Well (After our most successful summer Olympics we had in Tokyo for New Zealand (7 golds, 6 silvers & 7 bronzes throughout our campaign but it is time to move on from the Olympics because we are now focusing on the rugby), the All Blacks have named their team today according to coach Ian Foster in this Saturday's 2nd Bledisloe Cup fixture as well as the opening match of the 2021 Rugby Championship (Which will feature the return of the world champions, the Springboks after a years absence (They were originally going to take part but had to pull out due to fears & uncertainty regarding to the corona virus in South Africa according to the South African government travel restrictions as well as player welfare & safety concerns) as they take on Argentina in Port Elizabeth) against Australia (The last meeting between both sides was 5 days ago at Eden Park in Auckland during Bledisloe I in which the AB's won the test despite the Wallabies ran in by scoring 3 late tries & 1 successful conversion from Wallaby first five Noah Lolesio before the end in which they put on a tremendous fightback after being 33 - 8 down, but it's been 20 years since the last time the Wallabies had triumphed against the All Blacks on New Zealand soil & it was in Dunedin where the John Eales led Australia spoiled New Zealand's party at the old house of pain which is Carisbrook on the late Jonah Lomu's 50th test but the Aussies will have another shot of ending a 35 year hoodoo at the garden of Eden tomorrow this Saturday against the AB's after losing the previous test & hoping to become the 1st rugby playing nation to win at Eden Park against New Zealand since France did it 27 years ago in 1994 (Including the try of the end of the world being scored by the French which was mentioned in my previous blogs) & are looking to deny the All Blacks hopes of successfully defending the Bledisloe because the last time the Aussies held the Bledisloe, it was in 2003 where they last held the prestigious Trans-Tasman rugby trophy after the AB's ended 5 years of heartache to win the Bledisloe but the All Blacks have never been defeated in the opening round of the Rugby Championship (And are looking to continue our trend of opening the Rugby Championship campaign with a win) because it was in 2005 against South Africa during the Tri Nations era) at Eden Park in Auckland (It was originally going to be held at Sky Stadium in Wellington, but due to problems caused by COVID-19 in the Wellington area, they wouldn't let them host a rugby test match, after an incident in late June that a man should've been tested before the flight had occurred from Sydney to Wellington could've forced them not to shut the Trans-Tasman travel bubble already (Including the Delta variant which affected throughout the Australian state of New South Wales) so here is the starting lineup in it's entirety:
PLAYING XV
FORWARD PACK
FRONT ROW
1 (Loose head prop): George Bower (Crusaders/Otago)
2 (Hooker): Codie Taylor (Crusaders/Canterbury)
3 (Tight head prop): Nepo Laulala (Blues/Counties Manukau)
SECOND ROW
4 (Lock): Brodie Retallick (Chiefs/Hawke's Bay)
5 (Lock): Sam Whitelock (Captain, Crusaders/Canterbury)
BACK ROW
6 (Blind side flanker): Akira Ioane (Blues/Auckland)
7 (Open side flanker): Dalton Papali'i (Blues/Counties Manukau)
8 (Number 8): Ardie Savea (Hurricanes/Wellington)
BACK LINE
HALVES
9 (Half-back): Aaron Smith (Highlanders/Manawatu)
10 (First five-eighth): Richie Mo'unga (Crusaders/Canterbury)
MIDFIELD
12 (Second five-eighth): David Havili (Crusaders/Tasman)
13 (Centre): Rieko Ioane (Blues/Auckland)
OUTSIDE BACKS
11 (Left wing): Sevu Reece (Crusaders/Tasman)
14 (Right wing): Will Jordan (Crusaders/Tasman)
& 15 (Fullback): Damian McKenzie (Chiefs/Waikato)
And in the reserves are:
16. Samisoni Taukei'aho (Who remains on the bench after being called up to replace Dane Coles who had to again withdraw from the previous match due to a calf strain)
17. Karl Tu'inukuafe
18. Angus Ta'avao
19. Scott Barrett (Who is back on the bench, replacing Patrick Tuipulotu after being withdrawn due to an illness in Bledisloe I)
20. Luke Jacobson
21. TJ Perenara (Who returns to replace Brad Weber to cover at the reserve halfback position after being away playing rugby in the Japan Top League)
22. Beauden Barrett
& 23. Jordie Barrett
And of course, the All Blacks is the world's most successful team (They had 3 Rugby World Cup titles to our credit which is 1987 (It was against France in the final at Eden Park in Auckland in a rematch of the fearful battering that New Zealand had copped in the battle of Nantes in 1986), 2011 (France again in the final at the same ground at Eden Park in Auckland just like in 1987) & 2015 (It was against Australia in the 1st ever Trans-Tasman RWC final at the home of English rugby union which is in Twickenham in London, England (And that's why that South Africa's 4 year plans of ending the AB's 8 year dominance on top of the rugby union world began after the All Blacks had triumphed in the 2015 Rugby World Cup) but there are some reports that the Springboks (Who returned to power in 2019 & are looking to remain in power in 2023 but let's hope that the All Blacks will return to power & win back the William Webb Ellis cup from its former glory) might have taken over as the best rugby playing nation in the world during modern times after their success at the last Rugby World Cup in Japan in 2019 (That was their 3rd overall along with the AB's & their 1st since 2007 (They faced England in the final at the Stade de France in which was a rematch of the pool game that England copped a brutal hiding) to add to their previous title in 1995 (And it was against the All Blacks at Ellis Park in Johannesburg in which they fought during extra time) against the AB's chief tormentors in the semifinal, England as well as winning the test series against the British & Irish Lions this year.
And finally that New Zealand's 1st successful tilt at the America's Cup in 1995 (They had another success in 2000 against the Prada Challenge of Italy in Auckland before succeeding both in 2017 in Bermuda against the all Australian crew of the mega funded Oracle Team USA in a repeat of 1995 & earlier this year in March in Auckland against the Jimmy Spithill & Francesco Bruni helmed Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli in a repeat of 2000) against Stars & Stripes who found a new way of bending the rules by allowing to use a rival's boat which is Young America to make the boat get up to speed before the 29th America's Cup match in San Diego, California has put the rest of the world on the map because of the stories that inspired New Zealand as a sailing nation.
So that is my 447th blog of the year 2021 (MMXXI) & my 47th of this year.
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