Helter Skelter: My 32nd blog of the year 2025

Well, hey, welcome to all our readers here in New Zealand & around the world, I'm Whetu Ngapo & you're tuning in to my KiwiAvenger blog here on blogger, but first, the latest in Super Rugby Pacific as we're into round 11 which is ANZAC round as the Chiefs hade a huge win over the Western Force at Bay Oval in Blake Park, Mount Maunganui Tauranga on ANZAC day (Including at the beginning of the game were the Chiefs had been awarded the penalty for an obstruction (Before Josh Jacomb scored a penalty goal to put them in front, then the Western Force became the next team to score, followed by an incredible try by the Chiefs, before the Force took a quick kick-off to score a try by Harry Potter in response of conceding a try in which one of the Chiefs players of Samipeni Finau should've made the tackle to one of the Western Force players) in which a new focus has opened up for the referees is that they must allow the chaser to get the ball without being taken out (AKA the escort runner loophole in that of rugby being turned into AFL Aussie Rules), so that's why that they brought into play as part of the legislation changes being implemented since November last year), then the Reds were able to upstage the defending champion Blues (Who had Mark Tele'a sent off for a Sam Warburton type tip tackle on a Reds player that he was originally being yellow carded & given an off-field review which ruined the Blues chances of defending their crown being in tatters (And this is similar to Warburton did on Vincent Clerc as he got infamously being shown the red card during the men's Rugby World Cup semi in 2011 (Wales went into the match against France as the favourites after the Welsh knocked Ireland out of the World Cup in the quarterfinal in Wellington back in 2011, before it changed everything in the 17th minute when Warburton was in hot water as once he got red carded, the Irish referee Alain Rolland (The one individual who speaks perfect French because of him being of French descent) asked him not to argue about the decision which was a penalty offence (And if he didn't leave the field, the ref would give Warburton a 5 second warning to get out of his face (And if Warburton didn't the comply within the 5 seconds that he would be gone immediately in an instant), so Sam went straight away as the commentators think its yellow, but is not as the match graphics that you guys can see here, show that the Welsh captain had been shown a straight red card, that's 8 years before the Welsh got vengeance in which they beat the French in the quarters back in 2019 after one of the French players, got sent off for elbowing Aaron Wainwright to his head, therefore saying that there was justice for Warburton's red card for failing to safely release a player like Clerc on the ground in a tackle also back in 2011 in which rugby referees are stringent & lenient about those decisions such as lifting tackles being made), then got suspended 3 weeks for it (And after being given a yellow card for Wales U20's that when he once got back home in Wales that Sam had been assaulted by his mum who threatened to clip him around the back of the head saying that the man known as Warby (Whose last game of rugby was against the All Blacks when he played for the British & Irish Lions in which he was the captain, therefore saving the series that ended in a draw back in 2017 when the B&I Lions last toured New Zealand before retiring from the game at age 29 a year later also back in 2018 through serious injuries that derailed his career while his last appearance in a Wales jersey was against France during a Six Nations test in a heart breaking defeat back in March 2017 in which was 8 years after making his Wales debut against the United States way back in 2009 in Bridgeview, Illinois when he came on as a replacement for Ryan Jones who unfortunately left the field with an injury, 2 years before being appointed captain of Wales by coach at the time of Warren Gatland) hurled abuse about the sin binning decision that she didn't like ala David Beckham (Who was hated by the fans after England crashed out, while Warburton received death threats after the game) & his red card in the 1998 Football/Soccer men's World Cup against Argentina in the round of 16 whilst playing & captaining England (And Wayne Rooney did the same thing against Portugal during the quarters way back in 2006 when he got sent from the field by an Argentinian referee Horacio Elizondo (Who would later send Zinedine Zidane off for taking out Italian Marco Materazzi (Who got suspended in light of him insulting Zidane by being spiteful to him) with his head during the final (And unlike Brazilian player Gabriel Martinelli of Arsenal back in 2022 against Wolverhampton Wanderers during a Premier League game in which he received a double caution for taking out a player by striking him with his fist before he took a quick throw in first in which the ref played the advantage, then he fouled one of Wolverhampton's teammates such as a malicious push from behind for the 2nd & subsequent offence that resulted him seeing red for which someone haven't seen a double yellow once since like on the roads in the UK that there is a clamp down on parking in a double yellow line), & then both the French & German fans boo & jeer every time Italy got the ball before the Italians went on to triumph on penalties for their 4th & most recent Football/Soccer men's World Cup to date (Before Spain took over back in 2010 against the Netherlands at extra time in South Africa, then Germany also back in 2014 against Argentina once again at extra time in Brazil, followed by France back in 2018 against Croatia in Russia in a comprehensive but convincing score line, & then Argentina at the most recent one in 2022 in Qatar against the defending champions at the time of the French, also on penalties (For which the 2022 final was one of the best, but if not one of the greatest Football/Soccer men's World Cup final of all time) in a rematch of the round of 16 clash also back in 2018 where France won with defender Benjamin Pavard scoring the goal of the tournament as his teammate at the time of Lucas Hernandez set it up that knocked the Argentinians out of the tournament) for picking on his Man United teammate at the time of Cristiano Ronaldo, therefore signalling the start of hostilities between the two players who were once friends, then became foes following the incident) in which the Tele'a (Who will serve a lengthy ban for his actions, like 3 weeks for example meaning that his season could probably be over, in an instant with Mark Tele'a deciding to move on with the Blues after this year's SRP campaign) one this year is worse than Warburton back in 2011) outfit at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, followed by Moana Pasifika a day later in which they pull off a stunning win over the Fijian Drua at North Harbour Stadium in Albany in one of the best matches of the round, then the Crusaders have got their season back on track, carrying the hopes of reaching their first playoffs since 2023 as part of their bid of completing the greatest sporting comeback in history after their dominant victory over the Highlanders with both experienced players of hooker Codie Taylor & fullback Will Jordan getting a double each at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin during the great Southern derby (And Rob Penney has been starting to become a good coach all according to plan in which he was able to bolster their players such as former Wallaby James O'Connor (And unlike FC Barcelona before the 2015-16 Spanish & European football/soccer season that they weren't able to bolster their players due to their transfer suspension being handed out according to the world of football book that I've got, but haven't been able to read it since) to join the elite list of experienced players such as All Blacks of Taylor, Jordan, captain David Havili, Ethan Blackadder, Sevu Reece, Tamaiti Williams, Noah Hotham, Fletcher Newell, & AB's captain Scott Barrett), before the Hurricanes (Who had brought back the midfield pairing of both Riley Higgins (Second five) & Billy Proctor (Centre) after missing many rounds through injuries) defeated the Brumbies who had to snatch a defensive bonus point to keep themselves in the playoff hunt at GIO Stadium Canberra in Canberra.

And secondly that I'm mainly a gamer every day (And I'm an avid rock & metal listener (And sometimes club & rave just like my French friend Clement (Whom I met him before along with his parents Wai Lam & Maree-Josee, but I have never met his sister Lucille before of my whole life) due to the fact I always listen to my fave radio station that I love of Brian FM (Known for it's trademark slogan of "Playing what we feel like"), but I listen to the late David Bowie everyday even though I like his music (And Aunty Tan has alluded to me on the phone before on Easter Sunday which was the 20th of April that he passed away back in 2016 mainly because he was a cancer sufferer just like the late Nan did, but my favourite song from the late Bowie would have to be 'Fame' (I've first heard that song back in 2013 in the F1 biopic movie that took place in the 70's of Rush for which the movie is about the intense rivalry in Formula One between the late James Hunt (Who passed away way, way back in 1993) & the late great Niki Lauda (Who also passed away back in 2019) along with Neil Finn & his bands of Split Enz (Although one of Nigel Christie's friends says that he was once been a member of that band, & his name was Rob Gillies) & Crowded House (Which has been still around & is active as of today, but 'Don't Dream It's Over' is my fave Crowded House song anyway from my favourite Kiwi rock band now as of today (But it's not on the list of my fave main music bands & musicians list) since taking over from Shihad following the band's retirement which happened in March this year), as well as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, Linkin Park, Incubus, Shihad, Filter, Alanis Morissette, Avril Lavigne, Michelle Branch, Evanescence, U2, Nickelback & others) but I've got to stop spending a heap amount of new video games coming out one day since I'm saving money from now on because of me reading a bank statement lately, so I'll spend money on travel like going to Wellington for example because of me wanting to reconnect with both Cathey Middelplaats & Paige Ahearn (Who is born a year before Raewyn's daughter & Clement exactly who is my fave person that I want to take a selfie (Even if I have my phone with me because I have announced that I'm getting a cellphone for my birthday this year) with along with Cathey & my favourite person to have dinner with also along with Cathey) as well as Norah (Who was born on January 26th, 2023 to both millennial (Which is a generation for those who were born between 1981 to 1996 (Which succeeds after Gen X (While Cathey, Aunty Tan, Dad & Gemma are being part of Gen X (A generation that precedes after Baby Boomer (For also which Pops, Carole, Kathryn, Rejean, & Raewyn are being part of) & before the also aforementioned Millennial) & precedes before the aforementioned Gen Z) that I'm a part of along with Huia, Ben, Kelsey, Sophia (My old bestie from Malaysia), Andy (Carole's son & Kelsey's husband), Nella, Hera, Andrew (That's Raewyn's son), Paige, Raewyn's daughter & Clement) parents of Paige & her husband Jarrod because she's part of Gen Alpha (Those who were born between 2010 to last year (2024) for which Norah has been a part of along with Rosalie, Jack, Katana, Arlo, Willow, Shaia (Sophia's son) & Kace (Grandson of Zaki & son of Yasser), & succeeds after Gen Z (Those born between 1997 until 2009, but my half-bro Jans is being part of along with Bernie/BT, Cathey's sons, Paige's bros as well as Norah's uncles of Luca & Nico, Marat (Andy's cuzzie) & KL (Nella's daughter) & precedes before Gen Beta (And those born since this year (2025) for the very first time one day.

And thirdly onto my whanau stories that I remember about me when I was a little boy that the reason why that I hate corn was because of the texture (Although Rejean doesn't eat sushi because of the taste just like the Japanese voice actor of Hayate from the Dead or Alive series of Hikaru Midorikawa, but I love sushi as one of my fave Japanese foods along with bento boxes (And I didn't know that I was once a weeb way back in 2007-08 for which the word which means that a Western person who is a follower of both anime & Japanese culture, so I mainly play Soulcalibur VI on the PS4 via PS5 console then Tekken 8 on the PS5 as well as the Xbox 360 version of Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown on the Xbox Series X & I used to play Dead or Alive 5 Last Round (PS4 version) on the PS5, but I was never into anime & I always used to embrace the Japanese culture, especially the food such as the sushi & the bento boxes), so that's why I ate corn but the butter went rancid so I was beginning to bear hatred of eating corn since (And I tried of overcoming my fear in 2006 when I had pizza during our family holiday in Auckland (Including the one that I was involved in a minor accident where I must've uttered the famous words "Somebody get me to Middlemore Hospital, I've must've been involved in a wreck" while I was in a car with a Harvard trained lawyer of Russell Karu, while the one who caused the minor crash was a musician who was running late to a gig), but it contained corn in it) along with beetroot, saveloys, boil up, crab meat, corned beef & pickled pork as the other foods that I can't stand with anymore.

And finally that it's been 20 years since I went to Samoa along with the late Nan & Pops for my first overseas trip way back in 2005 that I profoundly remember (And I saw a lifestyle article taken from a newspaper about Samoa reminiscing my first ever holiday abroad) such as the fish scare as well as the pasta that I ate which resulted in a food poisoning that I had must've gone off, & me getting the Manu Samoa rugby jersey (And to say the least that me & Pops went to a Samoa against Fiji game at Apia Park, but we forgot to take the umbrellas because it must've got hot so we went back into the Aggie Grey's hotel there to watch the game on TV) that I used to have.

So that is my 608th blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 32nd of this year, viva Ukraine & Palestine.

P.S. And there has been sad news throughout the Vatican City when the whole world is in mourning as His Holiness, Pope Francis (Who took over from the late Pope Benedict the XVI who took over from the late Pope John Paul the 2nd 20 years ago way back in 2005, until 2014 where Pope Francis replaced him) has passed away due to old age so all thoughts, prayers & condolences go to the family of the Pope, rest in paradise (RIP).

I'm Not in Love/Roll On/Rain: My 31st blog of the year 2025

Well, hi everyone, welcome to all our readers here in New Zealand & around the world, I'm Whetu Ngapo & you're tuning in to my KiwiAvenger blog here on blogger, but first that I was rewatching the 2006 Super 14 final on April 10th this year on Sky Sport here in New Zealand between the Crusaders & the Hurricanes at Lancaster Park in Christchurch for what was the strangest Super Rugby final ever (But they should've called off the final, then postpone it to the next day, & who's here after Chiefs-Crusaders 2023 as the most controversial final in Super Rugby history? Because of a yellow card by Sam Cane for entering from the side that gifted Richie Mo'unga the penalty goal that wins them their most recent Super Rugby Pacific championship (As well as Anton Lienert-Brown receiving a yellow card & an off-field review for which it stayed as a yellow, for deliberately grasping into Dallas McLeod's head as he was subbed off for a head injury assessment, therefore his final being cruelly cut short (But failed), & then in all of a sudden after the final that Lienert-Brown had copped a 3 week ban (Later cut to a fortnight by attending tackle academy) for his sanctions, therefore missing the AB's opening 2 Rugby Championship tests against Argentina & the world champion Springboks outfit, while O'Keefe had missed an obvious forward pass by the Crusaders that went unnoticed (And after the final that O'Keefe were booed & jeered for his poor decisions that he made which sent the Chiefs crashing down to earth), & after that when New Zealand referee Ben O'Keefe became the victim of online abuse from those angry but overzealous Chiefs fans who acted like mobsters who target & bully a certain individual of showing hostility towards them (Just like English football/soccer referee Anthony Taylor getting assaulted by unruly AS Roma fans after the UEFA Europa League final through appalling refereeing decisions which resulted victory to Sevilla FC, but both Cane & Ofa Tu'ungafasi expressed support to O'Keefe of tracking those abusers down in order to bring them to justice), in which they addressed a zero tolerance abuse approach on social media in which they're cracking down on (And following that it was English referee Wayne Barnes for ruining a great men's Rugby World Cup final that was when we suffered a defeat against the Springboks who were still champions of the world (And after that as they remained as the only side to maintain a perfect record every time they appear in a final of a men's Rugby World Cup with a record 4 wins out of 4 final appearances), after the All Black captain of Sam Cane was the first man to be red carded in a World Cup final (I watched the final, but after a yellow card & an off-field review being shown against Sam Cane for taking Jesse Kriel out of commission that I stopped watching in protest, fearing that Cane could potentially be shown the red card (And Dad alluded to me on the phone after the final that I got over it about me staying calm by not showing signs of both disbelief, & anger), then Barnes got trolled on social media along with former English TMO Tom Foley after the final by those disgraced but hostile AB's fans (Who thought that the winning try by Aaron Smith set up by Richie Mo'unga had been cancelled out by Foley after a knock on in the scrum that ruined us big time of regaining the men's RWC, & our first since 2015 which ended in heartbreak) who were having a red mist about it in which the rugby world is crying red card online (And they're still gotta be a clampdown on poor, appalling behaviour regarding to hate on social media after that infamous World Cup final blowup for what was the strangest men's RWC final ever as well as the most controversial in order to end hostilities asking them to be silent, then respect the officials on that matter there is like that what you every day hear in a day in hell (And our New Zealand fans gave raspberries to both Barnes & Tom Foley following the final), am I right? Just like NZ referee Bryce Lawrence after the Springboks-Wallabies Quarterfinal of the men's Rugby World Cup in 2011 in which he freezes & forgets to blow his whistle that he got abused by the South African fans on Facebook back in 2012, so that's why he quit refereeing therefore refusing to travel to South Africa there as an official to avoid getting booed by the hostile South African crowd just like Michael Brial whose feud against Frank Bunce started in 1992 in an All Blacks tour game against New South Wales where Bunce absolutely clattered Brial in a ruck (Nowadays it would've been a yellow card for foul play being involved), then 4 years later during the Bledisloe Cup test in Brisbane that Michael Brial was involved in a dust up with Frank Bunce in a fraca where he landed 10 punches for that really was disgusting according to the previous blogs that I did, but he never went to New Zealand as a player to avoid getting jeered by our own hostile crowd meaning that Brial's last cap for Australia was in Melbourne way, way back in 1997 in a losing effort against the AB's) because there was poor visibility such as fog everywhere on all sides, left, right & center dubbed as Gorillas in the Mist that the fans can't see properly (And what was the reaction of the crowd? Well, they're stunned, stunned silence...Well there you go, that is a disgrace for Super 14, but obviously...They'll be serious ramifications resulted from that, not least they'll be couple of thousands of people were pretty filthy), especially the players, commentators & TV cameras were in which they had no clue/idea what is going on when at that moment that the Crusaders won the final against the visiting Wellington-based side, the Hurricanes in which the match featured low-lying sea fog that prevented much in the crowd, as well as the TV cameras & commentators from witnessing the action (And back then there was no social media as well as the HIA protocols, players diving off feet loophole, & a no clear release following tackles weren't even introduced, as there was pure raw unmitigated power), as before the final started when the game was expected to be centred on the defence of both sides. The Hurricanes entered the final with an average points-against of 15 against New Zealand sides, the Crusaders were slightly better, with 14. The weather was not building up to be a huge factor, with clouds and rain forecast. The Crusaders had finished the 2006 season at the top of the ladder, and defeated the Bulls to claim the home-final as they were the highest ranked side. The Hurricanes finished the season in second position, and defeated the New South Wales Waratahs to meet the Crusaders in the final. The Crusaders went into the match with no reserve half-back after Andy Ellis went off injured against the Bulls the week before. This meant if starting halfback Kevin Senio was injured, Cameron McIntyre would come on and Dan Carter would move to half-back, the first half saw in one of the opening exchanges, Crusaders wing Rico Gear dropped the ball from a high kick, the resulting play lead to a Hurricanes penalty. David Holwell missed the penalty attempt, it being taken from 30m out and near the touchline. The Hurricanes scored first through a long range Piri Weepu penalty goal in the 12th minute. Dan Carter had an opportunity to level the scores with a penalty kick, but missed as well. Carter did make two penalties, leaving the half time score 6–3 in favour of the home side. Weepu went down several times in the first half and was momentarily knocked out. And when 2nd half commenced, Holwell tied the match up four minutes after the interval, but Carter put the Crusaders back in front with a penalty two minutes later. Holwell was then substituted for Jimmy Gopperth, in what may have been Holwell's final first-class match. Gopperth kicked the Hurricanes' third penalty, once again evening up the scores. The Crusaders struck back though, with a try to Casey Laulala near the right hand upright. Carter converted, put the Crusaders out to a 16–9 lead. Carter then extended the lead out to 19–9 on the 69 minute mark, before Gopperth scored a penalty with ten minutes remaining. The match ended with the Hurricanes attempting to run it out from their own 22, needing a converted try. Reuben Thorne forced a turnover though, and hooker Corey Flynn kicked the ball into touch for the Crusaders' sixth Super rugby title, and first Super 14 title. While about an hour before kick-off at Jade Stadium, an unusual thick fog floated over the stadium. The players and officials were asked whether they wanted to persist with the game, with both parties agreeing that the match should go on, although some speculated it might be pushed over to Sunday. As the sides ran out onto the field the players almost disappeared into the mist. The commentary box could not make out anything on the opposite side of the field from where they were. This forced a commentary split, with the sideline commentator taking up the duties when the play was on the opposite side to the commentary box. Some of the television footage was relatively clear with many camera angles and positions different from a normal game broadcast, though many thought they could have done better with more cameras repositioned to the far side of the field, then the poor visibility prevented much free-flowing play, as players struggled to see one another. Bombs and high kicks created havoc for both teams, with both back lines making unusual mistakes. There were many examples of the ball suddenly appearing below the hanging mist, making it difficult to field many kicks. Overall the crowd at Jade Stadium had a poor view of the match, with most of the south stand turning around to watch the match on the stadium's big-screen. The Sky Sports commentators saw many patrons in the upper levels rushing home or to other establishments to watch coverage on television. Officials admitted that the match would have been postponed if the fog had been any thicker, meanwhile many after the match criticised the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) and the Canterbury Rugby Football Union (CRFU) for allowing the match to be played in such poor conditions. Former All Black first five-eighth, Grant Fox, defended the decision, citing that the fog came in around 6:30 p.m., around one hour before kick-off, making it a logistical nightmare to attempt to postpone it, but the decision to allow Weepu to continue playing (after being knocked out) also drew criticism from medical experts, including former All Blacks' doctor, John Mayhew. "Get the player off. Assume that his day is over and go on from there. Whether it's a test match or Super 14 final or a rugby league game", Mayhew told NZPA. Hurricanes doctor, Ian Murphy said on Tuesday 30 May that he was unaware that Weepu was knocked out. "By the time I got to Piri out on the field he was conscious and I could not fault him in terms of his responses to my concussion-related questions" said Murphy. Weepu revealed after the match that he was suffering from amnesia, and could recall very little about the final.

And secondly the latest in Super Rugby Pacific as the Crusaders outshone the Blues in dramatic fashion with a match winning penalty goal provided by 'JOC' himself of James O'Connor at the Apollo Projects Stadium in Christchurch (That was the day before the Fijian Drua claim the 2nd biggest upset in SRP history as they overpower the New South Wales Waratahs side by 14 points therefore the Drua had to nullify a certain defensive bonus point from the Waratahs who conceded a penalty try at the end which resulted a yellow card against a Tahs player of Joseph Sua'ali'i for being offside in the aftermath of one of his teammates knocking the ball on in their own in-goal area following Kemu Valetini who missed a penalty goal again) which was reminiscent of the Blues-Brumbies one in Auckland with one of the ACT Brumbies players did the same as O'Connor when the Brumbies had to just break a 12 year Eden Park hoodoo against the struggling defending champion Blues outfit, but they lose top spot on points difference to the Chiefs who had a emphatic bonus point win over the Highlanders at FMG Stadium Waikato in Hamilton for which the match took place after the Brumbies (Who had to score the opening try of the game just right on the stroke of halftime from speedster Corey Toole) had defeated Moana Pasifika who had hardly got any points on the board for the entire 80 minutes in hard fought fashion at Navigation Homes Stadium in Pukekohe, meanwhile the match between both the Western Force & the Hurricanes had ended in a draw (And they went into golden point, but none of them had fired a shot each during golden point extra time so both sides had shared the spoils altogether, grabbing 2 competition points each), meanwhile in England in the football/soccer department as Liverpool end Man City's lengthy prolonged reign which lasted for about 4 years as Premier League champions for the 2nd time (And that was their first since 2019-20 for which the season was marred by the global COVID pandemic), & for the record equalling 20th time overall in the top flight of English club league football when they clinched it with 4 matches to spare following a comprehensive 5 - 1 win over Spurs at a jubilant Anfield on the 27th of April, in Dutchman Arne Slot's first year with the club when he took over from German Juergen Klopp (The one I saw of him in a Trivago ad on TV) who departed last year (And the loophole change for delaying the game may have prevented Manchester City a 5th consecutive Premier League crown just like last season in which they got fined for almost $3 million for taking too long, or time wasting I should say of having team talks like 22 times as they deliberately came out late for both at kick-off, & before the beginning of the 2nd half, & the changes to the loophole must've helped Liverpool win the Premier League title for the 2nd time during the Premier League era which began way, way back in 1993-94).

And thirdly while I heard some reports or rumours that our New Zealand girls (Like Kelsey Nichols is the most beautiful Kiwi woman I have ever met, but I thought it was my cousin Paige Ahearn (Who I'd like to always see her one day along with her mum Cathey Middelplaats as well as Paige's daughter & Cathey's grand daughter Norah next time when either me & Pops or me, Dad & Raewyn go to Wellington as part of my future holiday plans because it'll have to be 2027 or beyond in the future (And Carole (Who revealed that she's moving back to Auckland in order to see both Andy & Kels since Pops told me on the 16th of April (A day before Dad took me to do a blood test at Medlab which is situated in Whanganui Hospital (And I just had to do a bit of fasting before taking the test (And drinking water is fine, as long as it's not sweet), but after the test that I had a Mocha at a cafe, then I had a butter chicken pie (For by far is my favourite type of meat pie that I had (Compared to me having roast chicken with tabouleh that Carole had made that I had for lunch on the 2nd of May for which was also by far, the best lunch I have ever had for a long time) for breakfast) so she decided to move on from living here but I really going to miss her once she moves out (And this means that we've got Dad, Raewyn & Raewyn's daughter will be here (And if Pops passes away (Mainly due to old age), I'd have to move back in with Dad), so too is Bryan, Viv & Donna) & Pops are heading to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands which is due in October this year as both haven't been there since 2022, so Dad would check up on me while both Carole & Pops are away, & I've got a plenty amount of food that lasts a week altogether (And the Northland one that me, Pops & Carole went in late 2023 was by far the best holiday I have ever experienced of all time (And I had to see Kathryn, Ken, Andy & Kelsey during the holiday altogether), but I much prefer Welly because the reason why I want to go there is for family reasons because of Cathey, Paige & Norah living there altogether) are the most beautiful in the world along with the Czech Republic, Slovakia, South Africa (I thought that country had the gorgeous ladies in the English speaking world along with our NZ women), Sweden & Ukraine, but I much prefer girls such as hot chicks who have blonde hair (But I like brunette, black & red haired ladies, but I prefer blondes), navel piercings, & in bikinis (And I used to like Asian girls back in the day like in the late noughties, but I prefer Caucasian women now).

And finally onto our whanau stuff as I thought my Mum lives in Ruatoria in the East Coast province (For which I haven't been since 1993 where I went with our whanau for my late brother's blessing over there according to me alluding to Pops about something on the 12th of April this year), but it turns out to be Wellington as her hometown being listed (Although she was born in Hirhuharama (For which I haven't been since 2017) which is near Pipiriki that I've been to both towns before) according to her Facebook profile while I saw a picture of me & Mum on Pops phone, but Mum prefers the rural side of it compared to me being the suburban side is my preference.

So that is my 607th blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 31st of this year, viva Ukraine & Palestine.

War/Low Rider/Dreadlock Holiday: My 30th blog of the year 2025

Well, welcome to all our readers here in New Zealand & around the world, I'm Whetu Ngapo & you're tuning in to my KiwiAvenger blog here on blogger, but first onto the rugby as the Crusaders pip the Hurricanes before jumping into the lead of the standings in their quest of completing the greatest sporting comeback in history following the Chiefs (Who had been leapfrogged by the Crusaders on top of the table after round 9) defeat in the hands of the New South Wales Waratahs who remain undefeated at their fortress at home, then Blues end Moana Pasifika's chances of 3 in a row followed by the Highlanders who delivered an emphatic win over the Fijian Drua meanwhile the ACT Brumbies knock over the Queensland Reds to remain as the top Aussie side in the competition (And it looks like the Aussie sides are getting competitive following the Melbourne Rebels decision to pull out of the comp last year, with all 4 of their teams are in the top 6 (Including the Western Force who took a bye in round 9), including the new legislations such as speeding up the game for scrums, lineouts, conversions & penalty goals in which players would have to be super fit in these kinds of situations, as well as a loophole regarding to the halfback position that they cannot be taken out who hasn't got the ball, & then the chaser who is the only one to chase the ball to defuse in high ball situations without getting obstructed), but news straight out of the Aupiki competition as the depleted Blues women (Which featured the likes of double Olympic champion Portia Woodman-Wickliffe (Who is like Ma'a Nonu as he became the oldest player to play in the French Top 14 competition, even at the age of 42) who mainly plays at centre because she's getting slow (And she used to be a winger before making the decision to go into the midfield that paid off) go back to back as they become the first side to win 2 championships following their win in the final against Matatu (Including an intercept try by one of the young Blues women players of Braxton Sorenson-McGee sends their adoring home crowd into a frenzy that surely won the final for them) which was marred by one of the most horrific scenes in a game of women's rugby in recent memory as reserve Blues women lock forward Eloise Blackwell, sent from the field for taking young Matatu first five Hannah King (Who got concussed caused by foul play as she was subbed off the field, ending her Aupiki final) out of commission, & will serve a suspension when the Blues women lock horns with the champions of Super W of the New South Wales Waratahs women (Who beat the Queensland Reds women during the Super W final at North Sydney Oval in Sydney just to be there for that occasion) on the 17th of April at North Harbour Stadium (The home ground of Moana Pasifika) in Albany as they prepare to play the historic first ever Super Rugby women's crossover game, but there has been an update as the Blues women win the inaugural Super Rugby women's cross over game against New South Wales women at Moana Pasifika's main home ground at North Harbour Stadium in Albany in an epic women's game of the ages, even though with the Black Ferns expected to announce their Pac 4 squad in the coming days in order to dethrone the champs from last year of Canada (Who almost gone all the way of winning their first WXV1 championship, but they didn't get the result against the dominant English who retained the WXV1 crown last year as well as the women's Six Nations this year in which they just lost once out of over half a century of games being played which was our own Black Ferns in 2022 at the delayed 2021 women's Rugby World Cup), but the latest in F1 as Aussie McLaren driver Oscar Piastri (Who won in Bahrain, & is in line to become the 3rd world champion from Australia as there hasn't been an Aussie world champion in Formula One since Alan 'AJ' Jones long ago in 1980 in the Williams while the late great Sir Jack Brabham was the first where he did it 3 times in 1959, 1960 & 1966) wins in Saudi Arabia with our own Kiwi Liam Lawson in Racing Bulls (Formerly RB) who continues to struggle in which he endured another difficult weekend as he fails to fire despite his car being comfortable, but it's Piastri who takes over as world championship leader after 5 rounds (And is Oscar the one that brings Max Verstappen's dominant but incredible world championship reign to a grinding halt in a big chance to dethrone the defending world champion? Just like Fernando Alonso way back in 2005 as he outperformed his rival Michael Schumacher to become world champion for the very first time, as well as Lewis Hamilton back in 2014 when he outperformed Sebastian Vettel to seal the title & Verstappen who famously beat Hamilton (Who fell short of his record 8th world championship, but is now racing for Ferrari in which he is constantly struggling in terms of pace) in 2021) while McLaren remain in the lead of the constructors championship in their bid of their defence of the constructors title (And the next round takes place at the Miami Grand Prix in Miami, Florida in the United States (And Norris won the Grand Prix in Miami last time out, therefore signalling McLaren's successful start of their road to success in the constructors championship last year as they ended Red Bull's gamesmanship after 2 years being on top in 2022-23 therefore taking over as the quickest car in F1 this year due to the upgrades that they made which carried over from last year in terms of their speed), but continuing onto a motor racing related story that the future World Endurance Champion & ex-F1 driver of our own Kiwi of Brendon Hartley, describes that the racing car from the old A1GP series, that it's just like playing a PlayStation game, just like me driving either a Super Formula SF19 or SF23 cars in Gran Turismo 7 (For which my fave video game is just like the simulators that they're having, for which is known by the slogan: The real driving simulator), reminds me of a combination of both A1GP (Currently defunct since they had their last season in 2008-09 (In that was the only season to be powered by Ferrari) before shutting down altogether due to the global financial economic crisis that they once had in which they fell victim to it) & F2 (Which is the feeder series of F1), while the Formula One car inspired by the early 90's which is known as the Gran Turismo F3500-A, is sorta like modern day IndyCar machinery (For which has a 6 speed gearbox that they're having mainly, with Formula One being confirmed next year as part of the changes to the loophole for the first time since 2005 that a championship winning Renault Formula One car being the last to run with a 6 speed gearbox before switching to 7 speed in 2006, down from the original 8 speed that they're currently having while the design of the F1 car will in fact change, in the sport's biggest shake-up since 2022 in which the current Formula One car used until the end of this season, resembles the racing car design which IndyCar then CART that used in the 90's) in Grid Autosport, as well as Forza Motorsport 7 & Project Cars 3 games, & the F1 games such as F1 2020 & F1 24 that I used to play (And I've pre-ordered F1 25 on the PS5 on the PSN network in case you missed it guys & girls (It's going to feature content from F1: the Movie due to release in June this year (And most of them are locked at the moment so they don't want to spoil the movie according to one of the game developers), but they're bringing back Braking Point story mode from F1 23 which was first featured in F1 2021 after not appearing in F1 24 just like F1 22), but the physical copy of the game doesn't appear on the EB Games New Zealand website, also according to Wikipedia that just the digital version of the game is available in Australia).

And secondly that here are the key matchups at the Grandest Stage of Them All of WrestleMania XLI in Las Vegas, Nevada on Easter Weekend of the 18th to the 19th (Which is Easter Sunday, to say the least) of April which is almost upon them when the biggest wrestling event is shown live on both pay per view & on Netflix as the Austrian wrestler Gunther (Who had been champion since he beat Damian Priest last year) defends his WWE World Heavyweight crown against the man who dominated the men's Royal Rumble this year (2025) of 'Main Event' Jey Uso (The one who last eliminated John Cena during the men's Royal Rumble in January, & is happy to be there in the main event at WM against the champion from Austria, in which the WWE chief content creator of twice hall of famer Triple H kicking off the show on Saturday, then the famous Swedish DJ & music producer of Bosnian descent, Salvatore Ganacci (Who'll appear on Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves game as its celeb guest alongside the famous Portuguese footballer/soccer player, Cristiano Ronaldo) did an impromptu performance that entertained the entire WWE fanbase), then it's the American Nightmare of Cody Rhodes (Who had been champion since he ended the 1,316 day reign of Roman Reigns (Who goes up against 'The Second City Saint' CM Punk (He didn't wrestle at the last WrestleMania through injury) & Seth Rollins (The one who lost to last year's men's MITB winner Drew McIntyre in a title match before Damian Priest cashed in to beat 'The Scottish Psychopath' who was attacked by the injured Punk to become champion for the very first time) in a triple threat match at WM XLI) also last year (2024), in one of the most incredible WrestleMania matches of all time since the encounter between the Undertaker & 'HBK' Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 25 way back in 2009 as well as the best endings to a WM ever since 'The Heist of the Century' at WM 31 where Rollins were able to cash in his MITB contract to defeat both Lesnar & Reigns & become champion, therefore bouncing back from defeat against Randy Orton (Who pulled off the greatest RKO in WWE history when Rollins was trying to pull of the Stomp finisher before Orton connects his finisher in mid-air) earlier in the day) set to put his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship on the line against John Cena (AKA the Donald Trump of WWE who became a villain for the first time since 22 years ago) who is searching for his record breaking 17th world title whilst on his farewell tour before retiring, then in the women's department as Bianca Belair looks to settle the score when she goes up against both women such as the one who ended Aussie Rhea Ripley's 2nd championship reign against her old rival, the WWE Women's World Champion of Japan's Iyo Sky (The one who lost the WWE Women's Championship against Bayley (Who won the women's Royal Rumble also last year) last year (2024) who is the modern day equivalent of Bull Nakano), & the former champion Rhea 'Mami' Ripley who wants to make amends after losing the championship against Sky on Raw which ruined her dearly big time, then last year's women's Money in the Bank winner of current WWE Women's Champion Tiffany Stratton (Partner of Ludwig Kaiser since 2022), is gunning to defend her WWE Women's Championship against the woman who returned to the WWE to dominate the women's Royal Rumble this year (2025) just to be there of 'The Queen' Charlotte Flair (The wily old experienced veteran best known as Ric's daughter & partner of Andrade when she was the one who last eliminated Roxanne Perez during the women's Royal Rumble match, & is set to compete her first WrestleMania match since infamously losing the title to 'The Eradicator' of Ripley at WrestleMania 39 which was in 2023, in easily one of the greatest women's wrestling matches at the Showcase of the Immortals, of all time (First they started off slow, & then developing in one of the supposed women's wrestling title contests in WM history when the WWE universe entertained it in style) in a battle of the blonde bombshells, meanwhile LA Knight (The man who ended Logan Paul's dominance as the US champion last year (2024) faces his toughest test when he locks horns against Tama Tonga (Another one of the American wrestlers of Pacific Island descent, but listed as he comes from the Kingdom of Tonga) in a United States championship clash, while Bron Breakker (Son of famous wrestler Rick Steiner & nephew of another famous wrestler who is Rick's brother, Scott Steiner, but uses the Spear as one of his signature moves which is inspired by other wrestlers who mainly use it including Goldberg, Roman Reigns & Jey Uso) goes about defending his beloved Intercontinental title what's still rightfully his whilst making WrestleMania debut against the stern challenges of 'Dirty' Dominik Mysterio (Son of famous wrestler Rey), Finn Balor (The Irishman involved in the WWE) & the ever popular Mexican luchador of Penta in a fatal 4 way title bout.

And thirdly, it's been 30 years since that dreadful Great Hansin-Awaji earthquake had happened in Kobe, Japan were thousands of buildings were destroyed & heaps of people have been killed by the impact on January 17th way, way back in 1995 (Same year that South Africa won their 1st of 4 men's Rugby World Cups against the All Blacks (Who beat England in the semi in Cape Town with the late Jonah Lomu scoring 4 tries including bundling over Mike Catt to score the first of 4th in one of the men's RWC's most iconic moments (In which the man known as 'Quinny' of Keith Quinn famously said when Lomu scored his first of 4 tries in the semi "Lomu! Oh, oh!") in the final in Joburg which united the host country & their leader Nelson Mandela according to the previous blogs that I did, as well as Team New Zealand led by our heroes of the late Sir Peter 'Blakey' Blake & Russell Coutts (This was long before he got knighted in due course) went on to win our 1st of 5 America's Cups that we won the series 5 - 0 against the Dennis Conner (Once our old foe in 1987 & '88 who was embraced by the New Zealand fans following his defeat in '95) led Young America in San Diego, California in which PJ Montgomery famously said to our Kiwi audience "The America's Cup, is now New Zealand's Cup!" as I mentioned in my blogs that I did previously (And it'll be in May that 30 years have passed since we claimed the 2nd biggest upset in AC history, behind the Aussie success long ago in 1983), while the Batman Forever movie came out which featuring the likes of the now late Val Kilmer (Who passed away this year) as 'The Dark Knight' & 'The Caped Crusader' of Batman, as well as Tommy Lee Jones (Harvey 'Two-Face' Dent), Oscar winner Nicole Kidman (Dr Chase Meridian) & Jim Carrey (The Riddler) along with the Mortal Kombat movie (Directed by British filmmaker Paul W.S. Anderson) which starred Robin Shou as Liu Kang while Linden Ashby, Christopher Lambert, Bridgette Wilson, Talisa Soto, the late Trevor Goddard & Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa played their characters of Johnny Cage, Raiden, Sonya, Princess Kitana, Kano & Shang Tsung respectively such as, & last but not least, the New Zealand Warriors entered the Australian ARL competition while Che Fu was part of Supergroove) therefore causing significant damage & loss of life as Pops alluded to me on the 10th of April. The earthquake, with a magnitude of 6.9 that hit at 5:46am on Tuesday, resulted in over 6,400 deaths, 43,000 injuries, and extensive destruction, including the collapse of buildings and infrastructure while this was Japan's second deadliest earthquake in the 20th century after the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake (That was 6 years before the Great Depression took place which lasted for a decade from 1929 until 1939 when World War II began, & lasted until 1945 where the 2nd World War, ended), which claimed more than 105,000 lives, meaning that the Pacific Grand Prix (Which was won by Germany's Michael Schumacher who became a back to back world drivers champion with just both races to spare since his championship rival of Britain's Damon Hill (Who was criticised by the media in the lead up to the Grand Prix in Okayama over his below par performances in previous races) unable to catch Michael's points total) had been delayed to October 22nd after originally being scheduled on April 16th prior to tragedy being struck as the local infrastructure and communications were badly damaged from the Great Hanshin earthquake.

And finally, the latest in America as Trump's tariff policy takes a U-turn where there will be a cut on tariffs for most countries for 90 days in which there will be a review after the 90th day has concluded in which the American stocks have gone up a notch, except for China as the US struck them with an 125% rate (Meaning that prices have been doubled, tripled or especially quadrupled on that occasion, like most gamers will be livid about the expensive price of the PS5 Pro meaning that they'll have to switch from PlayStation to Xbox for the matter, because of Xbox being an American brand whilst PS5 consoles are made in China (And why the hell not? Oh very funny...Oh my goodness, is that, cellulite? But the United States has since been crippled with a spate of punishing but sweeping tariff policies most recently according to Donald Trump, the current President of the United States for which was chaotic, turbulent, tumultuous & torrid), but I recently discovered that the Xbox consoles are Chinese made because of an expensive price in the US), while the US President is taking credit for a market bounce, in the aftermath of reversing the similar policy that sent it crashing with our country will still feel years of fallout after Trump's tariff U-turn, economists warn as stocks rebound strongly following Trump tariffs U-turn as Nikkei, ASX & S&P all see a surge following the US President's announcement of a 90-day pause on tariffs except China, for which had been presented a week earlier at the White House as a historic game changer for America (In which the nation is in a midst of an ugly rift, but am I being the one who follows American politics according to Pops who alluded to me before on the 3rd of May just before we watched a Super Rugby Pacific game between the Hurricanes & the Chiefs on TV after we had a Asian stir fry meal for dinner?).

So that is my 606th blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 30th of this year, viva Ukraine & Palestine.

P.S. And the rugby community here in New Zealand is in mourning as John 'Doc' Mayhew (The former All Blacks & New Zealand Warriors doctor who was a personal doctor of the late Jonah Lomu) has recently passed away (According to Grant 'Nisbo' Nisbett telling Justin 'Marshy' Marshall during commentary between the Hurricanes & the Crusaders Super Rugby Pacific game on April 11th), so all condolences go to the family & his loved ones (Although he is survived by his son Nic who is a rugby player), rest in power (RIP).

Dr John Mayhew

1954 - 2025

Faded/Paralyzed: My 29th blog of the year 2025 (AKA the untold tariff trade war truth)

Well, welcome to all our readers here in New Zealand & around the world, I'm Whetu Ngapo & you're tuning in to my KiwiAvenger blog here on blogger, but first in the United States is all about tariff city as US president Donald Trump (Well, I don't trust him all the time as of today since I'm an anti-Trump type of person) announced a 10% tariff on all goods coming into the country & 104% on levies on China starting on the 9th of April as the American stock markets crash (Including Dow Jones & NASDAQ for the first time since the beginning of the global COVID pandemic in 2020) following Trump's tariff policies that he's always setting up during the global trade war which resulted mass protests in all 50 American states, even though that the protesters who voice their disapproval of their leader implementing such tariffs & their pro-democracy stuff in which they labelled as a hostile takeover (While I label it as a national tragedy, but these things have still gone wrong in the 2020's decade (Which is easily the worst since the 1930's in which the end of the decade was marred by the war when the Second World War began in 1939 where Germany invaded Poland which allowed France & the UK to declare war on the Germans (And World War III could be on the cards with peace likely to end, even though I asked Pops about it on the 5th of April (And I remember a story vividly from Pops about the late Ronald Christie that he hates German people because of him being a prisoner of war during his time at a concentration camp, & even invited German people for a meal after the war, but he has a strong dislike about it because of his fear of German people who were once our enemies on the battlefield like the first & second world wars) such as COVID first, then a spate of both invasions such as that dreadful invasion which had been going since 2022 (And Pops told me not to post anything about it since its objectionable & sensitive to the country who started it to avoid backlash for which I originally mentioned about it, but somehow I've got to refrain it from doing that) in which the world is stunned as well as Israel's invasion of the Iran backed Hamas in Gaza which has been going since 2023 (And there could be World War III on the cards if things spiral out of control, but if New Zealand is involved, it looks like I fear that my Dad might be enlisted into the military mainly because to his age at 55 (He's due to turn 56 in June this year, but he might be too old if a world war could start in 5 to 10 years), but it seems unlikely that World War III would definitely break out (And at least we're safe, even if we survive a nuclear holocaust because of the fact that we are not in danger, even though we managed to survive the COVID pandemic as well (And I never seem to have COVID throughout my entire life along with both Pops & Carole) just like Dave Gallaher (Who was the original All Blacks rugby team captain when they toured Britain, France, & North America for the first time in 1905-06) twice in the Boer war in the 1900s, & then World War I in which he got shot dead of his wounds, specifically in the head by an enemy troop who fired his gun during the Third Battle of Ypres at Passchendaele in Belgium in 1917) also in which the world is stunned again (Oh hell, not once but twice, but they'll certainly be a dark future being signalled as most predict about it due to both invasions they're currently having for which is a stark reminder), & now, the trade war between the US & the rest of the world which resulted in a higher inflation to all imports (And why the hell will there be a price hike on goods being imported into America? Because of everything being dear at the moment like the PS5 Pro for example in which most American gamers are livid & a bit upset about the high price, as well as Chinese made phones, tablets & laptops included as part of the most expensive list), that hurt (And what is my reaction about the tariffs Trump has imposed? Well I'm gutted, absolutely gutted because of America being turned into a Trump steak according to these tariff policies being introduced right there that has happened (And at least we're not Americans because of the United States betraying against the rest of the world including China since 2018 with that ongoing trade conflict which everybody hurts them people that I'm getting sick, tired & in disbelief about the tariff chaos stuff which actually makes sense for which the US President (Who actually has a plan about the big picture) who I labelled him as a diabolical human being (And America is robbed as most people in their country there are stunned about it all according to plan, but there was a presidency that no one won I believe due to their issues/problems on both crime & the economy for which is a farce that I'm getting fed up (For which I label the US as a dread & wretched country) needless to say (In which the American people have gone crazy/insane, & are having less charitable memories towards Donald Trump (And it could get messy with the far left wing liberal supporters, with bloodshot eyes & flared nostrils, could lose their rags, while the best way/solution for Trump to make friends is to introduce tariff policies to win the heart of his loyal far right wing conservative supporters who are always legislation abiders, & they already did since he won the election again last year (2024) by beating Kamala Harris to take back the presidency for what is his, which is depressing, but, oh god I hope they get sued, because it is such a ripoff, it's a shameless ripoff, oh shameless, maybe that's a slap on the wrist for that) but I don't trust him because I'm getting intolerant to Trump, & there's only two things I hate in this world: people who are intolerant to other people's cultures, & the Americans (And the Americans under Donald Trump, they made them so damn evil...And of course, they share a border with the Canadians), is laying down the legislation during the tariff event that he was holding, is known as 'Liberation Day' which was the most unique event of modern times - & a complete fiasco (Well, I wasn't paying attention for that, however many Americans don't know just how upset they were about the tariff chaos on Trump's botched tariff rollout & the meltdown on the stock market, well I'm bitterly disappointed with that (And I have no clue or idea what is going on with their minds), even though the Chinese are fighting Trump's tariffs during the American trade war (And they could declare martial law which cracks down protests & free speech being delivered on the 20th of April if they turn themselves violent which is going to spread nationwide, or an insurrection legislation act that they're going to have to send military personnel to restore order, just like in the 1992 Los Angeles riots for which I haven't mentioned in my blog before), but I managed to start booing about Trump every damn time I see him on TV or online on the internet (And I haven't watched CNN or Aljazeera since I infamously booed & jeered the current US President about his tariff policies that signalled the beginning of the trade war between the US against China) because of me showing signs of hostility towards him who is on self-destruct mode at the moment as the rest of the world is on the brink of a tariff war against the United States therefore possibly cause a recession in which the entire economy fanbase is devastated & shattered (It could be 5 years to a decade prior to the world tweaks Trumps tariffs, according to the former Reserve Bank governor here in New Zealand, then the high amount of tariffs may have stopped the Great Depression (For which lasted for a decade from 1929 until 1939 when World War II began, & it remains the longest & most severe economic downturn in modern history for which the Smoot-Hawley tariff act (For which the law is named after both politicians of the late Senator Smoot & also the late Congressman Hawley) which was passed in 1930 that it raised tariffs on over 20,000 imported goods in an effort to safeguard American farmers & industries during the Great Depression (And I fear it might be a new Great Depression which will happen in the 2030's decade for several years meaning that there will be a high inflation price hike because everything will be expensive as well as more trade wars & a geopolitical instability while the effects of a new Great Depression could be long-lasting, impacting generations to come (And there was a book that argues about the COVID pandemic has created conditions for a major economic crisis that is potentially worse than the Great Depression in the 1930's (While people are deciding what to call the next Great Depression which is the New Great Depression, because mine would probably say Great Depression 2.0, then the American tariff rates under Trump could be higher than the Smoot-Hawley levels taken from the Great Depression era, but Pops alluded to me that the 2020s decade isn't worse than the 1930s because of the Great Depression in which many people were unemployed & couldn't get enough food to eat until they were enlisted to the military when war began again in 1939 with World War II which was true that signalled the end of the Great Depression, but now the United States is on the brink of the new great depression because of the US President Donald Trump implementing such tariffs like that which will harm the economy once & for all) history says while Trump's claim that low tariffs caused the Great Depression is false, according to the economist, & Trump said that the Great Depression would have never begun if tariffs continued) but Pops alluded to me before on the 8th of April that it's a decent idea, meaning that he liked it indeed in which I thought it was a strange noise being made, even though the entire world is ruined with tariffs all over the place meaning that the stock market came crashing down to earth, therefore triggering an economic collapse just like the global financial economic crisis or recession should I say that they once had way back in 2008-09 in which the world has gone volatile (And even though that liar of Trump who is an abysmal leader that I'm always biased about that rhetoric stuff, absolute rhetoric stuff (Wrong, it's wrong, it's wrong, I've calmed down now, I was absolutely livid, it's wrong, he's killed their society, I mean Donald Trump is by far one of the worst leaders of the world of our generation, he's killed their society for them, I'm livid), but I fear it might be the end of the world as I know it (And this trade war stuff sucks like hell, for a change which is really that severe (And the headlines would prolly be: HEY MR PRESIDENT, DON'T LET THE DOOR HIT YOU ON THE WAY OUT, & I was like, oh my god! Holy smokes! What the hell! But that current tariff trade war thing is killing me, especially in terms of our generation as the American stock market has been crashing recently which triggered a collapse that would be their downfall (But Pops told me on the 9th of April thinks that is not because I'm very lucky to be here in New Zealand for which is fine), & I mean, Trump really is to me, a crook (A senseless crook I should say, because he's acting like a damn fool, I think he's bluffing like Dr Evil from the Austin Powers movies, well, that was exactly a constructed discussion, but that'll do), unlike the late Richard Nixon (Who famously said "People have got to know whether or not their president is a crook, well, I'm not a crook" about Watergate that shocked America in the mid 70's that would define his legacy as he defended himself against serious allegations).

And secondly onto the rugby stuff in Super Rugby Pacific as here are the results that they had in round 8 of the southern hemisphere's biggest club rugby competition (Well, the quality of the rugby may be good but the tariff thing imposed by Donald Trump is bad):

Chiefs 27 - 15 Queensland Reds (It was the Chiefs night as they stymied over the Queensland Reds (Who had Reds prop forward Jeff To'omaga-Allen being given a card under review for dangerously cleaning out a player in which they stayed it as a sin binning offence for which I thought was controversial) in the wet at FMG Stadium Waikato in Hamilton to retake the lead on top of the standings)

Moana Pasifika 45 - 28 NSW Waratahs (And it was Moana's day as they stunned the Tahs to bits after coming from behind or trailing should I say at halftime, at North Harbour Stadium in Albany to win 2 in a row for the first time in the club's history, therefore following up from a historic win against the 12 time champions (And twice Super Rugby Aotearoa champions) the Crusaders in Christchurch in one of the biggest upsets in Super Rugby Pacific history, including a hat-trick from starting tighthead prop playing for Moana of Feleti Sa'e-Ta'ufo'ou (And I remember at one point that referee James Doleman had awarded the penalty to Moana against Waratahs reserve prop Taniela Tupou for illegally using foul language towards an official because of Tupou who abused Doleman (A New Zealand referee) which is a big no-no in the game of rugby, moments before Sae-Ta'ufo'ou scored a hat-trick)

Fijian Drua 14 - 31 Crusaders (It was the Crusaders day as they had a emphatic victory over the Fijian Drua at HFC Bank Stadium in Suva)

Blues 19 - 18 Hurricanes (And it was the Blues night as they cling on to win against the Hurricanes by the barest of margins at Eden Park in Auckland despite a card under review against the Blues captain Patrick Tuipulotu for a dangerous hit on a Hurricanes player, in which they remained it a yellow card that caused a bit of controversy)

& Western Force 29 - 20 Highlanders (And finally it was the Western Force's day as they knock over the Highlanders at HBF Park in the west in Perth which was marred by Highlanders blindside flanker Sean Withy who had been shown the red card for taking a Western Force player of Harry Potter (Not a famous wizard straight out from JK Rowling, but a rugby player) out of commission during the 1st half by deliberately kneeing him straight to the head after the try had been scored by Potter in which the referee had shown a card under review against Withy for a cheap shot, then Jona Nareki (One of Pops old students from Aramoho School) got yellow carded for repeated violations such as never onside that ruined the Highlanders chances of winning after they had a promising fast start to their game in which their coach Jamie Joseph (Dad of Otago, Matatu & Black Ferns female rugby player Maia) will be gutted about the result)

And thirdly in motor racing related news such as in the F1 as defending 4 time world champion racing for Red Bull of Max Verstappen, clings on from the hard charging pair of McLarens to pick up his first win of the season at the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka, Japan (And his first since Qatar last year in which Verstappen's last win came in Lusail at the Qatar Grand Prix), therefore ending McLaren's 3 race winning streak dating back to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year & their quest of remaining undefeated this year, but Lando Norris (Who finished 2nd behind Max, but ahead of Norris's Aussie teammate of Oscar Piastri who rounded out the podium, but our own Kiwi Liam Lawson has had a difficult weekend that he endured since his demotion from Red Bull Racing to Racing Bulls lately, while the grand prix was marred by Aussie Jack Doohan who escaped injury in which he kept it secret since his Alpine car failed to close the DRS that triggered a horror high speed accident during the 2nd Free Practice session, but he was struggling to get out of the car after the race because of him experiencing soreness from the impact in which the drivers who are urging the FIA to make a serious loophole alteration (And if Doohan was ruled out, why not an Argentinian of Franco Colapinto replace him?) remains the championship leader after 3 races ahead of Verstappen by a whisker, but last year (2024) marked the 30th anniversary of the tragic events as well as Formula One's darkest weekends at Imola in the Emilia-Romagna region in Italy, in pair of horrific but fatal crashes which took the life of legendary Brazilian F1 star Ayrton Senna (A 3 time world champ) during the race as well as fellow racer of Austrian Roland Ratzenberger during qualifying before that which shocked the F1 world, & it's been 20 years since the most controversial Grand Prix in history took place at the United States Grand Prix in Indianapolis, Indiana in America for which I've mentioned a story before on my blogs not once but twice in both 2023 & this year, where only six cars with Bridgestone tyres ran at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Home of the annual Indy 500 IndyCar race) in which the race was won by Ferrari's Michael Schumacher (The man & the team he races for who ruined F1 which turned fans away due to the utter dominance of him & Ferrari from 2000 to 04, but his only win came way back in 2005 in which he was booed by the hostile but unhappy American crowd (Whose tickets have been refunded (And they were demanding a full refund when they confronted these people at the ticket office, but the cops were able to step in as the peace makers which are being kept for crowd control), but they got free ones for the following year's race also way back in 2006 & also the Burke Lakefront Airport Champ Car race took place at the neighbouring Ohio state) who don't appreciate him as well as the pro-Michelin supporters which hurt them ruining a great Grand Prix it was) following the Grand Prix in the aftermath of the drivers ran with Michelin tyres including eventual champion Fernando Alonso (The only active driver from the 2005 season to compete in F1 as of today who was the world championship leader at the time, but his race engineer told him that he knows what their plans there for the start, is to head straight to the pits please mate, along with 13 others with Michelins which triggered 6 cars with Bridgestone's who were racing) in the Renault were robbed in which the race was nobody won, while Tiago Monteiro was the only one who was cheered by the fans when he finished on the podium in which he became the first & only Formula One driver from Portugal to do so (And he was happy to be there while for both Michael & Rubens Barrichello (Who finished 2nd) left the podium shortly while the fans were absolutely gutted as Tiago celebrated the last podium finish of the Jordan F1 team to date (Which was Portugal's finest but proudest sporting moment along with their football/soccer team's Euro 2016 triumph against the hosts at the time of France in the final at the Stade de France in Paris as the multi-millionaire mega sports star of the Portuguese captain, Cristiano Ronaldo (Who was subbed off with an injury during the final) lifting the Henri Delaunay trophy aloft (That was 4 years after Spain had a successful Euros glory again back in 2012, & 5 years before Italy triumphed at the delayed Euro 2020 which was played in 2021), while his Jordan teammate at the time of Narain Karthikeyan (One of both Indians who competed in F1 along with Karun Chandhok) who finished 4th which is a best result for a driver from India, while both Minardi drivers of Holland's Cristjian Albers & Austria's Patrick Friesacher finished 5th & 6th respectively (And both expected not to score points just like the 2 Jordan drivers of Monteiro & Karthikeyan before the GP, but they did) & the reason why? Is that the Michelin runners withdrew from the Grand Prix, even before the race began in which they barely took a lap due to a tyre failure during Friday practice that caused the accident by German Ralf Schumacher (Who was racing for Toyota at the time, then he got injured in the process as Brazilian Ricardo Zonta drafted in for him who suffered a crash just like Ralf (Who was ruled out for the race on Sunday through injury, but under those loopholes that no tyre changes are required to be made during a race (And there was one option which is refuelling, but they abolished the tyres that last the whole race that ruined Michael Schumacher & Ferrari's continuation of world championship dominance once the 2005 season had concluded) because it had been brought into play after Ferrari effectively nailed their pit strategy en route to the title in the previous year, but it had its downside as 'The Iceman' Kimi Raikkonen on his way to victory during the European Grand Prix at the Nuerburgring circuit in Germany, suffered a flattie that caused a tyre delamination therefore missing out on a chance with one lap to go (He should've pitted, but no because that would've been a penalty back then for an illegal tyre change, & following Ralf Schumacher's accident due to tyre failure which resulted in an injury that they should suggest adding a chicane to slow the cars down just like in the 1994 Spanish Grand Prix in the aftermath of the Senna tragedy, but they refused so Michelin warned its 7 customer teams that the tyres would just be safe for 10 laps with full speed for which a tyre failure that Michelin had fallen foul like that at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, in one of the largest non-fatal race debacles in Formula One history while during the practice sessions, there were already crashes caused by tyre damages following 14 F1 race car drivers pulled out as a result of safety concerns for which was an absolute shocker that turned into a farce as well as a fiasco like that when both Ferraris, a pair of Jordans & the 2 Minardi's raced altogether with the fans who turned up to watch cars race for 73 full-on laps, left in protest as a chorus of boos rang when Michael Schumacher won the most shocking Grand Prix in history) did) was to blame (And there was no social media like Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok & Snapchat to start with back in the day, & it must've remained silent for the matter, but the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix had since been taken over from the 2005 US GP as the strangest race ever with the race beginning under the safety car during the treacherous conditions & then the next minute as 2 laps into the Grand Prix at the Spa circuit that they would finally call off the race fearing further inclement weather which resulted victory to the eventual champion Max Verstappen (Who is a bit of a slight lookalike of the French rugby player (And Olympic champion in men's rugby sevens for his country of France during their home Olympics last year in Paris) of Antoine Dupont, compared to Rey actress Daisy Ridley being a bit of a Michaela Brake (The Black Ferns sevens player who is a double Olympic champion) lookalike).

And finally that it's been 20 years since I saw that Campbell's chunky soup ad way back in 2005 featuring our own sports stars of league's Ruben Wiki (The Warriors & Kiwis captain at the time who once played for the Canberra Raiders in which he won an ARL Premiership, even in his first year at the club before making his high profile move to the New Zealand Warriors in 2005 (A year before they were deducted 4 points before the season started for breaking the salary cap also way back in 2006, just like the Bulldogs 4 years earlier way back in 2002 in which they did not make the playoffs) before retiring also way back in 2008 after a 14 year career, but his daughter McKenzie plays for the Canberra Raiders women in the NRLW competition) & rugby's Jerry Collins (A Wellington, Hurricanes, All Blacks, Ospreys, Yamaha Jubilo, Toulon & Narbonne player as well as Tana & Mike Umaga's cousin & uncle of Jacob & the Umaga-Jensen twins of Peter & Thomas (Twin sons of Mike & Tana's sister Rachael (Wife of former club rugby player Tony Jensen) who unfortunately passed away a decade ago back in 2015 due to a crash in southern France that took him & his Canadian wife Alana Madill but Ayla (The late couple's daughter who is currently raised in Canada by her relatives) managed to survive the impact caused by a Portuguese bus which carried 19 passengers travelling from Lisbon to Monaco) in which the ad (Narrated by the famous Kiwi actor Tim Balme of Shorty Street fame) is about both Ruben & Jerry who are great mates before debating whether in an arm wrestling contest that it should be eaten with a spoon that it's a soup, or a fork for which it's a meal, but the debate is over at the end of the ad that Campbell's chunky soup is a soup that eats like a meal, right guys? But onto the rugby sevens stuff as the reigning Olympic champions of the Black Ferns Sevens (Which features the likes of captain Sarah Hirini, speedster Michaela Brake, Risi Pouri-Lane, young Jorja Miller & Stacey Waaka (Who decided to come back to rugby this year (2025) after spending a season in the NRLW women's league competition last year (2024) which ended in injury following her gold medal triumph in Paris) retain the women's SVNS crown following their win in Singapore in the women's Cup final against our main rivals Australia in a winner takes all contest which was a tussle between both sides (And the men's SVNS event in Singapore goes in the way of Fiji who trailed 7 - 0 at halftime to overturn a deficit to dispatch Kenya (While the SVNS league championship, remains in Argentina's hands following a Cup semi final appearance to clinch the title), but an unfortunate ending for the All Blacks sevens sees them being crushed by Ireland in the 7th place playoff for really is a tragedy for New Zealand, especially in the men's department (And their coach Tomasi Cama needs to be fired due to a spate of recent poor performances lately).

So that is my 605th blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 29th of this year, viva Ukraine & Palestine.

Deeper Underground/Mean to Me: My 28th blog of the year 2025

Well, welcome to all our readers here in New Zealand & around the world, I'm Whetu Ngapo & you're tuning in to my KiwiAvenger blog here on blogger, but first that the war between Israel & Hamas in Gaza continues as there were 24 casualties according to the death toll when the Israeli forces launch a new ground assault on Gaza's capital of Rafah, but the ceasefire plan is back on the table according to Egypt last Thursday with the remaining 65 hostages (Just 5 of them will be released for the truce) urging Israel (Who broke the ceasefire deal to start invading Hamas again) to stop the war already (And there's growing protests already in Israel urging Hamas to release all 65 hostages being held in captivity by Hamas, but that's not going to happen until the war ends).

And secondly that there's something sombre as an earthquake which measured 7.7 on the Richter scale has struck in Myanmar (Which is one of the world's most poorest countries at the middle of a civil war in which they agreed to make a partial ceasefire according to the resistance movement in light of the powerful earthquake in an impoverished nation being piled by fresh misery), especially killing 1,644 of them (Compared to 11 in Thailand when a building under construction in Bangkok had been collapsed) & there were 3,408 people who suffered injuries according to the military rulers on state TV, meanwhile rescue workers who battled for a second night are searching for survivors (Then dozens remained trapped in the rubble) in a race against time in which tremors felt across Thailand & in nearby Chinese provinces, but all condolences go to their loved ones who lost in this dreadful disaster situation over there, as well as the victims of Palestinian people trapped in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war over there.

And thirdly in rugby related news such as in the sevens as the defending Olympic champions the Black Ferns 7's of New Zealand piled on the pressure against the Wallaroos 7's (Which featured the likes of the danger person of defending World Rugby women's 7's player of the year, Maddison 'Maddie' Levi) as they overcame the yellow card against Jorja Miller (The women's sevens rugby player of the year at the NZ rugby awards back in December last year who later bagged in for a double, but could be in the frame of joining the Black Ferns squad for our road to England which starts at the upcoming Pac 4 series alongside her Black Ferns sevens teammate, Risi Pouri-Lane) for a tip tackle on a female Aussie sevens player to win the Hong Kong sevens at the brand spanking new state of the art venue of Kai Tak Sports Park (In which they're preparing to host a concert by the UK rock slash pop band Coldplay (Who had performed sold-out shows just like Oasis there at Eden Park in Auckland in November last year) due on the 10th of April), while in the men's section as Argentina dominate the reigning Olympic champs France (Who had their player conceded a penalty on halfway for a cheap shot on the try scorer ala Rob 'Gronk' Gronkowski after a certain Argentinian try had been scored that ruined their chance of winning the Hong Kong sevens event during the men's cup final) to remain on top of the table with 1 round to go which is the next one in Singapore (And there is the equation that if Argentina need a favourable result, the men's SVNS league title is still theirs, just like in the women's section that if New Zealand require a chance of a strong showing in Singapore, the women's SVNS championship remains ours), meanwhile in Super Rugby Pacific as the Hurricanes outmuscle the NSW Waratahs side who lost 3 backs such as Wallaby Max Jorgensen early with injury at Sky Stadium in Wellington during round 7 of this years Super Rugby Pacific Competition in a comprehensive thrashing, but a day later that there was much better news as Moana Pasifika (In just their 4th season altogether) led by its inspirational captain of incumbent All Black Ardie Savea (The one who got a double during the upset of the ages for who I thought was the standout performer of the game, but I also thought that his move to Moana would eventually destroy his career, & he didn't as Savea (Who is maybe an apparent heir of Richie McCaw in which the headlines would possibly say: RICHIE WHO? MOANA STUN CRUSADERS IN EPIC SRP GAME) got his act together when they notched up just their 2nd win of the season just to complete the impossible mission) who pulled off the Christchurch heist with an incredible victory against the Crusaders (Who were missing their skipper David Havili with an injury just moments prior to kick off, but coach Rob Penney had opted to rest the quartet who were always their best performers of lock forward Antonio Shalfoon (Who plays for the Tasman Mako in the Bunnings NPC competition), number 8 Christian Lio-Willie (Who was the key signing for the Crusaders in 2023 following the departure of Los Pumas player Pablo Matera who spent one season in 2022 with the most successful Super Rugby franchise in history), first-five eighth Taha Kemara (Always the first choice first five for the Crusaders as he is first in line in the Crusaders first fives pecking order ahead of former Wallaby James O'Connor), & winger Sevu Reece (The speedster who is always the danger man in the Crusaders team) for that game (And they would've gone on top of the table if they beat Moana (Who were the underdogs for that game against the overwhelming favourites of the Crusaders in terms of the bookmakers), but now that the Queensland Reds have taken over on top of the table after the 7th round of the competition following their win against the Western Force (And that is the first time that an Aussie side had taken the lead in the standings since 2014 (The year that the NSW Waratahs was the last Aussie side to win a full Super Rugby competition, & the last time that Australia had hosted a full Super Rugby final when the Tahs hosted it in the same year against the Crusaders in Sydney when they eventually triumphed in front of their adoring home crowd), but it looks like the Aussie sides have been improving by finding their competitiveness (Especially in the competitive edge department should I say) after the Melbourne Rebels pulled out of the comp last year due to lack of funding to keep operating, quite frankly) for the first time at the Apollo Projects Stadium in the garden city for a visiting team which is much hard to beat against the 14 time Super Rugby champs, in one of the biggest boil overs (And if not one of the amazing upsets ever, while April fools day hasn't even started yet which is not due on the 1st of April) in Super Rugby Pacific history (And what a match that has been for Moana Pasifika who were riding high after their win against the Hurricanes again before losing to the Chiefs in Pukekohe, & to cap off something special in one of the giant killing moments of all time in SRP, in akin to a David against Goliath battle like that, & what a beauty it was (And one of the first fives for Moana of Patrick 'Patty' Pellegrini (Who is Aussie born, but of both Italian & Tongan descent) would've played for the Wallabies later this year should he been uncapped for Tonga earlier), in one of the landmark achievements for Moana has ever witnessed in their 4th year of competition altogether), how about that! (Great work guys, thank you, you & your men deserve it (Nice one uce, CHEHOOO!!!).

And finally that I wanted to give a shout out to my dear cuzzie, as well as my honorary sister & bestie who is a lovely girl/lady/woman of Paige Ahearn (Who is a millennial just like me as she is best known as Cathey Middelplaats's daughter, Luca & Nico's sister, as well as Jarrod's wife & Norah's mum who I have not seen her since 2016 (That was the day after me, Pops & John Coburn saw an AB's test in Welly against Wales for which was my one & only live All Blacks rugby test that I have ever been (That was 4 years prior to COVID (The one serious disease that I never had before in my whole life along with Pops & Carole, but if I'd wish I remained at Dad's place when COVID had been around, I would've got it, but luckily I didn't since I made my decision to live with Pops back in 2017, 3 years before the world changed everything, again (Which was in 2020, but now we're this year (2025), & it's been 8 years since I lived at 15A Kells Ave where I've been lucky to be here since, so here I am) for which I was willing to meet Paige (The one fave person who I'd like to have dinner with & the one favourite person who I'd like to have a selfie with (Even if I have a cell phone) again one day along with Cathey (My biological aunty who could be both my honorary mum & my old bestie) & Norah (My first cousin once removed who could potentially be both my honorary niece & god daughter, duh (And she was conceived in April 2022 after her parents of Jarrod & Paige who were having an intimate affair with each other like a love scene, so that's why that Paige revealed that she was pregnant at the time, in due course) next time when I go to Wellington with either Dad (He's got 9 years left of his teaching job before his retirement compared to Aunty Tan who has got 6 years remaining because of the retirement age there in Canada is 63 (And Rejean has recently retired from his work when he turned 63 recently on March 31st) while here in our country of New Zealand is 65) or Pops (Whether he wished to either go or not to go regardless of his old age as well as the price hike regarding to travel costs during this cost of living crisis that we're currently having, or if the weather is decent), but I first met her when she was a little girl in 1999 here in Whanganui were she was with Cathey when I was with Dad at the late Nan & Pops place which is me & Pops place now as of today that used to be my school holiday retreat during my both Raetihi Primary School & Ruapehu College days when I was a kid & in my early to mid teens, but now that she's a grown up now when I met Paige compared to Dad's fave person who would likely to have a selfie with which it's Jans as Dad told me before) again along with Cathey 17 years later back in 2016 (And she was 22 at the time (Compared to Cathey who was 49), but Norah had not been around where she wasn't born until January 26th, 2023) 7 years before becoming a full time mother (I heard that she's always busy looking after a child like that, as well as her job that she works in Wellington that Paige still lives as a business development manager at 2degrees according to Dad last year while me & Pops was at the Cobb with him for dinner) as she gave birth to her daughter of little Norah in January 2023) wishing her a 31st birthday so best wishes, xoxoxoxoxo.

So that is my 604th blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 28th of this year, viva Ukraine & Palestine.

P.S. And the entertainment world is in mourning as Hollywood movie star & A-lister Val Kilmer (The man who appeared in famous films, such as Top Gun with Tom Cruise, Batman Forever with Nicole Kidman, Jim Carrey & Tommy Lee Jones, & MacGruber) has recently passed away, but all condolences have being sent to his loved ones in the United States, especially for his family for that sad but emotional & hard, difficult time, rest in peace (RIP), meanwhile the motor racing community is also in mourning as Irish former F1 team owner & businessman Eddie Jordan (Who was once dubbed as the rock'n'roll team principal, in Formula One history (Their first win in Formula One for Jordan came way, way back in 1998 after former world champion Damon Hill won in a rain sodden Belgium (Which was marred by the huge accident that took Michael Schumacher (Who made his F1 debut in Belgium also way, way back in 1991 after Bertrand Gachot was sent behind bars for the assault on a London taxi driver a year earlier, but had to retire due to a clutch problem), David Coulthard & 11 others out during the Grand Prix that caused a big pileup) in which he beat his teammate at the time of Ralf Schumacher (That was the year before way, way back in 1999 (Their most successful season to date with a 3rd place finish in the constructors championship behind McLaren, but ahead of Stewart (Who had gone on to become Jaguar from way back in 2000 right through to also way back in 2004, until Red Bull took over since 20 years ago way back in 2005 in which they won 6 constructors championships & 8 world drivers titles with German Sebastian Vettel & Dutchman Max Verstappen having won 4 world championships each) they would secure another victory in France also under the wet weather conditions with German Heinz-Harald Frentzen, & Italy for which was their only ever win in the dry), but their last win was way back in 2003 in another race affected by the wet weather in Brazil after who I thought McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen won, but it went to an Italian of Giancarlo Fisichella (The man known as Fisi or Fisico who comes from Rome) who was declared the victor instead) has recently passed away aged 76, but all thoughts & prayers go to the family of Eddie in this toughest of times, requiescat in pace.

Val Kilmer

1959 - 2025

& Eddie Jordan

1948 - 2025

All I Want is You: My 27th blog of the year 2025 (AKA in memory of the great Leon 'The King' Benbaruk)

Well, welcome to all our readers here in New Zealand & around the world, I'm Whetu Ngapo & you're tuning in to my KiwiAvenger blog here on blogger but first in the football such as the All Whites are one win away of securing a place in the Football/Soccer men's World Cup next year in North America after our victory against Fiji in Wellington by 7 goals including a hat-trick from our in-form skipper Chris Wood (The one who plays for Nottingham Forest in England in the Premier League & is the one of both survivors along with his All Whites teammate Tommy Smith from 2010 which featured the likes of Ryan Nelsen (Who was our captain back in 2010 who once played for English clubs such as Millwall & Blackburn Rovers FC), Ivan Vicelich (A Kiwi who is of Croatian descent who rubbed shoulders with the likes of Real Madrid players such as Sergio Ramos & Cristiano Ronaldo when the club he once played for, of Auckland City FC shocked the football world with a 3rd place finish at the Football/Soccer men's Club World Cup), Winston Reid (A Maori footballer who is a good Danish speaker in which he spent time at a Danish football club of FC Midtjylland before playing in the Premier League for the Hammers of West Ham before retiring internationally in 2022) & Shane 'Smeltzy' Smeltz (A German born New Zealander who was once a Wellington Phoenix player before he played for Gold Coast FC (Which is no longer in existence), Perth Glory & Sydney FC in the A-League) in the OFC World Cup qualifier semifinal to make the trip to Auckland for the final, therefore we're locking horns against New Caledonia who beat Tahiti in the other semi for which will be our biggest international football match of our country's lives since against Bahrain way back in 2009 in Wellington to make it to South Africa 2010 (Including a goal scored by the son of former coach Kevin of Rory Fallon, then a save by 2nd string goalkeeper filling in for the suspended Glen Moss of Mark Paston who denied the Bahrainis a certain equalizer), as well as our toughest test since against Costa Rica in 2022 in which they mesmerized us by the barest of margins in which the Costa Ricans made it to Qatar after their victory (Including an early goal by Costa Rica that put them in front, & maintained their lead until the final whistle which was marred by a red card to one of the All Whites players of Kosta Babarouses (One of the goal scorers in the game against New Caledonia who just come on for the injured Wood (Brother of former female footballer/soccer player Chelsea) along with Michael Boxall & the young Elijah Just who is a relative unknown to the football scene) who after the game had to be suspended for both games against the Socceroos in a 2 game series), but there has been an update as New Zealand have qualified for the World Cup in North America next year after securing a 3 - 0 victory over New Caledonia at Eden Park in Auckland, therefore witnessing history as we joined Japan & the 3 co-hosts of the United States (Coached by former Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino), Canada (Who are in their 3rd Football/Soccer World Cup appearance after previously appearing in 2022) & Mexico (And IR Iran, then defending champions Argentina being the latest sides to make it to next year's tournament), but unfortunately we lost Chris Wood in the process with a hip injury, therefore he could be ruled out of Nottingham Forest's key matches in the Premier League, but there was once a football related story of Argentinian footballer Emiliano Martinez who is established as one of football's best goalkeepers in the world where he started out at the bottom as a back up goalie for Arsenal where his side won the FA Cup against Chelsea in 2020 which was ruined by the global COVID pandemic, before moving to Aston Villa where he worked his way up as the first choice goalkeeper known for his ability of saving certain key goals, then called up to the Argentinian squad for Copa America in 2021 in which they eventually triumphed after an impressive domestic season, before 1 year later when the World Cup came around in which they had a successful Football/Soccer men's World Cup glory despite dropping a game against Saudi Arabia in which they became the 2nd side to do so after Spain in 2010 (2 years after they won & 2 years before they retained the Euros) before winning all their remaining games, including the final against France in which he made a great save off a shot from Frenchman Randall Kolo Muani during the dying seconds during extra time in the final which was the game changer that Martinez was the one who saved the Argentinian captain Lionel Messi's blushes as well as Leo's career, forcing them into penalties in which Argentina who later would gone on to win the World Cup as well as being awarded the best goalkeeper of the tournament as well as picking up goalkeeper of the year award in 2023 & the Lev Yashin award winner for the best performing goalkeeper on the planet (And just like South African hard man Deon Fourie who saved Springbok skipper Siya Kolisi's blushes as well as also saved South Africa on the brink of defeat as he came on for the injured Bongi Mbonambi that retained the men's Rugby World Cup in 2023 (Same year that Travis Head (Who had taken the catch to dismiss the Indian captain Rohit Sharma off the bowling of Glenn Maxwell which was another one of their turning points that was shades of Madan Lal who took a superb catch to also dismiss West Indian Viv Richards off the bowling of Kapil Dev that secured India their first of 2 men's Cricket World Cups long ago in 1983 in what was best described as the greatest day of Indian cricket at Lord's in London, compared to last year (2024) when Surya Kumar Yadav took an excellent catch for which I thought was questionable to dismiss a opposition batter during the final against South Africa of the T20 World Cup, ensuring that India had achieved immortality after 17 years) did the similar thing as he had saved the Aussie cricket team captain Pat Cummins's blushes of saving Australia also on the brink of certain defeat in which he scored a century that secured Australia their record breaking 6th men's Cricket World Cup by pulling off the Ahmedabad heist) for South Africa (The most successful rugby playing nation at the MRWC with a record 4 times) according to twice men's Rugby World Cup winning lock of Eben Etzebeth, & it's October, 2023, it's South Africa against New Zealand in the World Cup final, the Springboks maintain their lead & it's a game close to call, until that happens. As New Zealand captain Sam Cane delivers a tackle that slipped up high on Jesse Kriel, as it in the past standards that it was always considered a dangerous tackle, with no hesitation, but remember in 2023 the legislations were tough & strict, & that type of tackle was not common, as Cane receives a yellow card & an off field review, & first the referee actually thinks that the yellow card would be upgraded to red, & when the New Zealand fans, as well as the commentators on TV reacted when they realise that there was a high degree of force without mitigation, as the Springboks went on to win that game 11 - 12 against 14 players for the rest of the match, & retain the men's Rugby World Cup (And for the record 4th time that they won rugby's global showpiece event) which was dramatic, but a World Cup the All Blacks surely would've won if it wasn't for the red card (Just days before Wayne Barnes retired from refereeing as he able to step in to curb online hate which is deemed to be tyranny & discriminatory like giving someone a black eye or a slap in the face in rugby (Foolish!), in the aftermath of his poor decisions that let our greedy AB's fans down, just like that platforms are struggling to stamp out on online abuse amidst the war in both Israel & Gaza, in the aftermath about the rise of both antisemitism & islamophobia as they addressed online hate speech as consequence of the genocide among topics discussed at EuroDIG as in America, President Donald Trump has issued a clamp down on anything considered "woke", while the term is also denigrated by many in Germany).

And secondly here in New Zealand as the leader of the New Zealand First party & ageing politician Winston Peters (Who is due to turn 80 in the coming weeks) begins his election campaign which is due next year (Well, let's hope that former PM & Labour party leader Chris Hipkins is in because it won't definitely be Christopher Luxon, that's for sure) by addressing to the people about the crack down on wokeness in which he was heckled so many times about the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza (And the resulting casualties during that invasion has reached up to 50,000, oh dear god, I hope they get sued (And there were 26 including a senior Hamas leader which was marred by ground operations therefore triggering evacuation orders by the Israeli Defence Force in Gaza's capital of Rafah (Which is like Kyiv) that had been escalated upon them, while foreign journalists are being targeted by Israeli soldiers who murder them, in which they did that according to the comment I remember from Carole who was outraged about it, especially the current Israel-Hamas situation in Gaza whilst on our way to Spice Guru on the 27th of March (I'm unhappy about both invasions that they're currently having, but this lust of pro-far right wing conservative politics sickens me), & the US president Donald Trump (Who is outraged about so much levels of misbehaviour there as the officials of the US president (Who had announced that there'll be automotive tariffs including parts in a bid of an automated counter measuring system which includes foreign goods being brought into the country regarding to high levels of inflation & price hikes all over the place recently are being changed for the matter, but there has certainly on the rise during the 2020's decade for both things, the utter dominance of pro-far right wing conservative politics mainly because of Trump who first became president in 2017 until 2021 & is the US president again since this year, & the fall of pro-far left wing liberal politics) being torched over a 'Train wreck' war plan being leaked with the journalist who inadvertently snuck in to a top secret meeting about the US invading Yemen against those Houthi rebels who just keep attacking non stop (And that journalist who broke in should not been given permission to enter a top secret facility which triggered a security breach like that) that resulted 10 of them who had been protesters had been ejected from the venue by police who had to combat & ward off protesters by escorting them outta here (And I reacted to about that heckling situation towards Mr Peters that I was like "Oh damn this!" (And there was David Seymour beginning his election campaign for the ACT Party as well as he starts his duties as Deputy Prime Minister under heightened security that resulted in a clamp down of hecklers trying to heckle Seymour just like they did to Peters in which they granted a security boost of protecting a certain politician which cut the likelihood of an incident to 95%).

And thirdly that if World War III breaks out (It could & might be imminent you know that there is a likelihood of triggering a global conflict, just like in 2020 that they once had the global COVID pandemic had been triggered), the fact is that our country of New Zealand (Well, my fave part of my country that I was born is both the All Blacks rugby team & the Lord of the Rings films) won't be in danger, especially us meaning that we're at least safe (Both the Kiwis & Aussies have been spotting multiple Chinese boats, but at least the Air Force is keeping an eye on/monitoring them) as Dad alluded to me before (And a war could break out between China & the US if the Chinese are eager to invade Taiwan in 2 years time which is in 2027 (And that is a year to 3 years that a world war could start between 2028 to 2030 with peace likely to come to an end since World War II had finished in 1945), while the United States could invade Canada by taking over as the 51st state (But Aunty Tan could even be worried if there's an war in Canada in the hands of the US, & if they do, Rejean could even be drafted in to the armed forces to serve & protect the country of birth that he always loves, but he might be too old to join them because of his age in the near future), in case if there is a nuclear holocaust unfolding there.

And finally onto the rugby stuff in Super Rugby Pacific as here are the results that they had in round 6 of the southern hemisphere's biggest club rugby competition:

Moana Pasifika 35 - 50 Chiefs

Highlanders 23 - 29 Queensland Reds

Blues 19 - 42 Crusaders

NSW Waratahs 28 - 23 ACT Brumbies

& Western Force 52 - 15 Fijian Drua

So that is my 603rd blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 27th of this year, viva Ukraine & Palestine.

P.S. And we've just heard reports in Nottingham in the UK that our good Moroccan Jewish mate & my old mentor of Leon Benbaruk who sadly passed away recently due to health issues that he had before according to Pops who alluded to me on the 27th of March from a Messenger text taken from Pascal's Kiwi wife Gina Guigou, but I would like to send all condolences, prayers & thoughts go to the Benbaruk whanau, so rest in pieces (Rest in paradise, but I did have a moment of silence on March 27th in honor of him) to the great humble man who lived life on the full (And I last seen him in 2023 (That's 19 years before I had the privilege of first meeting him way back in 2004 on New Year's Eve when I was in my early teens at age 13 throughout his inner sanctum (And we played table then air hockey together back in the day), but the last time I saw him was in 2023 on the last day of July where he picked up by one of his mates Maurice Takarangi, meaning that he left to go to Wellington before heading over to the UK to live over there until his passing) a year prior to his marriage with Michelle & had lived in the United Kingdom for just 2 years because he used to live here in Whanganui, New Zealand (He once lived in Wellington before that), & he was an avid Liverpool FC fanatic (He was mainly a football follower just like Carole's bro Martin (Who is a Man United follower just like Leon's honorary daughter from Malaysia, Sophia Ong), meanwhile another on of Carole & Marty's bros of Zaki is always being a loyal rugby follower just like me & Pops as well Dad (Who is a league fan) & Carole who is mainly into tennis a lot) & a loyal follower to the famous British rock band Pink Floyd (And my last thoughts about Leon? Well, I can't believe he's gone now, that's pure emotional right there, how sad (For Leon, thanks, your infernal majesty, farewell my dear friend (And I've decided to listen to the Pink Floyd song 'Time', in honor of him on March 27th (March 26th in the UK, the date that he passed away), adieu).

Leon Benbaruk

1948 - 2025