Well, I'm back because it is my 1st blog since 2 months ago where we had a corona virus shutdown which happened (There was a Kiwi returning from Australia had picked up the Delta variant that they bought in which is the most dangerous & powerful of them all but we are now on alert level 2 at the moment (That is alert level 3 if you're in the Northland, North Harbour, Auckland, Counties Manukau & Waikato area but I don't do blogs if it is on alert level 2 & below but I rarely do now but it is important to wear a protective face mask in public once they leave home according to the corona virus announcement that I saw on YouTube) but news that I just missed such as the AB's (Who were without 3 key men such as captain Sam Whitelock, star first five Richie Mo'unga & best halfback in the world of Aaron Smith to witness the birth of their child) winning game 3 of Bledisloe Cup 2021 against the Wallabies at Optus Stadium in Perth with All Black blindside flanker Akira Ioane picking up his player of the game honours for his all round performance & there was a double to All Black second-five eighth David Havili (One off a rolling maul & the other from an intercept) who had taken over as the 1st choice second five following the departure of Ngani Laumape to Stade Francais (Which is a club competing in the French Top 14 competition) as well as they lost both captain Ardie Savea & hooker Codie Taylor through concussion & there was a red card to try scorer Jordie Barrett (Who was lucky not to get suspended after being cited by the citing officer but Damian McKenzie replaced him after 20 minutes due to the new red card interpretations) for a deliberate act of foul play (Which was shades of Highlanders player Tevita Nabura on Waratahs player Cameron Clark in a Super Rugby game in 2018) on dangerous Wallaby winger Marika Koroibete but there was better news as the AB's ran away with a 39 - 0 blowout to Argentina (Who lost to South Africa twice in both rounds of the Rugby Championship) in round 3 of the Rugby Championship at Cbus Super Stadium in the Gold Coast (It was Luke Jacobson who got a double but there was a yellow card to both Argentinian players such as former skipper & new Crusaders signing Pablo Matera & a reserve prop forward who is a relative newcomer into the Argentinian rugby scene of Carlos Muzzio but there's big All Black tight head prop forward of Nepo Laulala who started the match with a thumping tackle on Matera in the opening seconds of the test match) just before the Wallabies sneak themselves home with Quade Cooper who returns after 4 long years away (Well, he might have resurrected his test rugby career after being picked by Dave Rennie but is now both the savior & the second city saint since Australia started winning but is this marked the revival of Australian rugby since Quade Cooper's return? Probably to say the least (And they haven't won the Rugby World Cup since 1999), providing that clutch moment by slotting a match winning penalty goal against the World Champion Springboks outfit (Every time South Africa has won the Rugby World Cup, the next Wallaby test is won by Australia (And it was 1992 that the Australia outfit who had just won the Rugby World Cup in 1991, toured South Africa after the end of Apartheid such as the late Nelson Mandela's release from behind bars but there was heavily armed security protecting the Australian rugby team to keep an eye from a bomb being planted underneath the team bus but there was one Wallaby team member that every time that they had left the hotel, they would be accompanied by a heavily armed security guard) led by the most influential figure in world rugby, the 1st black captain to lift the William Webb Ellis trophy, Siya Kolisi (His mother was 17 when Siya was born in the poor area of South Africa in Zwide in 1991 & he was yellow carded during the match along with Willie le Roux (Who had been sent to the sin bin for a deliberate knock down) as well as both Wallabies of Matt Philip (For cynically pulling down a maul) & Folau Fainga'a (For a reckless chop tackle) for a lifting tackle on Tom Banks which proved costly but there was a double to reserve Springbok hooker Malcolm Marx (Who took over from Dane Coles as the best hooker in world rugby) off both rolling mauls after coming on to replace starting hooker Bongi Mbonambi who dotted it down off a rolling maul (The main primary strength in South African rugby) & quite frankly he deserves a spot as starting hooker for the next test against Australia in Brisbane after a good performance in the previous test just like Tevita Kuridrani did as he scored a double against the All Blacks in Sydney in 2017 after coming from the bench by impressing the selectors so he earned that starting centre spot for the next Bledisloe Cup match in Dunedin).
And there has been an update in the Rugby Championship such as the Wallabies had scored back to back victories against the world champion Springboks outfit at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane with both Len Ikitau & Fijian born player Marika Koroibete picking up doubles in the test match & there were 3 yellow cards in the match such as Springbok halfback Faf de Klerk for taking out the opposing halfback of Nic White by knocking the ball out of the player's hands as well as Wallaby blind side flanker Lachlan Swinton for a deliberate act of foul play on Duane Vermeulen & for reserve South African flank forward Jasper Wiese for a clean out which was deemed to be considered dangerous just before the end of the match but there has been an update in the penultimate round of the Rugby Championship such as the All Blacks stay unbeaten in the Rugby Championship after picking up another win against Argentina including a double to young All Black lock forward Tupou Vaa'i then a week later, the in form world number 1 ranked All Blacks have won by famously toppling the world champion Springboks (Who the All Blacks haven't played against since the 2019 Rugby World Cup Pool B encounter at Yokohama in Japan in which the AB's won & it was the last time the Springboks had tasted defeat at a Rugby World Cup (I mentioned a story before in my previous blogs about the Springboks winning the 2019 Rugby World Cup (And every time South Africa had won the Rugby World Cup, the next All Blacks test is won by New Zealand (And I clearly remember that comment from veteran All Black halfback Aaron Smith that it's good that England (Who famously beat the All Blacks in the semifinal of the most recent Rugby World Cup tournament in 2019) got beaten in the final to the South Africans (There was respect between the 2 great rugby rivals off the field) & the 1st time that a rugby playing nation had won a global rugby union tournament after losing the opening match (They had to win 6 straight games en route to world glory) at Queensland Country Bank Stadium in Townsville in what was to be the 100th test (Our rivalry with South Africa on the rugby field began in 1921 with New Zealand winning the 1st test between the 2 countries) between both great rugby playing nations (It was Will Jordan who opened the account with a promising start after Codie Taylor who set it up to Jordan followed by Springbok winger & fastest player in world rugby, S'bu Nkosi who responded with a try by capitalizing a mistake from All Black winger George Bridge (Who had to be replaced in the 2nd half with the mercurial Quinn Tupaea coming onto the field but he needs to be dropped for the next test with Sevu Reece replacing him because of his errors throughout the game) despite being yellow carded during the match for a deliberate knock on then both Jordie Barrett (Who is the reliable goal kicker in the All Blacks team compared to both his brother Beauden Barrett (No longer a fullback because he is getting slow now meaning that he is mainly a first five) & Damian McKenzie (Who is leaving the Chiefs after spending 6 years with the franchise) & Handre Pollard traded penalties & there were 6 lead changes throughout the entire game but it was Jordie Barrett who banged them over with a match winning penalty goal which proved to be the turning point (Or should I say game changer) after the AB's had awarded a turnover penalty from New Zealand reserve back Quinn Tupaea for holding on (Not releasing ball) but I thought that the ruck was formed just before the match between the Wallabies & Argentina ended in a one sided affair, resulting to a dominant victory to Australia against the ill disciplined Argentina side) but there has been an update in the final round of the Rugby Championship as the resurgent Wallabies ended the campaign strong with another win with a Andrew Kellaway scoring a hat-trick of tries against Argentina at Cbus Super Stadium in the Gold Coast before the Boks topple the AB's (Our hopes of finishing the Rugby Championship campaign undefeated has ended along with our 10 match winning streak after losing to the much improved world champion South Africa team (We are now 9 & 1 this year but what went wrong for the AB's to lose a test match like this? Because we conceded a penalty in the dying seconds allowing Pollard or Elton Jantjies to go in for the kill & score the match winning penalty goal (But they are who we thought they were! And we let them off the hook!) which caused us to suffer a defeat, yes, but, behind the walls of Mordor our enemy is regrouping in which I label the previous All Black test as a dreaded game) who became the 1st team to defeat New Zealand (Who had our 1st loss in international test match rugby since against Argentina last year) this year) to win for the 1st time in 3 years with a match winning penalty goal to either Handre Pollard or Elton Jantjies after our All Black forwards conceded a penalty in the dying seconds but the Rugby Championship was won by New Zealand (This is like 2018 in which the Rassie Erasmus coached South Africa (Who snatched victory from us from the jaws of defeat but national pride has been restored anyway) famously beat us in Wellington but it's the Springboks 1st win against the All Blacks (The opponents for the All Blacks northern tour are the United States, 2023 Rugby World Cup hosts France, Ireland, Italy & Wales) under current coach Jacques Nienaber therefore snapping a 3 match losing streak).
So that is my 451st blog of the year 2021 (MMXXI) & my 51st of this year.
P.S. And just to clarify on a sad note as the rugby world is in mourning when the great All Black & of course the Maori All Black of Waka 'The Black Panther' Nathan (Who was a loyal servant to the game when he was awarded the Steinlager salver award back at the New Zealand rugby awards in 2018) has sadly passed away so all thoughts, prayers & condolences go to the family of Waka Nathan in memory of him, may you rest in peace.
