Well, with Pops gone away for 13 days to Australia to perform with the Wanganui male choir in Sydney, Melbourne & Hobart, I have decided to do a blog today.
And the All Blacks team has been named to play against Argentina at the Estadio Jose Amalfitani over in Buenos Aires hoping to retain the Rugby Championship for another stellar year after the disappointment of the Lions series so here is the starting lineup:
FRONT ROW
1 (Loose head prop): Kane Hames (Tasman/Chiefs)
2 (Hooker): Dane Coles (Wellington/Hurricanes)
3 (Tight head prop): Nepo Laulala (Counties Manukau/Chiefs)
SECOND ROW
4 (Lock): Luke Romano (Canterbury/Crusaders)
5 (Lock): Scott Barrett (Taranaki/Crusaders)
BACK ROW
6 (Blindside Flanker): Vaea Fifita (Wellington/Hurricanes)
7 (Openside Flanker): Matt Todd (Canterbury/Crusaders)
8 (Number 8): Kieran Read (Captain, Counties Manukau/Crusaders)
HALVES
9 (Half-back): Aaron Smith (Manawatu/Highlanders)
10 (First five eighth): Beauden Barrett (Taranaki/Hurricanes)
MIDFIELD
12 (Second five eighth): Sonny Bill Williams (Counties Manukau/Blues)
13 (Centre): Anton Lienert-Brown (Waikato/Chiefs)
OUTSIDE BACKS
11 (Left Wing): Rieko Ioane (Auckland/Blues)
14 (Right Wing): Waisake Naholo (Taranaki/Highlanders)
& 15 (Fullback): Damian McKenzie (Waikato/Chiefs)
And in the reserves are:
16. Codie Taylor
17. Wyatt Crockett
18. Ofa Tu'ungafasi
19. Patrick Tuipulotu (Who replaces Scott Barrett (Who is elevated to the starting lineup to replace Sam Whitelock who is being rested) to welcome back into the All Blacks fold)
20. Ardie Savea
21. TJ Perenara
22. Ngani Laumape (Who replaces Lima Sopoaga (Who had to return home for the birth of his 1st child) to cover at the backs)
& 23. David Havili (Who replaces Anton Lienert-Brown (Who is also elevated into the starting lineup to replace Ryan Crotty who is also being rested) to make his test debut off the bench).
And the Formula 1 circus heads to Malaysia for the last time (Although they were dropped from the calendar for next year with France & Germany making way) as championship leader Lewis Hamilton hoping to make it 4 race wins in a row (He has a 28 point advantage ahead of championship contender Sebastian Vettel) because the winning streak began in Belgium then Italy & most recently, Singapore (It was a drama filled race as Vettel got taken out by both Max Verstappen & Vettel's Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen & had to retire because he had failed to fire at the last race).
And in other Formula 1 news such as the young Frenchman of Pierre Gasly (The 2016 GP2 champion because GP2 is now Formula 2) who will replace experienced Russian Daniil Kvyat to make his F1 debut for Scuderia Toro Rosso (Although he will race number 10 because it was previously used by Japanese Formula 1 driver Kamui Kobayashi during the 2014 season with Caterham & that's the 4th mid season change because the 1st one was Antonio Giovanazzi who filled in for the injured Pascal Wehrlein for the opening 2 races in Australia & China to race for Sauber then Jenson Button filled the void at McLaren to race in Monaco because Fernando Alonso competed at Indianapolis for the Indy 500 & finally, it was Paul di Resta who replaced Felipe Massa in the Williams to race at Hungary).
And finally here is the circuit guide which will host the Malaysia Grand Prix (It's round 15 of the Formula 1 World Championship before the Grand Prix heads to Japan (Suzuka) then USA (Austin), Mexico (Mexico City), Brazil (Interlagos) & the season finale at Abu Dhabi (And it's only 6 races left in the 2017 season) in the UAE (United Arab Emirates):
''Excellent combination of corners & a wide track to encourage overtaking. Located in a wide dip not far from the international airport & close enough to Kuala Lumpur to draw a modest crowd to the first rate facilities. Humidity & high G-forces make it one of the most physically demanding''
So that is my 148th blog of the year 2017 (MMXVII) & my 68th this year.
P.S. And the protocol for the next America's Cup in 2021 is revealed so here is the full rundown of the official protocol:
Monohull - 75ft, design details revealed Nov 30. 10-12 on the boat.
Cyclors not banned.
Teams can run 2 boats - TNZ will have 2.
Probably see longer races than Bermuda – Around 40 mins. Include longer pre-start and up-wind start.
Nationality - Citizenship defined 20% of sailors must be from only 1 country – Rest of sailing team must meet strict criteria of residents of 380 days in country from 1 Sep 2018 to 1st Sep 2020
Event - Intent is Auckland, 2021 - but no infrastructure exists. Must start by mid next year. No host city agreement. If not in Auckland - event will go to Italy.
Pre-regattas - Events in 2019, 2020 in the America's Cup race boats. Challenger series will be organised by Challenger of Record (Luna Rossa).
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