Well, the All Blacks have completed the year 2018 in style, finishing it off with a win against Italy (AB's utility back Jordie Barrett was the hero of that test match, scoring 4 tries just like his brother Beauden did against the Wallabies at Eden Park in Auckland during the month of August this year while Damian McKenzie got a hat trick of tries as well (Just like Rieko Ioane did against France at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin & Ngani Laumape against Japan at Ajinomoto Stadium in Chofu, Tokyo) so here is the match commentary provided by Newshub:
Kia ora and welcome into Newshub's live updates between the All Blacks and Italy at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
The test is the final match of the year for both teams.
In total there are 11 changes to the starting side with an all-new tight five, midfield and wing pairing the most significant changes to the team.
Beauden Barrett and Damian McKenzie have retained the 10 and 15 jerseys respectively with Jordie Barrett slotting onto the right wing and TJ Perenara coming in at halfback.
The final change from last week’s starting fifteen against Ireland is Vaea Fifita at blindside flanker in place of the injured Liam Squire.
Line-ups
All Blacks
1-Ofa Tuungafasi, 2-Dane Coles, 3-Nepo Laulala, 4-Patrick Tuipulotu, 5-Scott Barrett, 6-Vaea Fifita, 7-Ardie Savea, 8-Kieran Read (c), 9-TJ Perenara, 10-Beauden Barrett , 11- Waisake Naholo, 12-Ngani Laumape, 13-Anton Lienert-Brown, 14-Jordie Barrett, 15-Damian McKenzie
Reserves: 16-Nathan Harris, 17-Karl Tu'inukuafe, 18-Angus Ta'avao, 19-Brodie Retallick, 20-Dalton Papali'i, 21-Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, 22-Richie Mo'unga, 23-Rieko Ioane.
Italy
1-Andrea Lovotti, 2-Leonardo Ghiraldini (c), 3-Simone Ferrari, 4-Alessandro Zanni, 5-Dean Budd, 6-Sebastian Negri, 7-Jake Polledri, 8-Abraham Jurgens Steyn, 9-Tito Tebaldi, 10-Tommaso Allan, 11-Luca Sperandio, 12-Tommaso Castello, 13-Michele Campagnaro, 14-Tommaso Benvenuti, 15-Jayden Hayward
Replacements: 16-Luca Bigi, 17-Cherif Traore, 18-Tiziano Pasquali, 19-Marco Fuser, 20-Johan Meyer, 21-Guglielmo Palazzani, 22-Luca Morisi, 23-Edoardo Padovani.
Head-to-head and past results
Played: 14
Won: All Blacks 14
Previous results:
2016: New Zealand won 68-10 in Rome
2012: New Zealand won 42-10 in Rome
2009: New Zealand won 20-6 in Milan
2009: New Zealand won 27-6 in Christchurch
2007: New Zealand won 76-14 in Marsellie (RWC)
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Pascal Gaüzère (France), Sean Gallagher (Ireland)
TMO: Andrew McMenemy (Scotland)
2:25 AM: The match is due to start in just over 30 minutes. This is the last All Blacks test of the year.
2:35 AM: Last week, Italy lost to Australia 26-7, while the All Blacks lost to Ireland 16-9.
2:45 AM: We're now 15 minutes away. Both teams are back in the sheds and will be back out shortly for the anthems and then the haka.
2:51 AM: The stadium isn't full which is off to see in an All Blacks test admittedly. Both teams emerge from the sheds and are out on the field.
2:53 AM: There is a choir singing in the New Zealand anthem and they sound great doing it. Something different instead of music blasting out of the speakers.
2:56 AM: The 2 Kiwis in the Italian squad - Dean Budd and Jayden Hayward - are both pictured singing Italy's anthem with lots of passion.
2:57 AM: Kieran Read is leading the haka which i've never seen before. TJ Perenara is at the front where Read is usually placed.
2:58 AM: As talked about yesterday, most of the All Blacks are wearing rainbow laces.
KICK OFF: We're underway in Rome. Beauden Barrett gets us underway.
1ST MINUTE: Early line out to the All Blacks and captain Read wins it on the halfway line. New Zealand drive forward, but the maul goes to ground, and Italy wins the turnover.
3RD MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): After multiple re-sets, Italy wins a free kick and they take a quick tap.
4TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): The All Blacks get the ball, but a loose carry means Italy go on the counter attack. There was another fumble and the referee says "no advantage" and Italy have another scrum.
6TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Penalty to NZ, and they take the quick tap and TJ Perenara kicks the ball forward.
7TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY: The All Blacks are caught offside and now Italy has another penalty. They kick for touch, but their line out throw isn't straight, so we have another scrum...
9TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), TRY ALL BLACKS: TJ Perenara is over for New Zealand. They caught Italy napping. They attack down the right wing, and Jordie Barrett passes the ball back infield and Perenara dives over.
10TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), CONVERSION MISS: A poor coversion by Beauden Barrett and the All Blacks have a 5-0 lead.
11TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Italy get inside the All Blacks' 22 for the first time as Luca Sperandio goes on a big run.
13TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), PENALTY: Penalty to the hosts. They will kick for goal here.
PENALTY GOAL ITALY: Tommaso Allan lands the penalty attempt and now the score is 5-3 to New Zealand.
14TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): All Blacks knock the ball on from the re-start.
15TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Another free kick to Italy from the scrum. They take the tap and go for it.
16TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Time is off here but referee Andrew Brace is down with a knee injury. The medics come on and use some magic spray and water on the Irishman's knee. Hopefully he doens't need to go off with injury.
17TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY: Play resumes and the All Blacks had a penalty so they kick for touch.
18TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), TRY ALL BLACKS: Damian McKenzie goes in under the posts. That was a beauty. Kieran Read attacks the line and somehow gets the ball to Patrick Tuipulotu, who runs a great line and a simple draw and pass to his fullbacks sends him through.
19TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), CONVERSION: Beauden Barrett lands the conversion. All Blacks lead 12-3.
21ST MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Italy building some phases together, but then a poor pass goes to ground and then Dane Coles kicks the ball away. What can't Coles do?
22ND MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Scrum to the All Blacks after Italy drops the ball just inside NZ's half.
24TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Big news here as Andrew Brace is leaving the field. The Irishman has a knee injury. He had it looked at earlier but he is in pain (And is unable to continue). Assistant Pascal Gaüzère will take his place, but then who replaces the Frenchman on the sideline?
25TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Play resumes with a scrum to Italy.
26TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY: Penalty to the All Blacks and they kick for touch and they will have a line out inside the 22.
27TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), TRY ALL BLACKS: Damian McKenzie has a brace. Nice easy try as Beauden Barrett gets the ball, and grubbers the ball through and the fullback scores. The in-goals are massive so plenty of space to try kicks like that.
29TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), CONVERSION MISS: Another missed conversion by Barrett as the All Blacks lead 17-3.
30TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY: Penalty to Italy. They could kick for goal here, but they opt to kick for touch. They'll have a line out about 10 out from the line.
32ND MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), TRY ALL BLACKS: Jordie Barrett gets in on the scoring as he finishes off a move started inside their half. Ardie Savea turns the ball over and they counter. Dane Coles makes a break and finds Damian McKenzie who then gives it to Barrett to score under the posts.
33RD MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Beauden Barrett lands the conversion. All Blacks lead 24-3.
35TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): The All Blacks have an attacking line out here. Can they score their fifth here.
37TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): The All Blacks are just messing with Italy now. They nearly score an amazing five-pointer, but the last pass from Jordie Barrett to TJ Perenara is forward. Vaea Fifita goes on a big run which involved about five or six of the players.
38TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SUBSTITUTION: Marco Fuser comes on for Alessandro Zanni.
39TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY: Penalty to New Zealand as a mini scuffle breaks out. Nothing serious. All Blacks will look for one more try before halftime.
40TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY: Another penalty to NZ. They really want that 5th try right now.
40TH MINUTE + 3RD MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER), TRY ALL BLACKS: Jordie Barrett has his brace now as he scores a rugby league-esque try. Beauden Barrett gets the ball and kicks out to the wing where his brother is one-on-one with Jayden Hayward, and he soars through the air and catches the ball to score in the corner (Well, Beauden Barrett hasn't been doing a lot of his cross field kicking lately this year).
HALFTIME, CONVERSION: Beauden Barrett lands the conversion and the All Blacks lead 31-3 at the break. Damian McKenzie and Jordie Barrett both have two tries while TJ Perenara has the All Blacks' other.
40TH MINUTE: The 2nd half is underway in Rome. Pascal Gaüzère (Who took over from the injured Andrew Brace) blows his whistle as Tommaso Allan gets us started.
42ND MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Italy with the ball inside the All Blacks' half with a penalty advantage.
43RD MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY: But their advantage comes to nothing as the All Blacks win a penalty and now they're just outside Italy's 22.
44TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), TRY ALL BLACKS: Ngani Laumape gets in on the scoring act as some great offloading gets the second-five into space to score near the posts.
45TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), CONVERSION: The conversion goes over. The All Blacks lead 38-3.
46TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), TRY ALL BLACKS: Now Beauden Barrett scores for the All Blacks. Italy tries a trick play from the line out and Barrett reads it to perfection as he intercepts the ball and sprints over for the try.
47TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), CONVERSION: The conversion goes over from the tryscorer Beauden Barrett. The score is now 45-3.
48TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SUBSTITUTION: Ardie Savea comes off for Dalton Papalii Would have liked to have seen Savea out there more due to his form, but great to see Dalton get 30-odd minutes.
50TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): The All Blacks are back on the attack one more and are just outside the 22.
51ST MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SUBSTITUTION: The All Blacks have a line out five out from the line. Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi and Richie Mo'unga both come on now. TJ Perenara and Beauden Barrett are the ones to come off.
52ND MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): The All Blacks take a quick line out and they attack down the left wing, but it comes to nothing as the ball goes into touch.
53RD MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), TRY ALL BLACKS: Damian McKenzie has a hat-trick now as he dives over for his 3rd. The All Blacks grubber through and it bounces off the post, into the path of McKenzie to score.
54TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), CONVERSION: Richie Mo'unga lands the conversion.
55TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): The All Blacks try some trick plays now with a kick over the top, and it sits up nicely, but a pass out wide goes to ground.
56TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SUBSTITUTION: Waisake Naholo's night is over. He was very quiet. Rieko Ioane will come on the park as his replacement.
57TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY: Things are going from bad to worse for Italy who give away a penalty at the scrum. The AB's kick for touch and they have another line out 5 out from the line.
58TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): The All Blacks try a grubber kick to the corner, but it doesn't hold up for Rieko Ioane and goes dead.
60TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): We're into the final quarter in Rome. Can the All Blacks score four more tries to bring up 80?
61ST MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): The All Blacks clear the bench so Nathan Harris, Karl Tu'inukuafe, Angus Ta'avao, and Brodie Retallick all come on.
63RD MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Scrum to Italy after a mistake by the All Blacks.
65TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): That took a long time to complete as the scrum is finally complete.
66TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Italy looking more deadly with the ball now, as they build some phases together.
67TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Italy have an attacking line out and they get a drive going, but play is brought back for a penalty advantage.
69TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): This game as turned very scrappy now and quite dull in all fairness. All Blacks have a scrum to feed.
71ST MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), PENALTY: Penalty to the All Blacks as once again the scrum takes forever to complete.
72ND MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): The All Blacks make a nice run down the middle of the field. The next play, they kick the ball forward, but it touched in-goal by Jayden Hayward.
74TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), TRY ALL BLACKS: Jordie Barrett now has a hat-trick, and Nathan Harris has set up a try. The All Blacks make a break and the hooker puts in a grubber to the wing of Barrett who scores in the corner.
76TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), CONVERSION: Richie Mo'unga lands the conversion and the lead is now 59-3.
78TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Now Italy is close to the line. Can the end their season with a try?
79TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Italy with a line out 5 out from the line. But it is a poor throw and the All Blacks get the ball.
80TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): The All Blacks have a line out no and they'll try get one more try before the match ends.
80TH MINUTE + 2ND MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), TRY ALL BLACKS: Jordie Barrett scores his 4th and what a statement match by the 21-year-old. Way too easy there.
FULL TIME, CONVERSION: The conversion goes over and that is it. The All Blacks win 66-3 against Italy.
5:05am: Thanks for tuning in. Check back in later. But don't forget, the World Rugby awards are tomorrow (All Black second rower Brodie Retallick won try of the year for his dummy pass against the Wallabies during the 1st Bledisloe Cup test then star Irish first five Johnny Sexton becoming world's best rugby player (Effectively taking over from Beauden Barrett by ending Barrett's 2 year reign as the best rugby player in the world) while Ireland have been awarded team of the year (That's why because of their 6 Nations crown in which they won as well as the grand slam (By beating all 5 teams participating in the 6 Nations such as England, France (Including that epic match winning drop goal by the newly crowned best player in the world, Johnny Sexton), Italy, Scotland & Wales) & triple crown (By beating all 3 home unions such as England, Scotland & Wales) for the 1st time since 2009 then they won the test series against Australia despite the single blip in the 1st test at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane & they had a clean sweep in the autumn internationals including that famous win at home against the All Blacks) while speedy South African winger Aphiwe Dyantyi had been crowned best breakthrough player of the year (Rieko Ioane won last years award (English second rower Maro Itoje won it in 2016 & injury prone All Black winger Nehe Milner-Skudder won it in 2015 which was in fact, World Cup year) but Dyantyi's stellar rugby career began as an aspiring young up & coming winger who played in the Currie Cup last year then earned selection for the Lions Super Rugby team in which he performed well by scoring a heap of tries & known for his lightning pace then a Springbok call up beckoned meaning that he is now officially a Springbok after an impressive Super Rugby season due to his good performances so the rest is history about the miracle story of pace man Aphiwe Dyantyi), beating the likes of Irish winger & fullback Jordan Larmour & rookie All Black prop Karl Tu'inukuafe (Although at the start of the year that he probably might get a short term Super Rugby contract with the Chiefs then an All Black call up later because he was so overweight (Although he provided security at a nightclub or bar down in Auckland as a bouncer or should I say, a doorman because he was out of shape) but he had to shed that one off (He is now 135 kilos, the required weight for a prop like that) by getting a short term deal with the Chiefs (Although he is playing with the Blues next year for family/whanau reasons) then an All Black call up beckoned meaning that he was declared fit enough to join the squad & the rest is history about the miracle story of big Karl Tu'inukuafe) & Coach of the year went to Joe Schmidt for his excellence in coaching Ireland.
ITALY 3-66 ALL BLACKS
Well, all good things must come to an end because it is most definitely the end of the rugby season because we are now entering the cricket season (Well, England is the birthplace of rugby (Our number 1 sport here in New Zealand & Wales), cricket (Our main summer sport here in New Zealand & number 1 sport in Australia (Along with Aussie rules football), England & the West Indies (Including Barbados, Guyana & Jamaica (Spiritual home of cricket & reggae music) & soccer (World's most popular sport & of course the number 1 sport in Denmark (Along with handball) isn't it?) so we will see you next year in February with the 6 Nations 1st then Super Rugby & after that it's the shortened Rugby Championship as well as the Mitre 10 Cup before the big one which is the Rugby World Cup in Japan (I am most looking forward to next year (Along with my father & Raewyn's wedding on the 16th of February).
And finally I will be doing a blog (I'll be covering 8 blogs to reach my target of 80 this year (My all time record number of blogs for the year currently stands at 100) about the year in review about highlights of 2018 with the main sports topics of the year from ball tampering fiasco by the Aussies in South Africa (With Steve Smith (The modern day Bradman), David Warner (The enforcer of Australian cricket) & Cameron Bancroft being the 3 culprits that are serving a ban (Smith & Warner: 1 year & Bancroft: 9 months) to soccer world cup fever in Russia (Won by the glorious but entertaining French side (Featuring Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann, Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba, young Paris St Germain forward Kylian Mbappe & captain Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur) against the high flying but spirited Croatia (Featuring captain & Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric, FC Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic, Juventus forward Mario Mandzukic & AS Monaco goalkeeper Danijel Subasic) in the final at Luzhniki Stadium in Russia's capital city, Moscow, 20 years after their last triumph in front of their adoring home fans in France).
So that is my 252nd blog of the year 2018 (MMXVIII) & my 72nd of this year.
P.S. And Joe Schmidt is stepping down as coach of the Ireland Rugby team (The Irish are captained by Ulster hooker Rory Best but can Best become the 1st Irish captain to lift the William Webb Ellis trophy? Because Ireland (Who are competitive now because they have now found the competitive edge) have never reached the semifinal stages & final of the Rugby World Cup before (But can they finally break their drought by reaching the semifinals & final?), reaching the quarterfinal (That's always their best result but their worst result was in the pool stages in 2007, losing both games to hosts France (They used to have big second & back rower Sebastien 'Cave Man/Seabass' Chabal) & the tournament's surprise package Argentina (Featuring future vice chairman of the sport's governing body which is in fact, World Rugby, halfback & former captain, Agustin 'Gus' Pichot) 6 times (In 1987 (Losing to Australia featuring the likes of David 'Campo' Campese, captain Andrew Slack, Michael Lynagh, Nick-Farr Jones, Simon Poidevin, Enrique 'Topo' Rodriguez & Tom Lawton), 1991 (Australia again featuring the likes of Campese as well as captain Farr-Jones, Phil Kearns (AKA Kearnsy), Ewen McKenzie, David Nucifora, John Eales (World class second rower known as Ealesy), Lynagh, Tim Horan & his midfield partner Jason Little), 1995 (France featuring the likes of both Philippe Sella & Philippe Saint-Andre as well as Fabien Galthie, Abdelatif 'Abdel' Benazzi, Christian Califano, Thierry Lacroix, Emile Ntamack, Jean-Luc Sadourny, Olivier Brouzet & Christophe Deylaud), 2003 (France again featuring the likes of Raphael Ibanez, Fabien Pelous, Serge Betsen, Oliver Magne, Imanol Harinorduquy, Galthie, Frederic Michalak, Christophe Dominci, Yannick Jauzion, Kiwi born player Tony Marsh, Aurelien Rougerie, Dimitri Yachvili, Clement Poitrenaud & Sebastien Chabal as I mentioned before), 2011 (Wales featuring the likes of captain Sam Warburton, Taulupe Faletau (Known as Toby at the time), Leigh Halfpenny, Shane Williams, George North, Jamie Roberts, Jonathan Davies, Rhys Priestland, Stephen Jones, Mike Phillips, Dan Lydiate, Alun Wyn Jones, Bradley Davies, Luke Charteris, Adam Jones, Huw Bennett & Ken Owens) & 2015 (Argentina featuring the likes of captain Agustin 'Gus' Creevy, Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, Juan Manuel Leguizamon, Pablo Matera, Leonardo Senatore, Tomas Cubelli, Martin Landajo, Nicolas Sanchez, Marcelo Bosch, Jeronimo de la Fuente, Juan Martin 'El Mago' Hernandez, Matias Moroni, Horacio Agulla, Santiago Cordero, Juan Imhoff, Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino & Joaquin Tuculet) after next years Rugby World Cup for family reasons (Although Joe Schmidt has a son who is suffering from a convulsive fit (Just like Brazilian soccer star Ronaldo had prior to the 1998 FIFA World Cup final against hosts France in which they lost by 3 goals (Zinedine Zidane scored both headers from corners as well as Emmanuel Petit finishing the Brazilians off with a wonder strike that clinched France their 1st of 2 World Cup titles despite during the game when Marcel Desailly got sent off after receiving a second yellow card) because he is about to be replaced by ex England league & union player Andy Farrell (Owen's father) just like Wayne Pivac (Ex Auckland coach) replacing Warren Gatland (Bryn's dad) as head coach of Wales from 2020.
And finally I'll tell you an interesting story that the lead singer of Pearl Jam (Lifelong friends of Soundgarden compared to Queens Of The Stone Age who are lifelong friends of the Foo Fighters), Eddie Vedder (Who is a friend of the late Soundgarden & Audioslave lead singer Chris Cornell), is the only one left (1st it was Kurt Cobain of Nirvana in 1994 (Cobain's bandmate Dave Grohl (Another one of the late Chris Cornell's friends) went on to establish the Foo Fighters in the same year) who tragically passed away followed by Layne Staley of Alice In Chains way back in 2002 then Scott Weiland of both the Stone Temple Pilots (Still operating under a new lead singer Jeff Gutt who took over from the late Linkin Park lead singer Chester Bennington (And another friend of the late Chris Cornell) & Velvet Revolver in 2015 & most recently, Chris Cornell (He has a number of good friends including Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters & the late Chester Bennington of Linkin Park) of both Soundgarden (How did they break up again in 2018? Because of Chris Cornell's sudden passing in 2017) & Audioslave last year in 2017) as lead singers of grunge rock (Took over from glam rock which made an impact during the 1980's because it was the main rock music genre of the early to mid 1990's followed by Nu Metal in both the late 1990's & early 2000's before alternative rock took over since the mid 2000's as the most popular rock music genre).
Sunday, 25 November 2018
Friday, 23 November 2018
All Blacks team naming against Italy
Well, after our devastating, heart breaking & gut wrenching loss against the Irish, the All Blacks have named their team against Italy (Our pool opponents at next years Rugby World Cup in Japan) for our final rugby test match of the year (Well, can we wrap up 2018 with a win?) at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome so here is the starting lineup in it's entirety:
FRONT ROW
1 (Loose head prop): Ofa Tu'ungafasi (Auckland/Blues)
2 (Hooker): Dane Coles (Wellington/Hurricanes)
3 (Tight head prop): Nepo Laulala (Counties Manukau/Chiefs)
SECOND ROW
4 (Lock): Patrick Tuipulotu (Auckland/Blues)
5 (Lock): Scott Barrett (Taranaki/Crusaders)
BACK ROW
6 (Blindside Flanker): Vaea Fifita (Wellington/Hurricanes)
7 (Openside Flanker): Ardie Savea (Wellington/Hurricanes)
8 (Number 8): Kieran Read (Captain, Canterbury/Crusaders)
HALVES
9 (Half-back): TJ Perenara (Wellington/Hurricanes)
10 (First five eighth): Beauden Barrett (Taranaki/Hurricanes)
MIDFIELD
12 (Second five eighth): Ngani Laumape (Manawatu/Hurricanes)
13 (Centre): Anton Lienert-Brown (Waikato/Chiefs)
OUTSIDE BACKS
11 (Left Wing): Waisake Naholo (Taranaki/Highlanders)
14 (Right Wing): Jordie Barrett (Taranaki/Hurricanes)
& 15 (Fullback): Damian McKenzie (Waikato/Chiefs)
And in the reserves are:
16. Nathan Harris (Who replaces Dane Coles with Coles elevated to the starting lineup to replace Codie Taylor)
17. Karl Tu'inukuafe (Who is dropped to the bench to replace Ofa Tu'ungafasi with Tu'ungafasi elevated to the starting lineup)
18. Angus Ta'avao (Who also replaces Nepo Laulala with Laulala elevated to the starting lineup to replace Owen Franks)
19. Brodie Retallick (Who is dropped to the bench to replace Scott Barrett with Scott Barrett elevated to the starting lineup to replace Sam Whitelock)
20. Dalton Papali'i (Who replaces Matt Todd to cover at the open side flanker position)
21. Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi (Who also replaces TJ Perenara with Perenara elevated to the starting lineup to replace Aaron Smith)
22. Richie Mo'unga
& 23. Rieko Ioane (Who is also dropped to the bench to replace Anton Lienert-Brown with Lienert-Brown elevated to the starting lineup to replace Jack Goodhue).
So that is my 251st blog of the year 2018 (MMXVIII) & my 71st of this year.
FRONT ROW
1 (Loose head prop): Ofa Tu'ungafasi (Auckland/Blues)
2 (Hooker): Dane Coles (Wellington/Hurricanes)
3 (Tight head prop): Nepo Laulala (Counties Manukau/Chiefs)
SECOND ROW
4 (Lock): Patrick Tuipulotu (Auckland/Blues)
5 (Lock): Scott Barrett (Taranaki/Crusaders)
BACK ROW
6 (Blindside Flanker): Vaea Fifita (Wellington/Hurricanes)
7 (Openside Flanker): Ardie Savea (Wellington/Hurricanes)
8 (Number 8): Kieran Read (Captain, Canterbury/Crusaders)
HALVES
9 (Half-back): TJ Perenara (Wellington/Hurricanes)
10 (First five eighth): Beauden Barrett (Taranaki/Hurricanes)
MIDFIELD
12 (Second five eighth): Ngani Laumape (Manawatu/Hurricanes)
13 (Centre): Anton Lienert-Brown (Waikato/Chiefs)
OUTSIDE BACKS
11 (Left Wing): Waisake Naholo (Taranaki/Highlanders)
14 (Right Wing): Jordie Barrett (Taranaki/Hurricanes)
& 15 (Fullback): Damian McKenzie (Waikato/Chiefs)
And in the reserves are:
16. Nathan Harris (Who replaces Dane Coles with Coles elevated to the starting lineup to replace Codie Taylor)
17. Karl Tu'inukuafe (Who is dropped to the bench to replace Ofa Tu'ungafasi with Tu'ungafasi elevated to the starting lineup)
18. Angus Ta'avao (Who also replaces Nepo Laulala with Laulala elevated to the starting lineup to replace Owen Franks)
19. Brodie Retallick (Who is dropped to the bench to replace Scott Barrett with Scott Barrett elevated to the starting lineup to replace Sam Whitelock)
20. Dalton Papali'i (Who replaces Matt Todd to cover at the open side flanker position)
21. Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi (Who also replaces TJ Perenara with Perenara elevated to the starting lineup to replace Aaron Smith)
22. Richie Mo'unga
& 23. Rieko Ioane (Who is also dropped to the bench to replace Anton Lienert-Brown with Lienert-Brown elevated to the starting lineup to replace Jack Goodhue).
So that is my 251st blog of the year 2018 (MMXVIII) & my 71st of this year.
Saturday, 17 November 2018
Emerald isle triumph over the land of the long white cloud in the nation's capital (The Celtic tiger roars)
Well, the bad news has just come as the world champion All Blacks suffer their 2nd defeat in 2018 at the hands of the resilient Irish side (Who have beaten New Zealand before 2 years ago in Chicago but never won at home against the AB's until now (That's their 2nd win against the All Blacks 2 years after their 1st victory (It looks like that Ireland have beaten all tier 1 nations but they are considered to be strong favourites to defend the 6 Nations title next year) who played well by viciously out muscling & outperforming them (Their brave & heroic defence is arguably their best so far in the test match but discipline is our main weakness in the All Black camp because we have been conceding too many penalties) at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin (Man, this is like against the Springboks in Wellington all over again but we didn't get it done right against Ireland because not only we were again inconsistent (We were vulnerable because not only we were down & out but we had to lose Liam Squire due to an injury during the 1st half so he might be gone for the season just like Sonny Bill Williams, Joe Moody & Sam Cane) but were are not facing them again until the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan next year in either the quarterfinal (If we lose to South Africa) or in the final (If we beat the Springboks to top pool B) but let's hope that we can bounce back against Italy next week in our last test match of the year (Well, it looks like Ireland have taken over our world no.1 ranking I hope because they'll be celebrating in style with that victory & they'll be leprechauns river dancing around with their shillelagh because the Irish curse has struck in Dublin 2 years after they turned black into green in Chicago for their 1st win against the AB's & in counter point, they'll be changing over to Rugby World Cup triumph next year in Japan (That's their main mission that they have to encounter or should I say, tackle for all 20 teams participating in next years Rugby World Cup in Japan along with the 6 Nations where the Irish will have to defend their title with the likes of England (Who are in Pool C along with France, Argentina, Tonga & the United States), France (England, Argentina, Tonga & the USA's pool opponent), Italy (Who are in Pool B along with New Zealand, South Africa, Namibia & winner of the repechage to be decided next week), Scotland (Who are in Pool A along with pool favourites Ireland, hosts Japan, Samoa & Russia) & Wales (Who are in Pool D along with Australia, Georgia, Fiji & Uruguay) but who will go into the 2019 Rugby World Cup as the 6 Nations champions? While New Zealand (South Africa, Italy, Namibia & repechage winners pool opponent (Which is in fact Canada now because they have secured qualification in next year's Rugby World Cup) would have to defend their Rugby Championship title against the likes of Argentina (England, France, Tonga & the USA's pool opponent), Australia (Wales, Georgia, Fiji & Uruguay's pool opponent) & South Africa (New Zealand, Italy, Namibia & repechage winners (Canada) pool opponent) but who will go into the 2019 Rugby World Cup as champions of the Rugby Championship?) but the 6 Nations champions of Ireland have crushed the champions of the Rugby Championship of New Zealand in a clash of champions of both hemispheres so the luck of Irish have painted Ireland's capital city green.
And finally my last thoughts before I wrap this blog up? But they are who were thought they were! And we let him off the hook! (Now, if you want to crown them, then crown their hands!) That's right sucka!...As it was in the beginning...is now...and FOREVER SHALL BE. AMEN TO THAT.
So that is my 250th blog of the year 2018 (MMXVIII) & my 70th of this year.
And finally my last thoughts before I wrap this blog up? But they are who were thought they were! And we let him off the hook! (Now, if you want to crown them, then crown their hands!) That's right sucka!...As it was in the beginning...is now...and FOREVER SHALL BE. AMEN TO THAT.
So that is my 250th blog of the year 2018 (MMXVIII) & my 70th of this year.
Friday, 16 November 2018
All Blacks team naming against Ireland
Well, the world number 1 ranked All Blacks have revealed their team for another all (But most) important clash against the world number 2 ranked Ireland (Coached by Kiwi Joe Schimdt) at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin so here is the starting lineup in it's entirety:
FRONT ROW
1 (Loose head prop): Karl Tu'inukuafe (North Harbour/Chiefs)
2 (Hooker): Codie Taylor (Canterbury/Crusaders)
3 (Tight head prop): Owen Franks (Canterbury/Crusaders)
SECOND ROW
4 (Lock): Brodie Retallick (Hawke's Bay/Chiefs)
5 (Lock): Sam Whitelock (Canterbury/Crusaders)
BACK ROW
6 (Blindside Flanker): Liam Squire (Tasman/Highlanders)
7 (Openside Flanker): Ardie Savea (Wellington/Hurricanes)
8 (Number 8): Kieran Read (Captain, Canterbury/Crusaders)
HALVES
9 (Half-back): Aaron Smith (Manawatu/Highlanders)
10 (First five eighth): Beauden Barrett (Taranaki/Hurricanes)
MIDFIELD
12 (Second five eighth): Ryan Crotty (Canterbury/Crusaders)
13 (Centre): Jack Goodhue (Northland/Crusaders)
OUTSIDE BACKS
11 (Left Wing): Rieko Ioane (Auckland/Blues)
14 (Right Wing): Ben Smith (Otago/Highlanders)
& 15 (Fullback): Damian McKenzie (Waikato/Chiefs)
And in the reserves are:
16. Dane Coles
17. Ofa Tu'ungafasi
18. Nepo Laulala
19. Scott Barrett
20. Matt Todd
21. TJ Perenara
22. Richie Mo'unga
& 23. Anton Lienert-Brown (Who replaces Ryan Crotty who is promoted to the starting lineup to replace the injured Sonny Bill Williams).
So that is my 249th blog of the year 2018 (MMXVIII) & my 69th of this year.
P.S. And Pops & Carole picked me up yesterday to go to the airport to see Pops sister Kathryn so we picked her up from the airport & we had Thai there for dinner at Thai Villa then we went to Carole's Tikitere place for Kathryn to show & we had a great night that was last night.
FRONT ROW
1 (Loose head prop): Karl Tu'inukuafe (North Harbour/Chiefs)
2 (Hooker): Codie Taylor (Canterbury/Crusaders)
3 (Tight head prop): Owen Franks (Canterbury/Crusaders)
SECOND ROW
4 (Lock): Brodie Retallick (Hawke's Bay/Chiefs)
5 (Lock): Sam Whitelock (Canterbury/Crusaders)
BACK ROW
6 (Blindside Flanker): Liam Squire (Tasman/Highlanders)
7 (Openside Flanker): Ardie Savea (Wellington/Hurricanes)
8 (Number 8): Kieran Read (Captain, Canterbury/Crusaders)
HALVES
9 (Half-back): Aaron Smith (Manawatu/Highlanders)
10 (First five eighth): Beauden Barrett (Taranaki/Hurricanes)
MIDFIELD
12 (Second five eighth): Ryan Crotty (Canterbury/Crusaders)
13 (Centre): Jack Goodhue (Northland/Crusaders)
OUTSIDE BACKS
11 (Left Wing): Rieko Ioane (Auckland/Blues)
14 (Right Wing): Ben Smith (Otago/Highlanders)
& 15 (Fullback): Damian McKenzie (Waikato/Chiefs)
And in the reserves are:
16. Dane Coles
17. Ofa Tu'ungafasi
18. Nepo Laulala
19. Scott Barrett
20. Matt Todd
21. TJ Perenara
22. Richie Mo'unga
& 23. Anton Lienert-Brown (Who replaces Ryan Crotty who is promoted to the starting lineup to replace the injured Sonny Bill Williams).
So that is my 249th blog of the year 2018 (MMXVIII) & my 69th of this year.
P.S. And Pops & Carole picked me up yesterday to go to the airport to see Pops sister Kathryn so we picked her up from the airport & we had Thai there for dinner at Thai Villa then we went to Carole's Tikitere place for Kathryn to show & we had a great night that was last night.
Tuesday, 13 November 2018
England Vs All Blacks review & autumn international rugby news (Part 2)
Well, the All Blacks win by just the single point against the Eddie Jones coached England side in this epic encounter (Including that highly controversial line call which cost the English a certain victory because they were absolutely stone cold robbed on that occasion, what a disgraceful idiot about the no try decision from England (Who were playing well by racing out to a 15 point lead until the All Blacks came back with 16 unanswered points then the no try decision came whether English second rower Courtney Lawes was offside or not after he charged down the kick in an offside position (Well, Lawes may have crossed the offside line of course) allowing England back rower Sam Underhill to score a match winning try, but it wasn't to be because most England fans are livid about that no try decision (Well, the original decision had to be overturned by that French referee Jerome Garces) at Twickenham in south west London so here is the match commentary taken from Newshub:
Kia ora and welcome to live updates of the highly anticipated test All Blacks and England from Twickenham, London.
It is the first time since 2014 the two nations have squared off.
Both teams will contest for the Hillary Shield. It was first contested in 2008 and was introduced to honor the memory of Sir Edmund Hillary and has been held by New Zealand since 2013 with England having their lone Hillary Shield success in 2012.
Line-ups
All Blacks
1-Karl Tu'inukuafe, 2-Codie Taylor, 3-Kyle Sinckler, 4-Sam Whitelock, 5-Brodie Retallick, 6-Liam Squire, 7-Ardie Savea, 8-Kieran Read (c), 9-Aaron Smith, 10-Beauden Barrett,11-Rieko Ioane,12-Sonny Bill Williams,13-Jack Goodhue, 14-Ben Smith, 15-Damian McKenzie
Reserves: 16-Dane Coles, 17-Ofa Tu'ungafasi, 18-Nepo Laulala, 19-Scott Barrett, 20-Matt Todd, 21-TJ Perenara, 22-Richie Mo'unga, 23-Ryan Crotty
England
1-Ben Moon, 2-Dylan Hartley (co-captain), 3-Kyle Sinckler, 4-Maro Itoje, 5-George Kruis, 6-Brad Shields, 7-Sam Underhill, 8-Mark Wilson, 9-Ben Youngs, 10-Owen Farrell (co-captain), 11-Jonny May, 12-Ben Te'o, 13-Henry Slade, 14-Chris Ashton, 15-Elliot Daly
Reserves: 16-Jamie George, 17-Alec Hepburn, 18-Harry Williams, 19-Charlie Ewels, 20-Courtney Lawes, 21-Danny Care22-George Ford, 23-Jack Nowell
Head-to-head and past results
Played: 40
Won: All Blacks 32, England 7
Drawn: 1
2014: New Zealand won 24-21 in London
2014: New Zealand won 36-13 in Hamilton
2014: New Zealand won 28-27 in Dunedin
2014: New Zealand won 20-15 in Auckland
2013: New Zealand won 30-22 in London
Match officials
Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant Referees: Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Marius Mitrea (Italy)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
2:53am: The day has finally arrived! The All Blacks vs England in London, in what will be one of the biggest test matches of the year. The last time these two foes squared off was in 2014. Since Eddie Jones took over, this has been an encounter people have been dreaming of and today those dreams become a reality. To be completely fair, England are missing lots of players - so are the All Blacks in fairness - but not as many as the Red Roses. The match will start in just over an hours time.
2:55am: There are lots of other big international games on today, including France vs South Africa, Ireland vs Argentina, Wales vs Australia, Italy vs Georgia and Scotland vs Fiji. Later on today the Māori All Blacks face Brazil, yes Brazil in the first of two games in South America.
3:00am: The All Blacks have arrived at Twickenham.
3:05am: All Blacks coach Steve Hansen believes that this test against England is "bigger than the British and Irish Lions series".
3:13am: Last week, England beat South Africa 12-11 to win their opening game of the international window. Former England star Will Greenwood says they must score 30 points if they want to beat the All Blacks.
3:27am: In case you missed it, Joe Moody won't play in the northern tour after picking up a serious eye injury. But as Ross Karl explains, Moody's run of injuries has been both a blessing and a curse for the All Blacks.
3:35am: Just under 30 minutes away from kick-off. The rain has started to come down in London also.
3:41am: Former Hurricanes captain Brad Shields will start at blindside flanker for England.
3:47am: Both teams are finishing their final preparations and will now head back to the sheds for the final pep talk before returning to the field. There will be a moment's silence for Armistice Day, the national anthems, and of course, the haka.
3:51 AM: There are some nerves in the early hours in the Newshub office for this test. Who do you think will win?
3:54 AM: A massive roar from the 82,000 strong crowd as both teams walk out onto the field.
3:56 AM: His Royal Highness Prince Harry and Winston Peters lay a wreath each before a speedy version of 'The Last Post' plays around the ground.
3:57 AM: The rain is now pouring in south-west London.
4:02 AM: Haka time! This sould be awesome.
4:05 AM: 'Swing Low Swing Chariot' starts around the ground, muting the haka. The All Blacks go with Kapa o Pango. No stare down after.
KICK-OFF: We're underway in London. Jerome Garces blows his whistle to get us started. Owen Farrell kicks the ball to get the match started.
1ST MINUTE: Brodie Retallick knocks the ball on from the kick-off. So an attacking scrum for England early on.
2ND MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): England inside the 22 now. They're edging close to the line with every play.
TRY ENGLAND: Chris Ashton is in and England are in the lead. The man who Eddie Jones brought in to score tries is over early. Rieko Ioane is caught too far infield and Ben Youngs throws the ball to his winger to diver over in the corner.
4TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), CONVERSION: Owen Farrell's conversion hits the post and misses.
5TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): England executing the box-kick to perfection early in the match. They kick it to Damian McKenzie, and as soon as he catches it, he's smashed into touch just outside the 22.
7TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), SCRUM: England are all over the All Blacks right now. They go to the wing to Jonny May, and he chases after the ball. McKenzie has no option and dives on the loose ball and slides dead. England with a scrum five out from the line.
8TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY: All Blacks penalty. Massive let off for the Kiwis as they've barely had the ball.
9TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): But Codie Taylor's ball goes over everyone and England has the ball back. They're inside the 22.
10TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), DROP GOAL ENGLAND: Owen Farrell kicks a drop goal and England now lead 8-0. Nothing on at the time and he shows the All Blacks what they should have done against South Africa.
12TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): The All Blacks go inside England's 22 for the first time in this game. But the ball is stolen from Ardie Savea and England thump the ball into open space.
13TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Brad Shields wins a line-out for England. The hosts clear the ball and the All Blacks return serve.
15TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): England back in possession just inside New Zealand's half. They kick again and it just lands outside the 22. Great kick by Farrell.
16TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SCRUM: Sonny Bill Williams drops the ball and Jack Goodhue just gets to the ball before the swarming England defenders get to it. Time is off. Scrum to the All Blacks.
17TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): The brief period with no rain has ended as it starts to pour once more. New Zealand currently has the ball, but they're making no ground.
19TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), SCRUM: Damian McKenzie knocks the ball on. Scrum to England just outside their 22.
20TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Halfway through the 1st half, and England lead 8-0. Chris Ashton scored an early try and Owen Farrell kicked a drop goal. Kick with a 22m re-start.
22ND MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): England continue to put the All Blacks under pressure. They're hot on the attack, but New Zealand turn the ball over and Aaron Smith clears it downfield.
23RD MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY: Penalty to England as Beauden Barrett was accidentally offside. The ball comes off McKenzie and Barrett was caught in front. The hosts kick for touch, and they have an attacking line-out about 10 out from the line.
24TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), TRY ENGLAND: Dylan Hartley scores for England and the crowd loves it as the hooker was born in New Zealand. From the line-out they put in a driving maul and push the All Blacks over the line and Harltey dives over. England are in complete control and the All Blacks have no answer.
25TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), CONVERSION: Owen Farrell lands the conversion and England now lead 15-0.
26TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): All Blacks penalty and they kick for touch, but it doesn't reach the line as England manage to keep the ball in-play.
27TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): The All Blacks finally do something decent off a McKenzie break. Barrett stabs a kick in, but Chris Ashton wins the race to the ball.
28TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SUBSTITUTION & SCRUM: Brad Shields heads off the field. Might be for an HIA I suspect, but not sure. All Blacks knock the ball on (again) so it is a scrum to England.
29TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Ben Smith makes a big searing break for New Zealand, but he has nobody in support and England turn the ball over. England clears to Damian McKenzie who fumbles the ball and luckily it bounces, and he passes to Beauden Barrett who clears the ball into open space.
31ST MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), SUBSTITUTION: Sonny Bill Williams (Who is in a bit of trouble) is leaving the field now. Once again, I'm not sure why though. He is putting on his raincoat and not leaving the field, so that suggests that his night is done & dusted. Ryan Crotty comes on.
33RD MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Ardie Savea wins a key turnover for New Zealand. England had the ball inside their 22.
34TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): The All Blacks have the ball inside England's half. Great defence from the home side though as New Zealand are struggling to break the line... In fact they've gone backwards.
35TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): After 20 phases, they're now 10m from the line, and have a penalty advantage.
36TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY: The All Blacks have a chance to kick for the points here, but they decline and opt for a scrum.
37TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): We might be here for a minute or two because we all know what scrums can be like.
39TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), TRY ALL BLACKS: Damian McKenzie goes over for the Al Blacks under the posts. They nearly go over a couple of times, but they go wide, to Beauden Barrett, and he passes back inside to his fullback to score (But they were playing under penalty advantage for offside anyway).
40TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), CONVERSION & SUBSTITUTION: Barrett kicks the conversion and the All Blacks trail 15-7. Brad Shields is back for England.
40TH MINUTE + 2ND MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): The All Blacks are inside the 22 again, and a try here will make things very interesting.
40TH MINUTE + 3RD MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY GOAL ALL BLACKS: The All Blacks are given a penalty and Kieran Read points at the posts. Beauden Barrett slots the kick over from right in front. The All Blacks now trail 15-10.
HALF TIME: England is leading at their break here. England have been on top for most of the 1st half, but the All Blacks lifted when Crotty came on, and he's made a big difference. Plus the New Zealanders isn't kicking the ball away all the time. They're starting to play their game, and not England's.
40TH MINUTE: The 2nd half is underway in south west London. Beauden Barrett gets us underway.
42ND MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): The All Blacks thwart a certain try. That should have been scored. Damian McKenzie makes a break and ifns Ben Smith who finds Aaron Smith. But his pass to Ardie Savea is way too late and the flanker bobbles the ball. It's not Savea's fault though.
43RD MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): England line-out just outside the 22.
44TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SUBSTITUTION: The All Blacks have England under pressure, and Kieran Read tries a little tap-on to Rieko Ioane on the wing, but the ball bobbles past the winger into touch. Dane Coles and Nepo Laulala are on for Codie Taylor and Owen Franks.
46TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), DROP GOAL ALL BLACKS: Yes you read that correctly. Beauden Barrett kicks a drop goal. They had a penalty advantage and just go for it.
48TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), PENALTY: England with a penalty inside their 22. Will they go for goal, or kick for touch? They kick for touch and the crowd loves it.
49TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY: England are very close to the line here, but they bring play back for a penalty. They kick for touch again.
51ST MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), SCRUM: The hosts are close to the line, but Kyle Sinckler knocks the ball on just short of the line. All Blacks scrum.
52ND MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SUBSTITUTION: Owen Farrell puts on a big hit on All Blacks skipper Read. They clear the ball into touch as Liam Squire comes off for Scott Barrett.
54TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): All Blacks scrum just outside their 22. But England push strong, but New Zealand get the ball out quickly and kick for touch, but Damian McKenzie's kick goes out on the full. The Crowd loves seeing that.
55TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): England's line-out throw is not straight and New Zealand has a free-kick.
56TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SUBSTITUTION: The All Blacks force England inside their 22 with a pin-point kick by Beauden Barrett. Ofa Tuungafasi comes on for Karl Tu'inukuafe.
57TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): The All Blacks turn it over at the line-out and are close to the line, but both plays later, England win the ball at the breakdown.
58TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): England making changes now with Kyle Sinckler and Ben Moon coming off for Alec Hepburn and Harry Williams.
59TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY: A penalty to New Zealand and it is within range, so Kieran Read points at the posts and Beauden Barrett will kick for goal.
60TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY GOAL ALL BLACKS: Barrett's penalty just goes over and they take the lead for the 1st time in Twickenham.
62ND MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Both teams exchange in a kicking battle, before Damian McKenzie is put into a hole by Kieran Read. He makes a massive run but is thumped by Owen Farrell.
63RD MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SUBSTITUTION: Aaron Smith is (finally) off for TJ Perenara, while Damian McKenzie (who has probably been one of NZ's best) is off for Richie Mo'unga. Means Barrett will probably go back to fullback.
65TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), PENALTY & SUBSTITUTION: England win a penalty and they will be happy to get the ball out of their half because they have spent lots of time defending. Courtney Lawes is back on for the hosts.
67TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), SUBSTITUTION: Time has been called off as England lock George Kruis is struggling in back play. He will have to come off and he does with Charlie Ewels coming on.
68TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SUBSTITUTION: England are starting to get back into the match, but their set-piece, in particular their line-out has been woeful. Ardie Savea is off for Matt Todd.
70TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): The crowd are finding their voice once more. They have a line-out just ouside their 22. You get the feeling that next team to score will win.
71ST MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): A turnover and a big break by New Zealand which sees Beauden Barrett and then Ben Smith make big runs and now they're 30 out from the line.
72ND MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SCRUM & SUBSTITUTION: Kieran Read loses it forward & England will have a scrum here. Ben Te'o comes on for George Ford, who like Farrell is a great kicker.
73RD MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Still waiting for the scrum to be set. Finally the ball comes out and England makes half a break before kicking the ball away into touch.
75TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): 5 remain and it is still anyone's game for their taking.
76TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), TMO: Then out of nowhere, it looks like England has hit the lead with a try to Sam Underhill. But they want to check it. Hold the phone. There was a charge-down and the flanker gets the ball to score what would be the match-winner. There is a possible offside at the breakdown though they are checking.
77TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), NO TRY ENGLAND & PENALTY: Massive call as Courtney Lawes was deemed to be offside by Marius Jonker when he charged the ball down. Penalty to New Zealand instead. That was a tough call which Eddie Jones will bark about after the game.
78TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): England inside the All Blacks' half. They will try hold onto the ball here and set-up for a drop goal maybe. Jonny May with a break and England are just outside the 22.
79TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): An awful pass which wasn't needed goes into touch and the All Blacks have a line-out. It's like they want to throw it all away.
FULL TIME: England heartbroken and joy for the All Blacks as they claim a single point win over the Red Roses. The hosts had their chances but failed to execute. That was an epic test match and they'll probably count themselves lucky to win. There was some late controversy and some calls which both sides won’t be happy with. England led 15-0, but the All Blacks fought back to win an epic test.
ENGLAND 15 - 16 ALL BLACKS
And in other international rugby news such as Wales beating the Wallabies to break a 10 year drought in Cardiff while the Springboks continue their dominance against France with a win in Saint-Denis & of course, Ireland get their autumn rugby internationals under way by thumping Argentina in Dublin.
So that is my 248th blog of the year 2018 (MMXVIII) & my 68th of this year.
Kia ora and welcome to live updates of the highly anticipated test All Blacks and England from Twickenham, London.
It is the first time since 2014 the two nations have squared off.
Both teams will contest for the Hillary Shield. It was first contested in 2008 and was introduced to honor the memory of Sir Edmund Hillary and has been held by New Zealand since 2013 with England having their lone Hillary Shield success in 2012.
Line-ups
All Blacks
1-Karl Tu'inukuafe, 2-Codie Taylor, 3-Kyle Sinckler, 4-Sam Whitelock, 5-Brodie Retallick, 6-Liam Squire, 7-Ardie Savea, 8-Kieran Read (c), 9-Aaron Smith, 10-Beauden Barrett,11-Rieko Ioane,12-Sonny Bill Williams,13-Jack Goodhue, 14-Ben Smith, 15-Damian McKenzie
Reserves: 16-Dane Coles, 17-Ofa Tu'ungafasi, 18-Nepo Laulala, 19-Scott Barrett, 20-Matt Todd, 21-TJ Perenara, 22-Richie Mo'unga, 23-Ryan Crotty
England
1-Ben Moon, 2-Dylan Hartley (co-captain), 3-Kyle Sinckler, 4-Maro Itoje, 5-George Kruis, 6-Brad Shields, 7-Sam Underhill, 8-Mark Wilson, 9-Ben Youngs, 10-Owen Farrell (co-captain), 11-Jonny May, 12-Ben Te'o, 13-Henry Slade, 14-Chris Ashton, 15-Elliot Daly
Reserves: 16-Jamie George, 17-Alec Hepburn, 18-Harry Williams, 19-Charlie Ewels, 20-Courtney Lawes, 21-Danny Care22-George Ford, 23-Jack Nowell
Head-to-head and past results
Played: 40
Won: All Blacks 32, England 7
Drawn: 1
2014: New Zealand won 24-21 in London
2014: New Zealand won 36-13 in Hamilton
2014: New Zealand won 28-27 in Dunedin
2014: New Zealand won 20-15 in Auckland
2013: New Zealand won 30-22 in London
Match officials
Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant Referees: Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Marius Mitrea (Italy)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
2:53am: The day has finally arrived! The All Blacks vs England in London, in what will be one of the biggest test matches of the year. The last time these two foes squared off was in 2014. Since Eddie Jones took over, this has been an encounter people have been dreaming of and today those dreams become a reality. To be completely fair, England are missing lots of players - so are the All Blacks in fairness - but not as many as the Red Roses. The match will start in just over an hours time.
2:55am: There are lots of other big international games on today, including France vs South Africa, Ireland vs Argentina, Wales vs Australia, Italy vs Georgia and Scotland vs Fiji. Later on today the Māori All Blacks face Brazil, yes Brazil in the first of two games in South America.
3:00am: The All Blacks have arrived at Twickenham.
3:05am: All Blacks coach Steve Hansen believes that this test against England is "bigger than the British and Irish Lions series".
3:13am: Last week, England beat South Africa 12-11 to win their opening game of the international window. Former England star Will Greenwood says they must score 30 points if they want to beat the All Blacks.
3:27am: In case you missed it, Joe Moody won't play in the northern tour after picking up a serious eye injury. But as Ross Karl explains, Moody's run of injuries has been both a blessing and a curse for the All Blacks.
3:35am: Just under 30 minutes away from kick-off. The rain has started to come down in London also.
3:41am: Former Hurricanes captain Brad Shields will start at blindside flanker for England.
3:47am: Both teams are finishing their final preparations and will now head back to the sheds for the final pep talk before returning to the field. There will be a moment's silence for Armistice Day, the national anthems, and of course, the haka.
3:51 AM: There are some nerves in the early hours in the Newshub office for this test. Who do you think will win?
3:54 AM: A massive roar from the 82,000 strong crowd as both teams walk out onto the field.
3:56 AM: His Royal Highness Prince Harry and Winston Peters lay a wreath each before a speedy version of 'The Last Post' plays around the ground.
3:57 AM: The rain is now pouring in south-west London.
4:02 AM: Haka time! This sould be awesome.
4:05 AM: 'Swing Low Swing Chariot' starts around the ground, muting the haka. The All Blacks go with Kapa o Pango. No stare down after.
KICK-OFF: We're underway in London. Jerome Garces blows his whistle to get us started. Owen Farrell kicks the ball to get the match started.
1ST MINUTE: Brodie Retallick knocks the ball on from the kick-off. So an attacking scrum for England early on.
2ND MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): England inside the 22 now. They're edging close to the line with every play.
TRY ENGLAND: Chris Ashton is in and England are in the lead. The man who Eddie Jones brought in to score tries is over early. Rieko Ioane is caught too far infield and Ben Youngs throws the ball to his winger to diver over in the corner.
4TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), CONVERSION: Owen Farrell's conversion hits the post and misses.
5TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): England executing the box-kick to perfection early in the match. They kick it to Damian McKenzie, and as soon as he catches it, he's smashed into touch just outside the 22.
7TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), SCRUM: England are all over the All Blacks right now. They go to the wing to Jonny May, and he chases after the ball. McKenzie has no option and dives on the loose ball and slides dead. England with a scrum five out from the line.
8TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY: All Blacks penalty. Massive let off for the Kiwis as they've barely had the ball.
9TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): But Codie Taylor's ball goes over everyone and England has the ball back. They're inside the 22.
10TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), DROP GOAL ENGLAND: Owen Farrell kicks a drop goal and England now lead 8-0. Nothing on at the time and he shows the All Blacks what they should have done against South Africa.
12TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): The All Blacks go inside England's 22 for the first time in this game. But the ball is stolen from Ardie Savea and England thump the ball into open space.
13TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Brad Shields wins a line-out for England. The hosts clear the ball and the All Blacks return serve.
15TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): England back in possession just inside New Zealand's half. They kick again and it just lands outside the 22. Great kick by Farrell.
16TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SCRUM: Sonny Bill Williams drops the ball and Jack Goodhue just gets to the ball before the swarming England defenders get to it. Time is off. Scrum to the All Blacks.
17TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): The brief period with no rain has ended as it starts to pour once more. New Zealand currently has the ball, but they're making no ground.
19TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), SCRUM: Damian McKenzie knocks the ball on. Scrum to England just outside their 22.
20TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Halfway through the 1st half, and England lead 8-0. Chris Ashton scored an early try and Owen Farrell kicked a drop goal. Kick with a 22m re-start.
22ND MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): England continue to put the All Blacks under pressure. They're hot on the attack, but New Zealand turn the ball over and Aaron Smith clears it downfield.
23RD MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY: Penalty to England as Beauden Barrett was accidentally offside. The ball comes off McKenzie and Barrett was caught in front. The hosts kick for touch, and they have an attacking line-out about 10 out from the line.
24TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), TRY ENGLAND: Dylan Hartley scores for England and the crowd loves it as the hooker was born in New Zealand. From the line-out they put in a driving maul and push the All Blacks over the line and Harltey dives over. England are in complete control and the All Blacks have no answer.
25TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), CONVERSION: Owen Farrell lands the conversion and England now lead 15-0.
26TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): All Blacks penalty and they kick for touch, but it doesn't reach the line as England manage to keep the ball in-play.
27TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): The All Blacks finally do something decent off a McKenzie break. Barrett stabs a kick in, but Chris Ashton wins the race to the ball.
28TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SUBSTITUTION & SCRUM: Brad Shields heads off the field. Might be for an HIA I suspect, but not sure. All Blacks knock the ball on (again) so it is a scrum to England.
29TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Ben Smith makes a big searing break for New Zealand, but he has nobody in support and England turn the ball over. England clears to Damian McKenzie who fumbles the ball and luckily it bounces, and he passes to Beauden Barrett who clears the ball into open space.
31ST MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), SUBSTITUTION: Sonny Bill Williams (Who is in a bit of trouble) is leaving the field now. Once again, I'm not sure why though. He is putting on his raincoat and not leaving the field, so that suggests that his night is done & dusted. Ryan Crotty comes on.
33RD MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Ardie Savea wins a key turnover for New Zealand. England had the ball inside their 22.
34TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): The All Blacks have the ball inside England's half. Great defence from the home side though as New Zealand are struggling to break the line... In fact they've gone backwards.
35TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): After 20 phases, they're now 10m from the line, and have a penalty advantage.
36TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY: The All Blacks have a chance to kick for the points here, but they decline and opt for a scrum.
37TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): We might be here for a minute or two because we all know what scrums can be like.
39TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), TRY ALL BLACKS: Damian McKenzie goes over for the Al Blacks under the posts. They nearly go over a couple of times, but they go wide, to Beauden Barrett, and he passes back inside to his fullback to score (But they were playing under penalty advantage for offside anyway).
40TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), CONVERSION & SUBSTITUTION: Barrett kicks the conversion and the All Blacks trail 15-7. Brad Shields is back for England.
40TH MINUTE + 2ND MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): The All Blacks are inside the 22 again, and a try here will make things very interesting.
40TH MINUTE + 3RD MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY GOAL ALL BLACKS: The All Blacks are given a penalty and Kieran Read points at the posts. Beauden Barrett slots the kick over from right in front. The All Blacks now trail 15-10.
HALF TIME: England is leading at their break here. England have been on top for most of the 1st half, but the All Blacks lifted when Crotty came on, and he's made a big difference. Plus the New Zealanders isn't kicking the ball away all the time. They're starting to play their game, and not England's.
40TH MINUTE: The 2nd half is underway in south west London. Beauden Barrett gets us underway.
42ND MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): The All Blacks thwart a certain try. That should have been scored. Damian McKenzie makes a break and ifns Ben Smith who finds Aaron Smith. But his pass to Ardie Savea is way too late and the flanker bobbles the ball. It's not Savea's fault though.
43RD MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): England line-out just outside the 22.
44TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SUBSTITUTION: The All Blacks have England under pressure, and Kieran Read tries a little tap-on to Rieko Ioane on the wing, but the ball bobbles past the winger into touch. Dane Coles and Nepo Laulala are on for Codie Taylor and Owen Franks.
46TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), DROP GOAL ALL BLACKS: Yes you read that correctly. Beauden Barrett kicks a drop goal. They had a penalty advantage and just go for it.
48TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), PENALTY: England with a penalty inside their 22. Will they go for goal, or kick for touch? They kick for touch and the crowd loves it.
49TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY: England are very close to the line here, but they bring play back for a penalty. They kick for touch again.
51ST MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), SCRUM: The hosts are close to the line, but Kyle Sinckler knocks the ball on just short of the line. All Blacks scrum.
52ND MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SUBSTITUTION: Owen Farrell puts on a big hit on All Blacks skipper Read. They clear the ball into touch as Liam Squire comes off for Scott Barrett.
54TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): All Blacks scrum just outside their 22. But England push strong, but New Zealand get the ball out quickly and kick for touch, but Damian McKenzie's kick goes out on the full. The Crowd loves seeing that.
55TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): England's line-out throw is not straight and New Zealand has a free-kick.
56TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SUBSTITUTION: The All Blacks force England inside their 22 with a pin-point kick by Beauden Barrett. Ofa Tuungafasi comes on for Karl Tu'inukuafe.
57TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): The All Blacks turn it over at the line-out and are close to the line, but both plays later, England win the ball at the breakdown.
58TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): England making changes now with Kyle Sinckler and Ben Moon coming off for Alec Hepburn and Harry Williams.
59TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY: A penalty to New Zealand and it is within range, so Kieran Read points at the posts and Beauden Barrett will kick for goal.
60TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY GOAL ALL BLACKS: Barrett's penalty just goes over and they take the lead for the 1st time in Twickenham.
62ND MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Both teams exchange in a kicking battle, before Damian McKenzie is put into a hole by Kieran Read. He makes a massive run but is thumped by Owen Farrell.
63RD MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SUBSTITUTION: Aaron Smith is (finally) off for TJ Perenara, while Damian McKenzie (who has probably been one of NZ's best) is off for Richie Mo'unga. Means Barrett will probably go back to fullback.
65TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), PENALTY & SUBSTITUTION: England win a penalty and they will be happy to get the ball out of their half because they have spent lots of time defending. Courtney Lawes is back on for the hosts.
67TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), SUBSTITUTION: Time has been called off as England lock George Kruis is struggling in back play. He will have to come off and he does with Charlie Ewels coming on.
68TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SUBSTITUTION: England are starting to get back into the match, but their set-piece, in particular their line-out has been woeful. Ardie Savea is off for Matt Todd.
70TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): The crowd are finding their voice once more. They have a line-out just ouside their 22. You get the feeling that next team to score will win.
71ST MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): A turnover and a big break by New Zealand which sees Beauden Barrett and then Ben Smith make big runs and now they're 30 out from the line.
72ND MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SCRUM & SUBSTITUTION: Kieran Read loses it forward & England will have a scrum here. Ben Te'o comes on for George Ford, who like Farrell is a great kicker.
73RD MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Still waiting for the scrum to be set. Finally the ball comes out and England makes half a break before kicking the ball away into touch.
75TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): 5 remain and it is still anyone's game for their taking.
76TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), TMO: Then out of nowhere, it looks like England has hit the lead with a try to Sam Underhill. But they want to check it. Hold the phone. There was a charge-down and the flanker gets the ball to score what would be the match-winner. There is a possible offside at the breakdown though they are checking.
77TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), NO TRY ENGLAND & PENALTY: Massive call as Courtney Lawes was deemed to be offside by Marius Jonker when he charged the ball down. Penalty to New Zealand instead. That was a tough call which Eddie Jones will bark about after the game.
78TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): England inside the All Blacks' half. They will try hold onto the ball here and set-up for a drop goal maybe. Jonny May with a break and England are just outside the 22.
79TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): An awful pass which wasn't needed goes into touch and the All Blacks have a line-out. It's like they want to throw it all away.
FULL TIME: England heartbroken and joy for the All Blacks as they claim a single point win over the Red Roses. The hosts had their chances but failed to execute. That was an epic test match and they'll probably count themselves lucky to win. There was some late controversy and some calls which both sides won’t be happy with. England led 15-0, but the All Blacks fought back to win an epic test.
ENGLAND 15 - 16 ALL BLACKS
And in other international rugby news such as Wales beating the Wallabies to break a 10 year drought in Cardiff while the Springboks continue their dominance against France with a win in Saint-Denis & of course, Ireland get their autumn rugby internationals under way by thumping Argentina in Dublin.
So that is my 248th blog of the year 2018 (MMXVIII) & my 68th of this year.
Friday, 9 November 2018
All Blacks team naming against England
Well, the All Blacks have named their team for their all (But most) important clash against England (Coached by former Wallabies & Japan coach Eddie Jones (Formerly the savior/second city saint when England started winning since Jones took over but after so many defeats against the likes of Ireland (Twice), Scotland, France & the Springboks (Twice), he & his team are desperate for some victories they really need) at Twickenham in London so here is the starting lineup in it's entirety:
FRONT ROW
1 (Loose head prop): Karl Tu'inukuafe (North Harbour/Chiefs)
2 (Hooker): Codie Taylor (Canterbury/Crusaders)
3 (Tight head prop): Owen Franks (Canterbury/Crusaders)
SECOND ROW
4 (Lock): Brodie Retallick (Hawke's Bay/Chiefs)
5 (Lock): Sam Whitelock (Canterbury/Crusaders)
BACK ROW
6 (Blindside Flanker): Liam Squire (Tasman/Highlanders)
7 (Openside Flanker): Ardie Savea (Wellington/Hurricanes)
8 (Number 8): Kieran Read (Captain, Canterbury/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): Jack Goodhue (Northland/Crusaders)
OUTSIDE BACKS
11 (Left Wing): Rieko Ioane (Auckland/Blues)
14 (Right Wing): Ben Smith (Otago/Highlanders)
& 15 (Fullback): Damian McKenzie (Waikato/Chiefs)
And in the reserves are:
16. Dane Coles (Who is dropped to the bench to replace Liam Coltman)
17. Ofa Tu'ungafasi (Who replaces Tim Perry)
18. Nepo Laulala (Who replaces Tyrel Lomax)
19. Scott Barrett (Who also replaces Dillon Hunt)
20. Matt Todd (Who replaces Gareth Evans)
21. TJ Perenara (Who replaces Mitchell Drummond)
22. Richie Mo'unga (Who is also dropped to the bench to replace Brett Cameron)
& 23. Ryan Crotty (Who replaces George Bridge who got a double on debut for the AB's in the last test against Japan).
So that is my 247th blog of the year 2018 (MMXVIII) & my 67th of this year.
FRONT ROW
1 (Loose head prop): Karl Tu'inukuafe (North Harbour/Chiefs)
2 (Hooker): Codie Taylor (Canterbury/Crusaders)
3 (Tight head prop): Owen Franks (Canterbury/Crusaders)
SECOND ROW
4 (Lock): Brodie Retallick (Hawke's Bay/Chiefs)
5 (Lock): Sam Whitelock (Canterbury/Crusaders)
BACK ROW
6 (Blindside Flanker): Liam Squire (Tasman/Highlanders)
7 (Openside Flanker): Ardie Savea (Wellington/Hurricanes)
8 (Number 8): Kieran Read (Captain, Canterbury/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): Jack Goodhue (Northland/Crusaders)
OUTSIDE BACKS
11 (Left Wing): Rieko Ioane (Auckland/Blues)
14 (Right Wing): Ben Smith (Otago/Highlanders)
& 15 (Fullback): Damian McKenzie (Waikato/Chiefs)
And in the reserves are:
16. Dane Coles (Who is dropped to the bench to replace Liam Coltman)
17. Ofa Tu'ungafasi (Who replaces Tim Perry)
18. Nepo Laulala (Who replaces Tyrel Lomax)
19. Scott Barrett (Who also replaces Dillon Hunt)
20. Matt Todd (Who replaces Gareth Evans)
21. TJ Perenara (Who replaces Mitchell Drummond)
22. Richie Mo'unga (Who is also dropped to the bench to replace Brett Cameron)
& 23. Ryan Crotty (Who replaces George Bridge who got a double on debut for the AB's in the last test against Japan).
So that is my 247th blog of the year 2018 (MMXVIII) & my 67th of this year.
Tuesday, 6 November 2018
Japan Vs All Blacks review & autumn international rugby news
Well, the All Blacks (Who are without a bunch of front line players such as captain Kieran Read & star first five Beauden Barrett for the next test against England) produce another comfortable victory (But the match will always be remembered with All Black second-five Ngani Laumape producing a hat trick of tries as well as newcomer to the All Blacks fold, George Bridge (Who just came on for Nehe Milner-Skudder who left the field injured during the 2nd half) who bagged a double on debut), this time against next year's rugby world cup hosts Japan 69 points to 31 (The 31 points scored by the Japanese is the most ever against the AB's, surpassing the 17 points that they have scored during their 1st meeting between the 2 sides way back in 1995 at the Rugby World Cup in South Africa) so here is the match commentary taken from Newshub:
Kia ora, good evening and welcome to Newshub's live updates of the All Blacks vs Japan test match from Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo.
It's a much anticipated test tonight, due to the fact that the All Blacks are missing so many key players.
Because of this, many believe Japan have a reasonable chance of upsetting the world champions.
The All Blacks have eight debutants named in the 23. Six of them are on the bench, Dalton Papali'i and Matt Proctor start for their first caps in black.
All Blacks: 1-Ofa Tuungafasi, 2-Dane Coles,3-Angus Ta'avao, 4-Patrick Tuipulotu, 5-Jackson Hemopo, 6-Vaea Fifita, 7-Dalton Papali'i*, 8-Luke Whitelock - captain, 9-Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, 10-Richie Mo'unga, 11-Waisake Naholo, 12-Ngani Laumape, 13-Matt Proctor * 14-Nehe Milner-Skudder, 15-Jordie Barrett
Reserves: 16-Liam Coltman, 17-Tim Perry, 18-Tyrel Lomax*, 19-Dillon Hunt*, 20-Gareth Evans*, 21-Mitch Drummond*, 22-Brett Cameron*, 23-George Bridge *
Japan: 1-Keita Ingaki, 2-Atsushi Sakate, 3-Hiroshi Yamashita, 4-Wimpie Van Der Walt, 5-Sauela Anise, 6-Michael Leitch, 7-Kazuki Himeno, 8-Hendrik Tui, 9-Yutaka Nagare, 10-Yu Tamara, 11-Kenki Fukoka, 12-Tim Lafaele, 13-William Tupou, 14-Jamie Henry*, 15-Ryohei Yamanka
Reserves: Yusuke Niwai ,Masatak Mikami, Asaeli Ai Valu, Uwe Helu, Isieli Nakajima*, Fumiaki Tanaka, Rikiya Matsuda, Ryoto Nakamura
* new caps
1ST MINUTE: Mo'unga kicks off to get the test match underway.
3RD MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), PENALTY: All Blacks win an early penalty after Hendrick Tui had his hands in the ruck.
PENALTY GOAL: Out in front and Mo'unga slots the easy kick.
4TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), TRY TO SAMUELA ANISE: A charge down off the Jordie Barrett kick and the Japanese lock wins the race to score the first try.
CONVERSION: Tamura converts the try.
8TH MINUTE (4 MINUTES LATER), PENALTY: The All Blacks win another penalty in the Japanese half, Mo'unga makes a mistake with the kick, he kicks it dead. Japan scrum.
11TH MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER), PENALTY: All Blacks win another penalty and this time Mo'unga makes no mistake kicking for touch.
12TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Great defence from Japan as they force a scrum on their own 5.
15TH MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER), TRY TO DANE COLES: It started in the All Blacks 22. A break from Milner-Skudder and quick ball from Tahuriorangi to Mo'unga who sets up Coles to score in the corner.
CONVERSION: Mo'unga makes the conversion.
18TH MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER), PENALTY: Penalty to the All Blacks on the half way line. Hiroshi Yamashita not rolling away.
20TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), TRY TO RICHIE MO'UNGA: The first five scores his first try as an All Black. Breaks the tackle of two defenders and scores the second of the night for New Zealand.
CONVERSION: Converts his own try.
23RD MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER), PENALTY: Japan getting some time with the ball and win a penalty after an interception attempt from Ngani Laumape.
27TH MINUTE (4 MINUTES LATER): Some good atack from the All Blacks is ended by a knock-on from Dalton Papali'i.
28TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), TRY TO NGANI LAUMAPE: A chip and chase from Waisake Naholo and the bounce is perfect to Laumape as there is three All Blacks waiting for the bounce.
CONVERSION: Try is converted.
33RD MINUTE (5 MINUTES LATER), TRY TO HENDRIK TUI: After some sloppy play from both teams the Japanese number 8 goes over. Initially he was held up but the referee calls it a try.
Some pushing and shoving from both teams after the call.
CONVERSION: Try is converted.
36TH MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER), TRY TO TE TOIROA TAHURIORANGI: After loose ball from the Japanese team, the ball pops out and its the Rotorua Boys High old boy who pounces and scores under the post.
CONVERSION: Try is converted.
39TH MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER), TRY TO LAUMAPE: A well worked move from the All Blacks off the lineout as Mo'unga hits Laumape with a short ball and hes too big and too strong. He busts through the defence to score his 2nd.
CONVERSION: Try is converted.
40TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), TRY TO TIM LAFAELE: A great end to the first-half for the Brave Blossoms as the second five runs through four All Blacks to score in the corner.
CONVERSION MISS: Conversion is wide.
ALL BLACKS 38 JAPAN 19
HALF TIME
ALL BLACKS 38 (COLES, MO'UNGA, TAHURIORANGI, LAUMAPE X2 TRIES; 5 CONVERSIONS & 1 PENALTY) JAPAN 19 (ANISE, TUI, LAFAELE TRIES; 2 CONVERSIONS)
41ST MINUTE: The second half is back underway
42ND MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SUBSTITUTION: Nehe Milner-Skudder has left the field and is replaced by George Bridge.
45TH MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER), PENALTY: Japan win a penalty as they look to put some pressure on the All Blacks early in this second half.
47TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), TRY TO GEORGE BRIDGE: His first touch as a All Black is one he will never forget. A great break from Mo'unga sees him pass to Tahuriorangi who sets up Bridge for his try on debut.
CONVERSION: Conversion is good.
49TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), SUBSTITUTION: 2 changes for the home side. Tanaka is on for Nagare and Nakajima is on at lock for Van Der Walt
52ND MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER), TRY TO JAMIE HENRY: Some fantastic play from Japan as the forwards set up a few phases before the backs spin it wide and Jamie Henry scores after a chip through from Tamura.
CONVERSION MISS: Conversion is wide
54TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), SUBSTITUTION: Changes for the All Blacks
Coltman is on for Coles, Perry is on for Tu'ungafasi
Evans is on for Tuipulotu
57TH MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER), TRY TO WAISAKE NAHOLO: Great work from substitute Gareth Evans who breaks through two tackles before finding Naholo who scores in the corner.
CONVERSION MISS: Conversion is wide
60TH MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER), TRY TO MATT PROCTOR: Perhaps the try of the night. A crossfield kick from Jordie Barrett to George Bridge who chips it over the Japan defence, collects his own kick and finds Proctor who scores with ease.
CONVERSION: Conversion is good.
63RD MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER), TRY TO LAUMAPE: Its all New Zealand at the moment, Japan look spent. Evans makes another great pass and Laumape kicks a grubber through, and scores, his third on the night.
CONVERSION: Barrett slots the sideline kick
68TH MINUTE (5 MINUTES LATER), TRY TO BRIDGE: A grubber from Laumape is met by the toe of Bridge who runs in behind and scores a double.
CONVERSION MISS: Conversion is wide
70TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), TRY TO LAFAELE: Incredible work from winger Kenki Fukoka who fends off Naholo and then sets up Lafaele to score his second of the night.
CONVERSION: Conversion is good.
77TH MINUTE (7 MINUTES LATER): The game has opened right up now. 3 to go.
80TH MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER): Thats it! what a game, the All Blacks came and got the job done convincingly, but Japan can walk away with their heads held high.
FULL TIME: ALL BLACKS 69 (BRIDGE X 2, LAUMAPE X 3, COLES, NAHOLO, PROCTOR, MO'UNGA, TAHURIORANGI TRIES; 8 CONVERSIONS & 1 PENALTY) JAPAN 31 (ARISE, TUI, HENRY, LAFAELE X 2 TRIES; 3 CONVERSIONS)
ALL BLACKS 69 JAPAN 31
And in other international rugby news such as Ireland thumping Italy to remain unbeaten at Soldier Field in Chicago, then Wales got the job done against Scotland at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff & England go 2 victories in a row against South Africa at Twickenham in London after that controversial foul play decision being made to decide the game after the ball had been kicked into touch whether star England first five Owen Farrell used his arms in the tackle (Was that an illegal shoulder charge or not? Like it's to be or not to be) on Springbok reserve back Andre Esterhuizen because the Australian referee Angus Gardner said that Farrell wrapped his arms on Esterhuizen so the referee blew the final whistle allowing England to win the game by a single point (Well, not just by a whisker) & of course, the Maori All Blacks thrash the USA with a win in Chicago despite their disciplinary problems with 3 yellow cards being handed out to Maori All Blacks skipper Ash Dixon (For collapsing an attacking maul), second rower (And nephew of Matua Parkinson) Pari Pari Parkinson (For a dangerous spear/tip tackle which landed on its shoulder) & of course, reserve hooker (And a relative of the Going brothers) Robbie Abel (For a clear & obvious tackler not releasing (The laws say in rugby that when the referee says tackle after the tackled player's knees are on the ground, the tackler must let go of the tackled player before the referee blows the whistle for a penalty for a no clear release if the tackler doesn't listen to the referee's call) in an aggressive manner), but they did the job.
So that is my 246th blog of the year 2018 (MMXVIII) & my 66th of this year.
Kia ora, good evening and welcome to Newshub's live updates of the All Blacks vs Japan test match from Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo.
It's a much anticipated test tonight, due to the fact that the All Blacks are missing so many key players.
Because of this, many believe Japan have a reasonable chance of upsetting the world champions.
The All Blacks have eight debutants named in the 23. Six of them are on the bench, Dalton Papali'i and Matt Proctor start for their first caps in black.
All Blacks: 1-Ofa Tuungafasi, 2-Dane Coles,3-Angus Ta'avao, 4-Patrick Tuipulotu, 5-Jackson Hemopo, 6-Vaea Fifita, 7-Dalton Papali'i*, 8-Luke Whitelock - captain, 9-Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, 10-Richie Mo'unga, 11-Waisake Naholo, 12-Ngani Laumape, 13-Matt Proctor * 14-Nehe Milner-Skudder, 15-Jordie Barrett
Reserves: 16-Liam Coltman, 17-Tim Perry, 18-Tyrel Lomax*, 19-Dillon Hunt*, 20-Gareth Evans*, 21-Mitch Drummond*, 22-Brett Cameron*, 23-George Bridge *
Japan: 1-Keita Ingaki, 2-Atsushi Sakate, 3-Hiroshi Yamashita, 4-Wimpie Van Der Walt, 5-Sauela Anise, 6-Michael Leitch, 7-Kazuki Himeno, 8-Hendrik Tui, 9-Yutaka Nagare, 10-Yu Tamara, 11-Kenki Fukoka, 12-Tim Lafaele, 13-William Tupou, 14-Jamie Henry*, 15-Ryohei Yamanka
Reserves: Yusuke Niwai ,Masatak Mikami, Asaeli Ai Valu, Uwe Helu, Isieli Nakajima*, Fumiaki Tanaka, Rikiya Matsuda, Ryoto Nakamura
* new caps
1ST MINUTE: Mo'unga kicks off to get the test match underway.
3RD MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), PENALTY: All Blacks win an early penalty after Hendrick Tui had his hands in the ruck.
PENALTY GOAL: Out in front and Mo'unga slots the easy kick.
4TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), TRY TO SAMUELA ANISE: A charge down off the Jordie Barrett kick and the Japanese lock wins the race to score the first try.
CONVERSION: Tamura converts the try.
8TH MINUTE (4 MINUTES LATER), PENALTY: The All Blacks win another penalty in the Japanese half, Mo'unga makes a mistake with the kick, he kicks it dead. Japan scrum.
11TH MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER), PENALTY: All Blacks win another penalty and this time Mo'unga makes no mistake kicking for touch.
12TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Great defence from Japan as they force a scrum on their own 5.
15TH MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER), TRY TO DANE COLES: It started in the All Blacks 22. A break from Milner-Skudder and quick ball from Tahuriorangi to Mo'unga who sets up Coles to score in the corner.
CONVERSION: Mo'unga makes the conversion.
18TH MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER), PENALTY: Penalty to the All Blacks on the half way line. Hiroshi Yamashita not rolling away.
20TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), TRY TO RICHIE MO'UNGA: The first five scores his first try as an All Black. Breaks the tackle of two defenders and scores the second of the night for New Zealand.
CONVERSION: Converts his own try.
23RD MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER), PENALTY: Japan getting some time with the ball and win a penalty after an interception attempt from Ngani Laumape.
27TH MINUTE (4 MINUTES LATER): Some good atack from the All Blacks is ended by a knock-on from Dalton Papali'i.
28TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), TRY TO NGANI LAUMAPE: A chip and chase from Waisake Naholo and the bounce is perfect to Laumape as there is three All Blacks waiting for the bounce.
CONVERSION: Try is converted.
33RD MINUTE (5 MINUTES LATER), TRY TO HENDRIK TUI: After some sloppy play from both teams the Japanese number 8 goes over. Initially he was held up but the referee calls it a try.
Some pushing and shoving from both teams after the call.
CONVERSION: Try is converted.
36TH MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER), TRY TO TE TOIROA TAHURIORANGI: After loose ball from the Japanese team, the ball pops out and its the Rotorua Boys High old boy who pounces and scores under the post.
CONVERSION: Try is converted.
39TH MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER), TRY TO LAUMAPE: A well worked move from the All Blacks off the lineout as Mo'unga hits Laumape with a short ball and hes too big and too strong. He busts through the defence to score his 2nd.
CONVERSION: Try is converted.
40TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), TRY TO TIM LAFAELE: A great end to the first-half for the Brave Blossoms as the second five runs through four All Blacks to score in the corner.
CONVERSION MISS: Conversion is wide.
ALL BLACKS 38 JAPAN 19
HALF TIME
ALL BLACKS 38 (COLES, MO'UNGA, TAHURIORANGI, LAUMAPE X2 TRIES; 5 CONVERSIONS & 1 PENALTY) JAPAN 19 (ANISE, TUI, LAFAELE TRIES; 2 CONVERSIONS)
41ST MINUTE: The second half is back underway
42ND MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SUBSTITUTION: Nehe Milner-Skudder has left the field and is replaced by George Bridge.
45TH MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER), PENALTY: Japan win a penalty as they look to put some pressure on the All Blacks early in this second half.
47TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), TRY TO GEORGE BRIDGE: His first touch as a All Black is one he will never forget. A great break from Mo'unga sees him pass to Tahuriorangi who sets up Bridge for his try on debut.
CONVERSION: Conversion is good.
49TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), SUBSTITUTION: 2 changes for the home side. Tanaka is on for Nagare and Nakajima is on at lock for Van Der Walt
52ND MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER), TRY TO JAMIE HENRY: Some fantastic play from Japan as the forwards set up a few phases before the backs spin it wide and Jamie Henry scores after a chip through from Tamura.
CONVERSION MISS: Conversion is wide
54TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), SUBSTITUTION: Changes for the All Blacks
Coltman is on for Coles, Perry is on for Tu'ungafasi
Evans is on for Tuipulotu
57TH MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER), TRY TO WAISAKE NAHOLO: Great work from substitute Gareth Evans who breaks through two tackles before finding Naholo who scores in the corner.
CONVERSION MISS: Conversion is wide
60TH MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER), TRY TO MATT PROCTOR: Perhaps the try of the night. A crossfield kick from Jordie Barrett to George Bridge who chips it over the Japan defence, collects his own kick and finds Proctor who scores with ease.
CONVERSION: Conversion is good.
63RD MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER), TRY TO LAUMAPE: Its all New Zealand at the moment, Japan look spent. Evans makes another great pass and Laumape kicks a grubber through, and scores, his third on the night.
CONVERSION: Barrett slots the sideline kick
68TH MINUTE (5 MINUTES LATER), TRY TO BRIDGE: A grubber from Laumape is met by the toe of Bridge who runs in behind and scores a double.
CONVERSION MISS: Conversion is wide
70TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), TRY TO LAFAELE: Incredible work from winger Kenki Fukoka who fends off Naholo and then sets up Lafaele to score his second of the night.
CONVERSION: Conversion is good.
77TH MINUTE (7 MINUTES LATER): The game has opened right up now. 3 to go.
80TH MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER): Thats it! what a game, the All Blacks came and got the job done convincingly, but Japan can walk away with their heads held high.
FULL TIME: ALL BLACKS 69 (BRIDGE X 2, LAUMAPE X 3, COLES, NAHOLO, PROCTOR, MO'UNGA, TAHURIORANGI TRIES; 8 CONVERSIONS & 1 PENALTY) JAPAN 31 (ARISE, TUI, HENRY, LAFAELE X 2 TRIES; 3 CONVERSIONS)
ALL BLACKS 69 JAPAN 31
And in other international rugby news such as Ireland thumping Italy to remain unbeaten at Soldier Field in Chicago, then Wales got the job done against Scotland at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff & England go 2 victories in a row against South Africa at Twickenham in London after that controversial foul play decision being made to decide the game after the ball had been kicked into touch whether star England first five Owen Farrell used his arms in the tackle (Was that an illegal shoulder charge or not? Like it's to be or not to be) on Springbok reserve back Andre Esterhuizen because the Australian referee Angus Gardner said that Farrell wrapped his arms on Esterhuizen so the referee blew the final whistle allowing England to win the game by a single point (Well, not just by a whisker) & of course, the Maori All Blacks thrash the USA with a win in Chicago despite their disciplinary problems with 3 yellow cards being handed out to Maori All Blacks skipper Ash Dixon (For collapsing an attacking maul), second rower (And nephew of Matua Parkinson) Pari Pari Parkinson (For a dangerous spear/tip tackle which landed on its shoulder) & of course, reserve hooker (And a relative of the Going brothers) Robbie Abel (For a clear & obvious tackler not releasing (The laws say in rugby that when the referee says tackle after the tackled player's knees are on the ground, the tackler must let go of the tackled player before the referee blows the whistle for a penalty for a no clear release if the tackler doesn't listen to the referee's call) in an aggressive manner), but they did the job.
So that is my 246th blog of the year 2018 (MMXVIII) & my 66th of this year.
Friday, 2 November 2018
All Blacks team naming against Japan (My 1st blog of November (AKA the mustache month of Movember)
Well, the All Blacks have named their team against the Kiwi born Michael Leitch led Japan (Coached by former All Black & Japan international as well as ex Highlanders & Sunwolves coach Jamie Joseph but it's been 5 years since the AB's last met Japan (Well that was worth the wait with just a year out from the Rugby World Cup next year) at Ajinomoto Stadium in Chofu, Tokyo so here is the starting lineup in it's entirety:
FRONT ROW
1 (Loose head prop): Ofa Tu'ungafasi (Auckland/Blues)
2 (Hooker): Dane Coles (Wellington/Hurricanes)
3 (Tight head prop): Angus Ta'avao (Taranaki/Chiefs)
SECOND ROW
4 (Lock): Patrick Tuipulotu (Auckland/Blues)
5 (Lock): Jackson Hemopo (Manawatu/Highlanders)
BACK ROW
6 (Blindside Flanker): Vaea Fifita (Wellington/Hurricanes)
7 (Openside Flanker): Dalton Papali'i (Auckland/Blues)
8 (Number 8): Luke Whitelock (Captain, Canterbury/Highlanders)
HALVES
9 (Half-back): Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi (Taranaki/Chiefs)
10 (First five eighth): Richie Mo'unga (Canterbury/Crusaders)
MIDFIELD
12 (Second five eighth): Ngani Laumape (Manawatu/Hurricanes)
13 (Centre): Matt Proctor (Wellington/Hurricanes)
OUTSIDE BACKS
11 (Left Wing): Waisake Naholo (Taranaki/Highlanders)
14 (Right Wing): Nehe Milner-Skudder (Manawatu/Highlanders)
& 15 (Fullback): Jordie Barrett (Taranaki/Hurricanes)
And in the reserves are:
16. Liam Coltman (Who replaces Nathan Harris)
17. Tim Perry (Who replaces Karl Tu'inukuafe)
18. Tyrel Lomax (Who replaces Nepo Laulala to make his test debut off the bench)
19. Dillon Hunt (Who also replaces Brodie Retallick to make his test debut off the bench)
20. Gareth Evans (Who replaces Matt Todd in line for an All Black test debut off the bench)
21. Mitchell Drummond (Who replaces Aaron Smith for a test debut for the All Blacks off the bench)
22. Brett Cameron (Who replaces Richie Mo'unga who is elevated to the starting lineup to replace Beauden Barrett to make his test debut off the bench)
& 23. George Bridge (Who replaces Anton Lienert-Brown to make his test debut off the bench for the AB's).
So that is my 245th blog of the year 2018 (MMXVIII) & my 65th of this year.
FRONT ROW
1 (Loose head prop): Ofa Tu'ungafasi (Auckland/Blues)
2 (Hooker): Dane Coles (Wellington/Hurricanes)
3 (Tight head prop): Angus Ta'avao (Taranaki/Chiefs)
SECOND ROW
4 (Lock): Patrick Tuipulotu (Auckland/Blues)
5 (Lock): Jackson Hemopo (Manawatu/Highlanders)
BACK ROW
6 (Blindside Flanker): Vaea Fifita (Wellington/Hurricanes)
7 (Openside Flanker): Dalton Papali'i (Auckland/Blues)
8 (Number 8): Luke Whitelock (Captain, Canterbury/Highlanders)
HALVES
9 (Half-back): Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi (Taranaki/Chiefs)
10 (First five eighth): Richie Mo'unga (Canterbury/Crusaders)
MIDFIELD
12 (Second five eighth): Ngani Laumape (Manawatu/Hurricanes)
13 (Centre): Matt Proctor (Wellington/Hurricanes)
OUTSIDE BACKS
11 (Left Wing): Waisake Naholo (Taranaki/Highlanders)
14 (Right Wing): Nehe Milner-Skudder (Manawatu/Highlanders)
& 15 (Fullback): Jordie Barrett (Taranaki/Hurricanes)
And in the reserves are:
16. Liam Coltman (Who replaces Nathan Harris)
17. Tim Perry (Who replaces Karl Tu'inukuafe)
18. Tyrel Lomax (Who replaces Nepo Laulala to make his test debut off the bench)
19. Dillon Hunt (Who also replaces Brodie Retallick to make his test debut off the bench)
20. Gareth Evans (Who replaces Matt Todd in line for an All Black test debut off the bench)
21. Mitchell Drummond (Who replaces Aaron Smith for a test debut for the All Blacks off the bench)
22. Brett Cameron (Who replaces Richie Mo'unga who is elevated to the starting lineup to replace Beauden Barrett to make his test debut off the bench)
& 23. George Bridge (Who replaces Anton Lienert-Brown to make his test debut off the bench for the AB's).
So that is my 245th blog of the year 2018 (MMXVIII) & my 65th of this year.
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