Super Rugby round 2 & Six Nations round 3 review (My last blog before the South Island trip)

Well, round 2 of Super Rugby just got started but what a win by the Highlanders to remain unbeaten in Super Rugby, beating the Reds in a close encounter at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin but unfortunately to our beloved Hurricanes, they fell to the dominant Crusaders side (One of 2 New Zealand teams undefeated during the season but they unfortunately didn't get the bonus point) at AMI Stadium in Christchurch after beating the Waratahs away from home in round 1 then the Chiefs & Blues didn't get wins over the Brumbies & Sharks in Canberra & Durban respectively while other results include the Tahs, Stormers & Jaguares get their first victories of the season by beating the Sunwolves, Lions & the Bulls but in Six Nations news, Wales came out on top against England to remain unbeaten in the Six Nations at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, playing their best rugby in years (Although England's innovative defence were finally been broken by the Welsh) while France wallop Scotland at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis after back to back defeats in the 2019 Six Nations against both Wales & England then Ireland got the better of Italy at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

But this is my last blog my friends before the South Island trip where I will be going with Pops, Aunty Tania & Rejean from the 27th of February on a flight from Palmerston North to Queenstown until the 10th of March where Pops & I are heading back from Queenstown to Palmy on the way home.

So that is my 274th blog of the year 2019 (MMXIX) & my 14th of this year.

Super Rugby round 1 review, Black Caps 1st & 2nd ODI & my father & Raewyn's wedding round-up

Well, the 2019 Super Rugby season officially got underway as the Highlanders produce a comeback win against the Chiefs at FMG Stadium Waikato in the Tron despite being a man down for the rest of the game (Highlanders reserve back Sio Tomkinson was the culprit who got red carded by New Zealand referee Glen Jackson for an illegal no arms tackle to the head on Chiefs captain Brodie Retallick who had to leave the field due to concussion so he was unable to continue) then the Blues were inconsistent against the defending champion Crusaders (Who were without hooker Codie Taylor, captain Sam Whitelock & All Blacks skipper Kieran Read), losing by 2 points at the garden of Eden in Auckland then the Hurricanes (Who had done it without the services of star first five Beauden Barrett) managed to win by just a single point against the Waratahs at Brookvale Oval in Sydney after Waratahs first five Bernard Foley had a chance to win the game with a penalty goal but he missed after that shot at goal attempt went wide at Brookvale Oval in Manly, Sydney & other results include the Rebels who had an upset victory against the Brumbies at GIO Stadium in Canberra upon Quade Cooper's celebrated return to Super Rugby (Cooper was unwanted by the Reds according to their coach Brad Thorn last year so he chose to be at the Rebels for this season) then Sharks who got the better of the struggling Sunwolves team in Singapore followed by the Bulls was the only home team to win a game by beating the Stormers at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria & of course, the Lions of South Africa, finally getting their 1st win against the Jaguares on Argentinean soil at the Jose Amalfitani Stadium in Buenos Aires.

And the Black Caps have won the 1st 2 ODIs in Napier & Christchurch to clinch the ODI series against Bangladesh after our disappointing ODI series against India with New Zealand batsman Martin Guptill scoring back to back tons.

And finally it has been 3 days since the wedding of my father & Raewyn's wedding took place so I had a great time there plus some good guests (Including Pops, Aunty Tania (Who had to clean our house along with Rejean), Rejean, Carole Webb, Kathryn, Ken Branch, Ben Blain, Robina (Ben Blain's girlfriend who could be my best friend who is better than Sophia Ong), Uncle Nigel (Who was the celebrant), Uncle Nigel's adoptive son Isaac, Jansen, Toa Waaka, Toa's girlfriend/partner Kelli, Toa's daughter Hiritoa, Narlea, Narlea's husband Stephen, Nufemmia, Uncle Bryan, Aunty Viv, Aunty Viv's mother Donna, Uncle Bryan & Aunty Viv's son Ashley, Charlotte & the rest) including our whanau back there because the wedding was held at Uncle Bryan Christie's new place (I had a hangi there for dinner & had fruit salad for dessert) & I watched the rugby on TV because they have got Sky there.

So that is my 273rd blog of the year 2019 (MMXIX) & my 13th of this year.

Six Nations round 2 review, 2019 Super Rugby season preview & Black Caps Vs India 3rd T20 round up

Well, my father & Raewyn's wedding is almost upon us on the 16th of February but in Six Nations news, Ireland get their 1st win of their campaign, beating Scotland 22 - 13 at Murrayfield in Edinburgh while Wales continue their dominance against Italy with a resounding 26 - 15 win at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome to equal their 100 year old record for most consecutive test wins (They played their best Welsh side in years) & England (Who has their best defence in the competition since John Mitchell took over as defence coach but they actually believe that they could win the Rugby World Cup with the All Blacks likely to be their opponent in the semifinal (Well, the last meeting between England & New Zealand at a Rugby World Cup was 20 years ago but England have never beaten us before (Their 1st meeting was in 1991) go 2 from 2 in the Six Nations (Who followed up their victory against grand slam champions Ireland), thrashing France (Who played their worst rugby in years) 44 to 8 with a hat-trick by star winger Jonny May at Twickenham in London.

And the Six Nations is taking their mandatory 1 week break but Super Rugby starts this Friday on the 15th of February (The day after Valentine's Day) with the Chiefs taking on the Highlanders at FMG Stadium Waikato in Hamilton then on Saturday it's the Blues taking on the defending champion Crusaders side at Eden Park in Auckland before the Hurricanes head across the ditch for their quest of regaining the title to take on the Waratahs at Brookvale Oval (A rugby league ground which is home to the Manly Sea Eagles NRL team) in Sydney but other matches are Brumbies Vs Rebels at GIO Stadium in Canberra, Sunwolves Vs Sharks at National Stadium in Singapore, Bulls Vs Stormers at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria & Jaguares Vs Lions at the Jose Amalfitani Stadium in Buenos Aires.

And finally the Black Caps win the T20 series against India in the 3rd & deciding T20 at Hamilton with New Zealand opening batsman Colin Munro getting a half-century by scoring 72 runs but their next task for the Black Caps is against the giant killers of world cricket, Bangladesh, in a 3 match ODI series beginning tomorrow & the 3 match test series commencing on the last day of February 2019.

So that is my 272nd blog of the year 2019 (MMXIX) & my 12th of this year.

P.S. And It was on Sunday that both Aunty Tania & Rejean (Who had to meet my pet beagle mastiff cross dog Buck for the 1st time 2 days ago) have arrived from Canada in time for both the wedding & the trip to the South Island at Whanganui Airport when me & Pops went but it was yesterday that we went to Dad & Raewyn's place for dinner where we had (Except Aunty Tania who had to pull out due to a stomach upset).

My 1st blog of February 2019 (Six Nations round 1, Superbowl LIII round-up)

Well, Waitangi day is almost upon us tomorrow but in Six Nations news, Wales began their Six Nations campaign with a win against France at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis after being 16 - 0 down at halftime while Scotland continue their dominance against Italy with a Blair Kinghorn hat-trick at Murrayfield in Edinburgh but England defeat defending Six Nations champions & All Black conquerors Ireland in an epic test match in Dublin thanks to England's assistant coach John Mitchell's innovative defence (But the resilient defence by Ireland had been broken by the English white wall).

And finally the Vince Lombardi Trophy is heading back to New England after the Patriots had a dominant display against the Los Angeles Rams in a low scoring affair at Superbowl LIII at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia a year after missing out on defending the Superbowl against the Philadelphia Eagles but what about star quarterback Tom Brady & super coach for the Patriots, Bill Belichick, they were back to its best.

And I did enjoy my time yesterday when me & Pops went to Caroline's for dinner last night where I had a Mediterranean lamb salad that I enjoyed so I had to pay with my meal before we went back home to watch the underarm incident documentary on TV on Prime last night (I had watched the Superbowl earlier in the day) but today I watched the F1 biopic movie Rush (I recorded it last night) that I haven't seen for over 5 years.

So that is my 271st blog of the year 2019 (MMXIX) & my 11th of this year.