Well, I have now broken the record for most blogs in a month so this blog is about the 1st test between our very own world champion All Blacks taking on the British & Irish Lions in the 1st test at Eden Park as well as the reviews of both the 3rd & final week of the mid year rugby union internationals & the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
But 1st it's the All Blacks tackling the British & Irish Lions in the 1st of 3 tests at Eden Park in Auckland so here is the live commentary from Newshub:
Hello and welcome to live updates of the All Blacks hosting the British and Irish Lions in the first of three Test matches at Eden Park in Auckland.
We bring you live streaming written commentary and all the action as it happens in the first Test of this most anticipated series.
Live coverage will begin from 7.15pm with the game expected to kick off at 7:30 pm (NZT).
Lineups
All Blacks
1. Joe Moody, 2. Codie Taylor, 3. Owen Franks, 4. Brodie Retallick, 5. Sam Whitelock, 6. Jerome Kaino,7. Sam Cane, 8. Kieran Read (c), 9. Aaron Smith, 10. Beauden Barrett 11. Rieko Ioane, 12. Sonny Bill Williams, 13. Ryan Crotty, 14. Israel Dagg, 15. Ben Smith
Reserves: 16. Nathan Harris, 17. Wyatt Crockett, 18. Charlie Faumuina,19. Scott Barrett, 20. Ardie Savea, 21.TJ Perenara, 22. Aaron Cruden/Lima Sopoaga, 23. Anton Lienert-Brown
Lions
1. Mako Vunipola, 2. Jamie George, 3. Tadhg Furlong, 4. Alun Wyn Jones, 5. George Kruis, 6. Peter O’Mahony (c), 7. Sean O’Brien, 8. Taulupe Faletau , 9. Conor Murray, 10. Owen Farrell 11. Elliot Daly, 12. Ben Te’o, 13. Jonathan Davies, 14. Anthony Watson, 15. Liam Williams
Reserves:16. Ken Owens, 17. Jack McGrath, 18. Kyle Sinckler,19. Maro Itoje, 20. Sam Warburton, 21. Rhys Webb, 22. Johnny Sexton, 23. Leigh Halfpenny
Match facts and stats
Referee: Jaco Peyper (RSA)
Sideline officials: Romain Poite (FRA) and Jérôme Garcès (FRA)
Review officials: George Ayoub (AUS)
Past meetings
Series won: Played 11, All Blacks 10, Lions 1
Head to head: Played 38, All Blacks 29, Lions 6, drawn 3
Last time played: All Blacks 38 def Lions 19, July 9 2005
Last time Lions beat New Zealand: Lions 20 def All Blacks 7, June 26, 1993
7.15pm: The time has come! Thank you so much for joining me for this titanic clash.
7.16pm: Conditions have improved in Auckland over the last 3 hours – looks to be a dry track at the Garden of Eden (AKA The Fortress Of Misery).
7.18pm: An unbelievable sea of red has invaded Eden Park tonight..it's very much a fever pitch atmosphere..I have goose-bumps right now and the game is still 12 minutes away!
7.20pm: No late changes to report – there had been a rumour about Auckland today that Owen Farrell would be a late scratching but he warmed up fine so everything appears as advertised.
7.23pm: Players have headed back into the changing rooms for final instructions – this game just has a different feel about it doesn't it..it's world cup final like….the closer it has got to gameday – the more the feeling the visitors are a chance at pulling off a miracle..remember 1994? That was the last time the ABs lost at Eden Park..against France (The late Jonah Lomu's 2nd test match including that try from the end of the world as we know it way back).
7.25pm: And it took one of the greatest tries of all time to beat us that day if memory serves…the try from the end of the world or something like that.
7.27pm: Have to give it up to both coaches for taking a few risks in selection..not too many people had Julian Savea out of their Test team and Liam Williams, Sean O'Brien and Elliot Daly have earned their spots for the visitors with great from on tour.
7.28pm: A guard of honour form the reserves and non-playing squad members as the Lions make their way out onto Eden Park…a team united? I believe so.
7.29pm: Kieran Read leads out the double world champions…a slow deliberate walk at that. A few boos ring out..interesting…..
7.31pm: And your match officials….Jaco Peyper with the whistle…Romain Poite and Jerome Garces his assistants (And the TMO is George Ayoub)….it's national anthem time.
7.32pm: Pretty sure I just saw Ben Te'o mouthing the words to God Defend New Zealand……
7.33pm: Great job by the crowd backing up Moses Makai –he smashed the anthem out of the park..awesome..here comes the haka!!
7.35pm: It's Kapo o pango for the ABs..led by TJ Perenara
7.36pm: Okay – that was awesome!! I'm pumped and ready for war!
KICK OFF: Here we go folks..it's Beauden Barrett with the start…deep into Lions territory and Faletau will bring it back.
1ST MINUTE: Early penalty..Aaron Smith pinged at the ruck…Lions lineout on the ABs 10m line.
2ND MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Good solid play from the BIR start..Johnathan Davies busts through the midfield and gets the ball away to Conor Murray..great tackle from Cane…Farrell away to Daly and he may have crashed over in the corner..up to the TMO who says no try..Dagg with a great tackle..try-saver.
3RD MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Penalty All Blacks..BIR offside at the ruck..Barrett clears tp the ABs 10m line.
4TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Great box kick from Smith..Daly takes it well and gets smashed by read on his 22. Murray replies with a kick of his own that Barrett cleans up nicely. ABs 10m inside BIR territory.
5TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Knock-on Lions on halfway..a wayward grubber from Barrett but Murray can't collect it..ABs scrum.
7TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Aaron Smith turns the ball over inside the Lions 22..Farrell with a lovely kick down field but Dagg replies with a monster kick himself..Lineout BIR on ABs 10m line.
9TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Ben Smith knocks on from a Murray box kick and the Lions go on the attack but it's lost by Te'o..Aaron Smith with a great kick from the ruck..finds touch on the Lions 22.
11TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Another box kick from Murray but Dagg swallows it well…ABs go on attack inside Lions territory..making good ground the forwards…SBW with a nice run in midfield. Lions defence holding up at this stage.
12TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Cross kick from Barrett..Watson climbs up like Superman and plucks it out of thin air..Dagg would have scored for sure. Watson clears but the ABs take it quickly.
13TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Good attack from the ABs…Faletau is penalised for being offside at ruck time..Barrett will take a shot here from a handy spot.
14TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY GOAL ALL BLACKS: Barrett makes no mistake..ABs get the semi-early lead.
16TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Brilliant from Retallick..on his feat at the tackle on Jamie George….Lions hooker can't get the ball back and the ABs get a scrum on halfway.
17TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): ABs offloads causing the BIR a ton of problems early..Moody and Crotty in that this movement..All Blacks on attack on the Lions 10m line..11 phases.
18TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), TRY ALL BLACKS, CODIE TAYLOR: Wow! What a pick up from his boot laces..Lions penalised for slowing the ball down..Aaron Smith takes it quickly…Barrett with the long pass out to Taylor who does wonderfully well and crashes over in the corner..ABs running the Lions ragged…Barrett smokes it over from the sideline. 10-0.
20TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Now the big question..can the Lions chase a game rather than squeeze it.
22ND MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Lions have a midfield scrum after Barrett is smashed in the tackle by Te'o
23RD MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Another box kick that Smith knocks back this time..Sean O'Brien penalised for holding on at the breakdown..Penalty ABs on their own 10m line.
24TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Sam Cane did a great job over the ball there..game comes to a stop..Joe Moody getting some treatment..Lions thank him for the rest.
25TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): An SBW knock on leads to some helter skelter play..Murray with the kick that Barrett can't clean up well..he throws the ball to Dagg who evades Daly…..Loose from the All Blacks until Aaron Smith clobbers the ball down field..great kick from Smith..Lineout Lions on their own 10m line..George down with an injury now.
26TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Turnover for the Lions..Ben Smith took the high ball well but O'Brien gets the turnover…Alun-Wyn Jones loses it forward and the ABs looking to counter..good defence from the BIR..charge down from Furlong off the back of a Smith box kick..but he knocks it on trying to collect..Ben Smith doesn't look to good..getting looked at by the trainers.
28TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): HIA spell for Ben Smith…Cruden on..Barrett to fullback.
29TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Big chance for the Lions..Cross-kick from Farrell..Daly collects it out of Daggs hands..Daly beats the tackler but loses the ball whilst trying to put Davies under the posts..cover tackle from Dagg. They have a lineout though as that was under advantage..20m out.
30TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): All Blacks offside at the ruck..Owen Franks..Farrell will have a shot from in front.
31ST MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Farrell throws it over..Lions get on the board.
33RD MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Superb kick off from Cruden and the ABs get the ball back..Read makes a break..gets the ball away to Crotty…Aaron Smith milks a penalty..playing under advantage…Crotty's night looks done..hamstring…ALB will come on..Barrett will have a shot.
34TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY GOAL ALL BLACKS: Barrett makes no mistake..feel really gutted for Ryan Crotty…and the ABs could be in trouble if Ben Smith fails his concussion test. 10 point lead restored.
35TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Ben Smith won't be back.
36TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), TRY LIONS, BRILLIANT, SEAN O'BRIEN: Counter attack at its absolute best..Williams from inside his 22 ghosts through some poor ABs midfield defence...Barrett makes the tackle but he gets the ball away to Daly who draws Dagg…Davies to the corner but great cover from Barrett again but O'Brien goes over from the offload..sensational play..Farrell can't add the two.
39TH MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER): Lions with a good spell of possession…but Cane win a turnover and the ABs go onto the counter..clock ticking down..All Blacks now inside Lions territory as Retallick busts through the middle…but Dagg knocks it on and Conor Murray smashes it into touch and we are done for the first half..Phew!! what a 40 minutes.
HALFTIME: Well that lived up to the hype didn't it…Lions started with a roar (Pun intended) but couldn't out the ABs away..the world champions took control and the Lions were in trouble after 35 minutes down 13-3 but then Liam Williams sparked a move that produced one of the best counter attack tries you will ever see….it's game on at Eden Park..be back in 10 minutes!!
2ND HALF: A compelling 1st half – that was totally worth the hype…both teams had their moments but the ABs do look good with ball in hand…no Ben Smith or Ryan Crotty remember..Owen Farrell gets the game back underway…no changes for the Lions.
41ST MINUTE: Elliot Daly climbed high above Rieko Ioane to claim the kick off but knocked it on I the tackle..scrum ABs on their own 22.
42ND MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Te'o with a tip tackle on SBW – pretty close call for mine..Lineout to the ABs on the Lions 10m line.
43RD MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): SBW loses the ball in midfield and here goes the Lions on the counter..Davies breaks free and Williams should score but he's pulled down by Aaron Smith..the shift it and look certain to score but Te'o slips..penalty for offside and Farrell kicks for touch! Lineout 5m for the visitors.
45TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Lions make a mess of that…O'Brien losses the ball forward..Dagg with a big kick down field..Williams will counter..gets the ball to Watson who skips past four would be defenders..good cover from Whitelock and he loses the ball forward...end to end stuff…Lions must make the most of these chances. Ardie Savea on for Sam Cane.
47TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Another All Blacks mistake..Sam Cane this time…it was Kaino who came off for Savea..great play from Aaron Smith sets Ioane free down the touchline..they shift the ball into midfield where Cane loses it..great tackle from O'Mahony. Scrum Lions on theor own 22. Itoje on for Alun-Wyn Jones.
49TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Rain is pelting down at the moment. Lions with the ball just inside their own half as Murray with another box kick but it's too far and Barrett clears.
51ST MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Cross kick from Cruden..It's straight to Watson but he can't handle and the ball heads into touch..ABs take it quickly.
52ND MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): SBW with the grubber that is collected well by Liam Williams but his kick is awful and the ABs have a lineout on the Lions 10m line.
53RD MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): All Blacks not making too many dents here..SBW with a nice little run but can't offload…12 phases so far..Te'o goes for an intercept but knocks the ball on..that would have been curtains.. a dead set 7 pointer.
55TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), TRY ALL BLACKS, RIEKO IOANE: TMO will look at a possible knock on from Read. No knock on at the base of the scrum…All Blacks playing under penalty advantage…Smith with a bullet pass out to Cruden..huge number…Dagg finds Ioane and he crashes over..ABs only chance of the half and they score..clinical. Barrett adds the 2-points. Tough road back now for the visitors.
58TH MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER): Mistake from George Kruis in midfield..that was not good. Scrum ABs on halfway…Big 10 mins coming up now…ABs could put the game to bed with the next score.
59TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): A ton of replacements on the park now..Sexton, Warburton and a new front row for the Lions….All Blacks have called on Perenara, and both replacement props.
60TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY GOAL ALL BLACKS: All Blacks hot on attack..great ball retention…Savea goes close..playing under advantage for offside play and an SBE knock on leads to Barrett knocking over the 3-points…15-point lead.
62ND MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Watson makes a mistake inside his own half..wayward pass from Farrell to be fair..All Blacks have a scrum 25m out..they are squeezing the Lions tonight.
65TH MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER): All Blacks go close again..relentless from the All Black ball runners…Barrett almost gets there but loses the ball forward…that was all under advantage though..penalty for the ABs and they will opt for the lineout 5m.
66TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Nothing comes of that..Itoje with a superb leap at the lineout..Murray clears..Lineout ABs on the Lions 10m line.
67TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Lions earn a penalty..Sam Cane tackling a player off the ball..lineout for the lions on the ABs 5m..They must score a 7-pointer here.
69TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Sam Whitelock with the lineout steal this time but Perenara's clearing kick is charged..it floats into touch..defensive scrum for the ABs.
70TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), TRY ALL BLACKS, RIEKO IOANE: TJ with the box kick..Davies makes a mess of it..Ioane picks it up an runs away from two defenders to score the game-sealer. Great stuff. Barrett stays perfect with the boot…30-8 now.
73RD MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER): The scoreline doesn't reflect how close this could and should have been..Lions had three chances in the opening 10 mins of the 2nd half but weren't good enough to put the All Blacks away…
76TH MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER): The atmosphere has been drained out of Eden Park by the last 20 minutes…The All Blacks just too good..game getting a little messy..interesting penalty count…11-6 to the All Blacks.
78TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Lions on attack inside the ABs 22..Watson looking dangerous everytime he touches the ball..Barrett goes for the intercept but he knocks it on..scrum on the ABs 22 for the visitors.
79TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Final play coming up..lineout 5m for the Lions..they will look to finish on a positive note.
81ST MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), TRY LIONS, RHYS WEBB: That was well done..good lineout drive..a couple pick and goes and then the replacement halfback crashes over to score the Lions second try..Farrell adds the 2 and the game has ended in true fashion.
FULL TIME: 3 tries to 2 in the end..but a comfortable win on the scoreboard for the world champions....the big difference in the game was All Blacks ability to finish their limited chances and also Barrett's goal kicking was on-point. the Lions would be very frustrated at their lack of ability to finish chances..they probably should have scored two in the first 10 of the second forty but couldn't get the job done and their discipline was awful....great game and the Lions are not out of this series my any means. thanks for your company tonight.
FINAL SCORE: All Blacks 30 British and Irish Lions 15
And what do I think of that game? It was brilliant! Absolutely brilliant from the All Blacks. Thoroughly deserved it, I quite liked it especially the 2 try hero, Reiko Ioane because he took Julian Savea's place on the left wing.
And in other international rugby news such as Wales getting their 1st win against Samoa in 6 years at Apia Park in Apia followed by Fiji winning against Scotland by 5 points (That was Scotland's 1st defeat under new Scotland coach Gregor Townsend after winning against both Italy in Singapore & Australia in Sydney) while the Wallabies beat Italy in convincing fashion a week after losing to Scotland at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane then the Springboks have clean swept France 3 - 0 in the test series after winning 35 - 12 at Ellis Park in Johannesburg & the Agustin Creevy led Argentina took on Georgia with a win.
And finally, Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) AKA Danny Ric/The Honey Badger has surprisingly won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in true style (He had to start 10th on the grid after he crashed during qualifying) after he took the lead from championship leader Sebastian Vettel (Germany) who had been pinged by the stewards for dangerous driving so he had to serve a 10 second stop & go penalty for that ruining his chances for a race win (Although Vettel could be suspended because he might be facing disciplinary action with his title aspirations gone up in smoke not only he may be highly controversial just like the glory days of his idol Michael Schumacher) while pole sitter Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain) had led the race but he labelled his rival as a disgrace to the sport after Vettel ran into him twice during the 3rd safety car period ending his hopes of winning the race from the pole while Valtteri Bottas (Finland) finishes 2nd after beating young rookie Lance Stroll (Canada) just before crossing the finish line while Stroll did get his 1st podium finish by becoming the youngest driver on the podium at 18.
And here's the points standings for both the drivers & constructors but 1st here's the drivers standings:
1st: Sebastian Vettel (Germany, Ferrari), 153 points
2nd: Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain, Mercedes), 139 points
3rd: Valtteri Bottas (Finland, Mercedes), 111 points
4th: Daniel Ricciardo (Australia, Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer), 92 points
5th: Kimi Raikkonen (Finland, Ferrari), 73 points
6th: Max Verstappen (The Netherlands, Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer), 45 points
7th: Sergio Perez (Mexico, Force India Mercedes), 44 points
8th: Esteban Ocon (France, Force India Mercedes), 35 points
9th: Carlos Sainz (Spain, Toro Rosso), 25 points
10th: Felipe Massa (Brazil, Williams Mercedes), 20 points
11th: Nico Hulkenberg (Germany, Renault), 18 points
12th: Lance Stroll (Canada, Williams Mercedes), 17 points
13th: Kevin Magnussen (Denmark, Haas Ferrari), 11 points
14th: Romain Grosjean (France, Haas Ferrari), 10 points
15th: Pascal Wehrlein (Germany, Sauber Ferrari), 5 points
16th: Daniil Kvyat (Russia, Toro Rosso), 4 points
17th: Fernando Alonso (Spain, McLaren Honda), 2 points
And then the constructors to wrap up the Formula 1 report:
1st: Mercedes (Germany), 250 points
2nd: Ferrari (Italy), 226 points
3rd: Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer (Austria), 137 points
4th: Force India Mercedes (India), 79 points
5th: Williams Mercedes (Great Britain), 37 points
6th: Toro Rosso (Italy), 33 points
7th: Haas Ferrari (USA), 21 points
7th: Renault (France), 18 points
9th: Sauber Ferrari (Switzerland), 5 points
10th: McLaren Honda (Great Britain), 2 points
So that is my 119th blog of the year 2017 (MMXVII).
P.S. And the 8th classic car of the F1 2017 game is unveiled along with the 1992 Williams FW14B which is the 1996 Williams FW18 because it was driven by both Damon Hill (Great Britain) & Jacques Villeneuve (Canada).
And finally the Lions have named their team to tackle the defending Super Rugby champions, the Hurricanes in their final mid week game tomorrow:
1 (Loose head prop): Joe Marler (England/Harlequins)
2 (Hooker): Rory Best (Captain, Ireland/Ulster)
3 (Tight head prop): Dan Cole (England/Leicester Tigers)
4 (Lock): Iain Henderson (Ireland/Ulster)
5 (Lock): Courtney Lawes (England/Northampton Saints)
6 (Blinside Flanker): James Haskell (England/Wasps)
7 (Openside Flanker): Justin Tipuric (Wales/Ospreys)
8 (Number 8): CJ Stander (Ireland/Munster)
9 (Half-back/Scrum-half): Greig Laidlaw (Scotland/Gloucester (England)
10 (First five eighth/Fly-half): Dan Biggar (Wales/Ospreys)
11 (Left Wing): George North (Wales/Northampton Saints (England)
12 (Second five eighth/Inside Centre): Robbie Henshaw (Ireland/Leinster)
13 (Centre/Outside Centre): Jonathan Joseph (England/Bath)
14 (Right Wing): Tommy Seymour (Scotland/Glasgow Warriors)
& 15 (Fullback): Jack Nowell (England/Exeter Chiefs)
And in the reserves are Kristian Dacey, Allan Dell, Tomas Francis, Cory Hill, George Kruis, Gareth Davies, Finn Russell & Jared Payne.
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