Well, the AB's are back to winning ways at the Rugby World Cup after our comprehensive blow out against Namibia during the pool stages for which I was stoked (But shame about the red card given to New Zealand prop forward Ethan de Groot (The first All Black sent off in a Rugby World Cup) after being originally given a yellow & an off-field review by the bunker for failing to wrap his arm around his opponent which was like a terrorist attack since World Rugby is continuing to clamp down on illegal head contact even though the war on dangerous tackles in rugby continues (And the high tackles in rugby is killing the game because I was absolutely livid that de Groot got sent off for foul play), but it could be heartbreaking for the All Blacks in light of de Groot (Who terrorized his opponent by charging without attempt to grasp the opponent which resulted in a sin binning offence & put it on report before upgrading it to red) is found out whether he'll be suspended for at least 2 or 3 games which will take him out of the pool stages as well as the quarterfinal then of course he will be available for the semifinal (Or quarterfinal if he tidies up his act by attending tackle academy run by the sport's governing body, World Rugby, in order to relearn his tackle technique) if the AB's progress, but the Cam Roigard - Damian McKenzie halves combination for New Zealand might have proved to be the difference for our quest of regaining the Rugby World Cup according from the comment from Pops who told me on the 16th of September, but the ploy could work in the knockout stages) to snap a wretched 2 game losing run dating back to the reigning world champs South Africa last month at Twickenham then France in the World Cup opener at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis (Including a yellow card from Will Jordan for a contact in the air on a French player which cost us the game that evoked memories of 1999 & 2007 for France of winning on that occasion) but what a thrilling turnaround for New Zealand after all that twists & turns as well as the thrills & spills we had during the full 80, so let's relive the live updates of the last 10 minutes of the match according to Newshub (In which I dub my new segment as The Last 10 which is a fast paced, condensed version of a live update):
THE LAST 10 - NZL VS NAM
70TH MINUTE: Whitelock secures the restart and the All Blacks then keep ball in hand on their 22 initially. Mo'unga then exits with a high kick to halfway, which Swanepoel takes. However, the chase is good and the counter earns a turnover. McKenzie opts for another kick though, and sends it dead. Scrum back on halfway.
71ST MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Namibia are able to clear their scrum, and look to build some phases. Stevens is put under pressure behind the ruck, but he finds Loubser, who goes for a good run. A kick in behind McKenzie runs into the in goal, where he dots for a goal line restart.
72ND MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Long restart over halfway. Booysen goes for a charge back upfield, and a phase later Namibia are pinged for a cleanout beyond the ball.
TMO REFERRAL: There could be an issue here for de Groot, for a high shot on Booysen.
PENALTY NAMIBIA (HIGH TACKLE), YELLOW CARD ALL BLACKS & OFF-FIELD REVIEW: Off to the bin goes de Groot for the remainder of the game, for high contact on Booysen.
73RD MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Namibia find touch in the corner, and van der Westhuizen then finds Uanivi once more. It's another attempted drive by the Africans, but they're again forced to clear. Deysel's kick is blocked, and the All Blacks claim...
74TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SCRUM FEED NAMIBIA: McKenzie goes on a marauding run, but then has his pass for Vaa'i blocked and Namibia claim. They again put a kick in behind, which Mo'unga ends up spilling at the back. In the follow up, Namibia are claiming a try, but they were illegally playing the ball on the deck. Scrum Namibia 5m out.
75TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Namibia clear the scrum, but Stevens then drops it cold and the All Blacks spring upfield. McKenzie gets away from a tackle and then hacks a kick long upfield, but Namibia get back to tidy up inside their 22.
76TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Stevens clears with a box kick over halfway, which McKenzie claims in the air. The All Blacks look to build from their own side of halfway, as Papali'i and Vaa'i make good carries.
77TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): The All Blacks lose their way as Mo'unga fumbles behind him, but it's tidied up and McKenzie then slings it wide to find Fainga'anuku on the left wing...
TRY ALL BLACKS: 69 - 3, R. IOANE
OUT OF NOTHING! Fainga'anuku is able to go into contact with a good carry, gets the left arm free to find Ioane back on the inside and he weaves past the only defender in his path to run away and score under the sticks.
CONVERSION ALL BLACKS: 71 - 3, D. MCKENZIE
78TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Extras added from near in front.
RED CARD ALL BLACKS: News from the foul play review is that de Groot's yellow card has been upgraded to a red.
79TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY NAMIBIA: The All Blacks look to launch from their own end with ball in hand, and McKenzie sends Havili away towards halfway. However, he's caught and the All Blacks are then pinged at the breakdown.
80TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Namibia make some inroads off the lineout, but the ball is then spilled and the All Blacks are happy kicking it away to touch to finish proceedings.
FULL-TIME: 71 - 3
So New Zealand get the comfortable win as expected, although there were elements of the performance that will no doubt leave Ian Foster less than pleased. Defensively the All Blacks were strong, particularly defending a number of lineout drives in the second half, and there were some fine attacking moments as the power, pace and skill of the All Blacks backs ran rampant in broken play. However, there were also some discipline issues, with a number of needless penalties, and a brain snap moment from Ethan de Groot which saw him red carded late in the game. They also pushed passes at times instead of staying patient, which left a few points on the park.
There were some individual performances from the All Blacks which will have staked claims for the first strength side. Cameron Roigard and Leicester Fainga'anuku were the standouts, while Sam Whitelock, Ardie Savea, Beauden Barrett and Anton Lienert-Brown performed solidly. Damian McKenzie added a different dimension with his play at 10, while there was impact off the bench from Tupou Vaa'i, Rieko Ioane and Scott Barrett.
Namibia battled hard right to the end, but were always overmatched and struggled at set piece. Tijuee Uanivi was strong right across the park, while Cliven Loubser and Johan Deysel had some bright moments. They'll be proud of their effort if not the execution though, as they kept toiling right to the very end.
The result puts the All Blacks' campaign back on track, and they'll be looking ahead to the games against Italy and Uruguay to try and wrap up a quarterfinal berth. Namibia meanwhile will no doubt target Uruguay as their best chance for a win, with France their other remaining game.
And here are the other results from the pool matches of the 2023 Rugby World Cup that have just come in:
France 27 - 12 Uruguay (It was France's night as they had a close shave against Uruguay to remain undefeated in pool play at Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille, 6 days after becoming the first side to defeat New Zealand in pool play at the Rugby World Cup)
Samoa 43 - 10 Chile (It was Samoa's day as they overcome the challenge of the tournament newcomers Chile at Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux in Bordeaux)
Wales 28 - 8 Portugal (And it was Wales's day as they rolled Portugal (Who lost a player through a red card after originally being given a yellow card & an off-field review for an illegal high boot on a Welsh player which was reminiscent to Tevita Nabura did to Cameron Clark during a Super Rugby game between the Highlanders & the Waratahs in Sydney in 2018 as well as Jordie Barrett on Marika Koroibete during Bledisloe III between the All Blacks & Australia in 2021) over with an attacking bonus point win at the Stade de Nice in Nice)
Ireland 59 - 16 Tonga (And it was Ireland's night as they hammered Tonga (Who tasted the Irish curse as well as getting Irish whipped during the tournament along with Romania) to pieces thorugh a standout player of the game performance from the Irish second five of Bundee Aki going into their next most all-important clash against the Springboks (Who had lost one of their first choice players of Malcolm Marx (Who got replaced by Handre Pollard instead of Joseph Dweba after making his successful return from a serious injury after he just started practice with the Leicester Tigers side competing in England's premier club rugby competition which is the Gallagher Premiership after originally not being picked in the initial World Cup squad) during the tournament as a result of a bad knee injury sustained in training meaning that the Irish are on track of taking over as the favourite against the South Africans (Who had retaken the position as the favourites against the Irish since Pollard's call-up to the Springboks side for the most important clash) to win that clash & to top that pool in Pool B) to determine who will face the might of the All Blacks in the quarterfinals at the Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes)
South Africa 76 - 0 Romania (And it was South Africa's day as the defending world champions record a shut-out/clean sheet thrashing (That's the first in the World Cup this year) against Romania in Bordeaux, just before their first ever meeting at a RWC with the top ranked rugby playing nation in the world of Ireland (Who'll put their incredible 15 game winning streak on the line against the 3 time current holders of the William Webb Ellis cup) at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis including hat-tricks from both World Cup winning players from 2019 such as halfback Cobus Reinach & winger Makazole Mapimpi)
Australia 15 - 22 Fiji (And yes, that game was by far, the biggest boil over in the history of the Rugby World Cup during modern times or should I say during the modern era, in which the Fijians who shocked the world again just like against England before the tournament had even started which turned the rugby world upside down with a memorable as well as an historic upset win of the tournament against the Wallabies (Whose next game is against Wales which is a must win in order to survive from being dumped out of the tournament as they attempt to stave off on the brink of elimination) in which was during the tournament that time, but to steal the game for Fiji in one of the most victories in the history of sport, not just in the game of rugby)
& England 34 - 12 Japan (And it was England's night as they upstage Japan with a bonus point win when they needed to in Nice to follow up with their win against Argentina off the back of a pure George Ford 27 point masterclass in Marseille)
And I hadn't mentioned that there is a deadly 6.8 magnitude earthquake had occurred in Morocco which resulted 2,800 fatalities so all thoughts, prayers & condolences go to the families of the earthquake victims during that sad & difficult time as the nation is expected to spend $11.7 billion on their 5 year post-quake reconstruction plan.
And finally the latest in Formula One that Ferrari (The iconic Italian racing icon who inspired to many generations when they tasted success at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 3 months ago in June during the round of the WEC (World Endurance Championship) as they ended the Japanese manufacturer Toyota's 4 year reign on top of the summit at the Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, France) are on the board in 2023 after Carlos Sainz's epic triumph on the streets of Singapore at the Singaporean Grand Prix, therefore the incredible 10 race winning streak of Max Verstappen dating back from Miami to Italy as well as Red Bull's 15 race winning run dating back to Abu Dhabi last year to Italy this year & their bid of maintaining their perfect season, has finally ended when Sainz (Who is the 3rd different driver to win a race along with Red Bull's Sergio Perez twice & the current 2 time world champion Max Verstappen who did it 12 times during this season) had become the 1st non-Red Bull driver to win a Grand Prix since George Russell in the Mercedes-AMG at the Brazilian Grand Prix last year.
So that is my 519th blog of the year 2023 (MMXXIII) & my 43rd of this year, viva Ukraine.
P.S. And the current world champion Springboks side have named a strong team by naming all but one forwards on the bench (That's the 2nd time that they had done that but that ploy worked when they defeated the All Blacks at Twickenham in London in which South Africa used their 7 - 1 split for the first time in history) for their all important clash against the number one ranked Ireland with the winner of pool B is expected to face the All Blacks in the quarterfinal while the runner up of that pool gets to face the host nation of France also in the quarterfinal (The last time both of these sides met was last year which resulted in a famous victory for Ireland (Who have never won a match in the quarterfinals of the RWC before) over the world champions) so here is the starting lineup according to coach Jacques Nienaber (And it's been awhile since 4 years ago where I did a blog involving other rugby teams apart from the All Blacks):
STARTING XV
FORWARD PACK
FRONT ROW
1 (Loose head prop): Steven Kitshoff (Ulster)
2 (Hooker): Bongi Mbonambi (Sharks)
3 (Tight head prop): Frans Malherbe (Stormers)
SECOND ROW
4 (No.4 lock): Eben Etzebeth (Sharks)
5 (No.5 lock): Franco Mostert (Mie Honda Heat)
LOOSE FORWARDS
7 (Blind side flanker): Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz)
6 (Open side flanker): Siya Kolisi (Captain, Racing 92)
8 (Number 8): Jasper Wiese (Leicester Tigers)
BACK LINE
HALVES
9 (Half-back/Scrum-half): Faf de Klerk (Yokohama Canon Eagles)
10 (First five-eighth/Fly-half): Manie Libbok (Stormers)
MIDFIELD
12 (Second five-eighth/Inside centre): Damian de Allende (Saitama Wild Knights)
13 (Centre/Outside centre): Jesse Kriel (Yokohama Canon Eagles)
OUTSIDE BACKS
11 (Left wing): Cheslin Kolbe (Tokyo Sungoliath)
14 (Right wing): Kurt-Lee Arendse (Bulls)
& 15 (Fullback): Damian Willemse (Stormers)
& REPLACEMENT PLAYERS
16 (Reserve hooker): Deon Fourie
17 (Reserve loose head prop): Ox Nche
18 (Reserve tight head prop): Trevor Nyakane
19 (Reserve lock): Jean Kleyn
20 (Reserve lock): RG Snyman
21 (Reserve loose forward): Marco van Staden
22 (Reserve loose forward): Kwagga Smith
& 23 (Reserve half-back/scrum-half): Cobus Reinach
And Ireland (Who have never lost a test match since July last year against the All Blacks at the garden of Eden at Eden Park in Auckland compared to the Springboks whose last defeat came against New Zealand as well during an epic Rugby Championship test at Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland in July this year, in which the AB's had retained the Freedom Cup) led by their ever-impressive veteran Johnny Sexton (Who is in his last ever Rugby World Cup as he already announces his intentions to retire from all forms of rugby until after the tournament as his rugby career is winding down so he wants to end his career on a high as the Rugby World Cup winning skipper just like Lionel Messi did last year when Argentina won their 3rd Football World Cup championship last year in Qatar) have named their team so here is the starting lineup according to English born coach Andy Farrell:
STARTING XV
FORWARD PACK
FRONT ROW
1 (Loose head prop): Andrew Porter (Leinster)
2 (Hooker): Ronan Kelleher (Leinster)
3 (Tight head prop): Tadhg Furlong (Leinster)
SECOND ROW
4 (No.4 lock): Tadhg Beirne (Munster)
5 (No.5 lock): James Ryan (Leinster)
LOOSE FORWARDS
6 (Blind side flanker): Peter O'Mahony (Munster)
7 (Open side flanker): Josh van der Flier (Leinster)
8 (Number 8): Caelan Doris (Leinster)
BACK LINE
HALVES
9 (Half-back/Scrum-half): Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster)
10 (First five-eighth/Fly-half): Johnny Sexton (Captain, Unattached)
MIDFIELD
12 (Second five-eighth/Inside centre): Bundee Aki (Connacht)
13 (Centre/Outside centre): Garry Ringrose (Leinster)
OUTSIDE BACKS
11 (Left wing): James Lowe (Leinster)
14 (Right wing): Mack Hansen (Connacht)
& 15 (Fullback): Hugo Keenan (Leinster)
& REPLACEMENT PLAYERS
16 (Reserve hooker): Dan Sheehan
17 (Reserve loose head prop): Dave Kilcoyne
18 (Reserve tight head prop): Finlay Bealham
19 (Reserve lock): Iain Henderson
20 (Reserve loose forward): Ryan Baird
21 (Reserve half-back/scrum-half): Conor Murray
22 (Reserve first five-eighth/fly-half): Jack Crowley
& 23 (Reserve back): Robbie Henshaw.
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