Well, I have decided to do a weekly blog now since the COVID restrictions have been eased in our country (And they have got to wear masks when entering in both a medical & aged care facility & if someone tests positive, they must self quarantine for 7 days while others in the house whilst a person who tests positive & has to self quarantine, will no longer need to) especially the confirmed number of cases is dropping significantly (And it seems that omicron is dying down now), but it's 3 months have passed since the tragic shootings have happened at a elementary school in Uvalde, Texas (There was a native who is a Hollywood film star, in the name of Matthew McConaughey (He famously appears in movies, such as Tropic Thunder, Fools Gold, The Wedding Planner, How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days & Ring Of Fire) in America when I saw a news report on CNN (The program Aunty Tania always watches while Pops used to watch that television news channel a lot) where they claimed 21 lives including 19 9 to 11 year old young students & both teachers by the hands of a gunman who shot his grandmother at his home prior to the shooting (And it's reminiscent to both Columbine in 1999 (And there's security at high schools nationwide with metal detectors being introduced in a bid to stamp out firearms being brought into the grounds at a high school following the incident) & Sandy Hook in 2012 (There were 26 of them have been shot & killed (There were 20 students & 6 teachers) including the perpetrator/suspect who committed suicide as a result (He especially killed his mother before the massacre had happened) where they had (And when Barack Obama was president of the United States, the Sandy Hook tragedy is one of his darkest days during his presidency) but lawmakers in the US are trying to crack down on gun violence (Similar to the trend of high tackles in rugby union & league but the gun violence epidemic in the United States of America is a whole lot worse) such as introducing gun control measures to keep the country safe by implementing a ban on high powered rifles as well as universal background checks, red flag laws & raising the legal age (Just like raising the drinking age in America which helped reduce accidents) of purchasing a semi-automatic rifle (And action needs to be taken in light of the tragic shootings in Uvalde where there police were called in for a serious gun incident but they had a late response to that where the cops took a long time to get to a crime scene (And many of the victims families wanted answers but the police refused to even make a comment about it) but there are calls for better security at elementary schools in wake of the mass murder (And that's sad, shocking & dreadful about it, especially in the community but all thoughts, prayers & condolences go to the family of the children & teachers whose lives have been taken away by a suspected gunman but it should not happen after that in both the US & anywhere around the world (And yeah that's pretty terrible or should I say dreadful, but it is time to move on from that but me & Pops are lucky that we're not in the USA (Especially Diana Kent (Who I have not seen her since 2017 in I just moved in with Pops) lives there in Palatine, Illnois, but she once told me before that she always locks the doors at her home at night if there's an would be incident) from 18 to 21 which is good since the Americans recently passed a bill on gun law reforms but there is a tragic weekend in the US between the 4th & 5th of June as 9 mass shootings had occurred nationwide (Including a gunman murdering a court judge since Pops has told me 4 months ago that judges are getting scared & afraid by their suspected enemies due to the fact that they have a fear of getting shot by a gun) in spate of gun violence in the aftermath of the events of Uvalde, Texas (And what are the thoughts of US President Joe Biden on the epidemic of violence involving firearms? "Enough's enough!" But the coach of the Golden State Warriors NBA side as well as a former NBA player who once played the Chicago Bulls of Steve Kerr, has given his thoughts on gun violence, post Uvalde tragedy during a press conference mainly because of his late father, professor Malcolm H. Kerr (Who was the president of the American University of Beirut), getting assassinated by armed terrorists in Beirut in Lebanon in 1984 (Compared to the JFK assassination which was worse in 1963 in which John F Kennedy was the last US president to be assassinated) when Steve was an 18-year old freshman at the University of Arizona) but there has been an update as there has been an introduction of a bipartisan gun law known as the partner loophole in which the law prevents their domestic partners of receiving a firearm to commit would be crimes even if they are especially mentally ill according to the report on news channel CNN.
And in tennis news such as the world No.1 ranked Iga Swiatek has done it again as she becomes the 2 time champion of the French Open after her win against young 18 year old American Coco Gauff in the final of the women's singles at Roland Garros, extending her winning run to 35 games (The most since 2000) but in the men's department as the Mallorca native of Spain's Rafael Nadal becomes the most successful male tennis player with 22 for most victories at a grand slam (He is 2 ahead of both of his rivals Novak Djokovic (Whom Rafa beat in the quarterfinals before Nadal faced the German of eastern European origin, Alexander 'Sascha' Zverev in the semi, in which Rafa was declared the winner after Zverev got injured in the process & had to be withdrawn from the match & was the one who got suspended for 3 years from competing in the Australian Open after being deported to his home in Serbia after he tried to enter Australia due to the fact that he wasn't clearly vaccinated) & Roger Federer (Who thought about retiring from tennis after his injuries that he had most recently) & is now a 14-time French Open men's singles champion as well as the oldest to win at Roland Garros at 36 after a comprehensive victory over Norwegian Casper Ruud (Who attended the Nadal Tennis Academy in Spain after Nadal was Ruud's idol back in his youth days) in the men's singles final but I don't know whether Nadal will play at Wimbeldon given the foot injuries that he had most recently because he might not take the risk of getting injured again while the next grand slam tennis tournament takes place in Wimbeldon where Germany's Alexander Zverev (Who had been given a 8 week suspended ban & a 1 year probation due to volatile behaviour that he had when he was involved in an incident with the chair umpire by smashing his racquet to an chair umpires tower during a tennis tournament in Acapulco, Mexico which resulted in a $40,000 fine in which Zverev was thrown out of the tournament) is set to miss Wimbeldon through a serious ankle injury sustained in the semifinal against Rafael Nadal of the men's singles tournament at the French Open.
And onto the Football World Cup qualifiers report as the emotional Ukraine (Who had beaten Scotland in the semifinals of the UEFA qualification playoff but they had to be based in Slovenia in April to prove that the players that they are match fit ahead of both the Scotland & Wales clashes) 3 - 1 at Hampden Park in Glasgow in an attempt to make it into the tournament after 16 years (It was in 2006 that Ukraine made it's one & only Football World Cup appearance as they made the round of 16 after wins against both Saudi Arabia & Tunisia but lost to Spain in the group games before they defeated Switzerland on penalties to make the quarterfinal until the eventual champions Italy beat them & haven't appeared in the World Cup ever since after that) had just fallen short of securing qualification into the Football World Cup (The 2022 edition is the 2nd consecutive tournament not to involve the defending European champions & the biggest nation not to qualify for this year's tournament, Italy (After losses against Sweden in 2017 & North Macedonia (Who netted a late winner to knock the Italians out by providing the biggest shock in an unbelievable match when Italy's football team crashed back to earth, a year after winning the European Championship & being feted as national heroes) this year) after losing to Wales at Cardiff City Stadium in Cardiff meaning that the Ukrainians had been dealt with heartbreak when the Ukranian skipper Andrey Yarmolenko had scored an own goal after Welsh captain Gareth Bale kicked it from a free kick which was the turning point or should I say, a game changer & it was game over when it was Wales's time & Wales's moment to saviour as they end a 64 year wait of reaching the Football World Cup (The only time Wales appeared at football's biggest global showpiece tournament was in 1958 (I think Pops was about 10 or 11 here in our country while Carole was about 5 or 6 when it occurred in the UK) when they reached the knockout stages after 3 draws but 1st they had to beat Hungary in the round of 16 before being fallen to the eventual champions of Brazil in the quarters & they haven't appeared at a World Cup since until now (They came so close of reaching the 1978 Football World Cup for Wales as they got beaten by Scotland thanks to a controversial penalty by the Scots to qualify for the tournament) & have made both European Football Championship appearances (One in Euro 2016 where they reached the semifinals (They couldn't rattle the eventual champions Portugal in which the Portuguese famously outsmarted them during the semi (And they were without one of their Welsh players, Aaron Ramsey through suspension after committing a 2nd yellow card during the tournament in the quarterfinal against Belgium) & the other in Euro 2020 last year in which they beat Turkey in the group game after a draw against Switzerland & before they lost to eventual European Football champions Italy to qualify for the round of 16 in which they went down to Denmark) & now join England, Islamic Republic of Iran & the USA in Group B of this year's tournament in Qatar (And most Ukranian fans are shattered that they could not make it to Qatar after an unfortunate defeat like that for the country (And I watched the replay of the game on TV on the 6th of June with Pops that Wales (Who were ranked higher than Ukraine going into the match for a place in the World Cup in Qatar (And Pops told me on the 9th of June that Scotland did not make it, but it's good that Wales are in the tournament (Especially Andy's wife Kelsey being of Welsh origin along with her parents John (Kelsey's father) & Rhonda (Kelsey's mother) despite being Kiwi (I was telling Carole at Momiji about if Andy was playing cricket, he would play either England (His country of birth & ancestral homeland) or New Zealand (His main nationality & residence) but Andy once told me last year that he was too small to play rugby union) were too good during the game against the Ukranians who have been famously being outplayed (And I mean, what a disappointing end for Ukraine, what a match for our viewers right around the world (And I wonder the headlines would say: WALES END 64 YEAR WAIT OF FOOTBALL WORLD CUP APPEARANCES or more like: UKRAINE FALLS SHORT AGAINST THE WELSH IN WC QUALIFIERS) but I once told Pops or Leon that I love football, but I prefer rugby union as my favourite sport to follow but I'm looking forward to watching this year's Football World Cup in Qatar on TV when it's on) but Real Madrid has won their 14th UEFA Champions League title (The most by a European club & is still, Spain's most successful by far (And unlike that the Premier League, remains, Manchester City's cup after Man City successfully defended the Premier League title (Their 4th in 5 years in which they won all but one since the 2017-18 season) as they defeated the FA Cup champions Liverpool (England's most successful football club in the UEFA Champions League with 6 titles (Their last one was in 2018-19 in which they defeated Spurs in Madrid during the Champions League final (And they successfully won the Premier League title a year later in 2019-20 before Manchester City have been invincible since 2020-21 in which they regained the EPL title before winning another one (And the Belgian footballer who plays for Man City, Kevin de Bruyne (One of Belgium's current golden generation players along with Eden Hazard), is still easily one of the Premier League's best football players) but Leon (Who was happy & proud about Liverpool's triumph in the FA Cup against Chelsea in the final but I forgot to tell him about that) was disappointed about the result even as a die-hard Liverpool fan) 1 - 0 at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis (But the match was overshadowed with controversy as most Liverpool fans were unable to get a single ticket to watch their club play in the final due to mainly fake tickets were used so they were unable to get in the stadium to watch) in a rematch of the 2018 final in which Real Madrid dominated (Including Liverpool's Mohamed Salah sustaining a broken arm after being tackled by Real Madrid player at the time, Sergio Ramos & Gareth Bale's heroics when he scored both goals during the final (Including the goal of the final which was his bicycle kick when he scored that first goal (Compared to Cristiano Ronaldo's bicycle kick stunner against Italian club Juventus in the 1st leg of the quarterfinal during the 2017-18 season & Zinedine Zidane's wonderful but tremendous strike off a volley for Real Madrid against German club Bayer Leverkusen in the 2002 UEFA Champions League final in Glasgow, Scotland) after being used as a sub) but Leon told me that Denmark had beaten the current Football World Cup holders France (Well, I think the French (Who are having a rough start in the UEFA Nations League after losses against Denmark then a draw against Austria & back to back defeats against Croatia, a month going into their defence of the Football World Cup in Qatar this year) are going to win the Football World Cup but my heart says it's Brazil, mainly for 3 reasons, because first of all, they're the top ranked football playing nation in the world then secondly, they're the tournament favourites (And they'll be looking for their record extending 6th Football World Cup title) & lastly, they haven't triumphed since 2002 (It was 20 years ago) quite frankly) in a UEFA Nations League game (Who both nations will meet at a Football World Cup this year in Group D) while I told Leon that Hungary had their 1st win against England for the first time in international football in 60 years in front of 35,000 children under 14 & their chaperones (It was originally played behind closed doors due to erratic behavior towards their male fans over the age of 15 during the delayed Euro 2020 last year but the children jeered the English football team when their English players took a knee in a effort to curb racism (They're allowed to do that (Unlike a ban on booing the kicker every time they take either a conversion or penalty goal during a rugby union match in rugby grounds in Europe such as England, France, Ireland, Scotland & Spain) but those kids under 14 attending the match, along with their chaperones aren't into politics nowadays).
And onto the rock music related stuff as I compare both bands that I'm a huge fan of which is the Red Hot Chili Peppers (Their recently released album, Digital Love, was not one of the greatest albums but it was a flop, a disaster, total shambles (And it was one of the worst in history because their form going into the release of the album had been dwindling as well as being the album underprivileged & underdone, but lucky I have got the Getaway album that I've got now (And too bad that Josh Klinghoffer left, as he was being replaced by John Fruiscante in 2019 who had rejoined the band for the 3rd time (He replaced the late Hilel Slovak in 1989 before he departed after Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magik before rejoining the band again, replacing Dave Navarro in 1998 until he left yet again in 2009, with Klinghoffer taking Fruiscante's place) according to Ben that he told me during my 31st birthday on the 7th of June this year but it was lucky that I have not got that Digital Love album) & the Foo Fighters (Who cannot cope after the tragic loss of their drummer Taylor Hawkins when he took his own life 7 months ago, during their South American tour (Their last song that the band performed live with Hawkins was Everlong (One of my favourite Foo Fighters songs) but I now got Medicine At Midnight which is the most recent Foo Fighters album to be released last year but it was the last to feature the now late Taylor Hawkins on drums (He joined the band in 1997 after the 2nd album, The Colour & the Shape came out) & after the passing of Hawkins, the Foo Fighters haven't heard themselves since (And are now down to 5 survivors consisting of Dave Grohl (Lead singer & guitarist), Nate Mendel (Bass), Pat Smear (Rhythm guitarist), Chris Shifflett (Lead guitarist) & Rami Jaffee (Keyboards) just like Linkin Park (Also down to 5 members which is Mike Shinoda (Rap vocalist), Brad Delson (Lead guitarist), Rob Bourdon (Drummer), Joe Hahn (Turntables) & Dave Farrell (Bass) after the tragic passing of Chester Bennington, their lead singer in 2017 (Same year that Chris Cornell of both Audioslave (I now got that album which is Revelations (And Audioslave is not my favourite band since I prefer active rock bands, but I like a bit of inner Cornell as one of my favourite singers in the rock music industry along with Foo Fighters lead singer Dave Grohl as well as the late Bennington, Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Brandon Boyd of Incubus, Maynard James Keenan of both Tool & A Perfect Circle & last but not least, Jon Toogood of our very own Kiwi/New Zealand rock band Shihad) & Soundgarden had passed away by taking his own life just like his good friend Bennington) in which the band is currently on hiatus since) but I have revealed the fact that I love both bands & I have just found out that the Chilis is better than the Foos in terms of the popularity of their music meaning that the Red Hot Chili Peppers is my number 1 rock music band while the Foo Fighters is in fact my number 2, behind the Chilis & ahead of Linkin Park (And 4 others including Incubus, A Perfect Circle, my favourite Kiwi rock band by far of Shihad (Compared to Temuera Morrison (AKA Dr Hone Ropata from Shorty Street, Jake 'The Muss' Heke from the greatest New Zealand movie ever, Once Were Warriors & both Jango Fett & the Galactic Republic Clone Troopers from Attack Of The Clones (Who Jango only appeared) & Revenge Of The Sith) & Karl Urban (Who played Eomer in both The Two Towers & Return Of The King films) being my favourite New Zealand movie stars (Arnold Schwarzenegger is by far, still my favourite film star ahead of Tom Cruise, Samuel L Jackson (AKA that Mace Windu guy from the Star Wars (One of my favourite film franchises along with both The Lord Of The Rings (I've seen the Hobbit film trilogy before but was never interested since I prefer The LOTR trilogy (The reason I started watching The Lord Of The Rings film trilogy was it was filmed here in New Zealand (And it was directed by a Kiwi, Sir Peter Jackson) & The Matrix (I have seen the 1st 3 movies such as the 1st Matrix movie, The Matrix Reloaded & The Matrix Revolutions but never seen the 4th which is The Matrix Resurrections) prequel trilogy) & Keanu Reeves (Best known as Thomas A 'Neo' Anderson from The Matrix series) & Filter (One of the most underrated rock bands in the world according to most people).
And onto the motor racing stuff that New Zealander Scott Dixon's hopes of his 2nd Indianapolis 500 victory (He started on pole remember after dominating qualifying but there was another Kiwi of the 3 time Supercars Championship title winner of Scott McLaughlin (He won in Mid-Ohio to claim his 2nd win of the 2022 Indycar season before the former 6 time Indycar series champion of Dixon, won in the most recent Indycar race (The 2nd race in a row that has been won by a Scott & the 2nd consecutive Indycar race that a New Zealander has taken the victory) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (In which they haven't not hosted an Indycar race since 2019 after 2 years out as a result of the corona virus pandemic in the country), having him tied 2nd on the all time winners list in American open wheel racing along with the great Italian born American racer & winner of the Indy 500 way back in 1969, Mario Andretti (The 7 time American open wheel champion AJ Foyt tops the all time list with 67) in which he has the utmost respect for Dixon (Who won in Nashville ahead of McLauglin just like race 1 in Texas last year to move up to 2nd in the all time list of most American open wheel racing championship wins when he got past Mario Andretti but AJ Foyt remains on top of the all time list with 68) in which he labels him as a friend in a tweet that he dished out in honor of Dixon's victory in the streets of Toronto) who crashed out during the race), ended in failure as a costly pit stop blunder, robbed him a chance of winning the Indy 500 (The race went to his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate of ex-Formula 1 driver Marcus Ericsson, who becomes the 2nd Swedish driver in history after Kenny Brack in 1999 to win at the famous Indianapolis 500 mile race which is Indycar's flagship event (And the Monaco Grand Prix went to Mexico's Sergio Perez (Who emerged as a championship title contender) in the Red Bull after the race had been aborted, mainly due to the treacherous wet weather conditions).
And in rugby news such as Canada has failed to qualify in next year's Rugby World Cup (But their football/soccer team are in the Football World Cup this year in Qatar) after being beaten by Chile (Who made history as the 1st side since Russia in 2011, to make their Rugby World Cup debut next year after they stunned the United States in a RWC qualifiers match but Rugby isn't the number 1 sport in Chile not only because it is a football mad country (Or should I say a nation known for their football there) on an aggregate score in Rugby World Cup qualifying (And the 2023 tournament is the 1st Rugby World Cup without Canada involved meaning that 10 countries have appeared in every Rugby World Cup such as Argentina, Australia, England, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Scotland & last but not least, Wales) last year while Spain had originally secured their victory of Romania to secure qualification, but they have been stripped of their place in the 2023 RWC for fielding an ineligible player who got caught by using a forged passport which was kinda sad (And Romania (Who haven't appeared at a Rugby World Cup arena since 2015 but failed to qualify in the last one in 2019 for fielding multiple ineligible players) had taken Spain's place in the tournament since) but there's an interesting fact that every time the All Blacks won the Rugby World Cup (We did it on 3 occasions, in 1987, 2011 & our most recent one in 2015), we had to beat Argentina during the tournament, whether it's a pool game (It was both in 1987 & 2015) or a quarterfinal (It was in 2011) & of course, New Zealand has never won a RWC without beating the Argentinians during the tournament (Unlike the AB's came so close of winning rugby's grandest prize in 1995 (Well, to start with, we should've won that game if the AB's players didn't get poisoned deliberately at their team hotel (It must've been either the water or milk that had when they had lunch when most players had felt a bit sick (Although our captain in 1995, Sean Fitzpatrick as well as the Brooke brothers of Robin & Zinzan were not the ones involved when the New Zealand players like the late Jonah Lomu & Jeff Wilson, fell ill after the effects of food poisoning 2 days before the final (I remember in a sports news report on One that Peter Williams said that the New Zealand players thought that they are 100% fit ahead of the big final), most likely by a shady underworld betting syndicate (And unlike the reason why the AB's lost to France & Australia in the semis of both 1999 & 2003 was in 1999 that the French had an easier path to the final when they beat the Fijians (Who missed out in an upset win & would've played them in the semi instead of the French) in pool play, courtesy of that dreadful but diabolical refereeing performance from New Zealand referee Paddy O'Brien & a few weeks later during the tournament, the French rattled us in the semi after trailing from behind & in 2003, the AB's should've been to Sydney after winning against South Africa in the quarterfinal, but they chose to stay at the team base during the tournament in Melbourne, to prepare for the semi against hosts at the time, Australia, which went unsuccessful (Including Stirling Mortlock's try off an intercept was the turning point/game changer, & I clearly but fondly remember that it was game over as we know it that the Aussies for the last time at a Rugby World Cup, had beaten the All Blacks (We beat them twice in 2011 in the semifinal & 2015 in the final) but that's not the case) after losing to the great Springbok side (Who had to win the 1st of 3 Rugby World Cups) that has graced the rugby field led by it's inspirational leader of Francois Pienaar (1st Springbok captain to lift the William Webb Ellis trophy followed by John Smit in 2007 & Siya Kolisi (AKA the self-proclaimed rugby god when I always call him & 1st skipper of African origin to hold the trophy aloft) at the most recent tournament in 2019 (Compared to both All Black captains that have hoisted the trophy such as David Kirk (Who was the third choice New Zealand skipper going into the inaugural tournament after injuries to both the late Jock Hobbs (Whose rugby career is cut short with a head injury) & Andy Dalton (Who missed the whole tournament with a torn hammy) as I mentioned before in my previous blogs) in 1987 & Richie McCaw twice in 2011 & 2015 as well as both RWC winning captains who lifted the Webb Ellis trophy for the Wallabies of Nick-Farr Jones in 1991 & John Eales in 1999 & finally, Martin Johnson is England's only Rugby World Cup winning skipper to raise the trophy aloft way back in 2003) in the final).
And I forgot to mention the violent protests where 800 arrests have being made in the Capitol buildings in January last year, dubbed as the Capitol insurrection riots (Unlike the late US president Richard Nixon had to resign in 1974 in light of the Watergate scandal that they had in 1972 where a break-in by 5 burglars who had been arrested by cops (They went on trial a year later in 1973 (And 10 people had been sent behind bars as a result of criminal charges had been laid), one year before the resignation by president Nixon handed out), at the Democratic National Committee HQ had occurred, which was worse) that they had when Trump supporters attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 US election (But it's official that Biden was declared that he won it that he defeated Trump (And that's the 1st time that a US president like Trump had lost the election since 1992 in which the late George H W Bush got defeated by Bill Clinton with Clinton becoming the new president that he served from 1993 until 2001 when George W Bush (Son of George H W & former Texas governor) took over & there was a prime time public hearing that had taken place recently about the insurrection) before the US government had declared a martial law in time for inauguration day but there was protests in Wellington in February this year about the Ottawa siege involving anti-vax protesters as well as National's attempt of overturning the result of the general election in 2020 during the omicron outbreak that they had.
And that there is a journalist working for Al Jazeera named Mahmoud Hussein who had been sent behind bars in Egypt without being charged or going through trial until he was released in February last year & of course, American Hollywood movie star Johnny Depp winning a court case against his ex-wife Amber Heard about the defamation trial in which a case that involved domestic violence (Similar to Mel Gibson did on Oksana Grigorieva back in 2009).
And we've got a rugby game on the 29th of June as the Maori All Blacks (Which features the likes of players of Maori origin such as Cullen Grace, TJ Perenara & Brad Weber) lock horns with Ireland (Who are the All Blacks formidable rivals in recent times (It used to be next year's Rugby World Cup hosts France who they beat us in our most recent test) since they became competitive after their 1st win in Chicago in 2016 (And remember they came so close in both 2012 in Christchurch & 2013 in Dublin when Ireland almost made history, but it wasn't to be as I mentioned in my previous blogs but the Irish have never beaten us at a RWC) followed by 2 more victories in 2018 & last year, both in Dublin, but we could face them in the quarters in next year's Rugby World Cup just like in 2019, even if we beat the French in the opening match of the tournament (And if not, it's the defending world champions & our old foe of South Africa, where they haven't beaten us at a RWC since 1999 as I also mentioned in my previous blogs) in a mid week fixture with the Maori All Blacks ended up winning against the Irish at FMG Stadium Waikato in Hamilton in a mid-week game but the most important test match is on the 2nd of July as the All Blacks take on Ireland in our highly anticipated 1st test match of the year at Eden Park in Auckland in which New Zealand have never lost at that venue since France beat them in 1994 including that magnificent try from the end of the world by the French that won them the test series (And Ireland has never beaten the AB's on New Zealand soil (They have never done that before & they're out here to make history, but the last time the All Blacks won against the Irish, it was in 2019 in the quarterfinal at the most recent Rugby World Cup) then the Wallabies play England in the 1st of 3 tests at Perth Stadium in Perth then the current World Cup holders the Springboks battle it out against Wales at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria, also in a test series then Argentina face Scotland in another one of those test series at Estadio 23 de Agosto in San Salvador de Jujuy.
And in international rugby news such as the All Blacks (Who had both Leicester Fainga'anuku & Pita Gus Sowakula making their test debuts for the AB's) return to winning ways by snapping a 2 match losing streak to demolish one of the dark horses of next year's Rugby World Cup, Ireland (Who had their captain Johnny Sexton pulled from the 1st half for what looks like to be an HIA (Head injury assessment) then he took no further part in the match after failing a concussion test which proved to be the game changer after being copped by a high tackle by New Zealand captain Sam Cane which went unnoticed so Cane is likely to be cited by the citing officer for illegally taking out Sexton meaning that he will front up to the judiciary of how long will Cane be suspended for, & if Cane is suspended, it is either Ardie Savea or Sam Whitelock to assume the captaincy for the remainder of the series & the opening Rugby Championship match against South Africa (And Cane has since been cleared by the judiciary meaning that he was free to play in the 2nd test against the Irish) because that to me, was worthy of either a yellow or red card (And the English referee of Karl Dickson would've disallowed the try scored by Sevu Reece for the foul play incident that they had (There were both tries that should've been rubbed out by the TMO, one was Quinn Tupaea for an offside in front of the kicker & the other for Ardie Savea after Aaron Smith adjudged to have knocked the ball on in the lead up to the try but there was a yellow card to Karl Tu'inukuafe for continuing to mount penalties & there was a try on test debut to the newcomer of Fijian born All Black Pita Gus Sowakula (Once known as a chef & a basketball player) who he was on fire & was the pick of the test debutants compared to Fainga'anuku who didn't make an impression whilst on All Black test debut) at Eden Park in Auckland then the Wallabies for the 1st time since the 2015 Rugby World Cup, have conquered England at Perth Stadium in Perth as Australia defied both cards & injuries during the match before the Springboks (Who have apppeared at every Rugby World Cup since 1995 (That was 3 years after they were readmitted to international sport following the end of the apartheid ruling that they had from 1948 until the late future South African president Nelson Mandela's release in 1990) remain, the best rugby playing nation of the planet in terms of the World Rugby world rankings as they put the discipline ridden Wales (Who had blown a big chance to win the test) to the sword with a match winning penalty goal by South African fullback Damian Willemse just like last year against New Zealand at the Gold Coast during the last round of the most recent Rugby Championship after Wales conceded a penalty in the dying seconds, resulting in a heartbreak that caused them to lose the match for a deliberate knock down which proved to be the turning point (And I fear that South Africa (Yeah, stuff that country although I was lashing out due to some heavy criticism that I'm personally intolerant to other people's cultures, especially the South Africans due to them of disrespecting each other not only they were so good in rugby union since their most recent Rugby World Cup glory in 2019 but I hope not that the Rugby World Cup, is still, South Africa's cup (And after 2019 when South Africa returned to power when they mastered/perfected the art of the sport of rugby union for the record-tying 3rd time by growing the game so much nowadays according to my previous blogs, a single & singular goal came into the sharpest focus for the Springboks. The Rugby World Cup had become South Africa's cup. The mission would be to ensure it stayed that way (Just like New Zealand did in 2015 against Australia at Twickenham in London, England where they had gone back to back (The 1st to win 3 titles followed by the South Africans & the only time as I mentioned in my previous blogs that the AB's had actually won the tournament, on foreign soil) after winning it on home soil in 2011 (Their 1st for a long time, in 24 years) against France at Eden Park in Auckland just like 1987, in the quest for rugby union's ultimate prize) but let's hope not that the Boks remain in power next year) next year in France (Fingers crossed hopefully for an All Black triumph at the 2023 RWC) is going to win the Rugby World Cup next year if they keep doing that in terms of how they perform well but they could play either next year's hosts France or England in a rematch of both the 2007 & 2019 finals in the final at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis but stuff them since I hated that match because it was my least favourite of the weekend that the South Africans were always going to win but I was getting sick & tired of it not only I vented frustration about it) then Argentina has taken the victory over Scotland in Jujuy in Australian Michael Chieka's first game in charge for the Argentinians who took over from the former Argentinian rugby player of Mario Ledesma.
And there has been an update that the Jonny Sexton (Who was one of the standouts of the 2nd test) led Ireland (Who played like the Crusaders in the Super Rugby Pacific final against the Blues) have created rugby history as they topple the All Blacks for the very 1st time on New Zealand soil (It was also the 1st time the AB's have tasted defeat at Forsyth Barr Stadium & the 1st time since 2009 that New Zealand has lost in Dunedin) for their 4th win (Their 1st was in 2016 then 2018 followed by last year & now this year meaning that the Irish are the real deal going into the test decider in Wellington & they mean business as they could be real contenders going into next year's Rugby World Cup along with hosts France, current World Cup holders South Africa, England, & Australia as well but they still looking for their 1st win in the quarterfinal of the RWC (We could be taking on Ireland (Who have been ultra competitive since their 1st victory against New Zealand in Chicago, Illnois in the United States of America in 2016 as I mentioned in my previous blogs) again in the quarters just like in 2019, even if we beat the French in pool play) against us in international rugby after the All Blacks were unable to overcome 2 yellow cards to both Leicester Fainga'anuku & Ofa Tu'ungafasi & a red to Angus Ta'avao who became the 7th different All Black to be sent off in a test match after Brownlie, Meads, Williams, Scott Barrett, Tu'ungafasi & Scott's brother Jordie Barrett for a crude headbutt had turned into an apparent illegal head clash on Irish player Garry Ringrose which resulted in a high tackle infringement (And the foul play incident was sorta like an assassination attempt so Ta'avao's red card was the turning point when Ireland began to dominate in the match, especially in the 2nd half before they successfully made history (And there has been an update as Ta'avao has been suspended for a minimum 3 weeks as a result of a straight red for a high tackle violation on an Irish player during the 2nd test at a disciplinary hearing that he attended) which let our discipline down (And there are calls for Ian Foster to be fired even if the All Blacks lose the test decider in Wellington, with Scott Robertson (Who has a contract with the Crusaders head coaching role until 2024 as I also mentioned in my previous blogs) might likely to take over the All Blacks head coaching role) even when we crashed back to earth after the entire AB's fanbase have been devastated about the defeat (And Ardie Savea should've stayed on the field & won ourselves the test match but he went off & had been replaced which cost the game dearly) or should I say, lost against the Irish (Who had a mid week game in hand against the Maori All Blacks & won meaning that the test series between Ireland & the Maori All Blacks (Who fell short for another victory) ended in a draw) in the 2nd test (And the Irish curse has struck for the 4th time against New Zealand but will it be the AB's time to win the test decider or will there be the luck of the Irish if they win the 3rd & final test in Wellington?) but there's also an update where Ireland have made history again as they win the test series by overpowering New Zealand who fell short yet again, just like in the 2nd test at Sky Stadium in Wellington, signalling 'Fozzy' Foster's downfall as All Blacks coach (Give this job to 'Razor' Robertson since Ian Foster's dismal coaching perfomance in which we let him off the hook that let ourselves down, especially the entire AB's fanbase who have been devastated once again after losing to Ireland (Who have now taken over from next years Rugby World Cup hosts France (Who took over from the reigning world champions South Africa (Who held that number 1 position in the World Rugby rankings after their narrow victory over the All Blacks in the very last round of the Rugby Championship last year on the Gold Coast in Australia) after France's test series victory over Japan & the Springboks losing to Wales in the 2nd test), as the top ranked rugby playing nation in the world according to the comment that I remember from Pops in July after their historic test series triumph against New Zealand & the 1st time that Ireland have won a test series against the All Blacks, in New Zealand since the beginning of the professional era in 1996) for the 5th time in international test rugby...& that's why that Foster has been ousted as the head coach of New Zealand after failing to win the test series against the ever improving Ireland (Who the All Blacks are now our formidable rivals & main challengers going into next years Rugby World Cup in France but the All Blacks (Who'll have their new interim head coach with either John Plumtree or Joe Schmidt taking over to replace Ian Foster who is moving on after a dismal test series against the now world number 1 of the Irish but an update had just come in that Ian Foster is staying on as the All Black coach (His contract runs out until after next years 2023 Rugby World Cup), but they had to sack the assistant coaches of both Plumtree & Brad Moar & bring in Jason Ryan as the forwards coach) next game is the opening round of this years Rugby Championship against our traditional rivals & the current Rugby World Cup holders, the Springboks (And the New Zealand - South Africa rivalry is the most storied rivalry in all of international rugby union (Compared to the Boston Red Sox - New York Yankees rivalry in America's Major League Baseball then the Celtics - Lakers rivalry in the NBA, the Bruins - Canadiens rivalry in the NHL, then the Colts - Patriots rivalry in the NFL followed by Argentina Vs Brazil, England Vs Germany & France Vs Italy in international football as well as FC Barcelona - Real Madrid in the El Clasico in Spain, AC Milan - Inter Milan in the Derby della Madonnina in Italy & Celtic - Rangers in the Old Firm Derby in Scotland, in club football & both rivalries in international cricket such as Australia - England as well as Australia Vs New Zealand & last but not least, India - Pakistan + the El Clasico of cricket in the IPL between the Chennai Super Kings & the Mumbai Indians) with the Boks having to win last time out between the two but the last time both of these sides met on South African soil, it was 4 years ago in 2018 that the AB's ran out winners (And it's been 8 years since the South Africans last won on home soil against New Zealand in 2014 where a high tackle by All Black flank forward Liam Messam cost the All Blacks the test, allowing one of the Springbok goal kickers to capitalize & take the lead of the match before they held on until the end at Ellis Park in Johannesburg) at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria with the world champion South Africans (Who are ranked above the All Blacks) going into this match, as favourites off the back of their test series win against Wales 2 - 1, while the AB's (Who are now dropped to an all time low of 4th in the World Rugby rankings) have never lost an opening Rugby Championship match (The last time they did that, it was in 2005 during the Tri Nations era fresh off our 3 - 0 test series blackwash against the British & Irish Lions) like that (And my thoughts after last night's test match: Absolutely damn angry, no words to describe it, move on (And damn unbelievable, that did not just happen, but it's time to move on).
So that is my 462nd blog of the year 2022 (MMXXII) & my 10th of this year, stay safe & one love, viva Ukraine.
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