Well, round 3 of Super Rugby Aotearoa began as the table topping Blues (Who had Rieko Ioane yellow carded after an intentional offside but the turning point of the match was Blues number 8 Hoskins Sotutu holding the Highlanders maul up (The law says if the knees are on the ground it's a tackle (But you have got to let it go or else it's a penalty for a no clear release (Tackler not releasing) but it's a maul if the players knees aren't on the ground so the ref may blow the whistle for a scrum as a result of a turnover off a maul) allowing the Blues to win a scrum moments before winning the game) go 3 from 3 (But the Crusaders are catching up (As a result of a 2 man horse race between the Blues & the Crusaders) after winning both games in a row in the inaugural Super Rugby Aotearoa season) as they beat the Highlanders in a close encounter by 3 points in Auckland (Including that excellent try being scored by Caleb Clarke (Son of Auckland, Blues & All Black rugby legend Eroni Clarke) who had to pay tribute to his grandfather who recently passed away just before the match started) then the Chiefs had a disappointing game as they couldn't tame New Zealand's best which is the Crusaders (I thought the turning point of the match was Damian McKenzie knocking the ball on (It looks like not only that the Chiefs have fallen foul of those tricky conditions just before the Crusaders won that match) with several minutes to go but it's the Crusaders getting the try off an intercept from a quick line out from the Chiefs because the Chiefs may or might have fallen asleep from the helm) in Christchurch.
And here is the list of round 4 matches being played in Super Rugby Aotearoa:
Highlanders Vs Crusaders (Their most recent meeting in the great southern derby was earlier this year in round 4 in which the Crusaders were overwhelmingly dominant at Orangetheory Stadium in Christchurch against the Highlanders but the last time the Highlanders beat the Crusaders was in round 5 at Forsyth Barr Stadium way back in 2018)
& Chiefs Vs Hurricanes (It's a must win game but the last time both of these sides met was this year in which the Hurricanes took top honors against the Chiefs in Hamilton with a match winning penalty by Hurricanes utility back Jordie Barrett just before the 2020 Super Rugby season had been suspended due to corona virus which badly affected not just our country but worldwide but it's been 2 years since the Chiefs had last beaten the Hurricanes & it was at the last round in round 19 at FMG Stadium Waikato in Hamilton (They had a Chiefs player sent off for a sickening high shot on a Hurricanes player just before the end of the game)
So that is my 351st blog of the year 2020 (MMXX) & my 11th of this year.
P.S. And I would like to say happy birthday to my dear Pops who is turning 73 in 2 days this Sunday on the 5th of July this year.
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