Well, welcome to 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 there was a tragic story regarding to 9/11 (For which was the first tragic event in the country since the JFK assassination way, way long ago in 1963 as no other event in US history, not even Pearl Harbor, the deadly attacks on New York & Washington that claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 people on September 11th, as some 2,750 people were killed in New York, 184 at the Pentagon, & 40 in Pennsylvania (Were one of the hijacked planes crashed onto the ground in Shanksville as the 9/11 terrorist attacks claimed 2,977 lives & changed the world as they knew it when the President of the United States at the time of George W. Bush led the national response in the uncertain days as they declared the war on terror, such as the wars on both Afghanistan that lasted until 2021 & Iraq which lasted until 2011) as 4 planes were hijacked (For which were coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda (19 of them were militants associated with the Islamic extremist group from at that moment, is that America was under attack when tragedy struck (And before September 11th, 2001 that it was easy to get on an aeroplane, but following the tragic circumstances that they had, it was incredibly difficult to board a plane like that for when at that certain moment, as the United States were under attack from terrorists) against America way back in 2001 on the morning of 9/11) where it's been 24 years since tragedy took place (And they already had the 24 year anniversary commemorations on September 11th this year, for which security had been heightened on that occasion, especially in New York), both brought down the World Trade Center Twin Tower buildings, while another crashed into the Pentagon located in Washington D.C., & the 4th one was forced down into the wooded area in Pennsylvania, the world was stunned as many lives were lost when the 2001 United States Grand Prix was the first major international event to be held within American boundaries since the terrorist attacks of 9-11 as the Americans embraced the occasion as a means of reacting to the atrocities & showing as best as they could that it was business as usual, as it fell a fortnight following the September 11th attacks, the first major event in the USA forming an emotional sporting bedrock for the country to begin its slow recovery, as the United States GP at Indianapolis, 19 days later, was the largest public gathering in the shattered nation since that fateful day as the warmth of the reception flowing from the mighty tiered grandstands left no doubt about the wisdom of running that race. Even though with the title haven been settled weeks before, it would have been not too tough for F1 to back out of its commitment. Although on that weekend, however, the GP acted as a statement of national resolve in the aftermath of such tragedy, when Finland's Mika Hakkinen (The double world champion who had a near fatal accident way back in 1995 during a qualifying session when Adelaide hosted the Australian Grand Prix, for the last time prior to Melbourne taking over from them of hosting a Grand Prix race in Australia from 1996 until 2019, & since 2022, where he survived the impact that he had endured during his motor racing career) in the McLaren won that Grand Prix, for the 20th & final time of his F1 career on that memorable occasion.
And secondly that the Springboks had dominated international rugby from 2018 when they beat the All Blacks in Wellington until 2019 when they won the men's Rugby World Cup in Japan, & for the last 3 years straight such as the successful defence of the men's Rugby World Cup in 2023, then back to back Rugby Championships in both last year & this year in which the bomb/nuke squad even never ever seem to fail when the coach decided to bring players off the pine onto the field early in situations like that in order to take advantage of it to replace players in the starting XV who fall out of favour, even when South Africa is trailing by a huge deficit (And it seemed to be innovative therefore creating a higher chance of a certain win).
And thirdly that there was an incident a few weeks ago, involving a man who smashed a window of the home of veteran New Zealand politician Winston Peters (And there was a dog inside, but what if the dog intervened by attacking the suspect? As the animal would even maul him to the ground) which resulted in an arrest by the police, but he is expected to face charges for the crime that he committed that was deemed to be deliberate which was at fault.
And finally after England had blown our chances of a grand slam for that had been dashed & short lived with an unfortunate loss in London (Our 3rd of the year, as well as our first since that record defeat against the world champions South Africa in Wellington, & our first against the English since the 2019 semi during the men's Rugby World Cup (And at Allianz Stadium Twickenham against the Red Roses men since 2012), the All Blacks have named our team to play against Wales for our last test of the year this year in 2025 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff (Our last meeting between the two was in 2022 where we walloped, pummeled & smashed them to bits & pieces in a comprehensive blowout win, including Aaron Smith scoring a try, then creating one for Ardie Savea for that was the best All Blacks game on foreign soil I have ever seen at the time, but the last time we lost to Wales was in 1953, even though with the Welsh are seeking 72 years of hurt, & we have not lost at that Principality Stadium ground since 2007 during the men's RWC against the hosts at the time of France (The only time we suffered a defeat since its opening in 1999 in time for rugby's global showpiece event as it was built to replace the old Cardiff Arms Park stadium), so here is the team naming in its entirety according to our AB's coach of Razor:
STARTING XV (RUN ON)
FORWARD PACK
FRONT ROW
1 (Loose head prop): Tamaiti Williams (Crusaders/Canterbury)
2 (Hooker): Samisoni Taukei'aho (Chiefs/Waikato)
3 (Tight head prop): Pasilio Tosi (Hurricanes/Bay of Plenty)
SECOND ROW
4 (No.4 lock): Scott Barrett (Captain, Crusaders/Taranaki)
5 (No.5 lock): Fabian Holland (Highlanders/Otago)
LOOSE FORWARDS
6 (Blind side flanker): Simon Parker (Chiefs/Northland)
7 (Open side flanker): Du'Plessis Kirifi (Hurricanes/Wellington)
8 (Number 8): Wallace Sititi (Chiefs/North Harbour)
BACK LINE
HALVES
9 (Half-back): Cortez Ratima (Chiefs/Waikato)
10 (First five-eighth): Damian McKenzie (Chiefs/Waikato)
MIDFIELD
12 (Second five-eighth): Anton-Lienert Brown (Chiefs/Waikato)
13 (Centre): Rieko Ioane (Blues/Auckland)
OUTSIDE BACKS
11 (Left wing): Caleb Clarke (Blues/Auckland)
14 (Right wing): Will Jordan (Crusaders/Tasman)
& 15 (Fullback): Ruben Love (Hurricanes/Wellington)
& REPLACEMENT PLAYERS (IMPACT)
16 (Reserve hooker): George Bell (Who comes in to the side to replace Samisoni Taukei'aho who is elevated to the starting lineup at hooker as he replaces Codie Taylor)
17 (Reserve loose head prop): George Bower (Who is called into the team as he replaces Tamaiti Williams who is promoted to the run-on team, replacing Ethan de Groot)
18 (Reserve tight head prop): Fletcher Newell (Who is dropped to the bench as Pasilio Tosi makes way for him to start at the tighthead prop position)
19 (Reserve lock): Josh Lord (Who is demoted to the bench as the returning Fabian Holland makes way for him after missing the England test due to sickness)
20 (Reserve loose forward): Christian Lio-Willie (Who replaces Wallace Sititi who earns promotion to the starting XV as he replaces the injured Peter Lakai at number 8)
21 (Reserve half-back): Finlay Christie (Who takes Cortez Ratima's place at the reserve halfback position with Ratima earning promotion to the starting XV run-on team, replacing Cam Roigard)
22 (Reserve midfielder): Leicester Fainga'anuku (Who is dropped to the bench at the reserve midfielder position as he replaces Anton-Lienert Brown as he comes into the starting lineup to replace Quinn Tupaea)
& 23 (Reserve back): Sevu Reece (Who is returning to the side at the reserve back position as he replaces Damian McKenzie who starts at 10 by replacing Beauden Barrett).
So that is my 639th blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 63rd of this year, viva Ukraine.
P.S. And our whole Ngapo & Webb family are in mourning as my close friend & a tennis lover who is a Kiwi of both a mixture of both British & Iraqi descent of Carole Webb has recently passed away aged 73 due to a drug overdose that she had before being admitted to hospital in Wellington (Her son Andy & possibly his wife Kelsey flew up from Auckland to be by her side, & I was like oh my god, holy hell, this can't be happening, but I can't believe she's gone I was once told Pops about it on the day that she passed away (And now Pops is a 2 time widower now, you gotta be joking, I know, what the hell (First Nan back in 2016, & now Carole this year, how emotional this has been (Oh my goodness, how sad, but imagine if we lose one of our family members like her from there? Oh hell, that really was heartbreaking in fact (But I did have a moment of silence to mourn her since she passed between 11 to 12am when her life support had been turned off immediately, but it was Dad who I saw after I went for my morning walk alluded to me that she had got 2 hours to live), wow!), but they haven't announced a date for her funeral to take place back in the City of Sails at Tamaki Makaurau in which Pops & possibly Dad will go up (Well, I'm not going because it'll be boring so I've opted to stay & look after Pops home, but it has been confirmed that there won't be a funeral, but it'll be a celebration of life instead in a month or 2 according to confirmation from Andy himself) so all thoughts, prayers, & heartfelt condolences go to her whanau, & her loved ones, may you rest in love (And my fave memory with her was going to Northland in late 2023 on a holiday with Carole & Pops meaning that it was my last trip to date (And my favourite part of the trip because of the reason why? It would have to be the food of course that I loved) where I saw Kathryn, Ken, Andy & Kels to say the least).
Carole Irene Webb
1952 - 2025
No comments:
Post a Comment