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
No comments:
Post a Comment