Mother Mother/Cold: My 16th blog of the year 2023

Well, if you're just joining us, the coach of the Crusaders of Scott Robertson is in as the new All Black coach as Pops told me this morning, taking over from Ian Foster of who the 2023 Rugby World Cup will be his last before Robertson takes over, starting from next year in 2024 (And Robertson has successfully nominated his former Canterbury, Crusaders & All Blacks teammate Leon McDonald (The current Blues coach) as his assistant but they're not sure that they going to bring Hurricanes coach Jason Holland to the fray as one of his assistants, & they had since been confirmed for the matter).

And there was once a wrestling related story about John Cena as well as one of the all time wrestling greats & future hall of famer known as 'The Cenation Leader' & 'Mr Hustle, Loyalty, Respect' who made his WWE debut 21 years ago which was during the Ruthless Aggression era (Which took over from the Attitude era which lasted for 5 years from 1997 until 2002) which lasted from 2002 until 2008 before the start of the PG era which began from 2008 until 2014 then the Reality Era which lasted from 2014 until 2016 followed by the new era had taken over since 2016, & has been there since, but Cena is now a movie star because he may be getting too old to wrestle as he follows the footsteps of Dwayne Johnson (And Johnson (Who is the highest paid action movie star when he took over from Arnie in 2012-13) is the modern day iteration of Arnold Schwarzenegger (Who started life as a body builder before becoming a film star by appearing in such movies as the Terminator, Total Recall, Kindergarten Cop & The 6th Day, & then all of a sudden, the man known as Arnie became governor of California in which he served the role from 2003 until 2011 while he was a bona fide supporter of the Republican Party & is now a WWE hall of famer back in 2015 as part of a celeb inductee along with the likes of Baseball legend Pete Rose, famous American boxer 'Iron' Mike Tyson & former US president Donald Trump) according to the blog that I did last year) by becoming a famous actor) & his tough opponents that he fought throughout his WWE career such as Rob Van Dam (He fought against against RVD in a WWE Championship title match at ECW One Night Stand in 2006), Kurt Angle (His 1st genuine opponent in the WWE during a show on Smackdown in 2002), the Undertaker (He famously fought him twice at a per per view event of Vengeance in 2003 (In which the Undertaker was once known as Big Evil) then the most famous one at Wrestlemania 34 in 2018 (The year that the Undertaker was known as 'the Deadman', 'the Phenom', & 'the demon of Death Valley'), Triple H (It was in 2008 where he faced 'the Game' as well as 'the Cerebral Assassin' & 'the King of Kings' in a title match at Night of Champions pay per view event), AJ Styles (In which Cena took on 'the Phenomenal' at Summerslam in 2016), Edge (The guy known as 'the Rated R Superstar' who famously fought Cena in 2006 when he successfully both challenged when he cashed in his Money in the Bank & defended for the title at New Year's Revolution & Summerslam respectively), Roman Reigns (Cena once fought the dude (Who is currently the Undisputed WWE Universal champion (Which is the one WWE wrestling title to rule them all along with the WWE World Heavyweight championship (Currently held by Rollins) in fact his villainous tag team stable that he's part of which is called the Bloodline (Consisting of the ring leader Reigns, the Uso twin brothers of Jey & Jimmy, & their manager Paul Heyman (Considered as by far as the best manager in WWE history) has once ruled the WWE with Reigns coming out on top as the undisputed WWE Universal champion while the Usos were the WWE Tag Team champions (This is like during the halcyon days of Stone Cold Steve Austin in which Austin 3:16 set the WWF/E alight during the mid 1990s to mid 2000s/noughties period as well as the Four Horsewomen (Consisting of Bayley (Who is part of the villainous female tag team stable of Damage Ctrl along with our own New Zealander Dakota Kai & female Japanese wrestler Iyo Sky (Formerly Io Shirai), Becky Lynch (The Irishwoman who is married to Seth Rollins (Who is the current WWE World Heavyweight Champion as of today when he beat AJ Styles in the tournament final at Night of Champions) while the couple have a baby daughter named Roux), Charlotte Flair (Best known as the daughter of famous wrestler Ric who once once known as Charlotte before adding her surname in honor of her famous father) & Sasha Banks (Formerly from the WWE as of also today but she appears in the Star Wars TV series The Mandalorian) that set women's wrestling alight in the mid to late 2010s period) as of today) known as 'the Big Dog' as well as 'the Head of the Table' & 'the Tribal Chief' in a WWE Universal Championship title match at Summerslam in 2021 in which Cena (Who has never beaten Reigns (The man who dominated the WWE since 2020 (There is only one thing above them all since the 2020s decade in WWE which is the utter dominance of Roman Reigns & the Bloodline which ruled the world of professional wrestling (This is like the Schumi dominance period in F1 which lasted from 2000 until 2004 when the highly controversial figure of the sport of Michael Schumacher who ruled the Formula 1 world by winning 5 consecutive world championships with Ferrari (He joined that fledging team in 1996 until his 1st retirement in 2006) to his name to add both of his titles that he won in 1994 & 1995 with Benetton (The constructor that he raced from 1991 until he left after the 1995 season) & also the LH dominance period in Formula 1 which lasted from 2014 to 2015 & 2017 until 2020 when Lewis Hamilton (One of F1's biggest personalities during the modern era) also ruled the F1 world by winning 6 world championships with Mercedes (He had since been with that constructor where he joined forces with in 2013) to add to his title that he won in 2008 with McLaren (He made his debut with that team in 2007 until he left following the 2012 season) & is one of the most overwhemingly dominant, most competitive as well as being the toughest male WWE superstar you'll ever face in a wrestling ring (And he is one of the danger men in the WWE roster as well as being the most dangerous & feared competitors in wrestling history, but there are no signs of slowing him down during his longevity of his undisputed WWE Universal Championship reign when other competitors are trying to catch up like 'The American Nightmare' of Cody Rhodes (The superstar who dominated this years men's Royal Rumble in January, then he failed to beat Reigns at Wrestlemania 39 in a title match at SoFi Stadium (Hosts of last years Superbowl) in Los Angeles, California in America) for example) one on one thoughout his WWE career) was defeated & was one of the greatest matches ever at Summerslam), the Rock (Cena's 1st meeting against him was at Wrestlemania XXVIII when the clash between Attitude & Ruthless Aggression collided in which the man affectually known as 'the People's Champion' as well as 'the Brahma Bull' & 'the Great One' who famously won that match dubbed as once in a lifetime), Brock Lesnar (In which the man once known as 'the Next Big Thing' then now known as 'the Beast Incarnate' who Cena famously fought him twice at Backlash in 2003 in a title match & at Summerslam in 2014, also in a title match), Batista (The guy always known as 'the Animal' in which Cena 1st fought him at Summerslam in 2008) & Randy Orton (In which Cena took on the dude who is known as 'the Viper' & 'The WWE's Apex Predator' in a structured Hell in a Cell as well as a title match at HIAC in 2009) according to the WWE 2K23 game that I've got (And I got both versions such as both the PS4 (I prefer that one) & PS5) & there's Nikki Bella (Twin sister of Brie who is the wife of Bryan Danielson (Who is in AEW (Which features world class wrestlers such as Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley (Who was once known as Dean Ambrose & is AEW's answer to current WWE United States champion Austin Theory), Adam Page, MJF (Maxwell Jacob Friedman who is the current AEW Wrestling Champion & is AEW's equivalent of Roman Reigns), Claudio Castagnoli (Formerly Cesaro), 'The Icon' Sting, Darby Allin (Who was once married to current WWE women's superstar Gigi Dolin), Samoa Joe, the Hardy brothers of Jeff & Matt, Christian Cage, Miro (Formerly known as Rusev), Saraya (Who was also once known as Paige), Britt Baker, Toni Storm & Ruby Soho (Who was formerly during the WWE days as Ruby Riott) now, & was formerly during the days in the WWE as Daniel Bryan) who is still in the WWE as of today.

And also that the famous Hollywood actor who appears in famous films such as the Die Hard series, Pulp Fiction, Twelve Monkeys, the Fifth Element (I got one of the films on Blu-ray that Dad gave it to me for Christmas last year), The Jackal, The Siege, The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Tears of the Sun & GI Joe: Retaliation of Bruce Willis who called it quits last year as a result of him being diagnosed with dementia which affected his health.

And the latest on the Super Rugby Pacific competition as the results of the 4th round of the competition are in:

Hurricanes 34 - 17 Waratahs (It was the Hurricanes night as they bounced back from defeat against the Blues to down the Waratahs at Sky Stadium in Wellington)

Chiefs 44 - 25 Rebels (And it was the Chiefs day as they decimated the Rebels at FMG Stadium Waikato in Hamilton to remain flawless in 2023)

Blues 28 - 34 Crusaders (And it was the reigning champs the Crusaders (Who had winger Leicester Fainga'anuku crossing over for his hat-trick of tries during the game but they lost both players for their all-important clash against the Brumbies such as winger Sevu Reece (Who was easily one of the best wingers in the whole wide world) & veteran lock forward Sam Whitelock) night as they dispatched the Blues (Who had the chance to take the lead twice but both of these tries had been overturned by the TMO) in a rematch of last years Super Rugby Pacific final at Eden Park in Auckland)

Brumbies 62 - 36 Moana Pasifika (It was the Brumbies night as they were too good against a Moana Pasifika side at Canberra Stadium in Canberra to maintain their 100% winning record this year)

Highlanders 43 - 35 Force (It was the Highlanders day as they mow down the Force at Rugby Park in Invercargill)

& Reds 27 - 24 Fijian Drua (And it was the Reds day as they win in a close encounter against the Fijian Drua (Who made history by causing the biggest boil over in the competition against the Crusaders in front of their home crowd in Lautoka) at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane)

And finally, onto the Six Nations news as the results of the 5th & final round are also in:

Scotland 26 - 14 Italy (It was Scotland's day as they pounced Italy (Who ended their campaign with another wooden spoon) at Murrayfield in Edinburgh)

France 41 - 28 Wales (And it was France's day as they smashed Wales to bits at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis)

& Ireland 29 - 16 England (It was Ireland's time & moment as they pipped England at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, to remain undefeated in 2023 as well as they won their 1st Six Nations Grand Slam crown for the 1st time since 2018, & go into the 2023 Rugby World Cup as the heavy favourites (And how good are they? Because they're now on a 10 match winning streak after their successful Six Nations triumph that they had this year, not only because they had some good players in it like Josh van der Flier, but I wonder the headlines would say?: IRELAND ARE THE CHAMPIONS OF THE SIX NATIONS IN 2023, but what a disappointing end for England, what a match for our viewers right around the world)

So that is my 492nd blog of the year 2023 (MMXXIII) & my 16th of this year, viva Ukraine.

P.S. Just saw Stan Walker 6 days ago at Mud Ducks where Pops, Carole & I went where I had a big breakfast & a large mocchachino there but I was trying not to recognize him at all during our time here (And I saw Jen (Who met Dad for the 1st time on the 21st this month when Pops took her to show one of Dad's carvings (And I heard that Dad now has a PS5 just like me to go with the Xbox Series X, PS4 & Xbox One consoles that I own but Dad has got Gran Turismo 7 just like me that he plays now) when she stayed here from Thursday until last week but she's now raising a 8 year old girl back home in Welly) compared to when I saw former All Black & current police constable Glen Osborne 3 times, but the last famous person I've met was Jona Nareki back in 2020.

What's My Age Again?/All The Small Things: My 15th blog of the year 2023

Well, there has been a rugby related story about Australian Eddie Jones (Who is known as boomerang Eddie since he took over from Dave Rennie as coach of the Wallabies again, & they're after them of taking back the Bledisloe Cup for the first time since 20 years ago, way back in 2003 where New Zealand have been the current holders of the Bledisloe since) being given the honor as the only coach to have never lost against the All Blacks (Who'll begin our road to redemption which is against the host nation of France on the 8th of September at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis) at a Rugby World Cup (First it was Australia in 2003 where Stirling Mortlock's intercept try in the semifinal ended New Zealand's hopes of reaching the final (And cue the disappointment as the All Blacks coach (And father of cricketer Daryl) John Mitchell had lost his job, allowing Graham Henry to take over from 2004 until our successful RWC glory in 2011) as I mentioned in my previous blogs followed by England in 2019 where they made no mistakes as they ended the All Blacks 19 match unbeaten streak at a Rugby World Cup & kissed our hopes of winning 3 Rugby World Cups in a row goodbye (And it must have been our poor discipline in the latter stages of the game after Ardie Savea had scored a try to put ourselves back in the contest that cost them our chance of reaching another final, especially Sam Whitelock who nearly got yellow carded by Welsh referee Nigel Owens by giving him a warning, but that all important try scored by Samoan born Englishman Manu Tuilagi during the semi, broke New Zealand hearts to put the game beyond doubt which proved to be the turning point when they progressed through to the final against the South Africans for their unsuccessful challenge of winning the Rugby World Cup), both coached by Jones), & we may face Australia (Their 1st game of the tournament is against Georgia at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis on September the 9th) in the semifinal of the tournament just like in 1991, 2003 & 2011, even if we overcome either Ireland (Who Tonga will start their campaign with against the defending Six Nations champions as well as the heavy tournament favourites & the top ranked rugby playing nation in the world on the 16th of September in Nantes) or the reigning champs South Africa (The last time the Springboks (Who begin their title defence against Scotland on the 10th of September at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille) had been defeated in a RWC game was against us in the opening pool game in 2019 before winning 6 in a row en route to the title (It was against neighbours Namibia (Who are in Pool A in this years tournament along with New Zealand, hosts France, Italy & Uruguay) then Italy (The only tier 1 rugby playing nation to have never reached the knockout stages of the tournament) & Canada (Who failed to qualify in this years Rugby World Cup as they got beaten by newcomers Chile in an Americas qualification match in 2021) in the pool games, hosts at the time of Japan (Who turned the rugby world upside down in 2015 in which they famously stunned the Boks in one of the tournament's biggest shocks & are in Pool D in this years tournament along with England, Argentina, Samoa (Who begin their campaign against tournament debutants Chile in Bordeaux on the 16th of September) & Chile) in the quarterfinals in which they easily beat them, Wales (Who are in Pool C of this years Rugby World Cup along with Australia, Fiji (Who will commence their campaign against the Welsh also on September the 10th in Bordeaux but the Fijians have never beaten them since 2007 at a Rugby World Cup), Georgia & Portugal) in the semi which was a close encounter, & the AB's chief tormentors England in the final to claim their 3rd RWC title, inspired by their previous triumphs in 1995 & 2007 (In which Jones was the assistant coach as well as being the technical adviser for South Africa under head coach Jake White (One of 3 South African coaches who have successfully won the Rugby World Cup along with the late Kitch Christie & ex-Springbok player Rassie Erasmus who played in the 1999 tournament 20 years before he was the coach in the 2019 edition of the tournament which ended in glory) as I also mentioned in my previous blogs) in the quarterfinal of this years RWC.

Well, the finalists of this years World Test Championship final are in as Australia (The current holders of the Ashes which is scheduled in June between the hosts England & the Aussies who will appear in their very 1st ever WTC final, taking New Zealand's place) will play India (The hosts of this years men's 50 over Cricket World Cup scheduled for October to November this year who will appear in another final after Sri Lanka lost dramatically against the Black Caps in the 1st test at Hagley Oval in Christchurch (Including former test captain Kane Williamson thought that he was out run out on the last ball of the match on the 5th & final day of the 1st test, but he made it as the ex-skipper in the test format was home & safe with an unbeaten 121, therefore securing an unlikely victory (And the Black Caps went on to win the 2nd test in style as well as the series against the Sri Lankans by an innings & 58 runs at Cello Basin Reserve in Wellington, with Kane Williamson (Who was player of the series) top scoring 215 & then all of a sudden, Henry Nicholls (Who is best known as the brother of Black Caps media manager Willy) producing an unbeaten 200 in the first innings in which he was awarded player of the game honours), hoping to redeem themselves after losing to New Zealand who triumphed in 2021 by winning our 2nd ICC sanctioned tournament (Our 1st since 2000 in the ICC Knockout Trophy ironically, against the Indians in our memorable match of our lives) in Southampton) at the Oval on the 7th to 11th of June + a reserve day on the 12th of June.

And the latest on the Super Rugby Pacific competition as the results of the 3rd round of the competition are in:

Chiefs 28 - 7 Highlanders (It was the Chiefs night as they remain flawless this year after a win against the poor old Highlanders at FMG Stadium in Waikato)

Rebels 34 - 27 Waratahs (And it was the Rebels night as they claim an unlikely upset win over the Waratahs at AAMI Park in Melbourne)

Fijian Drua 25 - 24 Crusaders (And yes, that game was by far, the biggest boil over in Super Rugby Pacific history in which the Drua prevailed over the defending champions in front of a packed crowd at Churchill Park in Lautoka with a match winning penalty goal scored by none other than Kemu Valentini (Brother of Brumbies & Wallabies player Rob)

Hurricanes 19 - 25 Blues (And it was the Blues night as they became the 1st side to beat the Hurricanes (Who were without inspirational captain Ardie Savea as he is suspended for this match) in this years Super Rugby Pacific season at Sky Stadium in Wellington)

Brumbies 23 - 17 Reds (It was the Brumbies night as they manhandled the Reds to maintain their 100% winning record in 2023 at Canberra Stadium in Canberra)

& Force 21 - 18 Moana Pasifika (It was the Force night as they deny Moana Pasifika (Who had Mike McKee recieved a 20 minute red card for a no arms tackle which resulted in a head on head clash on Force hooker Folau Fainga'a) a win at HBF Park in Perth for their 2nd win of the season)

And finally, onto the Six Nations news as the results of round 4 are also in:

Italy 17 - 29 Wales (It was the Welsh who gained revenge from last year's result over the Italians at Stadio Olimpico in Rome)

England 10 - 53 France (And it was the hosts of this years Rugby World Cup who completely hammered England (Who had suffered their worst defeat at home & by having a mistake of naming England captain Owen Farrell on the bench) in a blowout for the ages at the home of English rugby at Twickenham in London)

& Scotland 7 - 22 Ireland (And it was Ireland who claim another scalp over Scotland (First Wales, then France & of course Italy) to remain undefeated in both the Six Nations & this year, but their 9 match winning streak (Their last defeat came was against New Zealand a year ago) as well as their hopes & dreams of achieving both the Six Nations title for the 1st time since 2018 & the grand slam, is on the line when they go into the next game against England in Dublin in the last round of the Six Nations competition in which this key matchup is sorta like a Rugby World Cup final)

So that is my 491st blog of the year 2023 (MMXXIII) & my 15th of this year, viva Ukraine.

Go Your Own Way/Beautiful Day: My 14th blog of the year 2023

Well, it looks like other international rugby teams are getting competitive so New Zealand have named their big 6 of beating the All Blacks before such as Argentina (Their most recent win came in Christchurch at the end of August where they made history, again just like in 2020 in Sydney), Australia (Their last win came in 2020 at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane in the aftermath of 2 seperate incidents where both Ofa Tu'ungafasi & Lachlan Swinton had been shown the red card for foul play but we were gutted about the result after Scott Barrett had recieved a late yellow card that cost us the test), England (It was a draw last time out in our most recent test last year which was disappointing but their last win came in the semifinal at the most recent Rugby World Cup in 2019 where they ended our hopes of winning a 3rd consecutive RWC as I mentioned in my blogs in which we were also gutted about the result (And according to the story that I remember from Dad twice in 2021 & last year that Ben Smith should've played after the selectors left Smith out in favour of George Bridge (Who is New Zealand rugby's most underrated player) before the semi), France (Their most recent victory came in 2021 where the French had recorded their 1st win against the AB's (Who ended the year 2021 with back to back defeats & that was the 1st time that the AB's had lost both tests in a row in 22 years which was way back in 1999) since 2009 in Dunedin & their 1st home win against New Zealand since 2000 in Marseille), Ireland (It was last year that the Irish had toppled us to become the 1st side since the advent of the professional era, to win a test series in New Zealand) & South Africa (The reigning world champs whose last win against New Zealand (The 1st time we lost a Rugby Championship opener, & the 1st since 2005 which was during the Tri-Nations era) came in the opening round of the Rugby Championship last year at Mbomela Stadium in Nelspruit where Kurt-Lee Arendse got sent off for a serious foul play incident) but it's only 5 months until the Rugby World Cup begins as hosts France (Who have never won a tournament before after coming so close against the AB's once in 1987 & 2011 & the Wallabies in 1999) & the former 3 time world champions the All Blacks (Our last successful shot of World Cup glory came in 2015 which was against Australia in that memorable game of our lives as I mentioned in my previous blogs, in one of the best Rugby World Cup finals in history & one of by far, my favourite rugby matches (Not just internationals but the all round stuff) of all time that I've seen on TV at Twickenham in London, England) take to the field at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis on the 8th of September but a match that will have everyone on the edge of their seats is the tournament opener - France v New Zealand. Not only is it the hosts against the three-time winners but the two teams have history. They have faced one another in both World Cup finals with the AB's coming out winners both times. Fabien Galthie's France will be targeting their first World Cup trophy this year. Defeating their old rivals could set them on a good path. New Zealand won't roll over though. They have a bit between their teeth after being knocked out in the semi-finals by England in 2019. They have not had as great form as they are used to of late but they are bouncing back.

And there was a Premier League football game happening in England where Liverpool hammer Manchester United 7 - 0 in a blowout of the ages that I did not see it coming at Anfield (The place that Leon had been when he had a proposal with his current partner Michelle during a half-time show in the Merseyside derby between Liverpool & Everton (Who are currently in the relegation zone) for the 1st time since 1924-25 in a high scoring affair, but 4 months have passed since Argentina had ended France's reign as the world champions in football last year in which the Argentinians led by the imcomparable Lionel Messi won their 1st Football World Cup title since 1986 in a memorable but dramatic final of the Football World Cup which ended on penalties as the Argy Bargies (Who lost to Saudi Arabia in their opening group game of last years tournament, in one of the greatest upsets of the Football World Cup since the West African nation of Senegal knocking over the defending champions at the time of France during the opening game of the tournament in 2002) stole the show which was a bit of a crowd pleaser, to win their 3rd Football World Cup title (And their 1st since 1986 to add to their title that they 1st won in 1978 (Which featured one of the legendary great players of Mario Kempes (Who was Argentina's star talisman before the days of the late Maradona) & they became the 2nd most successful nation from South America (Ahead of Uruguay with 2 but behind Brazil with 5) to win the tournament at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar in front of a sell-out crowd of 88,000 die-hard passionate football fans, in Leo Messi's farewell game as he ends his successful international football career on a high by becoming the most recent Football World Cup winning captain, cementing his legendary status as a true GOAT (Greatest of all-time) in Argentinian football folklore since the days of the late Diego Maradona.

And the latest on the Super Rugby Pacific competition as the results of the 2nd round of the competition are in during the Super Round at AAMI Park in Melbourne, in which they did not disappoint following the success from last year:

Crusaders 52 - 15 Highlanders (It was the reigning Super Rugby Pacific champs the Crusaders day as they hammer the Highlanders in a blowout for their 1st win of this years competition therefore bouncing back from defeat against the Chiefs in round 1)

Rebels 33 - 39 Hurricanes (And it was the Hurricanes night as they win in a close encounter to remain unbeaten which was overshadowed by controversy involving Hurricanes captain Ardie Savea who did a cut-throat gesture on Rebels halfback Ryan Louwrens after getting yellow carded for an infraction such as a judo throw on a Rebels player which resulted in pushing & shoving but now he's handed a 1 week ban for unsportsmanlike behaviour/contrary conduct after being cited by the citing officer for his antics that he did which resulted sanctions being handed out to him (And there are calls that World Rugby should introduce a crackdown on the pre-match war dance in test matches such as the haka due to it's throat slitting gesture that threatens & intimidates the opponent) in which Ardie's father wasn't pleased when he made a phone call to him back in Wellington after the game)

Moana Pasifika 29 - 52 Chiefs (It was the Chiefs day as they thrash Moana to remain undefeated in the competition with Rameka Poihipi scoring the fastest try in Super Rugby Pacific at 9 seconds, previously breaking the record set by 12 seconds which was the Highlanders against the Crusaders in 2001)

Fijian Drua 17 - 46 Waratahs (And it was the Waratahs night as they cleaned the Fijian Drua up to bits for their 1st victory of the season)

Blues 20 - 25 Brumbies (It was the Brumbies (Who remain flawless in 2023 along with the Chiefs & the Hurricanes but they have been competitive against New Zealand sides since the advent of the competition in 1996) day as Australia's best from last year, overpower the Blues who had a disappointing match as ill discipline cost them the game with both yellow cards being dished out in the 1st half of the game allowing the heroic Brumbies side to seal the win)

& Force 20 - 71 Reds (And it was the Reds night as they pummel the Force to register their 1st win in the competition).

So that is my 490th blog of the year 2023 (MMXXIII) & my 14th of this year, viva Ukraine.

Do You Know Me?/Goodbye For Now/This Is Gonna Hurt: My 13th blog of the year 2023

Well, happy Easter to you all on Good Friday today, so let's start with a rugby related story beginning with the biggest upset by far in Rugby World Cup history, would have to be Japan slaying South Africa in the Miracle of Brighton in 2015 (Same year that the last time the All Blacks would win a Rugby World Cup title against the Wallabies in that memorable final of our lives as I mentioned in my previous blogs, but the Japanese men in the crowd were getting emotional about the win as I mentioned in my previous blog, according to a comment that Pops told me in 2015 & it was my 3rd favourite memorable RWC moment ahead of the late Lomu (A global icon who is rugby union's greatest ever GOAT (Greatest of all-time), but it's a shame that he wasn't a Rugby World Cup winning player (He was a finalist in 1995 in which the AB's came oh so close of regaining rugby's ultimate prize & a semifinalist in 1999) steamrolling Catt during the semi between New Zealand & England in one of the most iconic moments of the Rugby World Cup of all time in 1995, but behind the world famous All Blacks rugby team winning the tournament for the 1st time in 24 years when we 1st won it in 1987 (It would have to be Pops favourite memory of the tournament about the AB's winning the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 against France in that memorable final which was in fact the epic moment in NZ sports history, in front of a packed home crowd at Eden Park in Auckland when David Kirk lifted the William Webb Ellis cup aloft along with the injured Andy Dalton (Who was originally named as the skipper after Jock Hobbs pulled out as a result of a head injury, but had to withdraw after injuring his hamstring, allowing Kirk to take over where he left off, but had to retire after the 1987 tournament to take up a Rhodes scholar as I mentioned in my previous blogs along with the Samoan rugby player of Brian 'The Chiropractor' Lima (One of the hardest hitters in world rugby as I mentioned in my previous blogs along with the late Samoan born All Black Jerry 'JC/The Terminator' Collins who famously made that bone crunching hit on another one of the South African players of Thinus Delport in the quarterfinal of the 2003 tournament & of course on a Welshman named Colin Charvis who got knocked out in a big collision for what I thought was an hit that had been deemed to be prohibited these days that might've resulted in either a yellow or red card (And Tana Umaga helped Charvis out by getting to his aid to clear his breathing passage, & placed him in a recovery position in which Umaga had been awarded the Baron Pierre de Coubertin medal according to the International Committee of Fair Play that he had been for his outstanding act of bravery) during the test 5 months earlier in the same year) with that crunching tackle where he absolutely flattened South African Derick Hougaard (Who got knocked out after that perfectly timed legitimate hit) to bits (And that would've been a red card nowadays due to an illegal tackle) during the pool game at the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia), back in 2011 on home soil including that match winning penalty goal scored by none other than Beaver (Stephen Donald) which was Dad's favourite RWC memorable moment) but 1st, it was France who rattled us in the semi of the 1999 tournament (Including the late Jonah Lomu who bagged in a double for the AB's, but it wasn't good enough to over power the French as they successfully came from behind to pull off a famous victory for their 1st win against our country at a Rugby World Cup in the semi to advance through to the final) as I also mentioned in my previous blogs, which was the greatest upset of the RWC of all time before the Brighton Miracle.

And here is an interesting football related fact such as every time the Socceroos of Australia had been to a round of 16 game at the Football World Cup, they would lose to the eventual champion which was both Italy (The defending European champions who last appeared at a Football World Cup in 2014) captained by Fabio Cannavaro way back in 2006 & Argentina (The reigning champs of both the Copa America (Who the Argentinians won it in 2021) & the Football World Cup (It was their time & their moment when they dominated the tournament which led to a successful World Cup glory, despite beginning their tournament campaign with a loss against Saudi Arabia in one of the greatest upsets ever, of all time at the Football World Cup) led by the incomparable Lionel Messi (Who bowed out when he did bid farewell in international football as one of the sport's greatest of all time, with a Football World Cup title to add with an Olympic gold medal for the Argentina under 23's in Beijing in 2008, then the Copa America crown in 2021, just like Indian cricket great Sachin Tendulkar (Known affectually as 'The Little Master') did 12 years ago where India (Hosts of this years men's 50 over Cricket World Cup who haven't triumphed since 2011 (That was 4 years before Australia last won the Cricket World Cup in 2015 then England took over at the most recent tournament in 2019) triumphed in the CWC for the 1st time since 1983) 2 months ago which was last year on that occasion.

And there was once an America's Cup story where in 1984 a Sydney based Belgian businessman named Marcel Fachler, lodged a challenge from the Royal Perth Yacht Club, on behalf of a New Zealand club - the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron of our intentions of competing in the then Louis Vuitton Cup in 1987, therefore New Zealand's involvement into the America's Cup began which opened the door after the success of Australia that they had who triumphed in the event in 1983, when they ended the longest winning streak in sports history, against the Americans (Who basically held the Auld Mug from 1851 but there was only one individual above them all who became the 1st man to lose the America's Cup (Twice the South Pacific's upstarts, 1st it was Australia in 1983, then New Zealand in 1995 according to the Back to Black: Black Magic book that I've got in my room), then to win it back & to lose it again which in fact the famous American sailor of Dennis Conner (Who was New Zealand's main rival back in the days before the famous Australian sailor of Jimmy Spithill took over as our main rival), but we are the current holders of the Auld Mug since 2017 in which Emirates Team New Zealand (4 time champions (Compared to the All Blacks which won the Rugby World Cup 3 times (1987, 2011 & 2015) along with South Africa (1995, 2007 & 2019) & the Black Caps winning just the 1 major international cricket title which is the World Test Championship (WTC) in 2021, after falling short in both the men's 50 over Cricket World Cup finals against Australia in 2015 & England in 2019 respectively) in 1995 (It was in San Diego, California against Stars & Stripes aboard the Young America yacht where we etched into New Zealand sporting history since the late Sir Edmund Hillary stood atop Mount Everest in 1953 when the Auld Mug headed to a different down under, New Zealand (It was Australia who claimed the America's Cup first in 1983 in which they brought it down under before the Americans won it back in 1987, & held it before losing it to New Zealand in 1995 (And instead of continuing with the one-stop designer of Bruce Farr in the aftermath of 1992, the Peter Blake-headed Team New Zealand bypassed Farr for a total design team concept in the lead up to the 1995 event as they brought into play instead, tapping into the wide-ranging talents of people such as Doug Peterson - the designer behind Bill Koch's 1992 triumph - plus New Zealanders Laurie Davidson, Tom Schnackenberg & others (And also that the boat was painted intimidately black), 2000 (It was against the Prada Challenge of Italy in Auckland in where retaining the Auld Mug was so damn special (And Peter Montgomery famously said it when we completed our successful defence "The Americas Cup! Is still, New Zealand's cup!"), in which the 1st time that a syndicate has defended it outside of the United States), 2017 (It was PJ this time on radio commentary who also famously said it when we broke a 17 year drought of winning the Auld Mug in Bermuda (4 years after the miracle of San Francisco where Oracle capitalized when they made a huge, successful comeback in the history of the America's Cup to down Emirates Team New Zealand (Led by Dean Barker before Peter Burling (Who was part of the back-up crew in 2013 when New Zealand's bid of bringing the America's Cup back home had been evaporated & fallen through) took over since the events of 2017 where he was one of the key signings for Team New Zealand along with his old sparring partner Blair Tuke according to my previous blogs) as they successfully retained the Auld Mug after they thought they were down & out after being 8 - 1 down, but Oracle Team USA had that never give up attitude as they were down but not out when they overturned the deficit as the Americans benefited all 8 races to win the best of nine series at 9 - 8) when we famously cashed in that in your face, get out of my way attitude moment as I mentioned in my blog from last year "Once again! The America's Cup is, New Zealand's Cup!) & at the most recent one in 2021 (Against Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli also in Auckland in a replay of America's Cup 2000 which was my most memorable moment of the America's Cup event that I watched on TV since I was born in 1991, in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic where the original voice of yachting of Peter 'PJ' Montgomery infamously said it when Team New Zealand crossed the line to win race 10 also during radio commentary: "The America's Cup, remains New Zealand's Cup!") won in Bermuda against Oracle Team USA but we used to have the late famous yachtsman of Sir Peter 'Blakey' Blake (In which he got knighted after the success of 1995 by being given a loftier reputation according to The Team New Zealand Story: 1995 - 2003 book that I've also got in my bedroom, as he led New Zealand to successive victories in the America's Cup (The oldest prize in international sport) involved on our 1st successful shot of the Auld Mug in 1995 before we infamously retained it in 2000 in which we completed the 1st successful defence of the Auld Mug outside America & then we had 'Dalts' of Grant Dalton whose 1st genuine win of the America's Cup came in 2017 against Spithill & Oracle Team USA in Bermuda as the CEO & syndicate head 4 years before we did it again for the 4th time to in Auckland in 2021 against the man known as 'Jimmy the Pitbull/Pitbull Jimmy' (Who teamed up with Francesco 'Checo' Bruni as one of the co-helmsmen) again, this time against the Italians of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli in a replay of America's Cup 2000 to become the most successful non-American club in history for the RNZYS (Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron).

And onto the quick sports news flash such as Britain's Cameron Norrie (The man who got beaten by Frenchman Richard Gasquet in Auckland, in which Norrie should've won) who defeated Carlos Alcaraz (Who recovered from a serious injury after missing the Australian Open which was won by Novak Djokovic) to win the Rio Open a week after losing to the Spaniard in Argentina then the All Blacks sevens team have done it again after gaining utu to Argentina in the cup final after losing to them in Hamilton to win the Los Angeles sevens event, to follow up to our great victory in Sydney & therefore, maintaining our lead in the current Sevens World Series season, but the big headline would have to be in the cricket where the unthinkable has happened at the Cello Basin Reserve in Wellington, as the Black Caps ended the 6 match winning streak in test matches of England (And that's the 2nd time the English have lost under current coach Brendon McCullum & captain Ben Stokes since the 1st test against South Africa last year, on English soil), where the test match had been won by 1 run in the end as the Tim Southee led New Zealand who held on for that famous victory to draw the test series at 1 all after losing to them in the 1st test, at Bay Oval in Tauranga.

And the latest on the Super Rugby Pacific competition as the results of the 1st round of the competition are in:

Crusaders 10 - 31 Chiefs (And the game was by far, the standout for me in round 1 as the Chiefs claim an unlikely win as they topple the defending champion Crusaders (And what is their strategy going into the next game dubbed as the great Southern derby against the Highlanders at AAMI Park in Melbourne during the Super Round? Well, they need to be consistent in winning that game because consistency is always the key to success after the Razor experiment had gone wrong when they lost to the Chiefs first up where the champs had scored 10 points, the least amount during the Robertson era) to claim the biggest boilover at Orangetheory Stadium in Christchurch)

Waratahs 25 - 31 Brumbies (And it was the Brumbies who dominated in the match as they spoil the Waratahs homecoming at the new Allianz Stadium in Sydney)

Moana Pasifika 34 - 36 Fijian Drua (And it was the Fijian Drua's day as they end Moana's hopes for victory (Including the try scored by the Drua thought that it was a forward pass, & the referee missed it in a egregrious way (And Moana Pasifika should've won that game if the ref had a look at the TV referee & could've overturned it to no try, similar to the events in 2007 at the Rugby World Cup where France had scored a try but the referee missed a clear & obvious forward pass that cost New Zealand's hopes of winning the Rugby World Cup) with a try that surely won the game for the Fijian Drua billed as the battle of the Pacific which was the best game of the round (And I'm so sorry Crusaders-Chiefs, I'd would like to take that back), at the famous rugby league ground which was once known as Ericsson Stadium, at Mount Smart Stadium in South Auckland)

Highlanders 20 - 60 Blues (And it was the Blues (Who missed the chance to become champions of Super Rugby Pacific last year against the dominant Crusaders side in front of their adoring home crowd at Eden Park in Auckland but will 2023 be their year? We will see) night as they hammered the Highlanders in style in a blowout at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin, off the back of a super human like performance by Blues winger Mark Telea (The 2 test All Black last year) who dotted it down not once but twice)

Reds 13 - 47 Hurricanes (And it was the Hurricanes who gave it their all with a resounding win over the Reds (Who had the son of Wallabies legend of Michael (Better known as Noddy who is married to Isabella & has 3 sons including Louis & Tom) of Tom Lynagh making his Super Rugby Pacific debut for the Reds who used to have Quade Cooper back then) at QCB Stadium in Townsville)

& Force 34 - 27 Rebels (And finally, it was the Western Force's time to shine as Jeremy Thrush who thought he retired but decided to come out of retirement to play another season, had scored the try that has surely won the game for the Western Force)

And onto the Six Nations news as the results are also in:

Italy 20 - 34 Ireland (And it was the day that the Irish who crush the Italians at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome to keep their hopes of winning the Six Nations title as well as the Grand Slam alive as they remain undefeated this year by keeping their 100% winning record intact, but Ireland's next Six Nations match is against Scotland at Murrayfield in Edinburgh which is going to be a key matchup in round 4 of the competition)

Wales 10 - 20 England (It was the English who stepped up to that challenge as they dispatched Wales at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff to register another win under current head coach Steve Borthwick whose 1st test in charge started with defeat before winning 2 in a row against both Italy & Wales but their next game is against France which should be another interesting one)

France 32 - 21 Scotland (It was the hosts of this year's Rugby World Cup, France who overcame a red card to Mohamed Haouas (Who takes the suspended Uini Atonio's place as the starting tight head prop in the playing XV & is currently serving an 18 month suspended sentence on a burglary charge involving wilful violence where he was involved in an incident on New Year's Eve 2014 by committing a crime that he did) again just like in 2020, as they return to winning ways against a 14 man Scotland at the Stade de France (Which will host the opening game between the hosts the French & the All Blacks during the tournament as well as the final) in Saint-Denis)

And finally that Pops has just found his passport so it took a month after he originally lost it (And me, Pops & Carole (Who has rheumatoid athritis which is a problem throughout the Webb family along with Carole's son Andy who is currently dealing issues when he accidentally swallowed a toothpick (And I was telling Pops before that I'm attempting not to make the similar error as Andy did such as to avoid swallowing a tooth pick but the doctors are montoring him back in Auckland) went out to Rutland for a celebration meal on Tuesday, a day after Pops passport had been found because it was in a plastic container where I had fish & chips with mushy peas & for pudding was a vanilla mousse cake), but I have decided to listen to my favourite radio station again in the whole wide universe which is Brian FM (I stopped listening to it when Pops had lost his passport).

So that is my 489th blog of the year 2023 (MMXXIII) & my 13th of this year, viva Ukraine.

P.S. And a shoutout to my dear cuzzie of Paige (The beautiful daughter of Cathey Middelplaats & partner of Jarrod Ahearn (I never met him before in my entire life) who is now a mother since she gave birth to her daughter Norah a few months ago (First it was Sophia Ong who gave birth to her son Shaia in 2021) who celebrated her 29th birthday 2 days ago so best wishes & arohanui to you all, xoxo (And also, a shoutout to the partner of Aunty Tan (I used to call her Aunty Tania because of Tan being her nickname but I address her as Aunty Tan from now on) of Rejean Gatineau (Father of both boys Eric & Tom & a girl of Rachelle) for his 61st birthday last week back in Canada also) but I of course indeed, have the utmost respect to her (Along with my biological aunty Cathey) because she once wrote to me in an email message that I saw in 2016 that we're both cousins & friends as a matter of fact.