Well, there is only 2 rounds to go following the conclusion of round 3 in the first ever Super Rugby Trans-Tasman competition but the 3rd round got started as the Hurricanes had a good win against the Western Force at McLean Park in Napier then a day later, the Super Rugby Aotearoa champions the Crusaders thump the struggling Waratahs (Who once had their coach Rob Penney until he got fired midway through the Super Rugby AU competition due to dismal performances which let them down when the Tahs was being considered to be the worst Australian Super Rugby team in the competition) outfit at WIN Stadium in Wollongong followed by the Blues who had just defeated the Brumbies at Eden Park in Auckland after 4 long years but the biggest news of the round is the Super Rugby AU champions the Reds who claim the 1st biggest boil over in Super Rugby Trans-Tasman as they topple the 13 man Chiefs (Who had star Chiefs fullback Damian McKenzie sent off for a high hit during the match which proved to be the game changer/turning point that cost the Chiefs a chance of winning (And was McKenzie's sending off for a dangerous tackle the right call? I think it was spot on by the referee but McKenzie is going to serve a minimum 3 week ban after a red card for causing a high tackle (Well, to start with, the high tackle in both codes of rugby league & union are like gun violence in America) which was deemed to be a cheap shot (And of course rugby union's governing body World Rugby are currently issuing a clamp down on head high tackles/high shots in an effort to reduce the impact of players getting concussed with the tackle height set to change in time for the 2023 Rugby World Cup from the shoulders to the chest area & the introduction of the high tackle technique warning (It is an automatic 1 game suspension if a player had just received a 2nd & subsequent high tackle technique warning) just to make the game safe) at Queensland Country Bank Stadium in Townsville a day before the Highlanders claim a victory against the Rebels over at Leichhardt Oval in Sydney (Originally there were due to play in Queenstown until they immediately requested to change the venue to Sydney because of the corona virus in the Australian state of Victoria especially in the city of Melbourne).
And here is the list of round 3 matches being played in Super Rugby Trans-Tasman of 2021 (And it's now 14 & 1 between the Kiwi sides against Australian opposition after the Reds scored one for the Aussies to finally put them on the board ending New Zealand's hopes for a 3rd consecutive clean sweep this round against the Australians):
Crusaders Vs Force: Orangetheory Stadium, Christchurch
Reds Vs Blues: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Highlanders Vs Waratahs: Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
Brumbies Vs Hurricanes: GIO Stadium, Canberra
& Chiefs Vs Rebels: Leichhardt Oval, Sydney (They are still waiting for confirmation in wake of COVID-19 in Victoria (Well, I believe that the Trans-Tasman travel bubble is still open except Victoria because they have a travel ban in place) but originally the 7 day state of emergency could be extended but they have confirmed reports that the shutdown that they have in Victoria has been extended)
And finally the AB's are under the radar of choosing our left winger for the one off test against Tonga at Mount Smart Stadium & both tests against Fiji in Dunedin & Hamilton with Crusaders winger Leicester Fainga'anuku (Who is in fact a Tongan Kiwi) being one of the contenders along with Salesi Rayasi (Who has both Fijian & Samoan roots especially his father Filipe who once played for Wellington as well as Fiji & played basketball during his secondary school days along with rugby union (The sport that Salesi had chosen instead of basketball) of the Hurricanes & Highlanders player (And ex-Aramoho School & Fielding High student), Jona Nareki who had a terrific season to remember (He is a try scoring machine especially he got that hat trick against the Chiefs in Super Rugby Aotearoa 3 months ago now) & could be an All Black in waiting along with the other two of Fainga'anuku & Rayasi.
So that is my 420th blog of the year 2021 (MMXXI) & my 40th of this year.
P.S. And it is only a week to go until my 30th birthday on the 7th of June (2 days after Dad's (Who came here 2 days ago to watch the rugby but he has been keeping an eye on my half-brother Jansen since he had been into trouble recently (And let's hope he does not do anything wrong but Jans is now good) & 3 days before Aunty Tania's but we're going to La Quattro on the 6th of June a day before we go to Caroline's on my birthday) but Pops (Who is having his 74th birthday in 5 weeks time) is coming back here tonight along with Carole after an expedition in Auckland as well as Albany since they left Whanganui on Friday but I just want a shout out to my best friend Sophia Ong for giving birth to her son Shaia a few days ago but my old friend Leon (He calls me Whet all the time in the world now but I like that & he may be considering a move back to Whanganui with his current partner Michelle Johansson (Although she's of Norwegian & Swedish descent because of her Scandinavian roots & she has both sons named Alex & Max) because they currently live in Remuera in Auckland since October last year but if Leon is wished to move back here, he'll have to go through his divorce settlement with his ex-wife Hanne) told me that she, her Welsh husband & her son now have just moved to Upper Hutt to prepare her upcoming motherhood.
And finally there are some reports in Japan that the confirmed number of COVID-19 cases has grown because I fear that the Tokyo Olympics could be perilously close to getting cancelled as a result (And the 1st time that has been happened since the cancellation of the 1940 & 1944 Olympics due to the 2nd World War which happened in a period from 1939 until 1945 but the world wide pandemic is like a war to start with) & why didn't we get the chance to host the Olympics (For example like Auckland) instead of Tokyo? Because it would've been a better option & we would've been happy (The Olympic Games is Tokyo was going to be held last year but due to the corona virus, it has been moved to this year but there are some rumors that the Olympics could be called off (And if it there was a cancellation, it would've been heartbreaking especially for the athletes to come over & compete).
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