And all is not lost as the world champion All Blacks side rolled the dice on the Springboks with a 57-0 hiding at QBE Stadium in Albany over in the North Shore in Auckland by taking towards a big step of successfully defending our Rugby Championship title so here is the match commentary:
Welcome to QBE Stadium in Albany for the much anticipated clash between two of the great rivals of world rugby - it is New Zealand playing host to South Africa.
New Zealand are unbeaten from three starts but there have been moments in each of their matches that have shown that this might All Blacks side can be beaten.
South Africa have gone from strength to strength after a disappointing 2016 and come into this match undefeated in 2017. They will consider this their best chance in some time to get the better of the All Blacks, a side they have not beaten since 2014.
1ST MINUTE, 1ST HALF: Elton Jantjies puts boot to ball and we are underway in Albany!
A solid start from the All Blacks with an early clearance finding the touch line right on half way.
2ND MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Damian McKenzie rolls his kick inside the Springboks' 22 - Courtnall Skosan gathers cleanly for the visitors but is quickly closed down in a solid tackle. The All Blacks are applying the early pressure!
3RD MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): There is plenty of tension early in this first half - both sides have had a line out and both sides have coughed up possession against the throw.
4TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): The all important first scrum of the match! The Springboks' have the feed just inside the All Blacks' 10m line.
5TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): An early confidence booster for the Springboks' pack who have come up with a free kick at the first scrum engagement.
6TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): The first penalty of the match goes to the Springboks! The All Blacks have been penalised for not releasing the ball and so Elton Jantjies will line up from right in front of the posts.
8TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), MISS!: A huge early let off for New Zealand - the kick at goal from Elton Jantjies thumps into the woodwork and back into the field of play.
9TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): The Springboks have been rewarded for an outstanding scrum! The All Blacks' pack disintegrates under tremendous pressure and the resultant penalty will go to the visitors.
11TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): A crucial error from Andries Coetzee - his clearance clears the touch line on the full but the ball had been taken back into the 22 by the Springboks. Play will come all the way back for an All Blacks' line out.
14TH MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER), PENALTY GOAL!: New Zealand (Beauden Barrett) 3-0 New Zealand
15TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Beauden Barrett makes the Springboks pay for some missed opportunities with the first penalty goal of the match - South Africa have looked better in general play but it is the All Blacks with the early lead.
17TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), TRY!: New Zealand (Rieko Ioane) 8-0 New Zealand
19TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), CONVERSION!: New Zealand (Beauden Barrett) 10-0 New Zealand
20TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): The All Blacks have drawn first blood! Outstanding vision from Aaron Smith - he spotted that the Springboks' defence was out of position and took the quick tap from the penalty before brilliantly kicking the ball into the path of Rieko Ioane who caps off the move with a try in the corner.
21ST MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), TRY!: New Zealand (Nehe Milner-Skudder) 15-0 New Zealand
23RD MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), CONVERSION!: New Zealand (Beauden Barrett) 17-0 New Zealand
Just too good, a magical try from the All Blacks! Nehe Milner-Skudder pulls off the intercept inside New Zealand territory before darting away - he runs out of legs and is about to be chased down before some brilliant interplay with Beauden Barrett opens up the try line for the right winger who crosses for the All Blacks' second five-pointer.
25TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): The stats sheet is showing that the All Blacks have only had 30% of possession but they have been able to capitalise on each of their opportunities unlike the Springboks so far.
27TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Kane Hames has been penalised at half way - the Springboks elect to kick for touch and Elton Jantjies finds the line right on the All Blacks' 22.
29TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Concern is being shown from the sidelines for Liam Squire who is assisted from the field for a concussion test.
30TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Ref Nigel Owens has spotted some obstruction on Siya Kolisi and the resultant penalty will go to the Springboks - we are only half an hour into this match but the visitors desperately need some reward for effort on the scoreboard before half time.
31ST MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): The Springboks have let themselves down with handling errors at crucial moments - in fact the visitors have committed the last five handling errors of this test match.
33RD MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), TRY!: New Zealand (Scott Barrett) 22-0 New Zealand
34TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), CONVERSION!: New Zealand (Beauden Barrett) 24-0 New Zealand
36TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): The All Blacks simply can do no wrong at the moment! The kick across field from Beauden Barrett doesn't go to hand but they have all the numbers around the ball - Scott Barrett drives through the narrowest of gaps inside the touch line before rounding to score.
37TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), TRY!: New Zealand (Brodie Retallick) 29-0 New Zealand
38TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), CONVERSION!: New Zealand (Beauden Barrett) 31-0 New Zealand
It's try number four for the All Blacks! Normally it is the brilliant backs for the All Blacks but on this occasion it is time for the forwards to show their stuff - Dane Coles shifts the ball inside for the run of Brodie Retallick who strides away to score under the posts.
40TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): We are yet to reach half time but the All Blacks are already in bonus point territory - it is has been a simply devastating opening forty minutes from the world champions!
HALF TIME: What a first half from the All Blacks! The Springboks looked good in the early stages but were unable to make the most of their chances before New Zealand made the visitors pay with a devastating blitz that yielded four converted tries. At half time, New Zealand lead South Africa by 31-0.
40TH MINUTE, 2ND HALF: Beauden Barrett kicks off for the All Blacks to get the second half underway.
41ST MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): An early attacking opportunity here for the Springboks who have a line out right on the All Blacks' 22m line.
42ND MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): The Springboks' woes at the line out continue - they have won only 5 of their 8 line out throws so far.
43RD MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): The Springboks string together several phases but are unable to gain any territory at all in the face of some aggressive All Blacks' defence.
44TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Yet another error committed by the Springboks at the line out - they manage to secure the throw but it comes to nought after Francois Hougaard left the ball behind.
46TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Sonny Bill Williams takes on the defensive line before releasing the ball but his pass to Ryan Crotty was forward - the Springboks have the scrum feed right in the middle of the park.
49TH MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER): The Springboks' early dominance at scrum time has dissipated - a penalty to the All Blacks' will give Beauden Barrett a chance to kick for touch deep in South African territory.
Magic from Damian McKenzie! The full back spots a gap down field before thumping a beautifully weighted kick that rolls over the touch line a metre inside the corner flag.
51ST MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): A penalty to the All Blacks just outside the Springboks' 22 for a high tackle on Aaron Smith - the home side is keen to keep the heat on and so they turn down a shot at goal and elect to kick for touch in the corner.
53RD MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), TRY!: New Zealand (Nehe Milner-Skudder) 36-0 New Zealand
54TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), MISS!: The first miss of the match so far from the boot of Beauden Barrett - his conversion attempt is away to the right.
55TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): The All Blacks score the first try of the second half! Brilliant vision from Beauden Barrett who floats the pass out to the right to the unmarked Nehe Milner-Skudder and the winger is in in the corner - the TMO checks the grounding before confirming the five pointer.
57TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Nothing is going right for the Springboks at the moment - a handling error from skipper Eben Etzebeth just about sums up South Africa's night so far.
58TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Lima Sopoaga sends a kick across the field however Courtnall Skosan is in the way and he brings the ball to ground, securing possession for the Springboks.
The Springboks go close after a dart from Rudy Paige however the All Blacks' defence holds firm and they come up with a relieving penalty deep in their 22.
61ST MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER): Codie Taylor goes close but a review by the TMO shows that he has come up just short of the line - the All Blacks have a scrum feed deep inside the Springboks' 22.
64TH MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER), TRY!: New Zealand (Ofa Tu’ungafasi) 41-0 New Zealand
65TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), CONVERSION!: New Zealand (Beauden Barrett) 43-0 New Zealand
Try number 6 to the All Blacks! After the home side went close on a couple of occasions, the result was never in doubt - from close range, Ofa Tu’ungafasi crashes over to score his first international try.
67TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): The All Blacks are looking dangerous once again in attack and have advanced to within 10m of the Springboks' line - it comes to nought however with the visitors awarded a relieving penalty.
70TH MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER): The crowd attendance has been confirmed at a tick over 30,000 - they have been treated to an outstanding display this evening from the All Blacks who have barely put a foot wrong since early in the first half.
72ND MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): A sloppy line out from the All Blacks but they still manage to emerge with the ball - more pressure on the Springboks' defence here inside their 22.
73RD MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Beauden Barrett attempts a delicate chip out to the left however Andries Coetzee has the ball well covered - the Springboks' full back completes the mark before clearing his kick into touch.
74TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), TRY!: New Zealand (Lima Sopoaga) 48-0 New Zealand
75TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), CONVERSION!: New Zealand (Beauden Barrett) 50-0 New Zealand
76TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): The procession continues in Albany! Incredible strength and power from Anton Lienert-Brown who steamrolls the Springboks' defence, leaving it in tatters - he offloads to Lima Sopoaga who crosses under the posts. The conversion from Beauden Barrett brings up the half century for New Zealand.
78TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Just under three minutes left on the clock but the All Blacks are not finished yet - they have the scrum feed inside South African territory where the vast majority of the play has taken place in this second half.
80TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): We are inside the final minute and the All Blacks will have one last chance to extend their lead even further - the home side have a line out just a metre out from the Springboks' line.
80TH MINUTE + 1ST MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), TRY!: New Zealand (Codie Taylor) 55-0 New Zealand
80TH MINUTE + 3RD MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), CONVERSION!: New Zealand (Beauden Barrett) 57-0 New Zealand
The All Blacks put an emphatic exclamation mark on a sublime performance! At the back of the rolling maul, Codie Taylor crashes over for New Zealand's eighth try.
FULL TIME: The final whistle sounds to end an incredible night of test match rugby in Albany! The rugby world has shifted on its axis on the back of a near-perfect performance from New Zealand who have broken all sorts of records on their way to a dominant 57-0 victory over South Africa.
And what do I think of the game? Well, it was a demolition derby job from our All Black perspective not only because we annihilated them so the Boks were totally embarrassed, outclassed & outperformed by the men in black (Well, they need to regroup for the next match against the Wallabies in Bloemfontein in order to seek utu against New Zealand in Cape Town).
And what about the All Black players such as left winger Rieko Ioane (He is no longer the lion slayer but he is now both a wallaby & springbok slayer), he had such a relatively awesome performance, scoring just the one try off an Aaron 'Nugget' Smith (The one who plays at halfback because he had managed to regain some form) kick along with the likes of right winger Nehe Milner-Skudder (AKA Skudz) who got a double (Including that try off an intercept during the 1st half (Although Springbok winger Courtnall Skosan chased him down but Milner-Skudder passed the ball to Beauden 'Beaudy' Barrett & then bang! Barrett passed it back to him to set up that beautiful try) & from a wide pass from Beauden Barrett during the 2nd half) as well as reserve lock Scott 'Scooter' Barrett who made an impact by scoring a try off his brother Beauden's cross field wipers kick during the 1st half (And Beauden Barrett got his goal kicking mojo back because of that remedial work paid off in order to improve his goal kicking (He missed all of his shots at goal during the test against Argentina in New Plymouth (Well, it was Lima Sopoaga who assumed the goal kicking duties) in front of his adoring home fans as well as getting yellow carded for conceding multiple cynical penalties & scoring a try) despite only missing 1 shot at goal) after coming from the bench to replace Liam Squire who had to go off for a concussion check to play as blindside flanker & what about second rower Brodie Retallick (The man they call him Guzzler), he is an absolute giraffe when he picked up a try off a dazzling run by Ioane & a pass from hooker Dane Coles (Known as Colesy) during the 1st half as well as several players who had to come on from the bench such as tight head prop Ofa Tu'ungafasi for Nepo Laulala who crashed over to pick up his 1st try in test rugby along with first five-eighth Lima Sopoaga for Nehe Milner-Skudder who also scored his 1st test try off an Anton Lienert-Brown (Who just came on for offload guru Sonny Bill 'SBW' Williams) run & inside ball to Sopoaga to set up the try & of course hooker Codie Taylor for Colesy, who picked up the try from a rolling maul to end the game but what a way to finish a match like that because it is one of our greatest test matches of all time but poor old Springboks, the record 57 point defeat was one of their darkest days in South African rugby (Along with that upset loss against Japan during the Rugby World Cup in 2015 which shocked the rugby world) because they suffered one of their worst nightmares in Albany (The South African sport headlines would probably say: NIGHTMARE IN ALBANY FOR THE BOKS).
And the match between the Wallabies & Argentina at GIO Stadium in Canberra resulted in a bonus point win by the Wallabies so here's the news report about the match:
Australia secured a bonus-point 45-20 victory over Argentina in their Rugby Championship clash in Canberra.
The Wallabies displayed brilliant interplay between forwards and backs and were lethal when presented with try-scoring opportunities. An Argentinian yellow card ten minutes from time helped the home side run away with the win, scoring three more tries to secure the much-needed bonus point.
The home side opened the scoring through a penalty goal from first five-eighth Bernard Foley after Argentina were penalised for another offside offence. After 14 minutes, first five-eighth Nicolas Sanchez leveled the score with a penalty goal of his own after a Wallaby entered a maul incorrectly.
Pumas halfback Martin Landajo scored the first converted try of this clash after he sold a fantastic dummy before diving over the line from a few centimeters out.
Wallabies full-back Israel Folau then scored a converted try in the far right corner after some fantatsic interplay from the Wallabies forwards and backs ended with Foley unleashing Folau, who brushed past a hapless Argentinian defender.
Sanchez slotted another penalty after 35 minutes after a Wallaby was caught offside to give the Pumas a 13-10 lead at half-time.
Wallabies prop Sekope Kepu scored a converted try early in the second 40 when he crashed over from close range after a few solid, patient carries from his fellow forwards.
Folau scored his second in the opposite corner after halfback Will Genia sent him a long pass which he gathered before shifting his feet to bamboozle the last Argentinian defender. Foley converted the try and extended the Wallabies lead to 11 points.
Ten minutes before the final whistle, Argentina gave away another penalty after an early engagement and prop Enrique Pieretto was sent to the sin bin. From the resulting scrum, Genia broke and dived in for his try before Foley converted to make the score 31-13 to the home side.
Australian number eight Sean McMahon then broke before passing inside to reserve scrum-half Nick Phipps, who just had enough gas and arm stretch to score his side's bonus point try.
Pumas wing Matias Moroni chipped and gathered in sensational fashion down the right wing to score in the 77th minute before Sanchez added the extra two points. But the home side hammered in the final nail in Argentina's coffin after the final hooter had sounded when reserve hooker Jordan Uelese scored from a close-range leap before Foley's conversion sealed their bonus-point victory.
And here is the review of round 5 in the 2017 Mitre 10 Cup season:
Nothing can ever be taken for granted in the Mitre 10 Cup competition, as Canterbury found out in Wellington on Sunday afternoon when beaten 60-14 by the Championship leaders.
This loss came after Canterbury had earlier in the week beaten Counties Manukau 78-5. It didn't knock Canterbury off the lead in the Premiership but it did show that no side can be immune from the tough double game requirement all teams have to face at some stage of the competition.
North Harbour, with another win over a Championship side, elevated themselves to second place in the Premiership, now only three points behind Canterbury but with some heavy timber to come, including Canterbury on Saturday. But it was another thrilling contest in Whangarei before North Harbour secured a 31-22 win over Northland.
Auckland got a necessary win when beating Southland 27-17 in Invercargill, but it was a tough contest with the home side looking for their first win and bouncing back from their Christchurch humiliation with some determined play that pushed the northerners all the way.
Taranaki showed why they are in third place in the Premiership with their 29-7 win over Bay of Plenty, an effort which ultimately demonstrated the differences between the two divisions, where chances are better taken by the higher-ranked side.
Manawatu are perpetual road bump merchants, just ask Canterbury sides through the years, and they unleashed their tricks on Waikato in Hamilton to take a 23-10 win.
Tasman showed their mettle when reduced to 14-men and having to cope with a fast-finishing Otago side in Dunedin before claiming a 29-27 win. That was enough to lift Tasman to fourth in the Premiership while Otago slipped back to third in the Championship behind Northland.
Counties Manukau got an overdue win when beating Hawke's Bay 33-14 but it still wasn't enough to lift them off the bottom of the Premiership as they sit one point behind Auckland.
Counties Manukau face a key game when travelling to Tauranga to play Bay of Plenty on Sunday. They will be playing a Bay side which hosts Southland on Wednesday in Rotorua. Meanwhile, Auckland are in Dunedin to play Otago on Thursday, and the respective results may have a key impact on their final positions in the competition.
In the individual points scoring, Wellington's win over Canterbury saw Jackson Garden-Bachop reach 74 points, four ahead of Canterbury's first five-eighths Richie Mo'unga while Otago's Fletcher Smith has 68 with North Harbour's Bryn Gatland on 67 points.
The leading try scorer remains Braydon Ennor, who didn't play in Canterbury's loss to Wellington, on seven tries while Waikato's Jordan Manihere and North Harbour's Tevita Li are on six and sharing five tries are Wellington's Malo Tuitama and Cantabrians George Bridge and Tim Bateman.
And finally I will be doing the review of the Singapore Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton has won the race, increasing his championship lead from 3 to 28 after a 1st lap carnage (And Sebastian Vettel was on pole so I watched qualifying but I had to watch the start of the race when Max Verstappen had a great start but was collided by Kimi Raikkonen before he bumped Vettel whilst Fernando Alonso crashed into both Raikkonen & Verstappen but Vettel spun out & lost the lead meaning that his car got seriously damaged but what does that mean for Lewis Hamilton? He had to take over the lead of the race but I switched it off before I took Buck for a traditional morning walk but I managed to watch the highlights at 2pm, 30 minutes before I took Buck for a traditional afternoon walk when Hamilton won the Grand Prix).
So that is my 145th blog of the year 2017 (MMXVII) & my 65th this year.
P.S. Those who died are justified, for wearing the badge, they're the chosen whites
You justify those that died by wearing the badge, they're the chosen whites
Those who died are justified, for wearing the badge, they're the chosen whites
You justify those that died by wearing the badge, they're the chosen whites
And my dear cousin Paige Williams has sent me an email so here's her message in it's entirety:
Hi Whetu,
Sorry for the late reply, I don't always check my personal email as also have a work one.
That's lovely you have a visitor, how do you know her?
I did watch the rugby on Saturday, we won by heaps! Go the All Blacks! Did you watch it?
What did you get up to this weekend?
Lots of Love,
Paige xx
P.S. Those who died are justified, for wearing the badge, they're the chosen whites
You justify those that died by wearing the badge, they're the chosen whites
Those who died are justified, for wearing the badge, they're the chosen whites
You justify those that died by wearing the badge, they're the chosen whites
And my dear cousin Paige Williams has sent me an email so here's her message in it's entirety:
Hi Whetu,
Sorry for the late reply, I don't always check my personal email as also have a work one.
That's lovely you have a visitor, how do you know her?
I did watch the rugby on Saturday, we won by heaps! Go the All Blacks! Did you watch it?
What did you get up to this weekend?
Lots of Love,
Paige xx
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