Well, there is another one of those Rugby World Cup related stories about there has been 5 occasions that a side had beaten the host nation before going on to win the RWC such as the Wallabies in 1991 where they beat one of the co-hosts Wales during the pool stages, then also one of the co-hosts Ireland in the quarterfinal which resulted in a hard fought win & then another one of the co-hosts of England in the final to claim their 1st of 2 Rugby World Cup championships, followed by Australia again in 1999 where they defeated Wales in the quarterfinal before going on to win the tournament against the All Blacks chief tormentors France in the final to win their most recent crown, then the English did it in 2003 where they beat also one of New Zealand's chief tormentors & defending champions at the time of the Wallabies in the final at a packed Stadium Australia with Jonny Wilkinson providing the heroics with a match winning drop goal with his weaker right foot to bring home the William Webb Ellis cup to England after Martin Johnson famously hoisted the trophy aloft & of course South Africa twice in both 2019 against Japan in the quarterfinal before going on to win the World Cup against another one of the AB's chief tormentors of England in the final where they ended a 12 year wait of winning Rugby World Cups & last year against France, also in the quarterfinal (Including the charge down by one of the Springbok wingers of Cheslin Kolbe on Thomas Ramos who attempted to convert the try which resulted heartbreak for the French at their home tournament) before they were on their way of becoming the 2nd side to retain the RWC against the 14 man AB's in the final at a packed Stade de France where Siya Kolisi (One of 3 winning South African captains at a Rugby World Cup because it used to be Francois Pienaar in 1995 then John Smit in 2007, but he got a yellow card along with Cheslin Kolbe & New Zealand's Shannon Frizell in which last years final had the most cards in it (And also not only that the Springboks became the first side to win the Rugby World Cup by overcoming 2 yellow cards in the final as well as they won all of their knockout matches including the final in last year's tournament, by 1 point or less) at that moment, only became the 2nd captain to lift the William Webb Ellis trophy twice after our own Richie McCaw in 2015 & the 1st South African skipper to win back to back Rugby World Cups in which South Africa's success in France last year, evoked memories of 2007 in which rugby's most treasured prize, the William Webb Ellis cup, stays in South Africa, in a final marred but ruined by cards & foul play incidents as Sam Cane (Who just joined Tokyo Sungoliath in Japan in which I label him as a terrorist & a liar for what he did on Jesse Kriel with an illegal head contact which was sorta like an unprovoked attack (Like a random Springbok fan assaulted a Irish rugby referee Dave McHugh during the test match between South Africa & New Zealand way back in 2002 before being subdued & escorted by security, but the war on dangerous high tackles in rugby continues, 6 years after World Rugby already introduced a crack down on contact regarding to the head & neck area (In a effort to make the game safe), & it just keeps going (Unlike there is a war between Israel & Hamas but someone like Cane high tackling on Kriel is similar to a Hamas fighter taking out an Israeli soldier even though they haven't got guns if their bullets are empty but it's like war without the guns as clubs would instead be used according to a comment that I remember from Pops, but Cane's sending off is shades of Sonny Bill Williams's red card that cost the All Blacks to go 2 nil up in the series against the British & Irish Lions in 2017), but he now has a 3 week suspension (Or 2 if he tidies up his act of undergoing counselling regarding to the tackle area of having to turn up to go to tackle academy which is run by the sports governing body, World Rugby in an effort to re-educate & re-learn his tackling technique (But tackle academy is like diversion in which a first time criminal is ordered to alter the behaviour in an effort to clear a criminal charge in order to avoid becoming a repeat offender), but if he doesn't, it's your head! And anymore of these, & he's gone (The minimum penalty is 1 week while the maximum is 1 year (Which is exactly 52 weeks) for his World Cup final red card which resulted in calamity, devastation & heartbreak for the All Blacks, therefore costing our chance of regaining the RWC in which the AB's fans were stunned, completely stunned about the one point defeat, so I now got over it about that bitterly disappointing result last year in which the South Africans dominated from start to finish in which they adapted to the wet weather conditions which favoured them of winning the tournament, & at least we were in the final last year in which we missed out by falling short just like in 1995, but I'd rather prefer 2015 as still my favourite Rugby World Cup standout memory moment (And I'm not sure about the All Blacks would next win a Rugby World Cup, probably 16 years I think, but I dunno, we'll have to work or sort that one out that's for sure, but we will see) in which the only time New Zealand has won the tournament on foreign soil against the Wallabies in the final which was by far, the greatest rugby match I have ever watched on TV, but winning the RWC outside of our home country seemed to be always difficult nowadays) became the first man in history to be sent off in a Rugby World Cup final (And now Wayne Barnes (My message to him is: You're damn incompetent that you just cost our chance of regaining the Rugby World Cup, even though it results in a sending off if anyone wants to troll someone like Barnes on social media, not only there is accusations that they just killed the game (And I think it was the right decision to show Cane the red card by the bunker after originally being given a yellow card offence & an on-field review in which the TMO has 8 minutes to remain as a yellow or upgrade it to a red, but I'm gutted & a bit upset about the red card that All Black captain Sam Cane had in the final against South Africa, I'm absolutely bewildered) is retiring from refereeing because he not only received death threats from unhappy New Zealand rugby fans about the red card by Cane (As I heard a comment from Carole at Behind the Door on 4 in Upokongaro on the 10th of November last year), just like Ben O'Keefe received a barrage of abuse on social media by those angry Chiefs fans ruining a great final whether one of the Crusaders players had passed the ball forward out of the hands or not during the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific final, in a similar incident to Anthony Taylor where he got assaulted by those disgruntled AS Roma fans after the UEFA Europa League final this year & also, Bryce Lawrence on why he quit refereeing after receiving abuse & especially death threats from not so happy South African fans on social media after the Springboks had coughed up their title defence in the 2011 Rugby World Cup due to a poor refereeing decision which allowed the Wallabies to win the quarterfinal to set up a semi final showdown with New Zealand, but Barnes (The man who ruined New Zealand rugby before in 2007 where he missed an obvious forward pass by the French in the leadup to the try which knocked the All Blacks out of the World Cup) following his retirement, is out there to stamp out online hate in which further action had been taken by sending a report to the authorities about it, but they will not tolerate silly behaviour like that (Especially on social media), someone will go) & there is hope of New Zealand hosting the 2035 tournament 24 years after hosting the last one then South Africa would have their turn for their possibility & intentions of hosting the 2039 tournament after they last held it in 1995, given that their success that they had this year in France (The South Africans thought they could host this year's tournament in their home country, & they would've won so easily because of the crowd were right behind them, but they instead that they had to do it in France while player of the game honours went to the blindside flanker of the Springboks as well as the 2019 World Rugby player of the year of Pieter-Steph du Toit who had a solid game (Compared to Duane Vermeulen (The elder statesman of South African rugby who is now retired from all forms of rugby after securing back to back Rugby World Cups for South Africa) did in 2019 against England in the final) as he made 29 tackles where he was the top tackler in that match during that highly controversial final in which the New Zealand fans are having less charitable memories).
And the latest on F1 such as the 3 time defending world champion Max Verstappen has taken victory in Mexico, therefore breaking his record for most wins in a single season with 16 (Sir Lewis Hamilton (Who secured bonus points for setting the fastest lap of the race to stay in contention & is in a two horse race against Perez of finishing in the runner up position although with both the drivers & constructors championships had already been decided & wrapped up) finished in 2nd after making amends of his disqualification at the US GP while Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari has rounded out the podium, but I somehow label Verstappen as an incredible driver, just to prove that he had shown his remarkable driving skills & raw talent on display, not only because the speed of the man is unbelieveable (And has he got skills or what?), & he managed to reinvent his driving style which once belonged to the great humble man back in the day of Schumi who is the legendary all-time great but highly controversial figure of the sport, Michael Schumacher (Max's father Jos's old teammate back in the Benetton days in 1994 & one of my favourite Formula One idols that I used to follow before Sir LH & now Super Max (But I like Senna but unfortunately he tragically passed away due to a serious crash back way back in 1994 at the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola in Italy, in one of F1's most tragic weekends) in the aftermath of his teammate Sergio Perez (Whose future with Red Bull hangs in the balance) retiring after the very 1st lap after a collision on Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in his home Grand Prix & also during the race that Kevin Magnussen had crashed into the wall during an incident which triggered a red flag, but there has been an update as Verstappen has produced another victory in Sao Paulo therefore continuing his dominance of having his record extended 17th win of the season (2nd place went to Lando Norris who claimed the fastest lap of the race while Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso has rounded out the podium in which he managed to beat Perez in the Red Bull on the final lap of the race during a hard fought battle for the podium, but also Charles Leclerc before the race that he crashed into the wall as the field were down to 19 drivers following Leclerc's pre-race accident just right before the start), but the next race takes place at the historic first ever Las Vegas Grand Prix in Las Vegas, Nevada in America (The 3rd American race in Formula One after Miami, Florida which hosted the Miami Grand Prix at the Miami Autodrome & COTA in Austin which hosted the United States Grand Prix, with both American races had gone in the way of Red Bull's Max Verstappen) as it gears up to host the penultimate race of a really astonishing F1 season in 2023, then the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi that plays host to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Which had its memorable moment in 2021 (The year in which was considered by far, the greatest Formula One season ever) as Verstappen snatched the jaws from defeat as he beat Sir Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the title deciding race in the season ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix dubbed as Lewis Vs Max: Decider In The Desert in which the world championship had gone in the way of Verstappen before something controversial had happened as Hamilton lodged a protest to Australian race director Michael Masi whether Verstappen had came in illegally when the pit window was closed to pit for fresh tyres before the safety car period had been expired with 1 lap to go, but the protest waved off meaning that the pit window was in fact open (In which Indycar can't do that (F1 used to do that when drivers cannot be pitted for fresh rubber, but it had been abolished in light of Crashgate in 2008 that Nelson Piquet Jr was instructed by his race engineer to crash out of the race by allowing his teammate Fernando Alonso to capitalize for the win in controversial fashion, & in the most of controversial circumstances) as Formula One can) as Max Verstappen was allowed to keep his title, resulting in Masi getting sacked as the F1 driving standards observer (And unlike in 2007 that Lewis Hamilton waited to determine the outcome of the result of the world championship whether Kimi Raikkonen should be stripped of his race win & the title as Hamilton actually thinks that he might have an outside chance of claiming his maiden Formula One crown in his rookie year, but the decision made by the FIA was upheld as Raikkonen is declared champion of the world for the first & only time of the Iceman's career) gets set to host the season finale a week later.
And finally, here are the other results from the 2023 Cricket World Cup that have just come in:
Afghanistan 291/5 (50)
Australia 293/7 (46.5)
AUS won by 3 wickets (19 balls left)
England 339/9 (50)
Netherlands 179 (37.2)
ENG won by 160 runs
Sri Lanka 171 (46.4)
New Zealand 172/5 (23.2)
NZ won by 5 wickets
Afghanistan 244 (50)
South Africa 247/5 (47.2)
SA won by 5 wickets (15 balls left)
Bangladesh 306/8 (50)
Australia 307/2 (44.4)
AUS won by 8 wickets (32 balls left)
England 337/9 (50)
Pakistan 244 (43.3)
ENG won by 93 runs
India 410/4 (50)
Netherlands 250 (47.5)
IND won by 160 runs
So here is the confirmed list for the semifinal matches being played in the 2023 Cricket World Cup:
India (Hosts) Vs New Zealand: Wandhede Stadium, Mumbai (Their most recent meeting between the two was on the 22nd of October where India had just handed the Black Caps their first loss of this year's tournament with a 4 wicket win with 2 overs remaining in a rematch of the 2019 semifinal which had gone in the way of the Black Caps thanks to Martin Guptill's run out on the 2011 Cricket World Cup winning captain for India of MS Dhoni in which had should've & could've been a no ball for a fielding violation, as well as the first time New Zealand would lose a men's CWC match since against England (Who throughly deserve to win according to them scoring the most boundaries in the final) in the final which was one of the best in history which was decided by a dramatic super over 2019)
& South Africa Vs Australia: Eden Gardens, Kolkata (The last time both of these sides met was on the 12th of October where South Africa had won 2 in a row against Australia including in 2019 where the South Africans had beaten them by 10 runs then fast forward to this year that SA would gone on to win by 134 runs where both sides will meet again for a place in the final in a replay of the 1999 semifinal in which South Africa were stunned & heartbroken after their player Allan Donald got run out with 2 deliveries to go in which Australia went through, despite the match had been tied as a result of the Aussies of which by far, of having a superior net run rate)
So that is my 527th blog of the year 2024 (MMXXIV) & my 3rd of this year, viva Ukraine & Palestine.
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