Well, another fantastic win against the AB's, this time against Uruguay at OL Stadium in Lyon during this year's Rugby World Cup in another comprehensive blowout which resulted in a clean sheet (Shut-out) performance (1st time the AB's did that since 2021 against Tonga in which the score was in fact 102 - 0 & the first time at a Rugby World Cup since the demolition against Canada 63 - 0 in 2019) including Leicester Fainga'anuku's heroics as he dotted it down for his hat-trick of tries just like Aaron Smith did against Italy at the same ground to book a place in the quarterfinal (And we lost both Tyrel Lomax to a potentially tournament ending injury as well as Fletcher Newell who had taken off the field as a precaution, also with an injury), so let's relive the live updates of the last 10 minutes of the match according to Newshub:
THE LAST 10 - NZL VS URU
70TH MINUTE: Uruguay send the restart long into the 22, taken safely by Clarke before Barrett settles play with a carry. McKenzie clears with a good exit that finds touch on the 10m line.
71ST MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Uruguay secure the lineout before Barrett gets through and steals the ball. Clarke charges over halfway before the ball is sent wide to Jordan who chips over the top, and Silva only just gets back to clean up and force it in his in goal. All Black attacking scrum on the 5 as Silva took it back.
73RD MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), TRY ALL BLACKS (64 - 0, T. WILLIAMS): FIRST TEST TRY FOR WILLIAMS! Jacobson carries off the back and offloads for Christie who is 5 short. Quick ball around the corner for the forwards but Uruguay are there to meet them. Short ball for Williams before Vaa'i goes quick and he is a metre short. Williams gets up and goes again, proving to be too big and too strong as he barges his way over to score 10 in from left touch.
74TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), CONVERSION ALL BLACKS (66 - 0, B. BARRETT): Barrett drills the kick low and hard to send it through the middle 10 in from left touch.
75TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY ALL BLACKS: Uruguay send the kick off long and into the 22 as Vaa'i takes it safely. Christie gets dragged into the ruck illegally and Uruguay concede the penalty with Barrett finding touch 30 out from the Uruguay line.
77TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), TRY ALL BLACKS (71 - 0, L. FAINGA'ANUKU): FAINGA'ANUKU HAS THREE! Lineout secured by Vaa'i as Clarke charges to the 22 in midfield. Jacobson goes for the quick pick and go, followed by Vaa'i and he is just 15 short. Blackadder offloads for Clarke and the All Blacks are just 5 short, charging towards the try line. McKenzie goes wide left to Williams who is only just short, before Fainga'anuku goes quick with the pick and go to dive over in the left corner for his third try.
78TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), CONVERSION ALL BLACKS (73 - 0, B. BARRETT): Barrett draws the kick from right to left to send it through the uprights from the left touchline.
79TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Uruguay's restart is sent deep into the 22 as Clarke brings it back well. Back door play for Barrett in midfield and he bursts straight through! He gets to the fullback and kicks over the top, with the ball going too far and travelling dead. Uruguay 22m restart.
80TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY URUGUAY (NOT RELEASING): Restart taken well by Barrett before the ball is sent wide left to Clarke and he is taken on the 22m line. Wide the All Blacks go as Blackadder storms his way down the right flank to find himself within 10. Christie goes for a snipe but he is isolated and concedes the penalty. Quick tap as Uruguay break over halfway, before the pass travels forward and that is all she wrote from Lyon this evening!
FULL-TIME: 73 - 0
An outstanding first-ever Test match between New Zealand and Uruguay sees the All Blacks run away with a 73-point, 11-try victory as they showed their class against a brave Uruguay side. After heading into the halftime break with a 26-point lead, the All Blacks came out of the sheds firing to seal this match and their place in the quarterfinals of RWC 2023.
An uncharacteristically slow start by the All Blacks was matched by a fired-up Uruguay side who came out with a point to prove. With 9 changes made to the side that dominated Italy, it was obvious to see the New Zealanders lacked cohesion and were rather rusty. The first 20 minutes proved to be an even contest before the All Blacks upped the tempo and ran rampant, crossing for a total of 11 tries and not allowing any points against them. A hattrick to Fainga'anuku and doubles for McKenzie and Jordan made sure the All Blacks back three had a proper day out, with Fainga'anuku in particular making a strong case to be included in the All Blacks best 23.
In typical Uruguay fashion, they performed admirably and should be proud of their efforts. While the result doesn't look flash, their intensity over the first 20 minutes was impressive and provided them with a lot to build off. Unfortunately, they couldn't maintain that level of play for the 80 minutes, as the All Blacks proved to be too classy and experienced to run away with the contest. Arata was classy in the 9 jersey, while Freitas and Mieres looked dangerous anytime they got the ball in space. That spells the end of Uruguay's 2023 Rugby World Cup, as they finish in 4th place in Pool A and will be incredibly proud of their tournament.
That is all for now from Lyon. I hope you have enjoyed coverage of this Pool A Rugby World Cup 2023 fixture between the All Blacks and Uruguay.
And here are the other results from the pool matches of the 2023 Rugby World Cup that have just come in:
France 60 - 7 Italy (It was France's night as they decimated Italy who fell from the skies as Damian Penaud led an eight-try rout at OL Stadium in Lyon to advance through to the quarterfinal against the reigning 3 time world champs the Springboks (And the French captain as well as the best halfback in world rugby of Antoine Dupont has been given clearance by the surgeon to train with the team, then play the Boks in France's most important knockout game)
Wales 43 - 19 Georgia (It was Wales's day as they had a bit of payback against the Georgians after losing to them last year with young Welsh winger Louis Rees-Zammit picking up a hat-trick just like Fainga'anuku did against Uruguay but they lost loose forward Taulupe Faletau with a broken arm meaning that he's ruled out of the next game against Argentina in the quarterfinal as well as the tournament at the Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes (And Kieran Hardy (The halfback) has joined the squad as injury replacement for Faletau who will not take further part in this tournament)
England 18 - 17 Samoa (And it was England's day as they had a close shave & managed pull off a South Canterbury inspired comeback win to edge Samoa who are bitterly disappointed that they blew their lead just like Ngati Porou East Coast when they almost pulled it off did at Stade Pierre Mauroy in Lille, & head to the quarterfinal against Fiji in a rematch of the pre-Rugby World Cup test in which the Fijians prevailed in a historic upset at Twickenham to become the first tier 2 side to defeat England)
Ireland 36 - 14 Scotland (And it was Ireland's night as they hammer Scotland to book a date with the AB's (Who'll meet the Irish (Who have Australian born Mack Hansen in the squad & there was an incredible story about him as he just found out that he was Irish qualified when he first got in the Ireland national side according to his mother being from there, just like New Zealand born Willi Heinz who played for England four years ago in 2019 due to his grandmother being English) again at a RWC, just like in 2019) in the quarters at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis)
Japan 27 - 39 Argentina (It was Argentina's day as they wallop Japan to go through to the quarterfinal of the Rugby World Cup for the first time since 2015 with Mateo Carreras getting a hat-trick just like both Fainga'anuku & Rees-Zammit did at Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes, but the Argentinians (Who'll face the Welsh in the quarters) have lost Pablo Matera with a terrible hamstring injury therefore ending his tournament, allowing lock forward Lucas Paulos to assume the call-up for the injured Matera)
Tonga 45 - 24 Romania (And it was Tonga's day as they dispatched Romania to end their campaign with a huge victory at Stade Pierre Mauroy in Lille)
& Fiji 23 - 24 Portugal (And it was Portugal's night as they secure their historic first ever win at the Rugby World Cup with a boilover against Fiji (Who advanced through to the quarters against the English not only by virtue of points difference ahead of the Wallabies (Their hopes of reaching the knockouts are done & dusted for the host nation of the 2027 tournament of Australia) as they picked up the defensive losing bonus point) by a single point at Stade de Toulouse in Toulouse (And that's the 2nd time that there has been a major upset of the tournament but first, it was Fiji against Australia & now it's the Portuguese who pulled it off against Fiji)
And here is the confirmed list for quarterfinal matches being played (Well, not only these high octane quarterfinal matches are going to be epic indeed, so yeah definitely):
Wales Vs Argentina (The last time both of these sides had met at a Rugby World Cup was during the opening game in the pool stages in 1999 with the Welsh securing a 5 point win over the Argentinians at the newly constructed Millennium Stadium in Cardiff)
Ireland Vs New Zealand (Their most recent meeting at a RWC was in 2019 where the AB's thrashed them in the quarterfinal in our 2nd ever meeting between the 2 countries at a RWC at Tokyo Stadium in Tokyo, Japan)
England Vs Fiji (The last time they clashed at a Rugby World Cup was in 2015 where Mike Brown had got a double to get their Rugby World Cup campaign off to a winning start as they secured a bonus point win at Twickenham in London)
& France Vs South Africa (And their only meeting between the 2 sides at a RWC was in 1995 during the semifinal in the wet in which France should've won the game because of a match winning try had not been counted according to the referee at Kings Park in Durban)
And some terrible news such as a brutal terrorist invasion by Hamas killed most party goers at a music festival (In which they should not have gone ahead on schedule during the conflict) when an airstrike had occurred as well as several gunmen who are part of the Palestinian Islamist group, opened fire & taken people hostage, with the death toll being risen to 1,300, as the war between Israel & Hamas began in the aftermath of the group launched a devastating surprise attack from Gaza, so all thoughts, prayers & condolences to the victims of this sad, diffcult & tough time (And there was a rocket attack when the Israeli leader of Benjamin Netanyahu had ordered a retaliatory strike as the war & violence had broken out as Israeli air raids pound Gaza Strip 4 days after Hamas sent rockets & fighters into Israel in an unprecedented attack).
And the Black Caps of New Zealand got off to a winning start at this year's men's Cricket World Cup as they secure their 1st win against England (Who beaten the Black Caps twice in 2019, including the final in which we should've won) at a men's CWC since 2015 by 9 wickets with South African born Devon Conway (Who top scored 152 not out compared to Ravindra who got 123 not out) & Rachin Ravindra (Who is a Kiwi of Indian origin, just like Ish Sodhi) picking up unbeaten tons respectively followed by Pakistan who did it against both the Netherlands (Who got beaten by the Black Caps next time round in which we won by 99 runs) & Sri Lanka (Who lost to South Africa in their 1st game of the World Cup) then Bangladesh who took victory against Afghanistan before losing to England who got their tournament back on track before the hosts India had decimated Australia with a victory followed by Afghanistan with a century none other than the Indian captain Rohit Sharma.
And finally in motor racing news such as Dutchman Max Verstappen is now a 3 time Formula One world champion after finishing 2nd behind McLaren's Oscar Piastri in the sprint race while Verstappen's Red Bull teammate of Sergio Perez has crashed out allowing Verstappen to go in for the kill & clinch the championship with 5 races to spare before he had a dominating peformance to win at the Qatar Grand Prix at Losail International Circuit in Lusail (In which the race was marred by both Mercedes drivers George Russell & Sir Lewis Hamilton who both collided during the Grand Prix (Hamilton had to retire but Russell was one shy of a place on the podium in which he recovered to finish 4th, but our own flying Kiwi of Liam Lawson in the Alphatauri originally was going to make his sprint race debut but he couldn't after just 1 lap due to a spin on the opening lap in which he crashed) which was reminiscent of Spain in 2016 where Max Verstappen won the race for the first time after both Hamilton & his Mercedes-AMG teammate at the time of Nico Rosberg collide (And there was Sonny Bill Williams, the twice Rugby World Cup winning player who attended the Grand Prix saying on TV that the All Blacks (Who have never lost a test match since the RWC opener against the host nation France at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, but never lost a Rugby World Cup quarterfinal since 2007 against the same opponent in Cardiff, Wales) are gonna win this quarterfinal against the Irish (Who haven't been beaten since last year against New Zealand at the garden of Eden at Eden Park in Auckland, & are on a 17 match winning streak going into the quarterfinal but they are gunning for their first win in the QF stages of the RWC), in our country's biggest but most difficult & demanding Rugby World Cup game of our lives since the semifinal encounter against England in 2019), but great news New Zealand motor racing fans over in Bathurst in Australia during the Supercars Championship (A motor racing series designated by all our bogans there (And I'm a friendly bogan which is the one who listens to a lot of rock music but I never use foul language a lot, especially in front of my family) such as defending 3 time champion Shane van Gisbergen (Who is 2nd in the championship as he trails behind his nearest rival of Brodie Kostecki going into the next event at the former Indycar venue of Surfers Paradise in Queensland then also the former F1 venue of Adelaide in South Australia will once again host the season finale just like last year) winning his 3rd & last crack at the Mountain during this years Bathurst 1000 sponsored by Repco along with his Kiwi co-driver Richie Stanaway, before heading to America to compete in NASCAR racing over there.
So that is my 522nd blog of the year 2023 (MMXXIII) & my 46th of this year, viva Ukraine.
P.S. And the All Blacks (Who haven't tasted defeat at a RWC quarterfinal in 16 years against France at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff where it was the most controversial test match in history in which Yannick Jauzion scored a try off a forward pass that English referee Wayne Barnes missed (And the decision would've been overturned if today's modern video technology replays be available which proved costly for the AB's but luckily Graham Henry survived his All Blacks coaching job following the aftermath of the events of 2007 where we had to win our home World Cup in 2011 after 24 years of heartache, then successfully defended it in 2015 in England in which was the 1st & only time that New Zealand had won the World Cup outside of our home country, 4 years before our dreaded semifinal defeat in 2019 against England which hurt us, & we must've blown that opportunity of reaching our 3rd straight final in our bid for a historic first ever threepeat at the RWC (And the negotiations have felt short needless to say) team has been revealed ahead of our big quarterfinal clash against Ireland (The last time we met the Irish in international rugby, it was last year at Sky Stadium in Wellington as Ireland went on to win the test series in style when they overturned their 1 - 0 deficit as they came from behind where they benefited the last 2 tests to dominate out there), so here is the starting lineup according to coach Fozzy (Ian Foster):
STARTING XV
FORWARD PACK
FRONT ROW
1 (Loose head prop): Ethan de Groot (Highlanders/Southland)
2 (Hooker): Codie Taylor (Crusaders/Canterbury)
3 (Tight head prop): Tyrel Lomax (Hurricanes/Tasman)
SECOND ROW
4 (No.4 lock): Brodie Retallick (Chiefs/Hawke's Bay)
5 (No.5 lock): Scott Barrett (Crusaders/Taranaki)
LOOSE FORWARDS
6 (Blind side flanker): Shannon Frizell (Highlanders/Tasman)
7 (Open side flanker): Sam Cane (Captain, Chiefs/Bay of Plenty)
8 (Number 8): Ardie Savea (Hurricanes/Wellington)
BACK LINE
HALVES
9 (Half-back): Aaron Smith (Highlanders/Manawatu)
10 (First five-eighth): Richie Mo'unga (Crusaders/Canterbury)
MIDFIELD
12 (Second five-eighth): Jordie Barrett (Hurricanes/Taranaki)
13 (Centre): Rieko Ioane (Blues/Auckland)
OUTSIDE BACKS
11 (Left wing): Leicester Fainga'anuku (Crusaders/Tasman)
14 (Right wing): Will Jordan (Crusaders/Tasman)
& 15 (Fullback): Beauden Barrett (Blues/Taranaki)
& REPLACEMENT PLAYERS
16 (Reserve hooker): Dane Coles (Who takes Samisoni Tau'keiaho's place at the reserve hooker position)
17 (Reserve loose head prop): Tamaiti Williams
18 (Reserve tight head prop): Fletcher Newell
19 (Reserve lock): Sam Whitelock (Who is dropped to the bench with Scott Barrett elevated to the starting lineup to start as the number 5 lock position)
20 (Reserve loose forward): Dalton Papali'i (Who takes Ethan Blackadder's place as the reserve openside flanker)
21 (Reserve half-back): Finlay Christie
22 (Reserve first-five eighth): Damian McKenzie (Who is dropped to the bench as he replaces Beauden Barrett to cover the reserve first-five eighth position with Barrett elevated to the starting lineup as the starting fullback)
& 23 (Reserve back): Anton Lienert-Brown (Who is dropped to the bench to make way for Rieko Ioane who'll start at centre as he replaces Caleb Clarke to cover the reserve back position)
And the opponents Ireland still led by their ever-impressive veteran Johnny Sexton have named an unchanged but strong side ready to end New Zealand's quest of making the semifinals for the 1st time (After coming close on 7 occasions, losing all of their games against Australia twice in 1987 & 1991, France in both 1995 & 2003, Wales in 2011, Argentina in 2015 & last but not least, New Zealand in 2019, all in the quarterfinals in which the Irish fell short every time they would appear) & our quest of winning the William Webb Ellis trophy for the first time since 2015 (And this quarterfinal game will be their biggest match of their players careers but let's hope that we would not see the last of New Zealand coach Ian Foster who could be in his final game in charge if the AB's miss out on winning that all important test against the Irish (If we overcome against them, it's either Wales or Argentina in the semis) which is the most difficult but demanding Rugby World Cup game of our lives since the encounter against England in 2019 in the semi in which Samoan born Manu Tuilagi's all-important but vital try that sealed a place in the final which broke our hearts), 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): Dan Sheehan (Leinster)
3 (Tight head prop): Tadhg Furlong (Leinster)
SECOND ROW
4 (No.4 lock): Tadhg Beirne (Munster)
5 (No.5 lock): Iain Henderson (Ulster)
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): Ronan Kelleher
17 (Reserve loose head prop): Dave Kilcoyne
18 (Reserve tight head prop): Finlay Bealham
19 (Reserve lock): Joe McCarthy
20 (Reserve loose forward): Jack Conan
21 (Reserve half-back/scrum-half): Conor Murray
22 (Reserve first five-eighth/fly-half): Jack Crowley
& 23 (Reserve back): Jimmy O'Brien.
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