despite working in the shadow of the country's political unrest, Sakhir has grown in stature & become a night race.''
So that is my 18th blog of the year 2017 (MMXVII) & my 98th overall (Only 2 left, can you believe it), hope to wish you happy Easter next week.
P.S. We just had pancakes for breakfast today so Pops & I are going to Caroline's for lunch today & we went to Dad's today to have a wrap pizza for starters & quesadillas for our dinner (And I had 2 Haagen citrus beers & we had hot cross buns for dessert & I only had 2 with mocchachino to have with it because I was getting full) because we are having chicken & salad for a light meal tonight.
Round 7 of Super Rugby began because I label this round as boring so the Hurricanes won by 10 points against the Waratahs after star 1st five-eighth Beauden Barrett got sent off after a second yellow for deliberately knocking it down & the Highlanders win 2 in a row against the Blues (Who had Sonny Bill Williams back from injury) & the Chiefs went down by the Stormers (Who is now along with the Crusaders is one of 2 teams unbeaten in the competition) ending their unbeaten run + The Sunwolves win by 1 point in an upset win over the Bulls & the Force deservedly defeated the Kings in an high scoring game.
So that was Round 7 of the 2017 Super Rugby season and here are the matches for Round 8:
Crusaders Vs Sunwolves: AMI Stadium, Christchurch
Reds Vs Kings: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Blues Vs Hurricanes: Eden Park, Auckland
Rebels Vs Brumbies: AAMI Park, Melbourne
Cheetahs Vs Chiefs: Toyota Stadium, Bloemfontein
Stormers Vs Lions: DHL Newlands, Cape Town
& the Bulls Vs Jaguares at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria to end Round 8 of Super Rugby 2017 (With the Force, Highlanders, Sharks & Waratahs taking a week off to prepare for Round 9).
And tonight that I'm watching Formula 1 because Lewis Hamilton is on pole again after dominating qualifying at the Chinese Grand Prix (Although Max Verstappen was the fastest in the 1st practice session (There was no 2nd practice session after the medical chopper didn't operate due to bad weather) & Sebastian Vettel was also the fastest in the 3rd) & he did by winning the race after starting on pole position by leading by a entire lap as well as setting the fastest lap time not only because I am so happy about Hamilton winning because he is level on points with Sebastian Vettel on 43.
Well it looks like Mercedes has the fastest car on the track because of the straight line speed advantage compared to the Ferrari which is the 2nd fastest. And it looks like the Mercedes engine is reliable compared to the 2014, 15 & 16 seasons while the Ferrari's engine reliability is average along with Renault & TAG Heuer so this means that the reliability of the Honda engine is poor because it might even have a lack of power.
And here's the points standings for both the drivers & constructors but 1st here's the drivers standings:
1st: Sebastian Vettel (Germany, Ferrari), 43 points
2nd: Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain, Mercedes), 43 points
3rd: Max Verstappen (The Netherlands, Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer), 25 points
4th: Valtteri Bottas (Finland, Mercedes), 23 points
5th: Kimi Raikkonen (Finland, Ferrari), 22 points
6th: Daniel Ricciardo (Australia, Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer), 12 points
7th: Carlos Sainz (Spain, Toro Rosso), 10 points
8th: Felipe Massa (Brazil, Williams Mercedes), 8 points
9th: Sergio Perez (Mexico, Force India Mercedes), 8 points
10th: Kevin Magnussen (Denmark, Haas Ferrari), 4 points
11th: Daniil Kvyat (Russia, Toro Rosso), 2 points
12th: Esteban Ocon (France, Force India Mercedes), 2 points
And then the constructors to wrap up the Formula 1 report:
1st: Mercedes (Germany), 66 points
2nd: Ferrari (Italy), 65 points
3rd: Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer (Austria), 37 points
4th: Toro Rosso (Italy), 12 points
5th: Force India Mercedes (India), 10 points
6th: Williams Mercedes (Great Britain), 8 points
7th: Haas Ferrari (USA), 4 points
And finally here's the circuit guide to Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir who will host the Bahrain Grand Prix according to Collins Grand Prix circuits book that I've still got:
''Brand new facility in the desert. Immaculate facilities, initially lacking racing passion & energy. A tricky layout, undulating in parts, provides a tough test in the heat & occasional good racing. Despite working in the shadow of the country's political unrest, Sakhir has grown in stature & become a night race.''
So that is my 18th blog of the year 2017 (MMXVII) & my 98th overall (Only 2 left, can you believe it), hope to wish you happy Easter next week.
P.S. We just had pancakes for breakfast today so Pops & I are going to Caroline's for lunch today & we went to Dad's today to have a wrap pizza for starters & quesadillas for our dinner (And I had 2 Haagen citrus beers & we had hot cross buns for dessert & I only had 2 with mocchachino to have with it because I was getting full) because we are having chicken & salad for a light meal tonight.
Sunday, 2 April 2017
Be Quiet & Drive (Far Away)/Change (In The House Of Flies)/My Own Summer (Shove It)/Tempest: Super Rugby round 6 review + Chinese GP preview (& Jonah Lomu Rugby 20th anniversary)
Well, it was on Thursday (The day that I watch my favourite programme MacGyver (A remake of the Richard Dean Anderson (From Stargate SG-1 as Colonel Jack O'Neill) original starring Lucas Till (As the title character Angus 'Mac' MacGyver, the improviser who appeared in Hannah Montana: The Movie, The Spy Next Door as Larry, X-Men: First Class as Alex Summers/Havok & Monster Trucks), George Eads (Jack Dalton, the gunner & maverick CIA agent who appeared on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as Nick Stokes), Sandrine Holt (Director Patricia Thornton, the boss who appears in the Arnold Schwarzenegger film Terminator Genisys who is about to be replaced by new director Matilda 'Matty' Webber being portrayed by Meredith Eaton in the next MacGyver episode), Tristin Mays (Riley Davis, the hacker who appears in Supergirl as Paulina) & Justin Hires (And last but not least...Wilt Bozer, MacGyver's friend who appeared in the TV series based on the popular film franchise Rush Hour as detective James Carter (Chris Tucker from The Fifth Element (Which was the last movie I've seen last year in 2016 & it stars Bruce Willis (AKA John McClane/General Joseph Colton as Korben Dallas), Mila Jovovich (Alice from Resident Evil as Leloo), Gary Oldman (AKA Ivan Korshunov/Commissioner James Gordon/Sirius Black as Jean-Baptiste Emmanuel Zorg) & Ian Holm (Bilbo Baggins from The Lord Of The Rings trilogy as Father Vito Cornelius) as Ruby Rhod played the character in the movie trilogy with Detective Lee being played by Jackie Chan in the movie trilogy & Jon Foo (Who played Jin Kazama in the Tekken movie) in the TV series) which only lasted 1 season) at 7:30pm on Prime & Sky rugby TV programme Team Talk (Hosted by none other than Scotty 'Sumo' Stevenson with former Waikato, Chiefs & All Black players Steven 'Mazda' Bates (AKA Batesy) & Junior Malili 'Mils' Muliaina (AKA Milsy) as panelists) at 8:30pm on Sky Sport 1) that Pops & I went to Pukeko's Nest to have a burger there as well as a chocolate fudge slice for dessert then on Saturday we went to the market briefly (I saw Dad there before we went to the market) then we went to St John's Club for lunch where I had a curry with vegetables & salad before I had a passion fruit cheese cake that I had because I really am a cheese cake slayer.
And it was on Friday that round 6 of Super Rugby started when the Highlanders completely thrashed or should I say demolished the Rebels outfit at Forsyth Barr Stadium (AKA The Glasshouse) in Dunedin by claiming their 3rd victory of the season in Aaron Smith's 100th Super Rugby appearance with a news report in this most exciting but epic game:
The Highlanders claimed their 3rd win of the Super Rugby season as they were too good for the Rebels, winning 51-12 in Dunedin.
As the scoreline suggests, this was a one-sided affair and the home side were full value for their win as they outscored the Rebels by 6 tries to 2 with Malakai Fekitoa leading the way with a deserved brace.
The win moves the Highlanders into provisional 4th place on the New Zealand Conference table although that situation could change if the Blues beat the Western Force in their clash in Auckland on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Rebels are firmly rooted at the bottom of the Australian Conference with 5 losses in as many matches this season.
The visitors were under the cosh from the outset and Marty Banks gave the home side the lead in the seventh minute when he slotted a penalty after Laurie Weeks was blown up for illegal scrummaging.
5 minutes later, Richard Buckman drew in a couple of defenders inside the Rebels' 22 before throwing an inside pass to Fekitoa, who charged through a tackle from Tom English before diving over under the posts.
The Highlanders continued to dominate and shortly afterwards Luke Whitelock had an easy run-in under the posts after the ball had gone through 14 phases in the build-up.
Banks converted both those tries and 5 minutes later he converted his second penalty which meant the Highlanders held a comfortable 20-0 lead at half-time.
The home side extended that lead two minutes after the restart via another Banks penalty but 10 minutes later, the Rebels finally opened their account in impressive fashion.
Mitch Inman showed great vision to throw an inside pass to English just outside the Highlanders' 22, and while English still had work to do and after bursting through a gaping hole in the Highlanders' defence, he rounded a flat-footed Matt Faddes before crossing for a deserved try.
That score did not faze the home side though and they continued to dominate for the next 20 minutes and scored 21 unanswered points thanks to tries from Buckman, Gareth Evans and a Fekitoa interception score following a loose pass from the Rebels on a night full of mistakes by the visiting team.
Evans' was the best of the lot as he ran onto a flat pass just outside the Rebels' 22 and showed a superb turn of speed before crashing over.
With time running out on the clock, Reece Hodge scored a consolation try for the Rebels in the 78th minute but the Highlanders were not done and would have the final say shortly afterwards.
Greg Pleasants-Tate crashed over from close quarters in injury time which also brought up a half century of points for the hosts.
And the Blues get their 3rd win of the season against the Force at Eden Park in Auckland but miss out on a bonus point after the Force tarnished the Blues hopes of a 3 try bonus point with a late try so here's the news report which is less exciting than the Highlanders-Rebels one:
The Blues managed to overcome a sturdy Force defence to claim a 24-15 victory in Auckland.
Most of the 1st half consisted of a Blues side desperate to break the Western Force defence but were unable before the Perth side claimed the 1st try through Richie Arnold. The Blues eventually unlocked the code and tries from Akira Ioane and Matt Duffie during a Isi Naisarani yellow card on the 29th minute seemed to be the deciding points.
The win gives the Blues a boost as they go to 3rd place in New Zealand Conference table with 15 points to tie with the Hurricanes with the Wellington men yet to play. The Force languish at 4th place in the Australia Conference on 5 points.
Despite the hard-fought contest the Blues had too much class in their ranks with Piers Francis orchestrating the Blues attack excellently as well as superb performances from Duffie and replacements Akira Ioane and Rieko Ioane.
It was a quiet 1st 20 minutes with a Jono Lance penalty the only the points on the board but the Force would consolidate their lead later on with a try from giant second-rower Arnold after he barged over the line from some sustained forwards pressure.
The Force lost their building momentum after a slew of penalties with the Blues opting to go for line each time. The 1st instance not resulting to anything of substance but in the second the Blues created a handy maul and drove up field and after a sneaky break force number 8 Naisarani was yellow carded and the home side opted to scrum.
After some strong defence from the Force the Blues shunted the ball wide and it looked as though winger Duffie had scored before it was called back after George Moala's pass was deemed forward.
The Blues nearly scored moments later after a another well-placed kick for touch from Francis which led to the first five-eighth chipping over a kick which was knocked forward on the try line. They finally got over the whitewash though when Akira Ioane barged through a maul to get his side's 1st points of the game with Francis adding the extras.
Duffie would get his try and compound his team's tally when Moala found a mismatch with a front-rower in front of him in his own 22 metre and used his pace to get around him. He took the ball up field and had a two-on-one as the cover defence pressed on him and gave it out to Duffie to score making the half-time tally 12-8.
The Blues looked as though they had grabbed the first points of the half with TJ Faiane scoring after the ball came loose from contact with centre picking up and scoring before the TMO saw that the second five-eighth knocked the ball forward putting it into space in the first place.
The home side then added their 3rd try of the game in the 64th minute when the Blues orchestrated a well-worked try when the outside backs let the ball do the work as they passed around the cover defence on the left wing for Rieko Ioane to score.
Michael Collins put the Blues into bonus point territory after an incredible break that saw the flyer burn round the Force cover defence to score.
The away side took the bonus point away from the Blues when Dane Haylett-Petty broke the opposition line to claim a try in the 78th minute. The Blues were adamant on leaving the game with a bonus point after another charge up field which saw Murphy Taramai burst over the line but the pass was deemed forward and it was a Force scrum on the 80-minute mark which led the ball being kicked out.
And the Chiefs remain unbeaten along with the Crusaders & Stormers with a win against the Bulls at FMG Stadium Waikato in Hamilton by celebrating Liam Messam's 150th appearance with a news report (Although several players had their head shaved including Liam Messam, Anton Lienert-Brown, Atu Moli, Sam Cane, Brodie Retallick, Dominic Bird, Michael Allardice, Tawera Kerr-Barlow, & Mitchell Karpik who had to look like a loose forward version of Christian Cullen as well as Doctor Evil from Austin Powers because he used to look like Jean-Pierre Rives as well as Phil Waugh with that long blond locks as a result for a 2 year old girl named Kau'ilani Forbes who has a rare form of cancer so those players look like they had come straight out of the Marines or Navy SEAL's):
The Chiefs came from behind to claim a 28-12 win against the stubborn Bulls in Hamilton.
The Bulls produced a well-worked game plan through a pressured defence and clever kicks behind the Chiefs line to enter the change rooms 9-3 at half time. But a try from winger Shaun Stevenson kick started the Chiefs comeback for the Chiefs to win with tries from Damian McKenzie and Atu Moli sealing the win.
The victory sees the men from Hamilton go top of the New Zealand Conference jumping the Crusaders who are yet to play while the Bulls leave the game with nothing despite their heroic first-half efforts.
There were some class acts throughout both teams with some strong performances from Handre Pollard, Rudy Paige while Jamba Ulengo, despite being the casualty in Stevenson's step to score, was incredible throughout, showing defensive brilliance as well as playing a clever attacking game after looking for work all over the field.
The Chiefs looked bewildered in the 1st half but the general excellence of McKenzie and Aaron Cruden saw their side through to the win.
They handled the game well in the opening phases as they kicked behind the Chiefs line to turn them and keep the home side under pressure in their home half.
The mercurial Pollard scored the first points after two penalties to get his side an early 6 point lead. All Black first five-eighth Cruden kicked his team's 1st points after a 3 pointer of his own.
Pollard kicked another penalty perfectly and pushed the lead to 6 points with the Bulls playing well.
The Chiefs were given penalty after penalty with the home side insisting on going for line instead of taking the points with goal. On the 35th minute the Chiefs went for line again and went wide to run the Bulls defence off their feet but the defensive expertise of Burger Odendaal would give no quarter and stopped the attack in its tracks.
The Bulls ended the half in the lead with 9-3 after a strong game plan coming through for them.
Chiefs winger Stevenson the claimed his side the lead when he received the ball, stepped the defence before grubbering it forward and then collecting his own kick to score the try, with Cruden adding the extras and then a penalty moments later making the score 13-9.
Pollard struck back with another floating penalty from 40 metres out which put his side within one point of the opposition.
The Chiefs started a counter attack and almost broke through the line on a few occasions if it wasn't for the defensive might of replacement prop Lizo Gqoboka who seemed to have the Chiefs' numbers after making a number of tackles in a row. Cruden then received the ball in the midfield and kicked for touch.
The home side used the position well and almost crossed the line through McKenzie but RG Snyman ripped the ball as the full-back dived over and the Chiefs were given a penalty which Cruden knocked over.
The fiery full-back would get his try after a wonderful chip into space behind the Bulls line with McKenzie coming out of no where to collect and then score next to the posts. Cruden neatly knocked over the extras.
The home side put the Bulls' hopes to death after some sustained pressure on the away side's line before Moli crashed over with the weight of his team behind him.
And the Hurricanes (Who are without influential captain Dane Coles due to injury) won the game against the Reds over at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane under bizarre circumstances by rubbing out or should I say disallowing 3 or 4 tries by the TMO (1st there was second five-eighth Ngani Laumape getting yellow carded for a tackle without the ball then lock Mark Abbott putting a foot in touch before scoring & stand in captain TJ Perenara not clearly taking the tap kick before he scored it then he had a banter by running in with referee Angus Gardner saying that he didn't tap the ball because it is still their penalty & it was shades of Tana Umaga who said to the ref ''We are not playing tiddlywinks'' way back in 2003 when the Hurricanes played against the Crusaders) with another news report:
The Hurricanes' class shone through to overcome a spirited Reds side 34-15 in Brisbane on Saturday.
After 2 early Julian Savea and TJ Perenara tries the Reds looked dead and buried until the Brisbane men fought back and scored 2 tries of their own through Chris Kuridrani and Scott Higginbotham. It seemed as though the Reds had enough fire to rein the Hurricanes in until a Vince Aso try took the game just out of their reach before Jordie Barrett and his brother Beauden hammered in the final nails in the Reds' coffin.
The Hurricanes keep their spot at 3rd place in the highly-competitive New Zealand Conference while the Reds stay at 3rd place on six points in the Australian Conference.
The Hurricanes owned the 1st 20 minutes after some quick running play that saw Savea and Perenara cross the line. 1st after winning the advantage they swung it out wide to Brad Shields who set it up for Savea to dive over in the corner before the halfback intercepted Reds first five-eighth Jake McIntyre's pass deep inside his own half and went all the way through to the try-line.
Full-back Jordie Barrett was given the tee and kicked both over sweetly.
It wasn't all good news for the visitors after inside centre Ngani Laumape was given a yellow card after Kerevi lost control of the ball and Beauden Barrett lept onto it. He went all the way through to the try line, but the TMO disallowed the try and Laumape was adjudged to have committed a late tackle.
The Reds would get their 1st points of the game after they took the ball to the Hurricanes line and spread it wide to Higginbotham who gave off an incredible offload to Kuridrani to score in the corner with McIntyre missing the posts again.
Higginbotham then set up and scored what could be the try of the season when the number 8 had the ball on the right wing, turned his back to the touch line but then off loaded to Eto Nabuli through a back pass. The wing then took it up field and almost scored before sending it back inside to the number eight who touched down. McIntyre finally slotted the kick making the score 14-12 to the away side.
The Canes scored first in the 2nd half after Ardie Savea made an electric break and looked as though he would score himself before being brought down just short of the line. Aso came on the inside line and the rookie winger touched down for his side's third try.
The Hurricanes looked as though they had scored again after Reds gave it everything they had to get over the line but the Canes turned it over and Julian Savea kicked the ball up field and Beauden Barrett gave a wide pass to Ardie Savea who then released the ball down to Aso who gave it Mark Abbott to score but the lock put his foot out and it was called off.
Their Canes were obviously cursed after another failed attempt when Laumape went over but they were called back for a knock on.
Perenara looked as though he eventually broke the hoodoo after the away side had a scrum on the Reds' five metre line and the nippy halfback broke around the fringes to dot down but the try was called off again and Canes would scrum again.
After what seemed like eternity of the Hurricanes laying siege to the Reds' line, the besieged broke free and kicked the ball into touch to finally get some breathing space.
After a sustained spell of pressure from the Canes, Jordie Barrett ran inside Kuridrani and dotted the ball down to score before his brother crossed for the final try of the match when Beauden Barrett received the ball running at pace to score.
And the Lions remained on top of the Africa 2 conference after they won a thrilling derby against the Sharks at Emirates Airline Park in Johannesburg while the Stormers remained unbeaten as they put 50 points on the Cheetahs at DHL Newlands in Cape Town, putting 12 points clear in the Africa 1 conference while the Crusaders are still unbeaten to remain on top of the New Zealand conference with a bonus point victory over the Michael Hooper led Waratahs at Allianz Stadium in Sydney with one last news report:
The Crusaders made it 6 victories from 6 so far in Super Rugby as they got the better of the Waratahs, winning 41-22 in Sydney.
Tries from George Bridge, David Havili, Tim Bateman (2), Bryn Hall and Ben Funnell saw the New Zealanders get 5 points on Sunday.
In reply the Waratahs' scorers were Michael Hooper, Jake Gordon and Taqele Naiyaravoro as they missed the chance to go top of the Australian Conference. This was also their 4th defeat from 6 matches so far in 2017.
The Crusaders were quickest out of the blocks and crossed on 11 minutes when Bridge raced over on the left wing for his 1st Super Rugby try.
Hunt missed the extras but it didn't take long for him to make amends when he converted Havili's try, which was all too easy from a 'Tahs viewpoint as the full-back sliced through the defence from 30 metres out without anyone putting a hand on him. That made it 12-0.
Fortunately for the Waratahs they got on the board on 23 minutes when a miscued Crusaders pass was hacked downfield, leading to the hosts winning an attacking scrum. Soon after that set-piece, flanker Hooper powered over from close range and Robinson added the extras for 12-7.
The game was now beginning to open up as both sides looked to be feeling the effects of the first half hour so it was no surprise when the in-form Whetu Douglas popped up on the left wing before cutting inside and offloading to centre Bateman for his first crossing to make it 19-7.
Robinson did cut that down to 19-10 before the break though, after a no arms tackle from Joe Moody was pinged by Marius van der Westhuizen.
The first score of the 2nd half was always going to be crucial, so when the Crusaders struck two minutes after the resumption through Bateman's second after Bridge's initial break, Waratahs head coach Daryl Gibson was visibly disappointed. With Hunt's kick the score was 26-10.
The 'Tahs did hit back with purpose though through a well-worked backline move that saw first five-eighth Mack Mason find impressive half-back partner Gordon, who backed himself from 30 out to get the hosts on the march.
26-17 then became 26-22 on 52 minutes when replacement Naiyaravoro barged over Bridge on the right wing en route to a vital crossing (And what about the bump off by Fijian born Wallaby Taqele Naiyaravoro for the Waratahs on Crusaders winger George Bridge, it was shades of the late Jonah Lomu way back in the day because it was one of the best bump offs that I have ever seen in the history of Super Rugby compared to Nemani Nadolo on Matt Duffie last year, Rene Ranger on James O'Connor in 2013 & Robbie Fruean on Piri Weepu in 2012 & it appeared on Smashed Em Bro segment on the Crowd Goes Wild at number 1 on Friday, Boomfa! Bang! Get outta my way!).
But the 'Tahs' hopes were quashed in the closing stages of the match as further Crusaders tries from replacement halfback Hall and hooker Funnell got them the bonus-point as they head into their bye week with a perfect record. The 'Tahs meanwhile left the game with nothing.
So that was Round 6 of the 2017 Super Rugby season and here are the matches for Round 7:
Hurricanes Vs Waratahs: Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Sunwolves Vs Bulls: Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium, Tokyo
Highlanders Vs Blues: Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
Brumbies Vs Reds: GIO Stadium, Canberra
Sharks Vs Jaguares: Growthpoint Kings Park, Durban
Stormers Vs Chiefs: DHL Newlands, Cape Town
& the Force Vs Kings at nib Stadium in Perth to end Round 7 of Super Rugby 2017 (With the Cheetahs, Crusaders, Lions & Rebels taking a week off to prepare for Round 8).
And round 2 of the 2017 Formula 1 World Championship season begins this Friday in China during the 1st 2 practice sessions (Then on Saturday with the 3rd & final practice session before qualifying & finally, the race is about to take place next week on Sunday) at the Shanghai International Circuit with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel leading the championship by 7 points ahead of rival Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes (Although Ferrari are leading the constructors championship at the moment by 4 points ahead of Mercedes) so who's it gonna be? Will it be Vettel's time to shine for Ferrari? Or will it be Hamilton to conquer or should I say, slay the 5.451km track in China for Mercedes after winning the Chinese Grand Prix 4 times? (His 1st win was in 2008 then he won again in 2011 before going on to win 2 Grands Prix in a row in 2014 & his last in 2015). And according to the estimates, the rivalry between Lewis Hamilton & Sebastian Vettel is intense because Hamilton is on a mission to regain the title after missing out last year to recently retired world champion Nico Rosberg while Vettel will try to add his 5th world championship because 2013 was the last time that Vettel had won the title.
And finally here's the circuit guide to Shanghai International Circuit in Shanghai who will host the Chinese Grand Prix according to Collins Grand Prix circuits book (One of the 4 books I own as part of my book collection along with Richie McCaw: The Openside (I have 6 favourite parts of the book, such as New Age Crusaders, Stone Age Bulls. Richard Bands, part Springbok prop, part Brahma Bull. Hands off, it's a ruck. DC's wrecked. I HOPE YOU'RE READY QUADE, RICHIE IS. And Hands off! Get out of there!) as well as Sir Graham Henry Celebrates The World Cups! 1987 to 2015 & Richie McCaw 148) that I've still got:
''Government-funded race track some distance from central Shanghai. An engineering feat, built in 18 months on swamp land. Interesting layout with a few tricky versions of standard corners. Majority of grandstands remain empty. Team offices on stilts within inventive but vast paddock lacking atmosphere.''
So that is my 17th blog of the year 2017 (MMXVII) & my 97th overall (Only 3 to go until I reach 100), ka kite ano & good luck.
P.S. And I have just written the list of movies that I have seen this year in 2017 so here's the list in it's entirety because I'm about to record the Austin Powers trilogy (Consisting of Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery (1997), Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) & Austin Powers In Goldmember (2002). Not only because Austin Powers is a parody of Bond, James Bond) this Saturday on TVNZ 2:
The Avengers (2012)
Moana (2016)
Days Of Thunder (1990)
Return Of The Jedi (1983)
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones (2002)
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith (2005)
Pork Pie (2017)
& Anaconda (1997).
UPDATED
Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery (1997)
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)
Austin Powers In Goldmember (2002)
Rogue Assassin (2007)
Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen (2009)
Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014)
300 (2006)
G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)
Jurassic World (2015)
Jumper (2008)
Million Dollar Arm (2014)
A View From The Top (2003)
S.W.A.T. (2003)
The Fifth Element (1997)
Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)
And it has been 4 days since the 20th anniversary of the Jonah Lomu Rugby video game which came out on the last day of March way back in 1997 (But the game is about the sport of rugby as well as the main star player for the All Blacks (Captained by hooker Sean 'Fitzy' Fitzpatrick featuring loosehead prop Craig 'Dowdy' Dowd, tighthead prop Olo Brown, locks Ian 'Kamo' Jones & Robin 'Rob' Brooke, blindside flanker Mike Brewer, openside flanker Josh 'Crusher' Kronfeld, Robin's brother & number 8 Zinzan 'Zinny' Brooke, halfback Graeme Bachop, South African born first five-eighth Andrew 'Mehrts' Mehrtens, second five eighth Walter Little, centre Frank Bunce, right winger Jeff 'Goldie' Wilson & fullback Glen 'Oz' Osborne), the late left winger Jonah Lomu taking on the rest of the world such as the eventual world champions the Springboks led by openside flanker Francois Pienaar & featuring first five-eighth Joel Stransky (Who scored the match winning drop goal that achieved immortality to put the game beyond doubt during the World Cup final), fullback Andre Joubert, loosehead prop Os du Randt, the late halfback Joost van der Westhuizen & number 8 Mark Andrews as well as the 1995 Five Nations champions & semifinalists England led by centre Will Carling which features the likes of South African born utility back Mike Catt (One of the players who can play fullback, first & second five-eighth, centre & wing), winger Rory Underwood, future England captain & lock Martin Johnson, first-five eighth Rob Andrew & of course, centre Jeremy Guscott & the defending champions at the time & quarterfinalists, the Wallabies led by first five-eighth Michael Lynagh & features players such as hooker Phil 'Kearnsy' Kearns, fullback & utility back Matt Burke, future Wallabies skipper & lock John 'Ealesy' Eales, Zambian born halfback George 'Gregs' Gregan, centre Tim Horan, winger David 'Campo' Campese & last but not least, Tongan born blindside flanker Viliami 'Willie O' Ofahengaue during the events of the 1995 Rugby World Cup (Then in 1995, disaster struck as New Zealand (Which featured rugby's 1st global superstar, Jonah Lomu) failed to regain the crown (With several players fell victim to food poisoning with the exception of captain Sean Fitzpatrick and the Brooke brothers of Robin & Zinzan), losing to debutants and hosts South Africa in the final in which united the host country as well as their leader Nelson Mandela) so here is some commentary samples taken from the game consisting of the late Bill McLaren & Bill Beaumont which I can barely remember as a kid (We used to play a PC game as well as owning a Playstation game back in the day):
''Deylaud, (French first five eighth who appeared in the game) with the kick''
''Going in well''
''I wouldn't like to be in the bottom of that''
''What a silly play''
''It's like cattle trucks in a shunting yard''
''Digs like a demented mole there''
''They don't build him like that anymore''
''A ball like that, he's one of a kind''
''With a great leap''
''And that's a huge jump again''
''Lomu!''
''Superb tackle''
''Good old British weather''
''I think the weather has slowed them down a bit''
''Some of the fans not happy with that''
''Well, the crowd didn't like that''
''Good movement of the ball''
''And getting it''
''Good support play in the middle''
''And that's a monster of a pass''
''Tremendously quick''
''And it's through!''
''Yes, an easy kick''
''Trying the grubber kick''
''To make it 2 out of 2''
''To make it 3 out of 3''
''To make it 4 out of 4''
''To make it...5 out of 5''
''Oh mercy me, that could've put him in Ward 4''
''I hope not Bill, that's a maternity ward''
''He touches it down right underneath the posts''
''And that's his 2nd try of the match''
''That'll put his smile on his face''
''Going in like a wildcat''
''Too hard''
''Not only he would see puffs from him''
''He's kept his head down & went for the line, great try''
''With the drive''
''Can he get to him?''
''It's important to get quick possession here''
''They need more men to get behind the ball''
''Goes in hard''
''It was right down his throat''
''That was good rucking''
''They did a good job''
''There are all kinds of shenanigans in the lineout''
''Almost up in the 22''
''I can't see the ball in there''
''Taking their time now''
''They need to do better than that''
And in golf news, Lydia Ko has retained her status as best female golfer in the world then something happened...Lexi Thompson (Who had only won 1 major & was the favourite to win the LPGA golf tournament, the ANA Inspiration (Which is the 1st major of the year), has been penalised 4 strokes after a TV viewer had spotted a rules violation ruining her chance to win a tournament because she felt devastated that it wasn't a joke & she said it was ridiculous so she was devastated because she was absolutely livid about it that she missed out on the win that proved them costly due to a 4 stroke penalty.
And here's the all time Rugby World Cup XV from 1987 to 2011 being chosen by veteran sports commentator Keith Quinn on the Sir Graham Henry Celebrates The World Cups! 1987 to 2015 book:
1 (Loose head prop): Os du Randt (South Africa)
2 (Hooker): Sean Fitzpatrick (New Zealand)
3 (Tight head prop): Phil Vickery (England)
4 (Lock): Martin Johnson (England)
5 (Lock): John Eales (Australia)
6 (Blindside Flanker): Francois Pienaar (South Africa)
7 (Openside Flanker): Richie McCaw (Captain, New Zealand)
8 (Number 8): Zinzan Brooke (New Zealand)
9 (Half-back): Joost van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
10 (First five eighth): Jonny Wilkinson (England)
11 (Left Wing): Jonah Lomu (New Zealand)
12 (Second five eighth): Tim Horan (Australia)
13 (Centre): Will Greenwood (England)
14 (Right Wing): Bryan Habana (South Africa)
& 15 (Fullback): Percy Montgomery (South Africa)
So there you have it, 5 Springboks, 4 Englishmen, 4 All Blacks & 2 Wallabies in the all time Rugby World Cup XV from the past 7 tournaments (Although the book was published before the 2015 Rugby World Cup took place), not too bad (And I have chosen Richie McCaw to be captain of the all time Rugby World Cup XV on the Sir Graham Henry Celebrates The World Cups! 1987 to 2015 book because he is the most inspirational but influential leader of the team).
And it is my cousin Paige Williams's 23rd birthday today (I was listening to my favourite radio station since 2007 when I moved here called The Rock FM during the day from 9am to 5pm to listen to some best rock during the 90's (Although I did not listen to both the 70's on Monday & the 80's yesterday) but I'll do that tomorrow because it is the 2000's or noughties & was I listening to some rock & roll like Queens Of The Stone Age because it used to be Seether today? Oh I'm Sorry) because she was born on the 5th of April in 1994 so I sent her an email wishing her a happy birthday so here's her message that she sent to me in it's entirety (Well I haven't seen her along with her mother Cathey, Cathey's husband John Mitchell, her brothers & my 2 little cousins Nico & Luca since June last year where Pops & I had to see them at 116 William Street in Petone the day after the All Blacks test match against Wales at Westpac Stadium in Wellington & I did not know she's a Maori girl along with other Maori women such as Kathryn, Gemma, Huia & Aunty Tania & I've met my friends from different countries such as Diana Kent (Palatine, Illinois in the USA), Hanne (Odense, Denmark), Ken Branch (Bristol/Portsmouth in England, United Kingdom), Leon Benbaruk (Morocco), Rejean Gatineau (Montreal, Quebec, Canada), Lim Chin Keong (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), Sophia Ong (Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia) & Viluz (The Philippines):
Hi Whetu,
Thanks for your email.
I am having a great day so far!
How are you? I hope you are keeping indoors away from the wet weather.
Sorry I had not had the chance to reply to your last email I had been very busy at work when you had sent it and forgot to reply.
Hopefully I will see you again soon.
Lot's of love, Paige
xx
And Cathey has sent me an email about her daughter Paige's 23rd birthday that I wrote so here's her message in it's entirety:
Lovely Whetu!!
That was very nice of you.
Kind regards
Cathey Middelplaats
And here's a reply from my cousin Paige during her 23rd birthday:
Hi Whetu,
Good to hear you are staying inside!
Paige xx
And finally I didn't know what nearby means, because I hope it means not far away or close.
And it was on Friday that round 6 of Super Rugby started when the Highlanders completely thrashed or should I say demolished the Rebels outfit at Forsyth Barr Stadium (AKA The Glasshouse) in Dunedin by claiming their 3rd victory of the season in Aaron Smith's 100th Super Rugby appearance with a news report in this most exciting but epic game:
The Highlanders claimed their 3rd win of the Super Rugby season as they were too good for the Rebels, winning 51-12 in Dunedin.
As the scoreline suggests, this was a one-sided affair and the home side were full value for their win as they outscored the Rebels by 6 tries to 2 with Malakai Fekitoa leading the way with a deserved brace.
The win moves the Highlanders into provisional 4th place on the New Zealand Conference table although that situation could change if the Blues beat the Western Force in their clash in Auckland on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Rebels are firmly rooted at the bottom of the Australian Conference with 5 losses in as many matches this season.
The visitors were under the cosh from the outset and Marty Banks gave the home side the lead in the seventh minute when he slotted a penalty after Laurie Weeks was blown up for illegal scrummaging.
5 minutes later, Richard Buckman drew in a couple of defenders inside the Rebels' 22 before throwing an inside pass to Fekitoa, who charged through a tackle from Tom English before diving over under the posts.
The Highlanders continued to dominate and shortly afterwards Luke Whitelock had an easy run-in under the posts after the ball had gone through 14 phases in the build-up.
Banks converted both those tries and 5 minutes later he converted his second penalty which meant the Highlanders held a comfortable 20-0 lead at half-time.
The home side extended that lead two minutes after the restart via another Banks penalty but 10 minutes later, the Rebels finally opened their account in impressive fashion.
Mitch Inman showed great vision to throw an inside pass to English just outside the Highlanders' 22, and while English still had work to do and after bursting through a gaping hole in the Highlanders' defence, he rounded a flat-footed Matt Faddes before crossing for a deserved try.
That score did not faze the home side though and they continued to dominate for the next 20 minutes and scored 21 unanswered points thanks to tries from Buckman, Gareth Evans and a Fekitoa interception score following a loose pass from the Rebels on a night full of mistakes by the visiting team.
Evans' was the best of the lot as he ran onto a flat pass just outside the Rebels' 22 and showed a superb turn of speed before crashing over.
With time running out on the clock, Reece Hodge scored a consolation try for the Rebels in the 78th minute but the Highlanders were not done and would have the final say shortly afterwards.
Greg Pleasants-Tate crashed over from close quarters in injury time which also brought up a half century of points for the hosts.
And the Blues get their 3rd win of the season against the Force at Eden Park in Auckland but miss out on a bonus point after the Force tarnished the Blues hopes of a 3 try bonus point with a late try so here's the news report which is less exciting than the Highlanders-Rebels one:
The Blues managed to overcome a sturdy Force defence to claim a 24-15 victory in Auckland.
Most of the 1st half consisted of a Blues side desperate to break the Western Force defence but were unable before the Perth side claimed the 1st try through Richie Arnold. The Blues eventually unlocked the code and tries from Akira Ioane and Matt Duffie during a Isi Naisarani yellow card on the 29th minute seemed to be the deciding points.
The win gives the Blues a boost as they go to 3rd place in New Zealand Conference table with 15 points to tie with the Hurricanes with the Wellington men yet to play. The Force languish at 4th place in the Australia Conference on 5 points.
Despite the hard-fought contest the Blues had too much class in their ranks with Piers Francis orchestrating the Blues attack excellently as well as superb performances from Duffie and replacements Akira Ioane and Rieko Ioane.
It was a quiet 1st 20 minutes with a Jono Lance penalty the only the points on the board but the Force would consolidate their lead later on with a try from giant second-rower Arnold after he barged over the line from some sustained forwards pressure.
The Force lost their building momentum after a slew of penalties with the Blues opting to go for line each time. The 1st instance not resulting to anything of substance but in the second the Blues created a handy maul and drove up field and after a sneaky break force number 8 Naisarani was yellow carded and the home side opted to scrum.
After some strong defence from the Force the Blues shunted the ball wide and it looked as though winger Duffie had scored before it was called back after George Moala's pass was deemed forward.
The Blues nearly scored moments later after a another well-placed kick for touch from Francis which led to the first five-eighth chipping over a kick which was knocked forward on the try line. They finally got over the whitewash though when Akira Ioane barged through a maul to get his side's 1st points of the game with Francis adding the extras.
Duffie would get his try and compound his team's tally when Moala found a mismatch with a front-rower in front of him in his own 22 metre and used his pace to get around him. He took the ball up field and had a two-on-one as the cover defence pressed on him and gave it out to Duffie to score making the half-time tally 12-8.
The Blues looked as though they had grabbed the first points of the half with TJ Faiane scoring after the ball came loose from contact with centre picking up and scoring before the TMO saw that the second five-eighth knocked the ball forward putting it into space in the first place.
The home side then added their 3rd try of the game in the 64th minute when the Blues orchestrated a well-worked try when the outside backs let the ball do the work as they passed around the cover defence on the left wing for Rieko Ioane to score.
Michael Collins put the Blues into bonus point territory after an incredible break that saw the flyer burn round the Force cover defence to score.
The away side took the bonus point away from the Blues when Dane Haylett-Petty broke the opposition line to claim a try in the 78th minute. The Blues were adamant on leaving the game with a bonus point after another charge up field which saw Murphy Taramai burst over the line but the pass was deemed forward and it was a Force scrum on the 80-minute mark which led the ball being kicked out.
And the Chiefs remain unbeaten along with the Crusaders & Stormers with a win against the Bulls at FMG Stadium Waikato in Hamilton by celebrating Liam Messam's 150th appearance with a news report (Although several players had their head shaved including Liam Messam, Anton Lienert-Brown, Atu Moli, Sam Cane, Brodie Retallick, Dominic Bird, Michael Allardice, Tawera Kerr-Barlow, & Mitchell Karpik who had to look like a loose forward version of Christian Cullen as well as Doctor Evil from Austin Powers because he used to look like Jean-Pierre Rives as well as Phil Waugh with that long blond locks as a result for a 2 year old girl named Kau'ilani Forbes who has a rare form of cancer so those players look like they had come straight out of the Marines or Navy SEAL's):
The Chiefs came from behind to claim a 28-12 win against the stubborn Bulls in Hamilton.
The Bulls produced a well-worked game plan through a pressured defence and clever kicks behind the Chiefs line to enter the change rooms 9-3 at half time. But a try from winger Shaun Stevenson kick started the Chiefs comeback for the Chiefs to win with tries from Damian McKenzie and Atu Moli sealing the win.
The victory sees the men from Hamilton go top of the New Zealand Conference jumping the Crusaders who are yet to play while the Bulls leave the game with nothing despite their heroic first-half efforts.
There were some class acts throughout both teams with some strong performances from Handre Pollard, Rudy Paige while Jamba Ulengo, despite being the casualty in Stevenson's step to score, was incredible throughout, showing defensive brilliance as well as playing a clever attacking game after looking for work all over the field.
The Chiefs looked bewildered in the 1st half but the general excellence of McKenzie and Aaron Cruden saw their side through to the win.
They handled the game well in the opening phases as they kicked behind the Chiefs line to turn them and keep the home side under pressure in their home half.
The mercurial Pollard scored the first points after two penalties to get his side an early 6 point lead. All Black first five-eighth Cruden kicked his team's 1st points after a 3 pointer of his own.
Pollard kicked another penalty perfectly and pushed the lead to 6 points with the Bulls playing well.
The Chiefs were given penalty after penalty with the home side insisting on going for line instead of taking the points with goal. On the 35th minute the Chiefs went for line again and went wide to run the Bulls defence off their feet but the defensive expertise of Burger Odendaal would give no quarter and stopped the attack in its tracks.
The Bulls ended the half in the lead with 9-3 after a strong game plan coming through for them.
Chiefs winger Stevenson the claimed his side the lead when he received the ball, stepped the defence before grubbering it forward and then collecting his own kick to score the try, with Cruden adding the extras and then a penalty moments later making the score 13-9.
Pollard struck back with another floating penalty from 40 metres out which put his side within one point of the opposition.
The Chiefs started a counter attack and almost broke through the line on a few occasions if it wasn't for the defensive might of replacement prop Lizo Gqoboka who seemed to have the Chiefs' numbers after making a number of tackles in a row. Cruden then received the ball in the midfield and kicked for touch.
The home side used the position well and almost crossed the line through McKenzie but RG Snyman ripped the ball as the full-back dived over and the Chiefs were given a penalty which Cruden knocked over.
The fiery full-back would get his try after a wonderful chip into space behind the Bulls line with McKenzie coming out of no where to collect and then score next to the posts. Cruden neatly knocked over the extras.
The home side put the Bulls' hopes to death after some sustained pressure on the away side's line before Moli crashed over with the weight of his team behind him.
And the Hurricanes (Who are without influential captain Dane Coles due to injury) won the game against the Reds over at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane under bizarre circumstances by rubbing out or should I say disallowing 3 or 4 tries by the TMO (1st there was second five-eighth Ngani Laumape getting yellow carded for a tackle without the ball then lock Mark Abbott putting a foot in touch before scoring & stand in captain TJ Perenara not clearly taking the tap kick before he scored it then he had a banter by running in with referee Angus Gardner saying that he didn't tap the ball because it is still their penalty & it was shades of Tana Umaga who said to the ref ''We are not playing tiddlywinks'' way back in 2003 when the Hurricanes played against the Crusaders) with another news report:
The Hurricanes' class shone through to overcome a spirited Reds side 34-15 in Brisbane on Saturday.
After 2 early Julian Savea and TJ Perenara tries the Reds looked dead and buried until the Brisbane men fought back and scored 2 tries of their own through Chris Kuridrani and Scott Higginbotham. It seemed as though the Reds had enough fire to rein the Hurricanes in until a Vince Aso try took the game just out of their reach before Jordie Barrett and his brother Beauden hammered in the final nails in the Reds' coffin.
The Hurricanes keep their spot at 3rd place in the highly-competitive New Zealand Conference while the Reds stay at 3rd place on six points in the Australian Conference.
The Hurricanes owned the 1st 20 minutes after some quick running play that saw Savea and Perenara cross the line. 1st after winning the advantage they swung it out wide to Brad Shields who set it up for Savea to dive over in the corner before the halfback intercepted Reds first five-eighth Jake McIntyre's pass deep inside his own half and went all the way through to the try-line.
Full-back Jordie Barrett was given the tee and kicked both over sweetly.
It wasn't all good news for the visitors after inside centre Ngani Laumape was given a yellow card after Kerevi lost control of the ball and Beauden Barrett lept onto it. He went all the way through to the try line, but the TMO disallowed the try and Laumape was adjudged to have committed a late tackle.
The Reds would get their 1st points of the game after they took the ball to the Hurricanes line and spread it wide to Higginbotham who gave off an incredible offload to Kuridrani to score in the corner with McIntyre missing the posts again.
Higginbotham then set up and scored what could be the try of the season when the number 8 had the ball on the right wing, turned his back to the touch line but then off loaded to Eto Nabuli through a back pass. The wing then took it up field and almost scored before sending it back inside to the number eight who touched down. McIntyre finally slotted the kick making the score 14-12 to the away side.
The Canes scored first in the 2nd half after Ardie Savea made an electric break and looked as though he would score himself before being brought down just short of the line. Aso came on the inside line and the rookie winger touched down for his side's third try.
The Hurricanes looked as though they had scored again after Reds gave it everything they had to get over the line but the Canes turned it over and Julian Savea kicked the ball up field and Beauden Barrett gave a wide pass to Ardie Savea who then released the ball down to Aso who gave it Mark Abbott to score but the lock put his foot out and it was called off.
Their Canes were obviously cursed after another failed attempt when Laumape went over but they were called back for a knock on.
Perenara looked as though he eventually broke the hoodoo after the away side had a scrum on the Reds' five metre line and the nippy halfback broke around the fringes to dot down but the try was called off again and Canes would scrum again.
After what seemed like eternity of the Hurricanes laying siege to the Reds' line, the besieged broke free and kicked the ball into touch to finally get some breathing space.
After a sustained spell of pressure from the Canes, Jordie Barrett ran inside Kuridrani and dotted the ball down to score before his brother crossed for the final try of the match when Beauden Barrett received the ball running at pace to score.
And the Lions remained on top of the Africa 2 conference after they won a thrilling derby against the Sharks at Emirates Airline Park in Johannesburg while the Stormers remained unbeaten as they put 50 points on the Cheetahs at DHL Newlands in Cape Town, putting 12 points clear in the Africa 1 conference while the Crusaders are still unbeaten to remain on top of the New Zealand conference with a bonus point victory over the Michael Hooper led Waratahs at Allianz Stadium in Sydney with one last news report:
The Crusaders made it 6 victories from 6 so far in Super Rugby as they got the better of the Waratahs, winning 41-22 in Sydney.
Tries from George Bridge, David Havili, Tim Bateman (2), Bryn Hall and Ben Funnell saw the New Zealanders get 5 points on Sunday.
In reply the Waratahs' scorers were Michael Hooper, Jake Gordon and Taqele Naiyaravoro as they missed the chance to go top of the Australian Conference. This was also their 4th defeat from 6 matches so far in 2017.
The Crusaders were quickest out of the blocks and crossed on 11 minutes when Bridge raced over on the left wing for his 1st Super Rugby try.
Hunt missed the extras but it didn't take long for him to make amends when he converted Havili's try, which was all too easy from a 'Tahs viewpoint as the full-back sliced through the defence from 30 metres out without anyone putting a hand on him. That made it 12-0.
Fortunately for the Waratahs they got on the board on 23 minutes when a miscued Crusaders pass was hacked downfield, leading to the hosts winning an attacking scrum. Soon after that set-piece, flanker Hooper powered over from close range and Robinson added the extras for 12-7.
The game was now beginning to open up as both sides looked to be feeling the effects of the first half hour so it was no surprise when the in-form Whetu Douglas popped up on the left wing before cutting inside and offloading to centre Bateman for his first crossing to make it 19-7.
Robinson did cut that down to 19-10 before the break though, after a no arms tackle from Joe Moody was pinged by Marius van der Westhuizen.
The first score of the 2nd half was always going to be crucial, so when the Crusaders struck two minutes after the resumption through Bateman's second after Bridge's initial break, Waratahs head coach Daryl Gibson was visibly disappointed. With Hunt's kick the score was 26-10.
The 'Tahs did hit back with purpose though through a well-worked backline move that saw first five-eighth Mack Mason find impressive half-back partner Gordon, who backed himself from 30 out to get the hosts on the march.
26-17 then became 26-22 on 52 minutes when replacement Naiyaravoro barged over Bridge on the right wing en route to a vital crossing (And what about the bump off by Fijian born Wallaby Taqele Naiyaravoro for the Waratahs on Crusaders winger George Bridge, it was shades of the late Jonah Lomu way back in the day because it was one of the best bump offs that I have ever seen in the history of Super Rugby compared to Nemani Nadolo on Matt Duffie last year, Rene Ranger on James O'Connor in 2013 & Robbie Fruean on Piri Weepu in 2012 & it appeared on Smashed Em Bro segment on the Crowd Goes Wild at number 1 on Friday, Boomfa! Bang! Get outta my way!).
But the 'Tahs' hopes were quashed in the closing stages of the match as further Crusaders tries from replacement halfback Hall and hooker Funnell got them the bonus-point as they head into their bye week with a perfect record. The 'Tahs meanwhile left the game with nothing.
So that was Round 6 of the 2017 Super Rugby season and here are the matches for Round 7:
Hurricanes Vs Waratahs: Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Sunwolves Vs Bulls: Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium, Tokyo
Highlanders Vs Blues: Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
Brumbies Vs Reds: GIO Stadium, Canberra
Sharks Vs Jaguares: Growthpoint Kings Park, Durban
Stormers Vs Chiefs: DHL Newlands, Cape Town
& the Force Vs Kings at nib Stadium in Perth to end Round 7 of Super Rugby 2017 (With the Cheetahs, Crusaders, Lions & Rebels taking a week off to prepare for Round 8).
And round 2 of the 2017 Formula 1 World Championship season begins this Friday in China during the 1st 2 practice sessions (Then on Saturday with the 3rd & final practice session before qualifying & finally, the race is about to take place next week on Sunday) at the Shanghai International Circuit with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel leading the championship by 7 points ahead of rival Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes (Although Ferrari are leading the constructors championship at the moment by 4 points ahead of Mercedes) so who's it gonna be? Will it be Vettel's time to shine for Ferrari? Or will it be Hamilton to conquer or should I say, slay the 5.451km track in China for Mercedes after winning the Chinese Grand Prix 4 times? (His 1st win was in 2008 then he won again in 2011 before going on to win 2 Grands Prix in a row in 2014 & his last in 2015). And according to the estimates, the rivalry between Lewis Hamilton & Sebastian Vettel is intense because Hamilton is on a mission to regain the title after missing out last year to recently retired world champion Nico Rosberg while Vettel will try to add his 5th world championship because 2013 was the last time that Vettel had won the title.
And finally here's the circuit guide to Shanghai International Circuit in Shanghai who will host the Chinese Grand Prix according to Collins Grand Prix circuits book (One of the 4 books I own as part of my book collection along with Richie McCaw: The Openside (I have 6 favourite parts of the book, such as New Age Crusaders, Stone Age Bulls. Richard Bands, part Springbok prop, part Brahma Bull. Hands off, it's a ruck. DC's wrecked. I HOPE YOU'RE READY QUADE, RICHIE IS. And Hands off! Get out of there!) as well as Sir Graham Henry Celebrates The World Cups! 1987 to 2015 & Richie McCaw 148) that I've still got:
''Government-funded race track some distance from central Shanghai. An engineering feat, built in 18 months on swamp land. Interesting layout with a few tricky versions of standard corners. Majority of grandstands remain empty. Team offices on stilts within inventive but vast paddock lacking atmosphere.''
So that is my 17th blog of the year 2017 (MMXVII) & my 97th overall (Only 3 to go until I reach 100), ka kite ano & good luck.
P.S. And I have just written the list of movies that I have seen this year in 2017 so here's the list in it's entirety because I'm about to record the Austin Powers trilogy (Consisting of Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery (1997), Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) & Austin Powers In Goldmember (2002). Not only because Austin Powers is a parody of Bond, James Bond) this Saturday on TVNZ 2:
The Avengers (2012)
Moana (2016)
Days Of Thunder (1990)
Return Of The Jedi (1983)
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones (2002)
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith (2005)
Pork Pie (2017)
& Anaconda (1997).
UPDATED
Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery (1997)
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)
Austin Powers In Goldmember (2002)
Rogue Assassin (2007)
Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen (2009)
Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014)
300 (2006)
G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)
Jurassic World (2015)
Jumper (2008)
Million Dollar Arm (2014)
A View From The Top (2003)
S.W.A.T. (2003)
The Fifth Element (1997)
Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)
And it has been 4 days since the 20th anniversary of the Jonah Lomu Rugby video game which came out on the last day of March way back in 1997 (But the game is about the sport of rugby as well as the main star player for the All Blacks (Captained by hooker Sean 'Fitzy' Fitzpatrick featuring loosehead prop Craig 'Dowdy' Dowd, tighthead prop Olo Brown, locks Ian 'Kamo' Jones & Robin 'Rob' Brooke, blindside flanker Mike Brewer, openside flanker Josh 'Crusher' Kronfeld, Robin's brother & number 8 Zinzan 'Zinny' Brooke, halfback Graeme Bachop, South African born first five-eighth Andrew 'Mehrts' Mehrtens, second five eighth Walter Little, centre Frank Bunce, right winger Jeff 'Goldie' Wilson & fullback Glen 'Oz' Osborne), the late left winger Jonah Lomu taking on the rest of the world such as the eventual world champions the Springboks led by openside flanker Francois Pienaar & featuring first five-eighth Joel Stransky (Who scored the match winning drop goal that achieved immortality to put the game beyond doubt during the World Cup final), fullback Andre Joubert, loosehead prop Os du Randt, the late halfback Joost van der Westhuizen & number 8 Mark Andrews as well as the 1995 Five Nations champions & semifinalists England led by centre Will Carling which features the likes of South African born utility back Mike Catt (One of the players who can play fullback, first & second five-eighth, centre & wing), winger Rory Underwood, future England captain & lock Martin Johnson, first-five eighth Rob Andrew & of course, centre Jeremy Guscott & the defending champions at the time & quarterfinalists, the Wallabies led by first five-eighth Michael Lynagh & features players such as hooker Phil 'Kearnsy' Kearns, fullback & utility back Matt Burke, future Wallabies skipper & lock John 'Ealesy' Eales, Zambian born halfback George 'Gregs' Gregan, centre Tim Horan, winger David 'Campo' Campese & last but not least, Tongan born blindside flanker Viliami 'Willie O' Ofahengaue during the events of the 1995 Rugby World Cup (Then in 1995, disaster struck as New Zealand (Which featured rugby's 1st global superstar, Jonah Lomu) failed to regain the crown (With several players fell victim to food poisoning with the exception of captain Sean Fitzpatrick and the Brooke brothers of Robin & Zinzan), losing to debutants and hosts South Africa in the final in which united the host country as well as their leader Nelson Mandela) so here is some commentary samples taken from the game consisting of the late Bill McLaren & Bill Beaumont which I can barely remember as a kid (We used to play a PC game as well as owning a Playstation game back in the day):
''Deylaud, (French first five eighth who appeared in the game) with the kick''
''Going in well''
''I wouldn't like to be in the bottom of that''
''What a silly play''
''It's like cattle trucks in a shunting yard''
''Digs like a demented mole there''
''They don't build him like that anymore''
''A ball like that, he's one of a kind''
''With a great leap''
''And that's a huge jump again''
''Lomu!''
''Superb tackle''
''Good old British weather''
''I think the weather has slowed them down a bit''
''Some of the fans not happy with that''
''Well, the crowd didn't like that''
''Good movement of the ball''
''And getting it''
''Good support play in the middle''
''And that's a monster of a pass''
''Tremendously quick''
''And it's through!''
''Yes, an easy kick''
''Trying the grubber kick''
''To make it 2 out of 2''
''To make it 3 out of 3''
''To make it 4 out of 4''
''To make it...5 out of 5''
''Oh mercy me, that could've put him in Ward 4''
''I hope not Bill, that's a maternity ward''
''He touches it down right underneath the posts''
''And that's his 2nd try of the match''
''That'll put his smile on his face''
''Going in like a wildcat''
''Too hard''
''Not only he would see puffs from him''
''He's kept his head down & went for the line, great try''
''With the drive''
''Can he get to him?''
''It's important to get quick possession here''
''They need more men to get behind the ball''
''Goes in hard''
''It was right down his throat''
''That was good rucking''
''They did a good job''
''There are all kinds of shenanigans in the lineout''
''Almost up in the 22''
''I can't see the ball in there''
''Taking their time now''
''They need to do better than that''
And in golf news, Lydia Ko has retained her status as best female golfer in the world then something happened...Lexi Thompson (Who had only won 1 major & was the favourite to win the LPGA golf tournament, the ANA Inspiration (Which is the 1st major of the year), has been penalised 4 strokes after a TV viewer had spotted a rules violation ruining her chance to win a tournament because she felt devastated that it wasn't a joke & she said it was ridiculous so she was devastated because she was absolutely livid about it that she missed out on the win that proved them costly due to a 4 stroke penalty.
And here's the all time Rugby World Cup XV from 1987 to 2011 being chosen by veteran sports commentator Keith Quinn on the Sir Graham Henry Celebrates The World Cups! 1987 to 2015 book:
1 (Loose head prop): Os du Randt (South Africa)
2 (Hooker): Sean Fitzpatrick (New Zealand)
3 (Tight head prop): Phil Vickery (England)
4 (Lock): Martin Johnson (England)
5 (Lock): John Eales (Australia)
6 (Blindside Flanker): Francois Pienaar (South Africa)
7 (Openside Flanker): Richie McCaw (Captain, New Zealand)
8 (Number 8): Zinzan Brooke (New Zealand)
9 (Half-back): Joost van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
10 (First five eighth): Jonny Wilkinson (England)
11 (Left Wing): Jonah Lomu (New Zealand)
12 (Second five eighth): Tim Horan (Australia)
13 (Centre): Will Greenwood (England)
14 (Right Wing): Bryan Habana (South Africa)
& 15 (Fullback): Percy Montgomery (South Africa)
So there you have it, 5 Springboks, 4 Englishmen, 4 All Blacks & 2 Wallabies in the all time Rugby World Cup XV from the past 7 tournaments (Although the book was published before the 2015 Rugby World Cup took place), not too bad (And I have chosen Richie McCaw to be captain of the all time Rugby World Cup XV on the Sir Graham Henry Celebrates The World Cups! 1987 to 2015 book because he is the most inspirational but influential leader of the team).
And it is my cousin Paige Williams's 23rd birthday today (I was listening to my favourite radio station since 2007 when I moved here called The Rock FM during the day from 9am to 5pm to listen to some best rock during the 90's (Although I did not listen to both the 70's on Monday & the 80's yesterday) but I'll do that tomorrow because it is the 2000's or noughties & was I listening to some rock & roll like Queens Of The Stone Age because it used to be Seether today? Oh I'm Sorry) because she was born on the 5th of April in 1994 so I sent her an email wishing her a happy birthday so here's her message that she sent to me in it's entirety (Well I haven't seen her along with her mother Cathey, Cathey's husband John Mitchell, her brothers & my 2 little cousins Nico & Luca since June last year where Pops & I had to see them at 116 William Street in Petone the day after the All Blacks test match against Wales at Westpac Stadium in Wellington & I did not know she's a Maori girl along with other Maori women such as Kathryn, Gemma, Huia & Aunty Tania & I've met my friends from different countries such as Diana Kent (Palatine, Illinois in the USA), Hanne (Odense, Denmark), Ken Branch (Bristol/Portsmouth in England, United Kingdom), Leon Benbaruk (Morocco), Rejean Gatineau (Montreal, Quebec, Canada), Lim Chin Keong (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), Sophia Ong (Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia) & Viluz (The Philippines):
Hi Whetu,
Thanks for your email.
I am having a great day so far!
How are you? I hope you are keeping indoors away from the wet weather.
Sorry I had not had the chance to reply to your last email I had been very busy at work when you had sent it and forgot to reply.
Hopefully I will see you again soon.
Lot's of love, Paige
xx
And Cathey has sent me an email about her daughter Paige's 23rd birthday that I wrote so here's her message in it's entirety:
Lovely Whetu!!
That was very nice of you.
Kind regards
Cathey Middelplaats
And here's a reply from my cousin Paige during her 23rd birthday:
Hi Whetu,
Good to hear you are staying inside!
Paige xx
And finally I didn't know what nearby means, because I hope it means not far away or close.
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