I Will Follow/We Are All Made Of Stars: My 20th blog of the year 2022

Well, there is an interesting rugby fact that the only time the All Blacks lost a tour match during their successful grand slam tour was against the Irish club of Munster (This was the days in which Ireland had never beaten the AB's in international rugby before until 2016 at Soldier Field (Home of the team that plays in the NFL, the Chicago Bears), in Chicago) in that famous game in 1978 which was immortalized in a play called Alone It Stands in which New Zealand infamously lost by 12 points in a tour match in one of our most shocking losses in history (And we played them again in 2008 in a tour match in which we won, 30 years after that defeat to Munster).

And in news related to the rock music industry such as Tom DeLonge of Angels & Airwaves has announced his return to his old pop punk band of Blink-182 (Which consists of guitarist & one of the vocalists of DeLonge, bassist & another one of the singers of Mark Hoppus & drummer Travis Barker & is one of my favourite pop punk bands (I especially love that band because I'm a fan of them & their music but I like Green Day as well), therefore replacing Akaline Trio's Matt Skiba who has left the band (And DeLonge's return to Blink-182 is rock music's biggest storyline since John Frusciante who rejoined the Red Hot Chili Peppers back in 2019, taking Josh Klinghoffer's place, but they have released a new song called 'Edging' last month in which the song is expected to be from the brand new album due to release next year & one of the band members of Mark Hoppus is in his 50s now, compared to both DeLonge (Whose singing voice might've been altered (Unlike the Foo Fighters song Shame Shame that I 1st heard in 2020 that lead singer Dave Grohl's singing voice had remained the same as in any other previous studio albums that the Foo Fighters had released) since he last appeared in an album with Blink-182 called Neighborhoods which was released back in 2011 before his departure in 2015 as Matt Skiba replaced him & had been with the band until this year in which he left, allowing DeLonge to open the door to infamously rejoin the band) & Barker (Who has a fear of flying since he was involved in a serious plane accident way back in 2008 a year before the band's reformation after originally broken up in 2005 althogugh he is apparently married to one of the Kardashians & is a fan of female American pop singer Billie Eilish) who are nearly approaching in their 50s).

And still onto the rugby stuff that on Halloween that it's been 23 years since the AB's (Who had the late Jonah Lomu (Who scored his last 2 tries in international test rugby against England in a losing effort during the Twickenham test 20 years ago way back in 2002 (Compared to his 1st 2 tries of his international rugby career which was against Ireland during the Rugby World Cup in 1995) crossing over twice during the game) infamously lost against France (Who staged a successful comeback to seal the deal & advance through to the final) in the semifinal at the 1999 RWC at Twickenham (Known as the traditional home of English rugby compared to Wembley Stadium which is a football venue & Lord's being a designated cricket ground) in London in one of Rugby World Cup's greatest games, but 7 years have passed since the All Blacks had last triumphed at the Rugby World Cup in 2015 in the final against the Wallabies in that memorable game of our lives (And it is one of my memorable moments watching rugby on TV) at the same ground in Twickenham (It was both Dan Carter & Bernard Foley traded penalties before Nehe Milner-Skudder who broke the deadlock by scoring the opening try of the final, just right on halftime before Sonny Bill Williams came on to replace Conrad Smith & delivered an offload to set up the try scored by Ma'a Nonu who raced in all the way to score then Ben Smith copped a yellow card (The 1st & only time in a Rugby World Cup final) for a lifting tackle on Drew Mitchell in which the Wallabies had staged a tremendous fightback with both David Pocock & Tevita Kuridrani scoring tries each to put them back in the contest before Carter (Who converted it with his right foot in his last scoring act of his international rugby career after Barrett got the try) scored a drop goal then a penalty goal at long range before Beauden Barrett provided the vital moment in the final in which Ben Smith chipped in a kick before Barrett kicked then he went over for the try meaning that the RWC, is still, New Zealand's cup! (And it was before the moment that All Blacks captain at the time of Richie McCaw became the 1st man & 1st New Zealander to lift the William Webb Ellis trophy twice).

And onto the motor racing stuff as our own flying Kiwi of Shane van Gisbergen (Whose dominance would've been a different story if Scott McLaughlin remained in the Supercars Championship but is now dating his old boss Roland Dane's daughter Jessica, in which he labels her as his partner now since he had an affair with her) clinching his 3rd Supercars Championship (And how good was he? Man, what a driver, what a Supercars Championship season he's having) by winning race 31 at the Gold Coast 500 (And it has been all SVG when he won both races (His record extending 20th & 21st race victories of the season) with one round to spare which is Adelaide (Who'll gear up to host the season finale of this year's Supercars Championship season as well as the 1st time the Supercars Championship will race at the old F1 circuit since 2020 & the last time that Holden (Defunct since 2020) will race in the Supercars Championship before being replaced by Chevrolet next year as it moves to Gen 3) at Surfers Paradise in Australia a day before he dominated race 32 (He is now on a 5 race winning streak dating back to race 28 at his home event in Pukekohe, New Zealand including his famous triumph with his Australian co-driver Garth Tander at the mountain at Mount Panorama in Bathurst which is the Bathurst 1000 simply known as the great race by overcoming both penalties including a grid penalty for causing a collision during qualifying as well as a 5 second penalty at a pit stop for an unsafe release during the race in which was the benefit of the doubt) of the event which CART/Champ Car/Indycar once ran (But I wonder if this year's Supercars Championship season ends with one of van Gisbergen's main title rivals of Will Davison, Chaz Mostert & Cam Waters are thinking going into the next season next year in 2023 is to beat Shane which is their number 1 priority).

And finally the latest on the rugby as the All Blacks (Who have never lost a test match since against Argentina (Who made history by dispatching the All Blacks in Christchurch 3 months ago in a Rugby Championship test) at Orangetheory Stadium in Christchurch during this year's Rugby Championship) hammer Wales (Who weren't so competitive compared to Japan in Tokyo) at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, in one of the best All Black games on foreign soil that I've ever watched on TV (Compared to the best rugby game I've ever seen in a home test on TV against Argentina in Hamilton this year) with Jordie Barrett, Aaron Smith (Who becomes the most capped All Black back at 113, surpassing Dan Carter in which he had an incredible match including a try he scored when he went past the gap all the way to score & his 2nd try came in which the standout player of the game Ardie Savea set it up by throwing a dummy before passing it to Smith to dot it down) & Codie Taylor picking up doubles but the player of the moment went to the try scorer of All Black number 8 forward Ardie Savea (One of the best All Black players ever produced since the days of McCaw, Carter & Kieran Read) for his monster game that he had (And onto the other games such as the number 1 ranked Ireland (Who had their 1st match since winning their historic 3 match test series against the AB's in New Zealand back in July) knocking over the defending world champions of the Springboks at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, a year out until their very 1st meeting at a Rugby World Cup in France to decide who will top Pool B to avoid taking on the All Blacks (If they beat or fail to beat France in the opening match of rugby's global showpiece event) in the quarterfinal followed by the hosts of next year's tournament of France able to put the 2027 tournament hosts Australia to sleep at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis & Argentina topple England (Who are due to meet the Argentinians again at a Rugby World Cup hosted by the French next year just like in 2019) in rugby's biggest boil over during the weekend at Twickenham after they traded penalties during the game & of course, the newly formed All Blacks XV, producing a thrashing over Ireland A at the RDS Arena in Dublin).

So that is my 472nd blog of the year 2022 (MMXXII) & my 20th of this year, stay safe & one love, viva Ukraine.

P.S. And it's been 20 years since the tragic Bali bombings have taken place on crowded nightclubs in the tourist district of Kuta in the Indonesian island of Bali at about 11pm on the 12th of October, 2002 in which a serious incident involving terrorism, resulted in 204 casualties (That includes 88 Australians, 38 Indonesians, 7 Americans & 3 New Zealanders whose innocent lives had been taken away) involved including both suicide bombers & 209 have been wounded as a result of the bomb blast but the motive behind this is for fighting back for America's support of the war on terror & Australia's role in the liberation of East Timor.

Black Summer/Tippa My Tongue/Beggin': My 19th blog of the year 2022

Well, I think I revealed the fact that I have now become an avid ice hockey follower just like Rejean since I now got both NHL 22 & NHL 23 games on the PS4 now, but my favourite NHL team has to be the St Louis Blues compared to Rejean being a Montreal Canadiens fanatic.

And the latest on the 2022 Football World Cup in Qatar that one of the Portuguese players of Diogo Jota may likely to miss the tournament as a result of injury during a Premier League game for his club Liverpool & he joins the list of injured players such as Portugal's Pedro Neto, Brazil's Arthur Melo, Canada's Scott Kennedy, the French trio of Boubacar Kamara, N'Golo Kante & Paul Pogba, England's Reece James & Jesus Corona of Mexico (And Timo Werner of Germany is the latest football star to have fallen foul by joining the casualty ward as he is ruled out of the entire tournament).

And in news related to cricket that there a lot of storylines to ponder going into this year's T20 World Cup in Australia (Originally going to be held in 2020 but due to the corona virus pandemic, they changed it to this year) such as the host nation looking to defend their crown on home soil (No one has ever done it before) & are seeking to become the most successful T20 World Cup nation along with the West Indies (Who did it twice in 2012 & 2016 including the final against England in which the hero of the final of Carlos Brathwaite hit 4 sixes in a row to achieve immortality & cement their status in West Indian cricket folklore) after they were successful last year against the Black Caps (Who are looking to go one better after missing out last year) in the final in Dubai as well as the number one ranked India (Hosts of cricket's global showpiece event next year which is the 50 over men's Cricket World Cup) who haven't won since the inaugural edition in 2007 as well as England who got beaten by New Zealand in the semi last year, haven't triumphed since 2010 & go into the tournament after winning the T20 series against Australia & of course, Pakistan who also has never won since 2009 & are looking to make amends after losing to the eventual champions of Australia in the semifinal last year but they go into this year's T20 World Cup after successfully winning the Tri-Series here in New Zealand (And there's been an update as New Zealand did get revenge when they came out of nowhere to defeat the current holders Australia, in a rematch of last year's T20 World Cup final in the opening match of the Super 12 at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney (And that's the 2nd time now that the Black Caps had beaten Australia at a T20 World Cup (Their 1st meeting was in 2016 in which New Zealand totally dominated before Australia turned the tables on the Black Caps (Who were without Devon Conway as a result of a broken hand sustained in the semifinal win against England to make our 1st trip into the T20 World Cup final in which we were unsuccessful) in which they dominated the final last year in Dubai in the UAE including Mitch Marsh's heroics with the bat & Glenn Maxwell hitting the winning runs, therefore ending New Zealand's hopes of T20 World Cup glory) & the 1st time that the Black Caps have beaten Australia on Australian soil, in any form of cricket since that infamous test at Bellerive Oval in Hobart in 2011 (That was 10 years before the Black Caps success in the World Test Championship against India in the final in our memorable game of our lives throughout the cricket side of it) in one of the most iconic moments in New Zealand cricket history) when Pops told me on the day before Labour Day).

And news just come out of Britain as Liz Truss has announced her resignation as the UK prime minister after serving 45 days in office as she became the shortest serving prime minister (Compared to the longest which is the late Margaret Thatcher) of the UK therefore allowing Rishi Sunak to take over the top job in the country.

And playing a favourite video game reminds me of watching a favourite movie (Mine is Return of the Jedi from 1983 compared to my favourite Lord of the Rings film is the Return of the King then my favourite movie from the Matrix is the 1st Matrix movie as well as my favourite superhero movie being the 1st Avengers movie & my favourite sports documentary movie is Richie McCaw: Chasing Great) or listening to a favourite music album (Mine is Killjoy by Shihad from 1995) but my favourite fighting game is Soulcalibur VI on the PS4 (Compared to my favourite shooting game is the 2005 version of Star Wars Battlefront II (My favourite Jedi heroes in that game is both Luke Skywalker (The protagonist of the Star Wars original trilogy before Rey took over for the sequel trilogy & son of the prequel trilogy protagonist Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader) & Obi-Wan Kenobi (Master of both Anakin & Luke before Yoda took over as Luke's master after Kenobi got killed by his former apprentice Vader) while my favourite Sith villains are in fact both Darth Vader (Formerly Anakin Skywalker when he became evil by luring him into the dark side) & Darth Maul (The main antagonist of Star Wars Episode I: the Phantom Menace before Count Dooku took over when he appeared in both Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones & Episode III: Revenge of the Sith followed by General Grevious who only appeared in Revenge of the Sith then Vader for the original trilogy & Kylo Ren (Anakin/Vader's grandson) in the sequel trilogy) as well as my favourite Formula 1 video game is F1 2020 (One of the best Formula 1 video games that I have ever played because of the classic cars being featured in the game) & my favourite video game series is Gran Turismo (Compared to my favourite meat is chicken, my favourite cake is carrot cake, my favourite dessert is cheesecake & my favourite breakfast cereal is weet-bix) as I mentioned in my previous blogs but the only Gran Turismo game that I didn't play was Gran Turismo 4 (Compared to Tekken 4 which is the only Tekken game that I never played but my favourite Tekken game is Tekken 7 while my favourite football game is now FIFA 23 mainly due to the World Cup game mode because it used to be FIFA 18 which has also got World Cup mode) that I've got now where I had created 48 different characters (And 44 alternate costumes from characters who are appearing in that game such as 2B, Amy, Astaroth, Cassandra, Cervantes, Geralt, Groh, Haohmaru, Hilde, Hwang, Ivy, Kilik, Maxi, Mitsurugi, Raphael, Seong Mi-na, Setsuka, Siegfried, Sophitia, Taki, Talim & Xianghua) from my 4 favourite other fighting video game franchises such as Tekken, Dead or Alive, Virtua Fighter & Mortal Kombat along with Star Wars (I once did create characters from Tekken on Soul Caliburs IV, V & VI along with the 2 DC Comics (Batman & Superman) in V only before being replaced by the 6 Dead or Alive (Ayane, Ayane's half-brother Hayate, Ayane's half-sister & Hayate's sister Kasumi, Momiji, Rachel & Ryu Hayabusa), 4 Virtua Fighter (Akira Yuki, Jacky Bryant, Pai Chan & Jacky's sister Sarah Bryant), 4 Mortal Kombat (Johnny Cage, Kitana, Liu Kang & Johnny Cage's wife Sonya Blade) & both Star Wars (Luke Skywalker & Obi-Wan Kenobi) characters in VI) so here is the list:

Akira Yuki (A male Japanese kung fu teacher based on the famous K1 martial artist of Masaaki Satake who is my favourite Virtua Fighter character & is the protagonist as well as the mascot of the series)

Alisa Bosconovitch (A female android who is the daughter of Dr Bosconovitch)

Anna Williams (A brunette haired female Irish assassin who is the sister of Nina)

Armor King II (A pro wrestler who is the successor of the original Armor King)

Asuka Kazama (Lili's rival who is a teenage schoolgirl from Japan)

Ayane (A purple haired female Japanese ninja who is the half brother of Hayate & half sister of Kasumi known as the Killer Kunoichi from Japan)

Claudio Serafino (A male exorcist from Italy)

Craig Marduk (A male Vale Tudo fighter from Australia (Originally American)

Eliza (A 1000 year old female Vampire)

Feng Wei (A male Chinese Kenpo master)

Hayate (A male Japanese ninja who is the brother of Kasumi & half-brother of Ayane known as the Wind of the Heavens from Japan)

Heihachi Mishima (The late CEO of the Mishima Zaibatsu at the time who is the father of Kazuya & grandfather of Jin)

Hwoarang (A male Taekwondo fighter from South Korea who is bitter rivals with Jin Kazama)

Jacky Bryant (A blonde haired male Indycar racer from San Francisco, California in the United States of America based on the Super Saiyan from the Dragonball series who is the brother of Sarah known as the Blue Flash)

Jin Kazama (My favourite Tekken character (It used to be Lei Wulong then Lee Chaolan, Marshall Law, Paul Phoenix, Hwoarang, Jin's late evil grandfather Heihachi & Lars Alexandersson) who is originally from Yakushima in Japan as well as being the protagonist of the Tekken series since Tekken 3 but he is the son of the evil Kazuya as well as Jun Kazama & the grandson of the now late Heihachi who used to be the CEO of the Mishima Zaibatsu (The villainous faction group in the Tekken game)

Johnny Cage (A world famous Hollywood action movie star from the USA as well as lieutenant turned general Sonya Blade's husband & father of Cassie Cage based on famous Belgian martial arts movie actor better known as 'The muscles from Brussels' of Jean-Claude van Damme who happens to be my favourite Mortal Kombat character)

Josie Rizal (A female professional kickboxer from the Philippines)

Julia Chang (Adopted daughter of Michelle who is a college student from the United States of America studying archaeology)

Kasumi (A ginger haired female runaway ninja from Japan known as the Kunoichi of Destiny who happens to be my favourite Dead or Alive character who is the protagonist of the series as well as being the sister of Hayate & half sister of Ayane)

Katarina Alves (A female Brazilian savate master who is the adopted daughter of Gigas)

Kazuya Mishima (An evil G Corpoation leader & formerly the head of the Mishima Zaibatsu as well as son of the now late Heihachi & father of Jin, but he is the main antagonist of the Tekken series since Tekken 2)

King II (A pro wrestler from Mexico who is the successor of the original King)

Kitana (The princess of Edenia who is the daughter of Shao Kahn & Sindel as well as the sister of the half human, half tarkatan of Mileena)

Kunimitsu II (A kunoichi from Japan who is the daughter of the original Kunimitsu)

Lars Alexandersson (A Swedish born leader of Japanese origin, who is the leader of a rebel group called Yrggdrasil, the late Heihachi's illegitimate son, Kazuya's half brother as well as Lee's adoptive half brother & Jin's half uncle)

Lee Chaolan (Violet Systems CEO from Japan who is the adoptive son of the late Heihachi Mishima as well as Kazuya's adoptive brother, Lars's adoptive half brother & Jin's adoptive uncle)

Lei Wulong (A Hong Kong police detective known as the Super Cop based on famous martial arts movie actor Jackie Chan)

Leo (A gender neutral Bajiquan (Hakkyoku-ken) mastermind from Germany)

Lidia Sobieska (A platinum blonde haired woman who is the Prime Minister of Poland)

Lili (Asuka Kazama's rival from Monaco who is a blonde haired girl, & comes from a rich family)

Ling Xiaoyu (The late Wang Jinrei's Granddaughter who is a high-spirited young girl from China studying ancient Chinese martial arts)

Liu Kang (The Earthrealm champion & shaolin monk from China who is the protagonist of the highly controversial Mortal Kombat series)

Lucky Chloe (A teenage girl who is a pop music sensation)

Luke Skywalker (The protagonist of the Star Wars original trilogy & one of my fave Star Wars characters who is a Jedi Knight originally from Tatooine (He was born in Polis Massa alongside his twin sister of Princess Leia Organa) as a farm boy)

Marshall Law (A male martial arts master & restaurant owner from the United States of America who is Paul Phoenix's good friend based on a famous martial arts film star, the late Bruce Lee (And my old friend Sophia Ong's favourite Tekken character)

Master Raven (Loyal sub-ordinate of the original Raven who works as a UN secret agent)

Miguel (A lone wolf from Spain whose sister got killed in a airstrike that Jin Kazama carried out)

Momiji (A female Dragon Shrine Maiden from Japan who is Ryu Hayabusa's apprentice as well as being the sister of the late Kureha)

Nina Williams (A blonde haired female Irish assassin based on Virtua Fighter's Sarah Bryant who is the sister of Anna & mother of British boxer Steve Fox happens to be my favourite female Tekken character (It used to be Ling Xiaoyu then Asuka Kazama, Julia Chang, Nina's sister Anna & Lili) since I prefer blondes over brunettes & redheads)

Obi-Wan Kenobi (A Jedi Master who is a hero of the Clone Wars & is former master to Anakin Skywalker who would later gone on to become Darth Vader which happens to be my number 2 fave Star Wars character & is one of the main characters in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, therefore playing a supporting role to the rest of the characters who appear in the prequels)

Pai Chan (My favourite female Virtua Fighter character along with Sarah Bryant who is the daughter of a famous chef named Lau whose occupation is a action star from Hong Kong)

Paul Phoenix (Marshall Law's good friend who is a blonde haired male American motorcycle rider)

Rachel (A blonde haired female fiend hunter from the Holy Vigoor Empire who is the sister of the late Alma who was evil, & is good friends with Ryu Hayabusa)

Ryu Hayabusa (My favourite male Dead or Alive character known as the Ultimate Ninja from Japan)

Sarah Bryant (A blonde haired female college student from San Francisco, California in the USA based on Sarah Connor from Terminator 2: Judgement Day which happens to be my favourite female Virtua Fighter character along with Pai Chan who is the sister of Jacky)

Shaheen (A male private military contractor & security manager from Saudi Arabia)

Sonya Blade (A blonde haired female American Special Forces soldier who is married to Johnny Cage & has a daughter named Cassie who is in fact one of my favourite female Mortal Kombat characters)

& Zafina (A female assassin from the ancient time that uses her spiritual powers to help defeat her opponents)

And finally in rugby that the All Blacks (Who went into the opening match of the Northern tour, dealt with injuries to key players) have managed to overcome a red card by Brodie Retallick (Whose season is over if he gets suspended for a minimum of 3 or 4 weeks (6 if he's suspended before or a fortnight if he's undergoing an intervention programme run by World Rugby) after a sending off as a result of a dangerous no arms in the tackle to the head of a Japanese player & becomes the 8th different All Black to be red carded in a test since the clamp down on foul play regarding to head contact which was introduced in 2017, after the late Cyril Brownlie, the late Sir Colin Meads, Sonny Bill Williams, Scott Barrett, Ofa Tu'ungafasi, Scott's brother Jordie Barrett & Angus Ta'avao (Who was the last before Retallick where he had fallen foul by illegally taken Ireland's Gary Ringrose out with his head when he high tackled him in an apparent head clash during the test in which the AB's lost in Dunedin in June 5 months ago) to defeat Japan (Who were so good when they became competitive since they now became a tier 1 side, but they fell short of making history) at National Stadium in Tokyo (And coaches on opposite sides copped a bit of sledging after the game in which Japan got so competitive during the match).

So that is my 471st blog of the year 2022 (MMXXII) & my 19th of this year, stay safe & one love, viva Ukraine.

P.S. And I like to give a huge shout out to Pops (Who I haven't seen him since last week) & Carole for going on holiday to the Cook Islands but I miss them both, especially Pops since they left & they'll be arriving back to New Zealand today where they will return to Auckland then to Northland to see Kathryn & Ken tomorrow, the day before they come back here to Whanganui on the 20th.

Buck Rogers/Seven Days In The Sun/Feeling A Moment: My 18th blog of the year 2022

Well, in motor racing news such as Dutch Kiwi driver Shane van Gisbergen (Who emulated his 2020 triumph & went into that event as the championship leader & winner of the Jason Richards memorial trophy at Pukekohe who wowed his adoring home fans as well as he finished 9th outright & was on the podium in the WRC 2 class at his home event during the World Rally Championship round in Rally New Zealand won by Finland's rising rally star Kalle Rovanpera who subsequently became the world champion) & his Australian co-driver Garth Tander (Who is now a 5 time winner to add to his success in 2000 (With Jason Bargwanna), 2009 (With Will Davison), 2011 (With Nick Percat) & 2020 (With van Gisbergen) as I mentioned before) of Triple Eight Race Engineering, has won the 2022 edition of the Bathurst 1000 filled with drama with so many safety car interventions at 8 (Including both incidents earlier on in the race while one of the Ford drivers of Zane Goddard copped a fine for causing an collision) although both van Gisbergen & Tander managed to overcome an unsafe release penalty in Holden's fairytale ending at Mount Panorama in one of the best Supercars Championship (For which I label as the greatest touring car championship in the world) races I have ever seen for a long time (And it was better than 2020 where SVG (Who failed to clinch the title after Cameron Waters finished on the podium at Bathurst in which he kept his championship hopes alive but if van Gisbergen clinched the title, he would've outscored his nearest rival by more than 600 points but he failed & is looking to become a 3 time Supercars champion along with the late Peter Brock, Craig Lowndes & Scott McLaughlin while the most successful New Zealander to win the Australian Touring Car Championship title was Jim Richards with 4) first won at the great race but this year had to be my standout (And what a nice way to finish for SVG & GT to win the Bathurst 1000 touring car endurance race in style, what a race for our viewers right around the world), cementing van Gisbergen's status into New Zealand motor racing folklore but I didn't watch the race on Sunday because Ford (For which I was backing because of Pops owning one because he used to own a Holden but like I said before in my previous blogs that my heart was on van Gisbergen due to the fact that he's a Kiwi) were always going to win) where it was 2020 all over again in which was my standout of all of the Supercars Championship races being held, but in F1 news such as Dutch driver Max Verstappen becomes world champion again after winning the race which was overshadowed by his rival Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari had been given a 5 second time penalty during the Japanese Grand Prix, but Red Bull is in jeopardy as they might be in danger of losing the driver's championship title won by Verstappen in both last year & this year, due to them being in the middle of a cost cap breach in which they were above the allocated cost cap (Lewis Hamilton would've won his 8th world championship title because Mercedes were below the cost cap measures) in which FIA had launched an enquiry after the numerous constructors had complained by lodging a protest about Red Bull had cheated illegally on their way to their driver's world championship glory last year (And the FIA hearing is due on Monday, the 17th of October (18th of October New Zealand time) whether Red Bull will be stripped of their driver's championship titles that they won both last year & this year).

And in COVID-19 related news such as the confirmed case count here in New Zealand has jumped from over 9,000 last month to 14,311 this month (And it must've been a passenger must've arrived here from possibly either China (Which is badly affected by the corona virus since they introduced that zero COVID-19 framework that they're currently having), Japan or South Korea) or somebody must've contracted the virus at an aged or health care facility where masks are required to wear them properly but it was taken from a cruise ship to Picton where most people must've picked up a serious illness) as well as the 34 who have passed away from it over the past week (And I think I'm in danger of getting the corona virus just like we had omicron here earlier this year).

And in rugby related news such as Scott Robertson set to join England as the head coach looking to replace Eddie Jones after next year's Rugby World Cup then New Zealand rugby player Ardie Savea is looking to join a Japanese club on a sabbatical after next year's global rugby showpiece tournament & Shaun Stevenson is possibly converting to rugby league so he can play for the new NRL franchise of the Redcliffe Dolphins amid NRL rumors being spreaded despite wanting to play for the Chiefs next year in Super Rugby Pacific.

And in NPC news that Wellington have at long last, finally won an NPC title after 22 long years against Canterbury in the final at Orangetheory Stadium in Christchurch so here are the live updates according to Newshub (And I haven't been doing the live updates since August last year when the All Blacks played the Wallabies in the 2nd of 3 Bledisloe Cup tests at Eden Park in Auckland just before the delta variant of the corona virus began to spread here in our country of New Zealand but it'll be the 1st time I'll be doing live updates of the NPC game especially the final but I was rooting for Wellington along with Pops because of John & Lim, Murray Gray & his Filipina partner Viluz, Jennifer Morgan & my biological aunty Cathey Middeplaats & my female cousin Paige Williams living there):

Kia ora, good evening and welcome to Newshub's live updates of the National Provincial Championship final, as Canterbury host Wellington in Christchurch.

Both teams come into the decider in red-hot form, with Canterbury and Wellington both winning their last nine on the bounce. 

Canterbury plays their first NPC final since 2018, after a hard-fought 24-10 victory over Bay of Plenty in the semi-finals where first-five eight Fergus Burke stole the show to score all of the Red and Blacks points. 

The Lions booked their spot in the final after they dismantled Auckland 54-19 in Wellington, which was the first time they have cracked a half-century of points against the northerners in the history of their encounters. 

Canterbury's wait for a title goes back to 2017 when they beat Tasman in the final while Wellington hasn't tasted glory since 2000 when their team had the likes of the late Jerry Collins and Jonah Lomu and All Black greats Christian Cullen, Tana Umaga, Rodney So’oialo and was coached by Wallabies coach Dave Rennie.

Canterbury has the psychological edge coming into the final having outclassed Wellington 43-10 in round three of this year's competition.

Teams:

Canterbury: 1-Tamaiti Williams, 2-Brodie McAlister, 3-Owen Franks, 4-Zach Gallagher, 5-Dominic Gardiner, 6-Corey Kellow, 7-Tom Christie, 8-Billy Harmon (C), 9-Willi Heinz, 10-Fergus Burke, 11-George Bridge, 12-Rameka Poihipi, 13-Dallas McLeod, 14-Manasa Mataele, 15-Chay Fihaki          

Reserves: 16-George Bell, 17-Daniel Lienert-Brown, 18-Oli Jager, 19-Luke Romano, 20-Reed Prinsep, 21-Mitchell Drummond, 22-Isaiah Punivai, 23-Ngatungane Punavai

Wellington: 1-Xavier Numia, 2-Asafo Aumua, 3-Pekahou Cowan (Later replaced by PJ Sheck), 4-James Blackwell, 5-Dominic Bird, 6-Caleb Delany, 7-Du'Plessis Kirifi (c), 8-Peter Lakai, 9-TJ Perenara, 10-Jackson Garden-Bachop, 11-Pepesana Patafilo, 12-Riley Higgins, 13-Billy Proctor, 14-Julian Savea, 15-Ruben Love

Reserves: 16-James O'Reilly, 17-PJ Sheck (Later replaced by Siale Lauaki), 18-Tietie Tuimauga, 19-Taine Plumtree, 20-Keelan Whitman, 21-Richard Judd, 22-Aidan Morgan, 23-Connor Garden-Bachop

6:50 PM: It's a beautiful day in Christchurch and we are just 15 minutes away from kick-off in what should be a scintillating final between two in-form teams.

A late change for Wellington with PJ Sheck coming into the starting side for an injured Pekahou Cowan with Siale Lauaki coming onto the bench.

7:04 PM: Both sides are out on the field, the national anthem has been played and we are just moments away from kick-off.

KICK OFF: Wellington's Jackson Garden-Bachop gets this NPC final underway from Orangetheory Stadium in Christchurch (And away we go! The Bunnings NPC title is on the line at Orangetheory Stadium).

2ND MINUTE, SCRUM FEED CANTERBURY: Both sides trade kicks to start the contest before Wellington spill a high kick from Heinz and it will be a scrum to Canterbury on halfway.

3RD MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Even scrum from both sides and Canterbury is on the front foot after a strong run from Bridge. After eight phases, Aumua stripes the ball off Canterbury in the tackle but it goes forward and is a knock-on.

SCRUM FEED WELLINGTON: It will be a scrum to Canterbury on Wellington's 10-metre line.

5TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Canterbury are continuing to build pressure but Wellington's defence is standing firm. McLeod grubbers in behind but Savea cleans up just in front of his goal line. Garden-Bachop clears to just outside Wellington's 22.

7TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), SCRUM FEED CANTERBURY: As Canterbury set up a rolling maul the ball comes out the back and hit Brendon Pickerill so will be a canterbury scrum.

PENALTY CANTERBURY: From the scrum Canterbury win a penalty against Numia for boring in (Front row angling in/not angling straight) and the home side will have a shot at goal to try get some early points to try reward their pressure.

8TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY GOAL CANTERBURY: The penalty goal from Burke goals straight down the middle to open the scoring (And Canterbury take the lead in the NPC final!). (CAN 3-0)

9TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SCRUM FEED CANTERBURY: The restart from Garden-Bachop goes straight out of play on the full and Canterbury will have a scrum on halfway.

10TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SCRUM FEED WELLINGTON: A mistake this time from Canterbury with Burke's kick going dead in goal and it will be a scrum to Wellington on the home sides 10-metre line.

12TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), PENALTY WELLINGTON: Wellington is hot on attack after a break down the left from Aumua. The referee is playing advantage for an offside (Never onside) and Wellington builds the phases inside Canterbury's 22. After 10 phases, the attack comes to nothing but Wellington has a penalty just to the left of the posts.

The Lions will take a shot at goal to try to level the scores. 

14TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), PENALTY GOAL WELLINGTON: Jackson Garden-Bachop makes no mistake and levels the scores. (3-3)

16TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Wellington clears from the ruck through Perenara and Canterbury will have a lineout just outside their own 22. 

TRY WELLINGTON: From the lineout, the Lions steal it and Kirifi fends off two defenders and breaks into the backfield. He draws and passes to love who scores in the corner. Great try Wellington!!

17TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), CONVERSION WELLINGTON: Garden-Bachop converts the try and Wellington opens up a seven-point lead. (WEL 10-3)

20TH MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER): Canterbury is building their attack just inside Wellington's half. McLeod puts a chip kick behind but Perenara is there to clean up. Garden-Bachop will clear with a high kick and Canterbury will start their attack again. 

SCRUM FEED CANTERBURY: McAlister burst down inside Wellington's 22 but his pass only finds Perenara. At the breakdown Canterbury win the scrum, which will be 15 metres out from the visitors' line, centre line.

22ND MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), TRY CANTERBURY: Canterbury strikes back after a great scrum. The home side comes to the right and a great backline move is finished in the corner but Mataele (Yes! He's over!). 

CONVERSION CANTERBURY: Burke converts the try from the sideline. (10-10)

23RD MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Canterbury clears nicely through Heinz who finds touch on halfway.

25TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Both sides trade kicks as they look to play territory. Love finds touch for Wellington bang on halfway.

26TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Wellington steals the ball at the breakdown and Savea clears down to Canterbury's 22.

PENALTY CANTERBURY: From the next breakdown, Wellington gives away a penalty for a tackler not releasing (No clear release) and the home side will have a lineout on halfway.

28TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), PENALTY CANTERBURY: Canterbury is building the phases but the attack comes to nothing and the referee comes back for a penalty for a dangerous tackle (Head high tackle) by Kirifi. The home side will have a shot at goal from about 47 metres out to the right of the uprights. 

PENALTY GOAL MISS CANTERBURY: Burke penalty goal hits the upright and misses and Love clears down to just short of halfway.

30TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), PENALTY CANTERBURY: Wellington steals the lineout and Lakai makes a barnstorming run but from the breakdown, Canterbury wins another penalty for not releasing ball or should I say, holding on (Oh what a turnover! What a turnover that is!) and Burke will have a shot at goal from 47-metres out centre field. 

PENALTY GOAL CANTERBURY: Burke nails it to put the home side in front. (CAN 13-10)

32ND MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), PENALTY WELLINGTON: Wellington win the restart and build their attack just short of thee 22. After four phases, Tom Christie concedes a breakdown penalty for hands in the ruck (Second crack at the ball) and Wellington will have a shot at goal to level the scores. 

PENALTY GOAL MISS WELLINGTON: Garden-Bachop misses to the right. 22-metre drop-out to the home side.

34TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), PENALTY WELLINGTON: Wellington starts to build their attack through strong runs from Lakai and Numia. At the breakdown, Wellington win a penalty for a Canterbury player who was never back onside (Not staying onside) and the visitors will have a lineout inside the 22.

36TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), SUBSTITUTION CANTERBURY: Change for Canterbury with George Bell on for an injured Brodie McAlister. 

TRY WELLINGTON: From the lineout, Wellington is building their attack and is just 15-metres out. Blackwell breaks a tackle and is brought down metres short. After 10 phases,  Aumua storms his way over to put Wellington back in front (The crowd are out of their seats, that is a try!). 

CONVERSION WELLINGTON: Garden-Bachop converts the try. (WEL 17-13)

38TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Big mistake from Wellington who pass the ball back into their 22 and kick the ball out on the full so Canterbury will have a lineout 20-metres out.

But Canterbury loses another lineout and Wellington clears down to halfway.

39TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): After a long passage of play with both sides attacking around halfway sees Fihaki clear into touch just inside Wellington's half. 

40TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY WELLINGTON: Wellington set a rolling maul as the siren goes for half-time. The maul gets down to halfway but Canterbury gives away a penalty for a side entry (In at the side/Joining maul incorrectly) off a maul and the visitors will have one final chance in the first half. 

Lineout to Wellington on Canterbury's 22.

HALF TIME: From the lineout, Wellington goes wide to the backs and Perenara grubbers in behind but the Canterbury clean up and kick the ball into touch to end the first half (And remember, the National Provincial Championship is at stake).

40TH MINUTE, SUBSTITUTION CANTERBURY: One change for Canterbury with Ngatungane Punivai on for Manasa Mataele. The home side gets the second half underway.  

42ND MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Canterbury builds their attack on halfway but Perenara rips the ball clear but his scuffed kick goes into touch on halfway. 

From the lineout Canterbury attack and after two good carries, Burke kicks into touch inside Wellington's 22.

43RD MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): After a brilliant high catch from Love, Perenara puts a pin point kick into touch inside Canterbury's 22 and it's a 50/22.

44TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY WELLINGTON: Wellington is attacking just inches short of Canterbury's line and the home side do well to hold on but concede a penalty for breaching the offside line (And it was of the Canterbury players who adjudged to be in an offside position in which he crept up) after eight phases.

PENALTY GOAL WELLINGTON: Wellington will have a shot at goal from right in front and Garden-Bachop nails it. (WEL 20-13)

46TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): The clearing kick from Perenara is touched and goes into touch just inside Canterbury's half, so the visitors will have a lineout.

49TH MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER), PENALTY WELLINGTON: The confidence is flowing through Wellington's attack as they play up-tempo rugby and get down to Canterbury's 22. Savea picks and goes and is just 15-metres out. After 16-phases, the referee plays advantage for holding on, as the attack continues but it comes to nothing. But it was 18-phases of brilliant attack but credit to the home side they hold on. 

PENALTY GOAL WELLINGTON: Wellington will have another shot at goal to extend their advantage. Garden-Bachop makes no mistake. (WEL 23-13)

50TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SUBSTITUTION CANTERBURY: Luke Romano and Reed Prinsep are on for Canterbury. The Wellington win the restart but it's messy but finally, Perenara clears down to halfway and the home side will build their attack.

52ND MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), PENALTY WELLINGTON: Canterbury is starting to lift the tempo in their attack but Wellington has rolled their sleeves up and put big shots on in defence. After eight phases, Wellington wins a breakdown penalty through Caleb Delany who has been outstanding tonight (Delany, looking for the steal. Oh what a turnover!). 

Garden-Bachop misses touch and Canterbury clears down to halfway.

54TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Wellington is continuing to muscle up in defence and after nine phases of Canterbury attack which goes nowhere, the home side clears down to halfway.

56TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): From the lineout, Higgins makes a mini-break just inside Canterbury's half before they come wide to Aumua but Punavai makes a great tackle to force him into touch.

58TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): From the lineout, Wellington set the rolling maul and makes 10-metres before Perenara puts a high kick up which Canterbury deals with. From the breakdown, Burke puts a poor kick into touch just short of the home side's 22.

59TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Wellington is starting to win the territory battle in the second half, which is through their strong defence. Canterbury builds their attack just short of their own 10-metre line and Burke is forced to put a high kick up after their attack goes nowhere. 

SCRUM FEED WELLINGTON: From the kick, Canterbury knocks the ball on and it will be a scrum to Wellington on the home side's 10-metre line.

60TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SCRUM FEED CANTERBURY: After three phases of attack, Love knocks on a bullet-pass from Aidan Morgan and Canterbury will have a scrum on the 10-metre line.

64TH MINUTE (4 MINUTES LATER): Canterbury are continuing to struggle to make metres on the attack with Wellington very strong on defence. 

PENALTY WELLINGTON & PENALTY MISS WELLINGTON: The home side gets down to halfway but Lakai wins a breakdown penalty on halfway (Oh I think he got isolated I think. What a turnover that is!) and Aidan Morgan will have a shot at goal, which he pulls to the left.

66TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), PENALTY CANTERBURY: Canterbury wins a penalty at the ruck for holding on/not releasing and they will have a lineout 35 metres out.

Is this the chance for the home side to get back into this final?

67TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SCRUM FEED WELLINGTON: From the lineout, Bridge storms into the 22. Canterbury is building their attack as the crowd finds their voice. After seven phases, Canterbury knocks the ball on to ease the pressure. 

Scrum to Wellington just 15-metres from their own try-line.

69TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): From the scrum, Love puts a great kick down field and goes into touch on halfway.

SCRUM FEED WELLINGTON: From the lineout, Wellington compete but Bird knocks it on competing in the air and the home side will have a scrum. 

70TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY WELLINGTON: Huge scrum from Wellington who pushes Canterbury off their own ball to win the penalty for not staying square (Not pushing straight). They choose to go for touch and they will have a lineout on Canterbury's 22.

72ND MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Canterbury steals the lineout but as the ball comes to centre-field to Prinsep he knocks it on. The home side are running out of time. Nine minutes remaining, can they get back into it?

SCRUM FEED WELLINGTON: Wellington will have a scrum 20-metres out from Canterbury's line.

75TH MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER): Wellington is building their attack inside Canterbury's 22 as they look for the killer blow. Canterbury's defence is holding on but after 16-phases, the referee plays advantage so, Morgan goes for a drop-goal but misses.

PENALTY WELLINGTON & PENALTY MISS WELLINGTON: The referee comes back for the penalty for an offside and Morgan will have a shot at goal, which he pulls to the left again.

77TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Canterbury wins the ball back from the 22 and build their attack inside their own half. Christie breaks downfield and offloads to Fihaki. 

TRY CANTERBURY: Fihaki grubbers downfield into Wellington's 22 and the Canterbury fullback is taken out but it doesn't matter with Punivai winning the foot race to score in the corner. 

YELLOW CARD WELLINGTON & CONVERSION MISS CANTERBURY: Burke can't convert and Richard Judd is yellow carded for the late shot (Late hit). (WEL 23-18)

78TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Canterbury knocks the ball on from the kickoff and Whitman storms down to 15-metres short of the Canterbury line with two minutes remaining.

79TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY WELLINGTON & PENALTY GOAL WELLINGTON: After eight phases of attack, Wellington wins a penalty at the breakdown for an illegal entry (Incorrect entry) and Love will have a shot at goal to seal the result. Love nails it to give Wellington an eight-point lead. (WEL 26-18)

FULL TIME: Wellington wins the restart and boots the ball into touch to the contest and ends their 22-year title drought. What a season for Wellington. They win the NPC title and are also the holders of the Ranfurly Shield (There goes the siren, Lakai grabs it, kicks it into touch, & the drought is broken! Wellington, win the NPC title in 2022!).

FULL TIME

CANTERBURY 18 WELLINGTON 26

CANTERBURY: Mataele, Punivai tries, Burke 2 penalty goals, conversion, Love penalty goal

WELLINGTON: Love, Aumua tries, Garden-Bachop 3 penalty goals, 2 conversions

And what do I think of that memorable final? It was astonishing, aboslutely breathtaking but full credit given to the Wellingtonians (And I mean it is good that they won in the end) in which they claimed the NPC championship for the first time since 2000, not only they had a great game themselves in which they fought hard to successfully claim it on enemy territory (And it was one of the best NPC finals I have ever watched for a long time but Wellington end the year 2022 on a high note as both Ranfurly Shield holders & NPC title winners) but commiserations for the Cantabrians (Who last won it in 2017 but what a disappointing end for Canterbury, what a match for our viewers right around the world (I wonder what the headlines will say: WELLINGTON END 22 YEAR NPC TITLE WAIT or more like CANTERBURY FALL SHORT OF NATIONAL PROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIP CROWN), I mean, wow!) as they had to give it their all when they put up a great fight, but they missed out in front of their Canterbury faithful meaning that the drought of winning the NPC title continues (And thank goodness the rugby season is now officially over this year with the Women's Rugby World Cup still going, especially here in our country of New Zealand because we are now into the cricket season which had just begun already, bring on 2023 (But first is the Six Nations followed by Super Rugby Pacific then the Rugby Championship as well as the National Provincial Championship & of course the big one which is rugby union's global showpiece event, the Rugby World Cup in France (Who are looking to emulate the French football team's success in both the 1998 & 2018 Football World Cups & hoping to end 36 years of agony & pain after appearing in the Rugby World Cup final three times but has never won one of them as I mentioned in my previous blogs but the Springboks of South Africa (Who are gunning to become the 2nd side to successfully defend the Rugby World Cup after the All Blacks of New Zealand (Who haven't triumphed since 2015 in which they are seeking to return to glory after a semifinal loss against the English in 2019) in 2015) begin the tournament as the defending 3 time world champions after previously winning the 2019 edition of the tournament against the All Black conquerors in the semifinal of England (One of 3 sides along with Australia (One of 5 rugby playing nations that have appeared in the final before) & New Zealand to appear in the final 4 times at the tournament (While both France (Who has never won) & South Africa (Compared to the French in which they have never lost) had appeared 3 times before in the final) in the final in Yokohama, Japan by becoming a global superpower in international rugby union (And they have never lost a Rugby World Cup final before every time they have appeared (They were 3 out of 3 in which they have been undefeated so far (1995 against the AB's & England twice in 2007 & the most recent one in 2019) but Ireland have taken over as the favourites tag since they're now the top ranked rugby union playing nation in the world & has never reached both the semis & final in the tournament's history).

And finally in Heartland Championship news such as Whanganui (Who had reached their 1st Meads Cup final since 2019 after winning the Lochore Cup last year against North Otago here in Whanganui) fall short on against a dominant South Canterbury side who successfully retained the Meads Cup as they complete another undefeated season in which they never lost a game since 2019 (And they must've been some good players that have won them the title but Leatigaga's try off an intercept was the turning point of ending Whanganui's hopes of Meads Cup glory), a day before East Coast edge Mid Canterbury to claim the Lochore Cup in Ruatoria, 10 years after their Meads Cup triumph (And this was before the Lochore Cup final that a rugby player got collapsed & passed away from it during a centennial celebration match (And they had to observe a moment of silence then the New Zealand national anthem had been played & an emotional haka performed by Ngati Porou East Coast in honor of the deceased player just moments before the game) which was abandoned.

So that is my 470th blog of the year 2022 (MMXXII) & my 18th of this year, stay safe & one love, viva Ukraine.

Waiting/Feelin' Way Too Damn Good/Into The Void: My 17th blog of the year 2022

Well, I heard a story from Pops that when Aunty Tania went to school in Taranaki that there had hardly been any Maori students in that school (There were relatively young small kids there back in the day) back in the early 1980's after our family had just moved from the East Coast because they were mainly Pakeha/Caucasian students there at the time that Aunty Tan made friends with (And she told me before that she had been a classmate of Mark 'Bull' Allen, the future rugby player) but I also heard another story from Pops about when he used to play rugby, he started out as a winger before he moved into the midfielder role when he got slower then the loose forward position when he put much more weight & finally at the lock forward position because he got bigger until he stopped playing (And Dad once told me that he once played on the wing before switching to the second row during his days playing rugby).

And that it has been 12 years since both the 1st Christchurch Earthquake had happened in September 4th, 2010 followed by the tragedy at Pike River mine on the 19th of November in the same year which claimed 29 lives.

And it's been 5 years since I last saw my Malaysian friend of Sophia Ong who is now married to that Welsh kind of dude back in 2018 (A year before my Dad got married to Raewyn at Westmere then Carole's son Andy/AJ married Kelsey in Auckland a week later then me, Pops, Aunty Tania & Rejean went to the South Island on a trip & of course, me & Pops went to Raetihi to pay our respects to my fallen brother Wiremu 2 days after the South Island trip, 3 days before the events of the tragic Christchurch shootings on the 15th in which the New Zealand government had introduced gun control measures in a bid to stamp out gun violence in an effort to keep our country safe (If we were in Christchurch, we would be stranded) by following Australia's footsteps of implementing a clamp down on high powered semi automatic rifles) & now has a young son named Shaia who was born last year but I'll be seeing the 3 when Pops & I go to Leon's next time on Labour day.

And I went out with Pops for 4 straight days into town that on Tuesday we went to Momiji Japanese Takeaway after we sorted our broadband problems with Dad then Wednesday that I canceled my preorder of WRC Generations then getting FIFA 22 on the PS4 as well as getting a new PS4/PS5 hard drive at Noel Leeming then yesterday had to go to the bank to put cash on my credit card before going to Cactcus Creme Cafe where I had an Up & Go drink there & of course today that we went to The Warehouse to buy my watch as well as a new charger for my new Xbox One & chewing gum & got me a new Need For Speed Heat PS4 game at EB Games then we went to Cactus Creme Cafe where I had purchased both Up & Go drinks that I had (One for to have it there & one to take home).

And that I've made a comeback of listening to my favourite radio station by far of Brian FM last month since the country eased our corona virus restrictions where they play both classic & modern rock as well as the worst stuff like 80's music & contemporary pop but I have now purchased both the PS5 & Xbox Series X consoles to my gaming collection (I can now play Xbox Series X but I'm not ready to play the PS5 starting from next year but I was lucky to get both of them before it even sold out immediately (It was limited to just one per customer) because it was proving to be popular on demand at EB Games).

And finally in NPC news such as Wellington become the 1st side to reach the final after hammering Auckland in the semifinal at Sky Stadium in Wellington before a day later that the dominant Canterbury side (Who go into the NPC final as favourites due to the home field advantage but they have never triumphed in the NPC since 2017 & are looking for their 15th NPC title along the way) were too good against Bay of Plenty in the other semifinal at Orangetheory Stadium in Christchurch (So it's Canterbury to play Wellington in the 2022 National Provincial Championship final (It is a rematch of the 2000 final in which Wellington had last won the NPC title featuring great players such as the late Jonah Lomu, Tana Umaga & Christian Cullen + the late Jerry Collins & Rodney So'oialo (And Dave Rennie was their coach way back then), but their most recent meeting between the 2 teams was 2 months ago in which Canterbury won the match in which they beat Wellington 43 - 10 at Orangetheory Stadium in Christchurch but will it be Canterbury skipper Billy Harmon or Wellington captain Du'Plessis Kirifi to become the new NPC winning captain to lift the NPC trophy this year?) at Orangetheory Stadium in Christchurch on Saturday night New Zealand time to decide who will become the NPC champion).

So that is my 469th blog of the year 2022 (MMXXII) & my 17th of this year, stay safe & one love, viva Ukraine.