Miles Away: My 40th blog of the year 2025

Well, hi everyone, & welcome back to another blog, I'm Whetu Ngapo & you're tuning in to my KiwiAvenger blog here on blogger (And this is a double post, remember! Please acknowledge), but first in the Super Rugby Pacific department as the greatest sporting comeback is complete, & the Crusaders win, the 30th Super Rugby Pacific championship when they made Crusaders rugby great again (In a line inspired by the US President Donald Trump (Who announced that a US airstrike destroyed 3 nuclear power plants in Iran with a really powerful bunker buster bombs that they used for which Trump was saying that it was a spectacular military success whilst the Iranians are being at war against the Israelis (Who had to close airspace such as establishing a no fly zone as they traded with Iran with missile strikes which flights in & out of both the UAE & Qatar have been called off as tensions have ramped up during the past fortnight (First that dreadful invasion that has been going since 2022, then the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, & now, the Israel-Iran invasion that has happened recently as there are 3 wars now going here (And I'm even worried about the war as I alluded to Pops on the 24th of June, well I'm bewildered about the big countries being bullies towards the small countries, hell (And it could be heartbreaking, even if the country who started that dreadful invasion since 2022 would have won, then it could even be the worst day of my life as I know it) & of course the Americans who joined the Israel-Iran war, before the Iranians responded with an airstrike on a US military base in Qatar in retaliation of the American bombing of its nuclear sites which resulted in no casualties, while there has been an update as a ceasefire has agreed upon them for which the conflict that lasted about 12 days), off the back of their dominant performance against the Chiefs in the final which was won by 4 points at the Apollo Projects Stadium in Christchurch for their unlucky 13th full championship (Plus the 2 Super Rugby Aotearoa titles in both 2020 & 2021, but now their coach Rob Penney is finally now a Super Rugby Pacific winning coach at long last with the Crusaders were able to maintain by preserving or maintaining I should say, their undefeated home playoffs record at 32 & 0) as well as making their one last hurrah at the venue before a new stadium opens its doors in April next year at One New Zealand stadium (Built as replacement for the dreaded Lancaster Park which had to be closed down, then demolished due to damage caused by the 2nd Christchurch earthquake back in February 2011 which was the most disastrous), but the AB's squad had been announced at the Clifton Rugby Club in New Plymouth which is in the Taranaki province with 5 new caps including hooker Brodie McAlister (Who takes the injured Asafo Aumua's place), prop forward Ollie Norris (Who is drafted in for the injured Ofa Tu'ungafasi), lock Fabian Holland (A Dutch born rugby player, but came to New Zealand for the love of the game that he literally enjoyed), openside flanker Du'Plessis Kirifi (Who came in when Sam Cane left to play abroad) & the most surprise selection above them all is midfielder Timoci Tavatavanawai (The Highlanders captain who can cover both the midfield & the wing while both Christian Lio-Willie as well as Emoni Narawa (Who has been given a recall) come in as injury cover players for Luke Jacobson (Whose Super Rugby Pacific final was over due to a head injury which was the turning point for the Crusaders of regaining the trusted Super Rugby Pacific crown) & Anton Lienert-Brown (Whose season was over through a serious injury sustained during the regular season) respectively, but Stephen Perofeta is part of the IL (Injury list), so too is Sam Darry, Ofa Tu'ungafasi, Asafo Aumua, Peter Lakai & David Havili (Who got concussed during the final which resulted in a yellow card & an off-field review, & it remained it as a yellow in fact, but managed to pass of getting checked for a head knock when the Crusaders (Who managed to survive the full 80 minutes in the final against the Chiefs when they won the Super Rugby Pacific title back after 2 years) captain returned to the field until he got subbed off again in the 2nd half), to name a few) + there's 7 title winning Crusaders players in the team including Codie Taylor, Fletcher Newell, All Blacks captain Scott Barrett, Tamaiti Williams (Who returned from injury to play in the final which was a resounding success, but it was a good call to bring him back after missing the semifinal win against the Blues just like Sam Whitelock did in 2023), Noah Hotham, Will Jordan & Sevu Reece, but the biggest omissions would have to be Ethan Blackadder & Dalton Papali'i who were both overlooked on that occasion, & there have been surprise but numerous recalls in the AB's squad such as both Quinn Tupaea (Who haven't played for the AB's since that debilitating injury during a Bledisloe Cup test in 2022 which took him out of the men's Rugby World Cup a year later in 2023) & Samisoni Taukei'aho (Who hasn't played for the All Blacks since the World Cup final defeat by a single point against South Africa who would have gone on to retain the men's RWC as he missed much of the test season last year after getting injured in a Super Rugby Pacific semi against the Hurricanes) who haven't been featured since 2022 & 2023 respectively.

And secondly that the last movie I saw before Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith was 2 Fast 2 Furious (Starring the late Paul Walker (Brian O'Conner), Tyrese Gibson (Brian's childhood friend, Roman Pierce), Eva Mendes (Veronica Fuentes), Cole Hauser (The villainous Carter Verone), Cris 'Ludacris' Bridges (Tej Parker) & Devon Aoki (Suki) that I own on Blu-ray, but the next movie I'm going to see is Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith which is on May the 4th (And this film & the other 8 Skywalker Saga movies are always available on Disney+) on Blu-ray on my PS5 console, & the reason why I'm watching it on Star Wars day? Is that it's been 20 years since the movie came out in cinemas around the world that happened way back in 2005 in which the movie is about Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker's dissatisfaction of being a Jedi, as he became evil when he therefore turned into Darth Vader who was the Dark Lord of the Sith under the tutelage of Chancellor Palpatine (The one who was saved from his certain death in the hands of a Jedi of Mace Windu (Who thought that Palpatine is too dangerous to be left alive) who had his arm sliced by Anakin's lightsaber, then he got killed by the Emperor & his force lightning) who eventually became the Emperor as the Galactic Republic became the Galactic Empire, while Anakin's ex-master of Obi-Wan Kenobi has set his sights of tracking down Vader once & for all, just right before Padme Amidala gives birth to twins such as Luke Skywalker (A future Jedi Knight) & Leia (Also a future princess of the planet Alderaan) before dying after Obi-Wan was the one who targeted then murdered General Grievous before the clone troopers betrayed Kenobi after they were being given new orders: To wipe out all Jedi that viewed them as traitors at all costs (In which the regime is known as the Great Jedi Purge that results the execution of Order 66 being initiated (But only Yoda & General Kenobi survived the blunt force trauma of it), & it reminds me of that dreadful invasion for which has been going since 2022).

And thirdly that it was in 2008 that YouTube was announcing a clamp down on music being closely associated with Warner Music Group (The record company loosely associated with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Linkin Park, Shihad, Filter, Alanis Morissette, Michelle Branch, Nickelback, & others as the list goes on & on), Sony Music Entertainment & Universal Music Group, therefore pulling the plug that they must either get rid of it or have the video without the sound on to refrain it from any copyright infringement that has fallen foul by being dealt with from causing trouble which raises suspicious intentions about it.

And finally that I have got a story back during Ruapehu College days 20 years ago way back in 2005 that I've got to tell you guys & girls to shed some light that I once been to detention before, for not turning up to class so I got into trouble (But the golden loophole states that a school student must turn up to class to avoid getting detention, damn idiot), sorry lads for that (And I can recall little about that I was once a troublemaker, so I served it in fact & after that, I was feeling decent again since).

So that is my 616th blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 40th of this year, viva Ukraine & Palestine.

Up From the Bottom/Unshatter/Word Up!: My 39th 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, Super Rugby Pacific news just in as the Crusaders become the first team to advance through to the final for the first time since 2023 after their dominant win during the 1st semi against defending champion the Blues (Who took an early advantage when the Crusaders were 14 - 0 down, before going on to make a successful points chase to tie the game at 14 - 14 before taking over & maintaining the lead until the conclusion of the semifinal) whose SRP title reign has come to an end (And the Blues reign as Super Rugby Pacific champions is over as there will be a new champion to be crowned on June 21st), a night before the Chiefs provided a bit of magic in the 2nd semi against Australia's best of the Brumbies whose season is over (And the Aussie teams have a poor Super Rugby playoff record against the Kiwi teams who have a 100% record against teams from Australia on NZ soil meaning that they never won against them) thanks to an all-round performance from their star 10 of Damian McKenzie who had a blinder of a game that propels them into their 3rd consecutive final for which the semi against the Brumbies is the game that made Damian McKenzie (Compared to the Hurricanes-Chiefs game last year is the game that made Wallace Sititi, & also the Hurricanes-Chiefs match from this year that made Bailyn Sullivan), including that try saving tackle made on Tom Wright was by far, one of the greatest try-saving tackles of all-time in a game of rugby, maybe the rugby play of the year candidate that will stand out the most, to be honest (And there was a double to Corey Toole of the Brumbies, just like Emoni Narawa did when he scored 2 tries for the Chiefs (Who'll head to Christchurch to take on the Crusaders who'll put their undefeated finals streak at home on the line, but Apollo Projects Stadium has announced a crack down on cowbells being brought onto the stadium for the Super Rugby Pacific final due on the 21st of June (A day after Matariki) at the request of Crusaders CEO of Colin Mainsbridge for which I label as a political move according to the Whanganui Chronicle newspaper sports article that I saw on the 19th of June in which they are suggesting a virtual cowbell being available to it, but that's not the case).

So it's the Crusaders to play the Chiefs in the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific final at Apollo Projects Stadium in Christchurch on Saturday local time to decide who will become the new Super Rugby Pacific champions (Well, who is it going to be? Whether it's the Crusaders to Crusade on for an unlucky 13th full title (And their first since 2023 in order to break the shackles, & turn it around of pulling off something special to complete the greatest sporting comeback in history as they return to the final after 2 years in which they were absent last year when they failed to qualify for the playoffs, but they put their undefeated finals streak at 31 & 0 on the line as well as the championship with a new champion to be crowned on the 21st of June following the Blues semifinal exit on June the 13th this year), or will it be Chiefs mana just like in 2012-13? We'll see) for which is a rematch of the 2023 final for which was the strangest final ever due to appalling refereeing decisions from Ben O'Keefe that let the Chiefs down, especially their discipline since the fog final way back in 2006 that had gone in the way of the Crusaders, but will it be the Crusaders captain of David 'Davey Dave' Havili, or Chiefs captain Luke Jacobson to become the SRP winning captain to lift the Super Rugby Pacific trophy?

And secondly that the gameplay animations of the Rugby 25 video game like fends, bump offs, side steps, tries, injuries, penalties, kicks, passes, conversions, penalty goals, drop goals, offloads & intercepts, is very similar to Rugby League Live 4 except that it has rucks, mauls, lineouts & rugby style scrums have brought into play to replace the play the ball & league style scrums (There is a goal line dropout in both codes (In rugby there is a 22 metre dropout) & in league there is a 40/20, compared to rugby having a 50/22 there, but if the ball is kicked into touch in league, it restarts with a scrum while in rugby that it's a lineout if the ball is kicked into touch, & if they go for the corner in league to kick the ball out after a penalty had been awarded, it's a tap & go restart while in rugby that also after a penalty is taken is if they go for the corner in order for the ball to kick into touch like going for the jugular for example, play is restarted with a lineout, but Pops still doesn't follow league because it is always stop-start while rugby has like rucks & mauls (In which league does not have) to contend with so he is in love with that sport he always follows (In league, they have a V shape design in their jerseys, whilst in rugby that they never have one in their team uniforms), but Dad hasn't played that Rugby 25 game since the recent updates had been rolled out, even though the rugby game that came out in February this year has been ruined with bugs & glitches when playing online (And the Rugby League Live 4 game (Which does not have the updated laws such as a set restart (AKA six again) that Dad always plays has less emphasis of getting buggy & glitchy that they did not have compared to Rugby 25 (Which is considered the worst rugby simulation compared to Jonah Lomu Rugby (Which was officially endorsed by the late great All Black, Jonah Lomu) which was the greatest rugby video game of all time that came out in the late 90's of 1997 mainly because mainly it was flattering, then there was another decent one of Rugby 08 which was considered to be the last EA Sports rugby computer game, but no other rugby sims could even emulate the success of both Jonah Lomu Rugby & Rugby 08 in mind, but I managed to use a new secret tactic such as the box kicking system that I employ instead of kicking the ball into touch which causes the game to crash on the PS4 version only, along with my main secret tactic that I have always fond of which is winding down the clock before the referee's call of use it).

And thirdly that I did not know that both Cathey (Little Norah's grandmother) & Paige (Norah's mum) have Instagram accounts so Cathey has at least 30 followers compared to Paige who has 3,000 followers (But like I said before that I'm vowing never to go on social media again because I fear I might be abusive towards anyone for which is prohibited under the loophole legislation type of thing regarding to guidelines on social media (And that no abuse/foul language loophole on social media is killing me, even if I return but I can't now because of my fear), & I must avoid that if I do (Just like Pops who always has his Facebook account since the late Nan passed away back in 2016 on January the 6th, & the reason why? Is that he would be able to reconnect his old students from the past & he still got his cellphone that he always has since 2020, & likes to look at it daily), but I can't now because of my fears just like that I hate corn so much because of the taste, but I never experienced on a long haul flight before (And I don't know if it's just me but, I can't understand why I'm having such a fear like social media for example (And hell I mean, this is damn crazy! But I mean, literally).

And finally that I didn't know I am a pie eater when I experienced that I had a Dad bod, but I'm not a father anyway (And I promise not to date any girl here in my country of New Zealand because of my objections that I want to remain single until I pass away (And if I do, I fear I might have a bad relationship) because of me still living with Pops, & also I was alluding to Pops on the 17th of April during our dinner with him & Carole at Japanese Takeaway Momiji that I usually do not have a drinking problem, mainly because of me always having zero Heineken all the time in the world.

So that is my 615th blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 39th of this year, viva Ukraine & Palestine.

P.S. And the whole of India is in deep mourning as a dreadful but shocking fatal plane accident situation took place when the airline just took off right from their eyes from Ahmedabad in the Gujarat region in India whilst on their way to Gatwick Airport (The least busiest in London compared to the always busy Heathrow Airport) in London, UK that took the lives of all including the pilots, passengers (There was a lottery winner who was thrilled before his life was shattered by tragedy, so too are the families returning from a wedding, & a student who ate lunch, but there was an Indian couple who used to live there in Mount Roskill in Auckland here in our country of New Zealand from 2016 until 2021 when their visa's had been expired) & crew but one passenger managed to survive the plane wreck, so all thoughts, prayers & heartfelt condolences go to the victims & their loved ones involved in a tragic plane crash, RIP (Rest in Peace/Rest in Pieces), but there was one Aussie cricketer of David Warner who vowed never to go on an Air India plane ever again following a tragedy like that, although Warner is trying to follow the footsteps of both ex-cricketers of Pakistani Imran Khan, Bangladeshi Mashrafe Mortaza, former Aussie rugby player of Zimbabwean born David Pocock, then ex-New Zealand Olympic rowing champion who is now the current mayor of Mount Maunganui of Mahe Drysdale, as well as a former female American IndyCar & NASCAR racer Danica Patrick (Wife of Ricky Stenhouse Jr who seems to be a supporter of that greedy leader) & ex-Aussie league player of Glenn Lazarus as one of the sports stars entering politics.

Black Velvet: My 38th blog of the year 2025

Well, hi everyone, & welcome back to another blog, I'm Whetu Ngapo & you're tuning in to my KiwiAvenger blog here on blogger, but first in the Super Rugby Pacific playoffs department, such as the Crusaders head into the final four with a win over the Queensland Reds whose season is over, meanwhile the Blues (Who face an impossible, daunting task of squaring off against the Crusaders (Who have taken over the top ranking following the Chiefs defeat in the hands of the defending champions, but will be without the big frame of Tamaiti Williams who succumbed to an injury during the qualifying final, & is likely to be ruled out of the next game, & possibly the final should the Crusaders make it, & also been taken out of contention of being picked for the All Blacks as their prop stocks took a hit ever as Williams joined Ofa Tu'ungafasi who got injured meaning that he is gone for the year) in Christchurch) chances of defending their crown still alive after finally at last, of beating the Chiefs with reserve lock Josh Beehre crossing over for the try with a kick to come before Beauden Barrett seals the match winning conversion at the death, just before the Hurricanes quest of reaching the semis had ended as they didn't get the result when they were outperformed, outnumbered, outgunned & outfoxed against the ACT Brumbies who just had an Indiana Pacers inspired performance against the Canes, therefore shutting down the Hurricanes big chances especially at the breakdown, & now head over to Hamilton to take on the Chiefs who had to drop a ranking after their defeat at the death against the Blues.

And here are the upcoming matches scheduled on the weekend of the 13th to the 14th of June this year, which is the penultimate phase of the Super Rugby Pacific playoffs which is the semifinals:

Crusaders (1) Vs Blues (4): Apollo Projects Stadium, Christchurch (Friday, June 13th, 7:05 PM (Local time)

The most recent meeting between the 2 was in 10 where the Crusaders capitalized when James 'JOC' O'Connor kicked the winning penalty to extend their winning streak against the Blues to 3.

& Chiefs (2) Vs Brumbies (3): FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton (Saturday, June 14th, 7:05 PM (Local time)

And the last time both of these sides met was in round 3 where the Chiefs had delivered an emphatic win over the Brumbies.

And secondly that the last F1 race to be held before the world changed everything again which was COVID (For which is the most tragic event of my generation compared to 9/11 way back in 2001) in 2020 was back in 2019 at the Abu Dhabi GP where Lewis Hamilton won even though with both the drivers & constructors championships have been decided (And it took 217 days or 31 weeks since the chequered flag last fell on a F1 championship event which brought the longest Formula One offseason in history (In the aftermath of the Australian Grand Prix being called off at the last minute, & the reason why? Is that a McLaren team member had tested positive for COVID which triggered a cancellation altogether with Austria hosted the opening race of the season in July instead with all of the drivers & team members especially the mechanics would have to be confined to their bubbles), but it was in 2011 that the last time a Grand Prix has been cancelled barring the COVID pandemic, it was in Bahrain due to civil unrest) while the last IndyCar race to be staged before the global COVID pandemic was at the season finale at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca where Colton Herta picked up the victory while the title went to an American driver of Josef Newgarden (Who dominated the last 2 Indy 500s, but the first scheduled race of 2020 was going to be held in St Pete, but it had been moved to the final round of the championship as a result of the pandemic) & the last Supercars Championship event prior to the pandemic was in Newcastle where the championship had already been decided with Scott McLaughlin having been champion already a year before his American adventure in which he began to compete in IndyCar since which was ruined by the Paritygate controversy which saw DJR Team Penske who had their championship points docked as well as being slapped with fines that they handed themselves out, but the pole winning time from the 2019 Bathurst 1000 did not count as their win in the Great Race had to stand (And they chose not to celebrate in wake of the Paritygate scandal after Scotty Mac clinched the championship at Sandown which prompted his high profile move to IndyCar which shocked world motorsport (That was before the Gen 3 era which began in 2023 as they were in the Gen 2 era back in 2019). 

And thirdly the latest in the rugby sevens such as our defending Olympic champions of the Black Ferns sevens wrap up the SVNS title at Dignity Health Sports Park (Located in Carson, California where it was once home to the Los Angeles Chargers before moving to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood where they share home game duties along with the LA Chargers) in Los Angeles, California in the United States in a world championship format with a thrilling win against the Wallaroos 7s (Who dominated in Dubai, & in their home event in Perth on Australia day) in our 5th meeting between the 2 in a women's cup final (Including at one point where Jorja Miller who would definitely score all the way to the try line despite being pursued by the Levi twin sisters of both Maddison 'Maddie' & Teagan at full pace), meaning that New Zealand women have won all but 2 in the SVNS comp for the 2024-25 season (And the South Africans have won the men after easily beating the ever improved Spain men's 7s team (Who drew inspiration following La Furia Roja's football/soccer team's success in the Euros last year against The Three Lions led by it's main man of the young Jude Bellingham (Who currently plays for a Spanish club of Real Madrid) in the final of Euro 2024 at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany) in the men's cup final while our All Blacks 7s (Who had our disappointing defeat in the semi in the hands of the Blitzboks) finish 3rd over the champions of Argentina men's 7s).

And finally in the music department that I just heard that the new song by the all girl rock group from Monterrey in Mexico of the Warning (Who is labelled by most rock & metal music critics as the next big things in the rock music industry during this 2020's decade) with their song MORE, sounds like the UK rock band Royal Blood with their song 'Trouble's Coming' mixed together with 'Oblivion', but it sounds more like 'Typhoons', while the intro is inspired by 'Rock is Dead' by Marilyn Manson, & the vocals remind me of a combination of Taylor Momsen (The Pretty Reckless), Lzzy Hale (Halestorm), Amy Lee (Evanescence) & Emily Armstrong (Linkin Park), while the song 'S!CK', reminds me of a combination of 'Come Back Around' by Feeder & 'Over Each Other' by Linkin Park.

So that is my 614th blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 38th of this year, viva Ukraine & Palestine.

P.S. And the rugby fraternity is in mourning as former Wellington & All Black player 'Super' Stu Wilson has sadly passed away at the tender age of 70 according to one of his old mates of Murray 'Mex' Mexted (Who described Wilson's passing as "A hell of a loss") in which he had a formidable wing partnership with Bernie Fraser during the 80's, so all thoughts, prayers & condolences go to the whanau & his loved ones back home in Gore in the Southland province in the South Island, rest in love.

Stu Wilson

1954 - 2025

Hold the Line: My 37th 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 that it's been 50 years since the Vietnam war ended way long ago in 1975 where it began in 1954 with the fall of Saigon in which the city became Ho Chi Minh City, & I wonder that they'll be a dark future regarding to both wars, such as that dreadful invasion that has been going since 2022 (In which that they're not going to end quick), & in Gaza between Israel & Hamas in which protests about the war that the Israeli people demanding a release of all hostages, but there is a crack down on mentioning Gaza during the protest because of a rare outcry prohibiting free speech being made that would be unfair (And Carole is still heartbroken & sad about it, especially the invasion even though that she is an anti-war activist just like me, but the death toll of the Israel-Hamas war has gone up to 51,000 for which is fatal, while it has been a year since protesters at colleges/universities in the United States were having a red mist such as multiple mass Islamophobic & anti-Semitic incidents being crippled about the war in Gaza between Israel & the Iran backed Hamas forces that had fallen foul by campuses for their erratic, appalling behaviour which resulted dozens of arrests as a result for their sanctions including multiple warnings by asking them to leave the facility (And if they didn't listen, then the cops would be able to forcibly remove protesters from college/university campuses, & slapped them with suspensions for example), & backed a new legislation about that they declared war on protests during a graduation ceremony in order to refrain from causing trouble such as no free speeches allowed, but if they do, there will be evictions being made taken from the college/university grounds, just like Robert F Kennedy Jr (An health expert who doesn't drink alcohol like the President of the United States of Trump (Who is basically a laughing stock throughout the entire world because of his tariff policies, that is a disgrace for him, not at least they'll be a couple of thousands of people are pretty filthy, shocking) who got heckled illegally by protestors like the founder of an American ice cream company who had to be thrown out & tossed by security personnel who announced that there is a certain clamp down on interfering a politician who is speaking such as further protests about the Gaza war (Just like the Winston Peters incident here in NZ during his start of his election campaign, then there were no further likelihood of an incident at David Seymour's election campaign launch that they cut it to 95% with additional security like cops being added), but what happened if they abused him? Then a protestor would be arrested immediately by police, & what if RFK Jr got assaulted? That someone would get tased by the cops who are always armed with stun guns (And at least that they've got US Secret Service protection, especially the Kennedy family when JFK got assassinated in 1963, the last US President to do so (Then there's 2 examples of both US presidents surviving assassination attempts such as Reagan during the 80's, & Trump last year at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, with extra security layers being added in order to stamp out any further incidents of assassinating presidents of the United States, current & former, from being happening), but the high tackles in rugby & in league is like both a punch to the face, or a Hamas fighter would be able to take some random Israeli person hostage like that by kidnapping them (And there had already been calls for Israelis living abroad that they must be protected by having 24/7 CCTV surveillance cameras around their homes just like the one here in Whanganui that I saw (And I've heard reports that the Israeli embassy in Wellington is closing in wake of their invasion over in Gaza against the Iran backed Hamas fighters), & if someone abuses them, the police would be able to call in & make an arrest (And what is the reaction of both wars that they're having? Well they're stunned, stunned silence), & of course, also a spate of punishing, but sweeping tariffs made by US President Donald Trump for which was chaotic, turbulent, tumultuous & torrid during the trade war between US against China according to one of the previous blogs that I did.

And secondly, Super Rugby Pacific news just in as the Chiefs end up on top spot following the regular season had concluded after a convincing win against the Highlanders at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin followed by the Crusaders finish 2nd on the table behind the Chiefs in the aftermath of their victory against the Brumbies at GIO Stadium in Canberra, then the Blues keep their title defence alive by making the post season with a comprehensive score line romp over the New South Wales Waratahs at Eden Park in Auckland (Including departing Blues player Rieko Ioane providing the heroics of getting a hat trick, of course) & last but not least, the Hurricanes end Moana Pasifika's chances of reaching the playoffs with a stunning emphatic win (Including Peter Umaga-Jensen scoring a double, while Cam Roigard's intercept try that may have had the difference of progressing through which proved to be the game changer that surely won the game for the Canes) at Sky Stadium in Wellington while the Queensland Reds wrap up the regular season with a thrashing over the discipline ridden Fijian Drua at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane as the Reds head over to Christchurch to take on the Crusaders in the first of 3 qualifying finals scheduled over the weekend of the 6th to 7th of June along with part 3 of the Battle of the Bombays clash between the Chiefs & the Blues in Hamilton, then the Brumbies lock horns with the Hurricanes for that highly anticipated showdown in Canberra.

And here are the upcoming matches scheduled on the weekend of the 6th to the 7th of June this year, which is the first phase of the Super Rugby Pacific playoffs which is the qualifying finals (Only 4 can go through to the semis with the 3 winners + the highest ranked team who loses would have to progress via the lucky loser system as part of a rejigged playoff format):

Crusaders (2) Vs Reds (5): Apollo Projects Stadium, Christchurch (Friday, June 6th, 7:05 PM (Local time)

Chiefs (1) Vs Blues (6): FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton (Saturday, June 7th, 7:05 PM (Local time)

& Brumbies (3) Vs Hurricanes (4): GIO Stadium, Canberra (Saturday, June 7th, 9:35 PM (NZ time)

And thirdly that I remember Eugene Reaper speaking to the protagonist of the Ballad of Gay Tony of Luis Lopez during the Three Leaf Clover mission in GTA IV that he was the one who took a catch off a pass during a high school gridiron game in the United States was a bad idea because he broke his leg in 13 places, but he scored a touchdown & won that game as the world is being built of bad ideas, just moments before Reaper shot & killed Micheal, then the robbers responded by firing a warning shot, murdering Reaper instantly during a bank heist in which the robbers such as Niko Bellic (The protagonist of the main Grand Theft Auto IV game), Patrick 'Packie' McReary & Derrick McReary (Who said that it was reminiscent of Belfast that he hadn't witnessed combat like that before since, & also that it's like being back in the Troubles all over again (Crikey hell) in which the conflict lasted from the late 60's until 1998 where it ended) stole their money belonging to the bank before police & NOOSE officers cornered them that Packie described it as a bacon factory, damn! Then the robbers engaged in a shooting/shootout against both cops & NOOSE personnel before they escaped that time on that occasion therefore they eventually able to complete the mission (And unlike I went to my bank which is the Bank of New Zealand on the 14th of April that there was a queue where I had to wait for over half & hour before I sussed it out by putting cash into my EFTPOS card).

And finally that the new pope has been announced as Cardinal Robert Prevost becomes His Holiness of Pope Leo the XIV as he takes over from the now late Pope Francis from him as the first American cardinal in history (I don't know whether he is a supporter of either the Chicago Cubs of the Chicago White Sox), but there's MAGA people that they're gonna hate about the new pope who is a 69 year old who recently got appointed on the spot & is criticized both Trump & US Vice President JD Vance (Who infamously fumbled a gridiron trophy in April this year when the Ohio State Buckeyes college gridiron team paid a visit to the White House after winning the national college gridiron championship) as well as he is staunch about being a pro-open border supporter, & a total Marxist like Pope Francis.

So that is my 613th blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 37th of this year, viva Ukraine & Palestine.

Fortunate Son: My 36th blog of the year 2025

Well, hi everyone, & welcome back to another blog, I'm Whetu Ngapo & you're tuning in to my KiwiAvenger blog here on blogger, but first that it was in 2011 that it was the first time I've been to Hawke's Bay with my whanau when I went with Dad, Dad's 2nd partner, Bernie & Jans (Who is living in that province now under the tutelage of the former world fencing champion, Tony Bouskill) which was during the Rugby World Cup (And it was in 2012 that it was the 2nd time I have been there with my whanau so that was the last time), but I do not wish to go there because of Wellington being my preference of going on a future holiday in 2027 or beyond, mainly for whanau reasons, especially that I want to catch up with 3 gorgeous ladies one day such as my biological aunty Cathey & my cousin Paige (Who is a bit of a lookalike of the female American social media influencer (In which she is a model of the American social media platform Instagram who got suspended 5 times on Twitch (The 2nd most suspended streamer behind TheDanDangler (One of Devon's good friends who is a fellow streamer) in September & December 2023 as well as January & March twice last year for breaches regarding to her videos for which I have revealed a story in full about Devon Jenelle on my blogs for the first time so I'd be able to shed some light to all of my fellow readers) of Devon Jenelle (Although that she is an anime lover, a gamer just like me, a model (The one who mainly does fashion such as cosplay alone), as well as a streamer & a weeb (Which means that a Western person who follows Japanese culture), but she was once a football/soccer player during her youth & high school days (She started playing when Devi Jen was 3, then she began to play competitively when DJ was 9, & played college soccer for a year, so for a while) when she first posted her photos on social media at 15 back in 2013, but she's mainly an English speaker & she learned American sign language during her time at high school, & she went skydiving at the age of 15), but I'll never follow Devon Jenelle on social media because I hardly have a social media account (And I will never go on social media again like Facebook, X, Instagram & stuff because I fear that I might abuse anyone just like last time, & I've got a YouTube account (I used to) but I cannot log in like I said before that I shouldn't use foul language to anyone, so I'm not ready or I should say prepared to return) along with the female Brazilian American professional skateboarder of Leticia Bufoni, then the female Aussie WWE wrestler of Rhea Ripley, the current lead singer of Linkin Park, Emily Armstrong (The one who took over from the late Chester Bennington since last year when Linkin Park released their comeback album, From Zero (For which was their first since One More Light back in 2017 for that was the last album to feature long time lead vocalist Bennington before he took his own life on the birthday of the late Chris Cornell ironically), & are about to release the deluxe edition featuring the singles 'Up From the Bottom', & 'Unshatter') as well as famous American Hollywood film actress Megan Fox (The one who appeared in the Transformers movies & Jennifer's Body (Along with Amanda Seyfried & Chris Pratt), & even appeared on Mortal Kombat 1 providing the voice of Nitara), & the famous American Gen Z pop princess just like both Billie Eilish & Tate McRae of Olivia Rodrigo because of her uncanny but remarkable resemblance to her along with both mainly Sarah Hirini (Black Ferns 7's captain who is a twice Olympic Gold Medalist in both Tokyo & Paris) & Kirstie Stanway (Female New Zealand TV presenter of the Sky Sport rugby show, the Breakdown), in contrast of her mother & Norah's grandmother Cathey Middelplaats looking like Alanis Morissette (The famous Canadian American female pop rock singer), Danielle Cormack (Famous Kiwi actress who appeared in Channeling Baby, the Price of Milk, Without a Paddle & the TV series Wentworth) & Famke Janssen (Female Dutch Hollywood film star who appeared in the X-Men, I Spy & Taken movies) again, & my first cuzzie once removed of little Norah for the first time (And Pops has suggested that he could go to Northland that I've already been with both Aunty Tan & Rejean to see Kathryn hence the reason why according from a comment from Pops during his phone conversation with her on Easter Sunday which was on the 20th of April (And if I choose not to go that I'll be at home, but Dad will always check up on me if Pops is away on a holiday, like he goes to the Cook Islands with Carole (Who is moving back to the North Shore in Auckland after rumors being confirmed with here deciding to move on from living here in Whanganui) in October this year).

And secondly that I was born way, way back in 1991, in the same year as the quartet of men's New Zealand rugby players of Beauden Barrett, Brodie Retallick, Codie Taylor & Nepo Laulala as well as a Black Fern of Ruby Tui & New Zealand women's rugby icon of Portia Woodman-Wickliffe + former men's Aussie rugby player Michael Hooper, then the 6 South African male rugby players such as Siya Kolisi, Eben Etzebeth, Faf de Klerk, Bongi Mbonambi, Frans Malherbe & Damian de Allende as well as an English men's rugby player of Owen Farrell, then New Zealand born English male cricketer Ben Stokes, a duo of Aussie men's cricketers such as Josh Hazlewood & Mitch Marsh, followed by a quintet of Black Caps cricketers like Michael Bracewell, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry & Daryl Mitchell, then a quartet of male footballers/soccer players like both Belgians of Kevin de Bruyne & Eden Hazard, a Frenchman of Antoine Griezmann & our own All Whites captain Chris Wood (Who plays for English club Nottingham Forest FC competing in the Premier League, but he'll be 34 when New Zealand is in action of taking part in next year's Football/Soccer men's World Cup which is the third appearance for our country, & our first since 2010 (In which we ended our campaign unbeaten after all 3 group games against Slovakia, Italy & Paraguay had ended in drawn matches), if Wood is both fit & available that he'll make his 2nd appearance at football/soccer's global showpiece event along with Tommy Smith (The one who currently plays for Auckland FC in the A-League) who previously appeared in 2010 alongside Wood, compared to one of Chris Wood's All White teammates of Michael Boxall (One of the players of the New Zealand team alongside Liberato Cacace (An Italian Kiwi just like the Kirwan brothers of footballer Niko & America's Cup sailor Luca), Marko Stamenic (A New Zealand soccer player who is descended of both Croatian & Samoan people) & Alex Poulsen) who will be 37 or 38 by the time the World Cup comes around), & of course (Last but not least), modern day New Zealand America's Cup hero Peter Burling (Who announced that he has decided to move on from Emirates Team New Zealand, & the reason why? That he is incredibly busy as Burling focuses on leading the Black Foils Sail GP team, & for family reasons because that's why that there has been confirmation about the split (And he has been with the New Zealand syndicate from 2013/14 along with Blair Tuke, & had dominated the last 3 America's Cups, starting from Bermuda back in 2017, then finishing right until Barcelona last year which would be his definite last with the current defenders, even though with Auckland just narrowly being out of the picture yet again on hosting the next America's Cup along with Barcelona which is being staged in 2027 due to a lack of finance that prevented of hosting an event like that (And recently that they appointed a new skipper by the name of Aussie Nathan Outteridge who is the one that he replaces Burling who calls time on his America's Cup career (In which he ended as the man who never experienced failure in all 3 America's Cup campaigns that he ever faced, such as the ones in Bermuda, Auckland & Barcelona against the US (The crew made up of Aussie sailors), Italy (Spithill was the helmsman back then in which 2021 was his definite last crack at the Auld Mug) & Great Britain), but now that the Italian city of Napoli has agreed to host the next America's Cup in 2027 due to having secured enough money to host the Auld Mug according to most reports, while this means that the first time Italy will play host to the America's Cup series (Just like Spain hosting the America's Cup 3 times including Valencia twice in 2007 & 2010, & Barcelona once last year (2024), watch this space, but Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli may have a sniff or I should say, a chance of claiming the Auld Mug for the first time (They haven't been to an America's Cup final series since 2021 in Auckland against our own defenders Emirates Team New Zealand) because they have the home water advantage since Napoli being confirmed as the host city in the next edition of the America's Cup in 2027).

And thirdly onto the Super Rugby Pacific news department such as the Crusaders had to give it their all of continuing their dominance against the Highlanders with Tamaiti Williams providing the match winning try just before the end in Christchurch to briefly lead on top of the standings before the Hurricanes had a close shave against the Reds in Brisbane with a victory including the battle of the openside flankers such as the All Black in waiting of Du'Plessis Kirifi of the Canes, & current Wallaby Fraser McReight of the Reds (While the winning try by the Hurricanes was deemed controversial due to a forward pass which should've been erased by the TMO, but the Reds would've won anyway), & of course, the Chiefs have had a comprehensive rout over Moana Pasifika (Who had Patrick Pellegrini getting yellow carded & an off-field review for a dangerous tackle on Emoni Narawa for which dangerous tackles in rugby is like war, but with no firearms & explosives, then there was a regular yellow card against Sam Slade for a deliberate knockdown) in Hamilton to return to the top of the table after the Brumbies had a bye week so that the players can have both a refresh & a recharge going into their all important game against the Crusaders in Canberra to determine who'll finish 2nd on the table behind the Chiefs of hosting a home quarterfinal & a home semi final, but they can't host a home final unless a top seeded team loses that the other top seeded team would get home field advantage.

And finally that I have announced that I will be getting a new cellphone for my birthday so that I can log in to my Gmail account at no time (And if I had my phone, I would be taking a selfie with both Cathey & Paige (And possibly Norah) next time when I'm in Wellington), but I can't take my laptop with me everywhere when I'm on holiday here in NZ next time due to my fears of leaving it behind (And the reason why I got a laptop is to do mainly blogging, & have remote play when I play the PS5 or Xbox Series X for which I did that before, just like my old computer until I switched to my laptop when I had it since), & I guess that I'm an adult or grown up now at the age of 33 (But I'm 34 now since I had my birthday 2 months ago on the 7th of June), but my handwriting is a bit childish (And I have teeth about the size of a kid).

So that is my 612th blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 36th of this year, viva Ukraine & Palestine. 

Orange Crush: My 35th blog of the year 2025 (AKA in memory of Wal)

Well, hi everyone, & welcome back to another blog, I'm Whetu Ngapo & you're tuning in to my KiwiAvenger blog here on blogger, but first that in the rugby department as the squad for the British & Irish Lions rugby team tour down under to Australia this year (2025) has been announced at the O2 Arena in London in front of a live audience of 2,000 passionate British & Irish Lions fans so here is the squad announced in full:

Forwards

Props

Finlay Bealham (Ireland) *2

Zander Fagerson (Scotland) *1

Tadhg Furlong (Ireland)

Ellis Genge (England)

Andrew Porter (Ireland)

Pierre Schoeman (Scotland)

Will Stuart (England)

Hookers

Luke Cowan-Dickie (England)

Ronan Kelleher (Ireland)

Dan Sheehan (Ireland)

Lock forwards

Tadhg Beirne (Ireland)

Ollie Chessum (England) 

Scott Cummings (Scotland)

Maro Itoje (England, captain)

Joe McCarthy (Ireland)

James Ryan (Ireland)

Loose forwards (Back-rowers)

Jack Conan (Ireland)

Tom Curry (England)

Ben Earl (England)

Jac Morgan (Wales)

Henry Pollock (England)

Josh van der Flier (Ireland)

Backs

Halfbacks (Scrum-halves)

Jamison Gibson-Park (Ireland)

Alex Mitchell (England)

Tomos Williams (Wales)

First-five eighths (Fly-halves)

Finn Russell (Scotland)

Fin Smith (England)

Marcus Smith (England)

Midfielders

Bundee Aki (Ireland)

Elliot Daly (England)

Huw Jones (Scotland)

Garry Ringrose (Ireland)

Sione Tuipulotu (Scotland)

& Outside Backs (Back three)

Tommy Freeman (England)

Mack Hansen (Ireland)

Hugo Keenan (Ireland)

Blair Kinghorn (Scotland)

James Lowe (Ireland)

Duhan van der Merwe (Scotland)

*1: Withdrawn through calf injury

*2: Replaces Zander Fagerson as injury replacement

Coach

Andy Farrell (IRFU)

Fixtures

Vs Argentina: Friday June 20th, Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland

Vs Western Force: Saturday June 28th, Optus Stadium, Perth, Australia

Vs Queensland Reds: Wednesday July 2nd, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Australia

Vs New South Wales Waratahs: Saturday July 5th, Allianz Stadium Sydney, Sydney, Australia

Vs ACT Brumbies: Wednesday July 9th, GIO Stadium, Canberra, Australia

Vs Invitational AU & NZ: Saturday 12th July, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia

Vs Wallabies (1st test): Saturday 19th July, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Australia

Vs First Nations & Pasifika XV: Tuesday 22nd July: Marvel Stadium, Melbourne, Australia

Vs Wallabies (2nd test): Saturday 26th July: Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia

Vs Wallabies (3rd test): Saturday 2nd August: Accor Stadium, Sydney, Australia

And what is my reaction to the entire squad? Well, no Owen Farrell (Obviously he can't play for England due to the fact that he plays for a club outside of his home country which is Racing 92 in France as he was being plagued with injury during the season) as he is one of the players who get the biggest shock omission in the team, so too is D'Arcy Graham (The Scottish winger who thought that he should've been in), Tom Jordan (The Kiwi born player playing for Scotland who also could've been in), Sam Prendergast (Who is now Ireland's first choice first five, but didn't make the cut while I wonder he'll be available if one of the 3 first fives for the Lions get injured, he may be able to get the call up he deserves for), George Ford (One of the English first fives who didn't make the team) & Jack Willis, but no as well as Caelan Doris (Not included through injury) & only both Welsh players in the team such as loose forward Jac Morgan & halfback Tomos Williams, compared to the 15 Englishmen (Who have their one test bolter of young Northampton loose forward Henry Pollock who just graduated from the under 20's, then makes his England test debut against Wales in the final round of the men's Six Nations competition by scoring a double in a convincing victory, & was impressive when Northampton advanced through to the final of the Investec Champions Cup after their win against Leinster), 13 Irishmen (Who have their Kiwi born Irish trio in the team such as Bundee Aki, Jamison Gibson-Park, & James 'Lowey' Lowe) & 8 Scotsmen (Who have both South Africans in the team such as Pierre Schoeman & Duhan van der Merwe) in the squad in which they Lions haven't won a test series since Australia (Who'll have Reds coach Less Kiss as their new incoming Wallabies coach as he replaces Kiwi Joe Schmidt following this years Rugby Championship, but there are both players such as Irishman Mack Hansen & Scotsman Sione Tuipulotu who have Aussie links when they tour over there) back in 2013 when they last won the Tom Richards Cup, 4 years before their test series against the AB's in New Zealand ended in a drawn series, then the world champion Springboks outfit won the series 2 - 1 in South Africa which was marred by during the COVID pandemic where the crowds unfortunately weren't there during that time with the remainder of the Lions tour in South Africa being held to one venue which is Cape Town Stadium.

And secondly during the Western Force - Hurricanes Super Rugby Pacific match that there was a fraca between 2 players, one from each side which reminds the Stan Sport commentators that it's like the Royal Rumble when somebody came charging in such as the late Ultimate Warrior, then the Rock (The one who appeared in Hollywood films such as the Scorpion King (His first starring role), Welcome to the Jungle (Who appeared with Sean William Scott), Walking Tall (Who appeared with the likes of Johnny Knoxville) & Doom (He appeared alongside our own Kiwi Karl Urban (AKA Eomer from the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers & the Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, & Johnny Cage in the upcoming Mortal Kombat 2 movie), & John Cena (The one who challenged 'The American Nightmare' Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania XLI in search for a record breaking but elusive 17th world title, & he did when Cena managed to pull it off by becoming a 17 time world champion on Easter Sunday, & what was the reaction of the crowd? It was mixed I have to say whether the fans cheered about the record being shattered which was previously held by 'Naitch' of Ric Flair that was generous or I should say honest about it, while others booed him about Cena by showing hostility towards him in which the fans were stunned, as they were in stunned silence (So they should be) in the aftermath of him beating Cody who was heartbroken that he lost to the new champion in which the WWE universe were gutted & so disappointed for which WM XLI had its downside (But things have a funny way of coming around with the fans being at least were able to cheer up as there was a moment of excitement being produced at WrestleMania XLI in the opening bout of night 1 when Jey Uso, who would finally gone on to become the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion when 'Main Event' managed to overpower the Austrian wrestler Gunther (Who unsuccessfully defended it) in style, sending the WWE universe into a frenzy as the crowd erupt when a new champ is crowned, & the crowd has certainly gone wild on Easter weekend as the Anoai'i family went berserk which entertained the fans as well, especially his son as well as his twin bro & ex-rival Jimmy, & possibly retired wrestler Rikishi (Who was a proud happy guy when his son Jey won the Royal Rumble earlier in the year as he last eliminated Cena (Who had been given a hostile reception after he beat Cody (Who were once brothers last year when he rescued Cody off the clutches of both Roman Reigns & Solo Sikoa before getting a taste of falling victim to the Rock's patented Rock Bottom finisher during a Bloodline rules title match that saw 'The American Nightmare' win, & now they're strangers since Cena assaulted Cody who retained the Undisputed WWE Championship against 5 other men in a title bout inside a ring steel post structure at Elimination Chamber with a cheap shot on him) even with the help of African American rapper Travis Scott, compared to Jey Uso who was wowed by the adoring Las Vegas crowd at Allegiant Stadium (A gridiron stadium located in Vegas which is the home of the Las Vegas Raiders NFL team & they play their rugby league games over there in an event known as Rugby League Las Vegas (The city that plays host to the Las Vegas Grand Prix every year since 2023 in which the race takes place on a Saturday night instead of the traditional Sunday) who appreciated him following his win during the decider in Sin City against Gunther in which the fans were damn stoked about the result to kick off the Grandest Stage of them all that opened proceedings, & what a beauty it was (But it has been day one-ish at the Showcase of the Immortals, right there as the Jey-Gunther encounter, was considered the best match as well as the key highlight at WM XLI (In which they had an ideal but perfect start when Jey won against Gunther to finally become the new champion for the first time ever, but the ending was unfortunate but awful as Cody had lost to Cena therefore he had to surrender the championship, it just had to be), compared to the Cena-Cody one which was the most shocking ending to a WrestleMania since 2023 where 'The Leader of the Cry Babies' had lost to Roman Reigns after being assaulted by Solo Sikoa (Another one of Rikishi's sons & brother of the Uso twins of Jey & Jimmy) which gave 'The Big Dog' to his advantage of defending the Undisputed WWE Championship (Just like 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin did against the Rock way back in 2001 where he hit him with a steel chair that was gifted by Mr McMahon to Austin (The one who was aligned with the chairman at the time) 17 times in a no holds barred match to successfully beat the man known as 'The People's Champion' for the WWE title at WrestleMania X-Seven), a year before losing in the hands of Cody which was the happiest of all endings at WM last year since 2019 where Irishwoman Becky Lynch had won both coveted belts such as both the Raw & Smackdown women's titles (Now renamed the women's world & women's titles when Rhea Ripley had gone to Raw, while Bianca Belair made the jump to Smackdown during the WWE draft in 2023) during the men's Royal Rumble match which was held in late January, & there are other results including 'Dirty' Dominik Mysterio (Son of Rey) who would gone on to become the new WWE Intercontinental champion when he beat 3 other people such as Finn Balor, Penta & Bron Breakker (And there hasn't been a champion for the Mysterio family since 2023 when his dad Rey last held onto the title when he was the US champion when he beat Austin Theory on Smackdown in August by taking the injured Escobar's place, before losing the crown in the hands of Logan Paul at Crown Jewel in November), then LA Knight successfully defends his United States Championship as he overcame the challenge against Tama Tonga, followed by Tiffany Stratton (AKA WWE's equivalent of Toni Storm from AEW who was the women's MITB winner last year) who spoiled Charlotte Flair's party of still becoming the WWE Women's champion, & last but not least, Japan's Iyo Sky (Who is by far the most successful female WWE wrestler from her country of Japan) has beaten the likes of both female African American wrestler Bianca 'The EST' Belair & Aussie Rhea 'Mami the Eradicator' Ripley of retaining the WWE Women's World Championship therefore able to redeem herself after losing to Bayley last year in the most of circumstances at WrestleMania XL for the WWE Women's crown, & then, Seth Rollins was able to beat the likes of both CM Punk & Roman Reigns in a triple threat match by aligning with Paul Heyman who he takes over as Seth's new manager), to name a few famous faces in the world of pro wrestling, such as the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) for example.

And thirdly in Super Rugby Pacific related news such as the Hurricanes humble the Highlanders with Cam Roigard scoring that winning try at the death in which the game had been physical throughout the 80 minutes (There was a card under review against Highlanders skipper Timoci Tavatavnawai (Who Pops is a fan of just because he loves that guy who is in the frame for an All Blacks call-up, but he alluded to me before on May 23rd on the night after dinner at Carole's that he is like a backs version of Ardie Savea (Who had been crowned Super Rugby player of the tournament according to most observers) & I mentioned before on my blogs before that he is like Ma'a Nonu on steroids according to former All Black Justin Marshall) for a dangerous high contact on one test All Black Ruben Love that looked a bit dodgy in which the sin binning offence review had stayed as a yellow because the drop in height was significant, then he returned the favour as he got the timing right of thumping the same guy hard during the 2nd half, but the dangerous tackles in rugby is like war without both the guns & bombs like I said before on my previous blogs) as me & Pops were holding our breaths, a night before Moana Pasifika made history for the 3rd time as they would finally gone on to beat the Blues for the very first time in an upset for all the right reasons with Ardie Savea providing the heroics with a winning turnover very similar to Sam Whitelock for the AB's against Ireland during the quarterfinal of the men's Rugby World Cup in Paris, in 2023 (And Moana were in a similar situation that they conceded a penalty try at the death against the Blues at Eden Park in Auckland also in 2023 as the Blues had a 5 metre scrum before the end of the game where the Moana captain of Ardie had his wish of having a cigar moment (Just like young Tongan winger Kyren Taumoefolau did when he got a hat-trick that sends the Moana faithful into a frenzy, & the crowd has absolutely gone wild that'll live on forever, but I will remember that match, for a long time) before the game ended in fashion (And many people have gone crazy on the socials as the crowd erupt when they went berserk (Especially the people in Samoa, Tonga & the Cook Islands, but nice one uce, CHEHOOOO!!! Great work guys, thank you, you & your men deserve it once more, how about that!), & at least they were holding their breaths as the Blues had a 5 metre scrum because of AJ Lam's incredible tackle on a Moana player who was taken back on their own goal line (And unlike during a Major League Rugby as Seattle Seawolves scored that winning try of OJ Noa against the San Diego Legion at the death that sends the Seawolves fans in sheer delight) as Pellegrini tapped the ball, then kicked the ball into touch so that the ref can blow the final whistle, & there was joy at North Harbour Stadium as they won their 6th game of the season by leapfrogging their cross-town rivals of the current SRP holders the Blues up to 6th to keep them in the playoff race (And the Chiefs are the only New Zealand team who have never lost to Moana before in their history which is Moana Pasifika's next match) in one of the best matches of the 2023 tournament along with the world champion South Africa's encounter with the hosts at the time of France (And the Brumbies are now on top of the SRP standings after 14 rounds by leapfrogging both the Chiefs & the Crusaders, but they are taking a bye in the next round so they can prepare for the next game against the Crusaders (Who'll can go back up to the top with a win against the Highlanders in the 2nd & final part of the great Southern derby should the Chiefs (Who'll need a win to remain on top in terms of points difference) lose to Moana) during the final round which is round 16 so that the players can relax & refresh during the bye week for which is like rough justice, & for all).

And finally that I just heard reports & rumours that there is a war going on between India & Pakistan when the Indians who launched an airstrike in Kashmir that killed 36 for which has been dreadful over there, therefore triggering a start or creation I should say of a new invasion, but the Pakistanis responded in fashion as they murdered 16 in a shelling that triggered escalating military tensions which were deteriorating between borders since the Pahalgam terror attack in April, & then intensified further on the 7th of May as the Indians launched a counter terrorism assault in different areas of Pakistan, dubbed as Operation Sindoor, but the world's richest cricket tournament of the IPL has been suspended indefinitely which brought them to a week due to the war in Pakistan that put India on high alert due to safety concerns (And now that there has been 3 wars such as that dreadful invasion for which has been going since 2022, as well as the one in Gaza between Israeli & Hamas forces & a trade war now between the US against China due to that tariff carry on, statistically speaking, but since that ceasefire between India against Pakistan which came to a halt that means its both wars & a trade war now as of today, & one of the IPL games was on at Dharamsala where there had been an airstrike going on, forcing the match to be abandoned due to a blackout), saying that it might be moved to England in September even if the Indian venues be deemed to be dangerous as the stars trying to flee the country such as Aussie players of Pat Cummins (Who plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad) & David 'Davey Dave' Warner (Delhi Capitals player), & former player as well as coach & Warner's boss, Ricky 'Punter' Ponting (Coach of Delhi Capitals), & now there has been a ceasefire between the 2 countries, as part of the truce agreement set up by the United States meaning that the brief war is over (And the IPL should be back on the 17th of May with teams scrambling to get their foreign players back from home such as Australia (It looks like that Mitchell Starc won't be involved at all as he focuses of playing in the WTC final along with the rest of his other Aussie cricket teammates such as captain Cummins), England, New Zealand, South Africa, & the West Indies).

So that is my 611th blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 35th of this year, viva Ukraine & Palestine.

P.S. And our Ngapo whanau is in mourning as Wal (Who I last met in 2016 at Nana Minnie's funeral, but it was in 2006 where I infamously met him at Northcote where his house requires a bit of a clean up, that's for sure) has just passed away on May 22nd, & all thoughts, prayers & heartfelt condolences go the family of Uncle Wal & his loved ones including his wife Di in Northcote which is located in Albany in the North Harbour province, may you rest in love (But I'm not sure Pops will turn up to the funeral of him, & if he does, I would be able to look after the house, but Dad would always check up on me if Pops is away so, he might be able to stay if he doesn't want to go (First our mate Leon back in March this year, & now Uncle Wal who is gone now as we mourn the loss of our friends & whanau now, but I managed to observe a moment of silence for a minute at 9:29pm on May 22nd this year in honour & memory of him & his life on the day he passed away, thank me by the way (And the funeral is due on Monday so Pops is flying up to Auckland on Sunday to attend a day later (That's the day which is Tuesday or 2 days which is Wednesday before he heads back home to Whanganui), but I don't know whether the funeral is going to be livestreamed, but Pops told me when he came back home that 220 had turned out at the funeral of Wal which took place on the 26th of May).

Wallace 'Wally Wal' Ngapo

1948 - 2025

Crucify: My 34th 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 (And happy birthday to my second cuzzie of Ben 'Benny' Blain who turns 37 today as he's still in the Philippines working for a business there, so I wanted to really give a shout out to him), but first that it's been 30 years since the America's Cup was then, New Zealand's Cup when Team New Zealand had a successful glory of the Auld Mug against Dennis Conner & the boat that wasn't even his on the waters in San Diego, California, United States way, way back in May 1995 (And I remember one time that I was trapped in a old style swimming pool (For which it was renovated in 1999 in order to keep it up to date, but last summer that I had been for a swim 7 or 8 times, compared to once both summer's ago in 2023-24 when I was in Northland with Carole & Pops) at the late Nan & Pops place meaning that I was stuck meaning that my finger was bleeding (And it was like a scene of a horror movie), so I went to an hospital with my parents when I heard the news that Team New Zealand won the America's Cup for the 1st time when it was shown on TV at Whanganui Hospital therefore that's why my love affair of the Auld Mug began (And we won the next one in 2000 in Auckland against the Prada Challenge of Italy in which we had our successful defence of the America's Cup outside of the United States, then we waited 17 years in Bermuda back in 2017 against an all-Aussie crew of Oracle Team USA in which we dominated the last 3 including bringing the Auld Mug back home, then we won another won straight away the last time Auckland had hosted the America's Cup in 2021 against the Italians of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli before we had a historic successful first ever threepeat during the modern era at Barcelona, Spain last year against the Brits of INEOS Britannia, a year before that there was genuine symbolism that began on the move when Peter Burling departed to go to Sail GP, just like Russell Coutts & Brad Butterworth who after our success in 2000 that the pair went to Alinghi founded by the Swiss pharmaceuticals billionaire of Ernesto Bertarelli to successfully pull of the Auckland heist, in which they did in 2003 which was the strangest America's Cup ever) which was Mother's Day back here in our country in which we etched into New Zealand sporting history since the late Sir Edmund Hillary stood atop Mount Everest in May 1953 as we swept all five races to take the cup away from America again in 144 years, in what was the most significant moment in the race's history. As that victory was a 5-0 sweep for New Zealand, making it the first time a challenger had won the cup in 144 years, since 1983 when Australia defeated the United States, as Team New Zealand, with their yacht 'Black Magic', defeated the American challenger, "Stars & Stripes" helmed by the then-controversial Dennis Conner, while Black Magic won all five races, showcasing a strong performance and securing the victory, but that win was notable as it was the 2nd time in America's Cup history that a challenger won the trophy, the first being Australia's victory in 1983, & the win was a major success for New Zealand, marking a significant moment in their sporting history and bringing the Auld Mug to Auckland for the first time.

And secondly, bad news for their beloved GTA aficionados is that the new Grand Theft Auto VI game (Which is set in Vice City (A city based on Miami, Florida that appeared on GTA: Vice City, compared to Liberty City in the state of Liberty (New York in real life) is based on New York City, New York that also appeared on both Grand Theft Auto III & GTA IV, & Los Santos in San Andreas (California also in real life) is based on Los Angeles, California that appeared on both Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Along with San Fierro (The city based on San Francisco, California) & Las Venturas (The city also based on Las Vegas, Nevada) & GTA V) in the state of Leonida (Florida in real life) won't be coming out this year due to the release date being set for May 26th next year in 2026 (And I've got 3 GTA games that I play at the moment such as GTA San Andreas definitive edition, then it's Grand Theft Auto IV that I mainly play daily, & GTA V for which I haven't played since April, but I love it of course (And my favourite part of the game would have to be engaging in a police shooting/shootout (For which GTA IV is by far, the best shooting simulator since the 2005 version of Star Wars Battlefront II (For which also the best Star Wars video game I have ever played, but I like the 2017 version of Star Wars: Battlefront II indeed) according to the previous blogs that I did) which reminds me of both wars, such as that dreadful invasion since 2022, & the one in Gaza between Israel & Hamas that they're still having for that is a stark reminder not only because it is still dreadful & shocking) for which seems to be the good news, but the release date for Rugby League 26 has been confirmed which is happening in July (Same month as Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 is due to come out) for their first Rugby League video game release in 8 years since back in 2017 with Rugby League Live 4, so too is Cricket 26 (Although they have not announced it yet) which will come out to coincide with the upcoming Ashes test cricket series down under between the current holders of the urn, & the defending world test champions Australia (Who'll put their WTC title on the line against first time finalists South Africa at Lord's in London in this year's World Test Championship final in their bid of becoming the first to win 2 titles (It was the Black Caps who stunned India in 2021 at the Hampshire Bowl in Southampton, England, then the Aussies did it last time out against the Indians who appeared in another final at the Oval in London, England), & the Brendon McCullum coached England side (Who'll have the services of former Black Cap Tim Southee (Who retired in December last year from all forms of cricket) as the assistant coach who specialises in the bowling department).

And thirdly, news straight out of the Super Rugby competition as the title race is wide open so here are the results that had happened throughout the weekend:

Fijian Drua 5 - 34 Blues (It was the Blues night as they sail to a convincing victory over the Fijian Drua at HFC Bank Stadium in Suva to keep their playoff dream alive & their quest of retaining the title)

New South Wales Waratahs 21 - 28 Queensland Reds (And it was the Reds who prevail over the Waratahs in style at Allianz Stadium Sydney in Sydney)

Crusaders 19 - 35 Chiefs (It was also the Chiefs night as they return to the top of the table going into their bye week following their high octane win over the Crusaders at the Apollo Projects Stadium in Christchurch)

& Western Force 14 - 33 Brumbies (And it was also the Brumbies (Who had lost Noah Lolesio to a horrific spinal injury during the game) night as they stunned the Force to bits at HBF Park in the west in Perth, & after their result that they leapfrogged the Crusaders to 2nd on the table behind the table topping Chiefs).

And finally that a 21 year old female social media influencer from our country of New Zealand named Dominique McShain-Suson has passed away, & the reason why? Is that she had been diagnosed with an incurable colon cancer (Just like the late American race car driver John Andretti in 2020 (Same year that his Dad Aldo (Twin brother of famous racer Mario) also passed away due to a combo of COVID & bacterial pneumonia) that she had from last year until her passing a year later (And there was Lara Hawker (One of the late Nan's old students at Aramoho School (Highlanders rugby player Jona Nareki's old alma mater which closed down back in 2016, 5 years after both the late Nan (Who passed away also back in 2016) retired, as well as Pops (Who is still alive at 77 (In which he'll be turning 78 on July 5th, 4 weeks after my 34th on the 7th of June (2 days after Dad & 3 days before Aunty Tan) as of today) who retired a year early, & got Her Majesty's service medal for his contribution of teaching) currently living in Auckland for a creative designer job) who came to our place in 2020 before COVID had happened) that she had from last year (2024) until her passing whilst making a documentary about it.

So that is my 610th blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 34th of this year, viva Ukraine & Palestine.

P.S. And the rugby world is in mourning as Josaia Rasuqe, the Olympic silver medalist in rugby sevens for his country back at the Paris Summer Games last year, & the one who had been shown a red card for lifting a referee in a celebratory way, has been tragically killed in a serious fatal car wreck which the vehicle was collided by a train that took his life in France (Just like the late Jerry Collins did in 2015 where he was involved in an accident that also took his life in the aftermath of a bus crashed into his car killing him & his wife instantly (And only their daughter Ayla survived through the impact, but now she's being currently raised in Canada by her relatives) whilst on his way to training for his French club side that he played for of Castres, but all thoughts, prayers & condolences go to the Rasuqe whanau & his loved ones back in Fiji, may you rest in love.

Josaia Rasuqe

1994 - 2025

Midnight City/1901/Lisztomania: My 33rd 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 (And a big shoutout to my half-bro of Jansi Jans who is celebrating his 22nd birthday in Tutira which is located in the Hawke's Bay province out there today so I want to wish him all the best, despite his efforts of recovering that really serious back injury that he's always had as well as him being accident prone as he tends to wreck his vehicles that often), but first that the last CART race to be held before 9/11 (Just like the 2001 Belgian Grand Prix which was the last before the tragic events unfolded in America as the Grand Prix was marred by Brazlian driver Luciano Burti suffered a near fatal accident that he was involved along with British driver Eddie Irvine that almost took his life (And then the race was red flagged indicating that had been stopped as Burti (Who was kept in hospital with facial bruising & a head knock until September 10th, but his crash further enhance safety as Luciano Burti was transported to the circuit's medical centre by ambulance without emergency treatment. After a medical inspection, he was flown by helicopter to the Centre hospitalier universitaire de Liège in a conscious and stable condition with a serious concussion) had been taken to a local hospital, but it was the second major accident Burti had sustained in more than a month as he barrel rolled twice after colliding with the rear of Michael Schumacher's car at the start of the German Grand Prix in July 2001, while the effects of the accident caused Burti to suffer from seizures and amnesia for the next four months, both of which required medication, meanwhile the FIA analysed the accident to enhance safety and prohibited the creation of holes in helmets allowing drinking tubes and radio communication wires to pass through) which had him hospitalized in he suffered a concussion caused by the accident (And he managed to survive because of the vehicle & circuit safety improvements had been made following Senna's fatal crash in San Marino 1994), but was ruled out for the rest of the season as he was replaced by Czech driver Tomas Enge (Who was dropped for the 2002 season due to a lack of experience which forced him to go back to Formula 3000) after being discharged from hospital 6 days later & returned to Monaco to continue his recuperation after he underwent further tests & was placed into induced coma until he left intensive care on September 4th as he sustained facial and head bruising and he underwent a brain scan, which revealed a head injury though no swelling of the brain while Luciano Burti would face a lengthy layoff which lasts about 2 months to complete a full recovery, while the wreck was a talking point for days after the race, with Alain Prost noting that Burti's impact would have been fatal about 10 years earlier, & former driver Jacques Laffite praised the strength of the modern Formula One car's monocoque) was in Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada as Brazilian Roberto 'Pupo' Moreno won the shortened race 5 seconds ahead of eventual champion & championship leader of the late Gil de Ferran who finished 2nd, then it was 'Mikey Mike' of Michael Andretti who rounded out the podium as he finished 3rd in the race as well as the last completed race for Italian Alex Zanardi who is the 2nd most successful international race car driver in Champ Car history before at Lausitzring in Germany (Which took place after the tragic events on September 11th in the United States, then the Italian GP had taken place which was the first F1 race to be held post 9/11, & the US GP was the first international major sporting event held within US boundaries for which the grieving nation were on a slow recovery, 4 years before it turned sour when the fans were experiencing less charitable memories as 6 cars turned up on the circuit instead of the full 20 car grid for the whole 73 lap race as a result of a tyre dispute that turned into a farce or fiasco I should say as the unhappy fans pelted projectiles onto the track such as water bottles & beer cans during the strangest race ever (Who Pops thought it was dreadful & they needed a security firm to show the red card on unruly fanatics who should be thrown out of the venue when I revealed the whole story in full to both him (Who still has little interest about it whilst I can recall about the terrible events being unfolded) & Carole while we were there at Columbus Cafe in Mitre 10 on the 29th of April this year) in which drivers of cars equipped with Michelin tyres withdrew from the June 19th race amid fears by the manufacturer that it was dangerous to drive at turn 13, one of the circuit's quickest parts. Ralf Schumacher, Michael's brother, had crashed during practice when one of his Michelin tires blew out on the turn as the 2005 United States Grand Prix became infamous due to a tyre dispute. Michelin tires, used by most teams, experienced failures during practice, leading to concerns about their suitability for the race. Despite Michelin's request for a track change to slow down speeds, the FIA refused, forcing all Michelin-equipped cars to withdraw before the race, leaving only Bridgestone-equipped teams to compete, while the race was won by Michael Schumacher, the only Bridgestone-equipped team to compete, leaving a sour taste in the mouth of fans and highlighting the controversial nature of the race in which the 2005 United States Grand Prix was a controversial event marred by safety concerns regarding Michelin tires, specifically on the banked turn 13 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. After several tyre failures during practice, including a major accident involving Ralf Schumacher, Michelin declared that their tyres were dangerous to run at full race speed through the banking. Despite Michelin's fears and a request for a chicane to be installed, the FIA refused, leading to the Michelin-backed teams withdrawing from the race, meanwhile the race started with only the six Bridgestone-shod teams, leaving many fans disappointed, gutted & bewildered about the 2005 US Grand Prix made headlines as seven out of the 10 teams had refused to race & will live long in the memory for all the wrong reasons as the race began with just 6 drivers turned up on the grid in the aftermath of 14 Formula One race car drivers withdraw as a result of safety fears over the Michelin-made tyres on their vehicles, while the 2005 season saw a new loophole introduced that restricted drivers to a single set of tyres for both qualifying & the race, & also that 2005 saw mid-race tyre changes cracked down/prohibited, so that the tyres would had to last the whole race. As changing tires every 10 laps wasn't an option, & all 14 Michelin-shod competitors retired their cars at the end of the parade lap on safety grounds after a spate of Michelin tyre failures, & after spending the weekend arguing about tyres, seven teams pitted at the end of the formation lap, leaving just 6 cars on track to contest what remains one of the strangest races ever, & if not one of the most in history embroiled by controversy (As well as being the most bizarre, as well as one of the weirdest events & the biggest political crisis in Formula One history, but the race itself featured one moment of excitement, when Michael Schumacher almost collided with Barrichello after a pit stop, forcing Barrichello off the track for which it should've been a timed penalty as of today for forcing another driver off the track, meanwhile that the 2005 US GP is remembered as the race that only six cars started after Michelin hit problems and all its teams withdrew after the formation lap as Michael Schumacher won a farcical United States GP where fans threw missiles on track in anger, as the 2005 US Grand Prix saw only six cars race due to tyre safety concerns, angering fans significantly that ruined their reputation, & almost destroyed F1 in the United States of America in the process & is considered one of the worst F1 races ever, & the most controversial of all time, but the event is one of the most infamous but notorious races in motor racing history, as all six cars made the chequered flag, with Schumacher (Who claimed a hollow win at the USGP way back in 2005 as the United States Grand Prix of 2005, forever tarnished as one of Formula 1's most shameful days for what was potentially hazardous, what is going on (And I told Pops on our way home about it on April 26th in which he has little interest about it, but that really to me was despicable that the cars with Michelin tyres opting to pull out of the race at the very last minute thinking that it's dangerous, leaving 6 cars with Bridgestone tyres to race the full 73 laps throughout the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, wow! (And is anyone here after Belgium 2021? Guys, honestly that was lame as the teams running Michelin tyres had to peel straight into the pits, & come in then retire after a single lap in protest over safety concerns which prompted a negative reaction from the crowd in a Grand Prix infamously known as F1's Brickyard blow up which was considered the worst in Formula One history where 6 cars ran, just 6 cars! Unbelievable! In what was the US Grand Prix that will go down as one of the most bizarre & controversial events in sporting history in which the angry fans demanding refunds by confronting the people at the ticket office before police officers arrived on the scene to assist of keeping order) leading home Barrichello, and Jordan's Tiago Monteiro (An ex-CART driver way back in 2003 who was the only one who was cheered by the fans when he finished behind Rubens Barrichello, but ahead of his Indian teammate of Narain Karthikeyan who achieved the best result for an Indian in Formula One, finishing 4th ahead of the 2 Minardis of both Dutchman of Christjian Albers (A former DTM driver also way back in 2004), & an Austrian of Patrick Friesacher (Who last competed in Formula One way back in 2005 at the British Grand Prix, before Dutch-Monegasque driver of Robert Doornbos (AKA Bobby D) filled in for him for the remainder of the season) taking the final podium spot, for Jordan's last ever podium finish to date for the constructor once owned by the now late Irish team owner & businessman Eddie Jordan who recently passed away in March this year because of a terminal illness) that he lost both legs in an accident there after being involved in a gruesome collision with Canadian Alex Tagliani who was fortunate & lucky to escape any harm such as injury in which he was unhurt on that occasion.

And secondly in Super Rugby Pacific related news such as the Blues having a comprehensive rout over the Western Force at Eden Park in Auckland, just a day before the Fijian Drua toppled the Queensland Reds in an epic game at HFC Bank Stadium in Suva, before the Hurricanes decimated the top of the table Chiefs (Who led at halftime after Daniel Rona had scored a try off an intercept, before Josh Jacomb converted it, then both sides headed to the dressing rooms until the start of the second 40, but they had been given a reality check following their defeat against the Hurricanes in Welly before their potential but possible match-up preview of the Super Rugby Pacific final against the Crusaders (Who took a bye, but they have the same number of points as the Chiefs who lead on points differential) in a top of the table clash in round 13) with Bailyn Sullivan who just come onto the bench to replace the unfortunate Kini Naholo with an injury as he scored 4 tries in an exciting but pulsating game at Sky Stadium in Wellington for what was my 2nd most standout moment of the 12th round of the comp this year (In which the Hurricanes-Chiefs encounter this year, is the game that made Bailyn Sullivan compared to last year where the game that also made Wallace Sititi of reaching the final to unsuccessfully challenge for the Super Rugby Pacific championship against the Blues), before the ACT Brumbies remain Australia's best as they wallop the New South Wales Waratahs at GIO Stadium Canberra in Canberra, which comes only a day before Moana Pasifika finally get their first win against the Highlanders (Who should've won after Taniela Filimone attempting to pass to Sean Withy, but it wasn't to be as the ball had sailed into touch before referee Paul Williams blew the final whistle, meaning that Moana had made history again (And just both the Blues & the Chiefs are the sides to have never lost to Moana Pasifika before) in another on of those marvellous games (The big moments were Folau getting that monster of a pass to set up a try scored by Jonah Lowe (The man who was named after the late Jonah Lomu, then it was one of the loose forwards of Miracle Fai'ilagi (AKA 'The Miracle Man') who scored the next try before reserve hooker Jack Taylor (Who was on the park for first choice Highlanders hooker Soane Vikena) went over off a rolling maul), & one of the reserve halfbacks of Manu Samoa player of Melani Matavao (Who just come on to replace the regular starting halfback of another one of the Manu Samoa players of Jonathan 'JT' Taumateine) scored the try off a charge down as he was too good in the corner ala Mark Tele'a against England for New Zealand last year (2024) during a test, before Patrick Pellegrini (Who replaced Jackson Garden-Bachop when the 2nd half had started) nailed an excellent conversion from the sideline for which was Damian McKenzie revisited also taken from last year against the English in the same test match) at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin for which was my standout moment of round 12 of the competition (And I mean, nice one again uce, CHEHOOO!!! (Great work guys, thank you, how about that! You & your men deserve it (But I was cheering on for Moana just like Pops when I rewatched the game, especially the last 10 minutes first, then the whole 2nd half when I watched it again once more).

And thirdly that I'd be able to shed some light that there was once a cricket related story about the late Tony Greig being born in South Africa (Just like the other South African players choosing to play for England just like Greig such as Allan Lamb, Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Strauss, Jonathan Trott, Craig Kieswetter, Jason Roy & Dawid Malan, but here in New Zealand we once had Neil Wagner, Grant Elliott, Kruger van Wyk, BJ Watling, Glenn Phillips & Devon Conway as the list of South African born cricketers playing for our country, while Australia once had Kepler Wessels & now Marnus Labuschagne (The one who went to an Afrikaans language school in Brisbane) who is playing for them now), but had made the decision to play for England mainly because of his Scottish parentage when South Africa were in sporting exile as a result of the apartheid regime before being readmitted to international sport way, way back in 1992 (Same year that they made an appearance in the semi whilst making their tournament debut, but they didn't get the result against the English who would march on into the final due to inclement weather that ruined their day), before retiring to become a successful commentator when he lived in Australia working for the Nine network along with former Aussie players Ian Chappell (Who retired from commentary since Fox Sports & Channel 7 have the broadcasting rights to the cricket there in Australia, but he revealed that he had cancer just like the late Greig), Bill Lawry (Tony's old sparring partner, but I heard that he still doesn't watch cricket nowadays since he hung up the mic, & is always into pigeons including him cleaning up the mess with his old baggy green cap) & the late Richie Benaud (Who revealed that he was a cancer sufferer just like the late Tony & Chappell) from 1978 until his passing back in 2012 due to a terminal illness.

And finally that I alluded to Pops before we went to the Cobb on the 28th of April this year about me getting a phone for my birthday this year, but I have to pay monthly for texts, calls & data, meanwhile that I'm saving my money from now on so I could go on my future holiday to Wellington in order to reconnect with Cathey, Paige & Norah one day, & take a selfie with the 3 of them even if I have my phone with me (But Pops said that he could catch up with Kathryn again when he's with Aunty Tan & Rejean in Northland which means that I'm on housekeeping duties by looking after Pops home, but Dad would check up on me if Pops is away, especially if he goes to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands with Carole this October).

So that is my 609th blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 33rd of this year, viva Ukraine & Palestine.

P.S. And the motor racing world is in mourning as former German race car driver & broadcaster who won in Spain during the Spanish Grand Prix way long ago in 1975, & at Le Mans long ago in 1989 of Jochen Mass has passed away aged 78 due to a stroke so all thoughts, prayers & heartfelt condolences go to the Mass family, rest in pieces (RIP, but first it was team owner & businessman from Ireland of Eddie Jordan (Who passed away already as a result of cancer), & now Jochen Mass the former Le Mans winning driver & F1 star from the 70's? As the world of motor racing mourns the loss of both brilliant individuals who are now gone in recent times).

Jochen Mass

1946 - 2025