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 I've started to love Elms Restaurant at St John's Club (For which Pops alluded to me as his 2nd home) as my fave restaurant throughout (Along with Caroline's Boatshed, Japanese Takeaway Momiji, Thai Villa, Spice Guru, Rutland Arms Inn & the Cobb as my other favourites that I love) where they used to have a buffet there, but now they've stopped it since meaning that regular meals like the chicken fillet with chips & salad would have to be served (Except every Fridays & Saturdays where it is making a comeback due to them being so popular).
And secondly, onto the rugby stuff such as the greatest rugby rivalry is happening as the All Blacks will embark on a tour to South Africa (We always talk about that country every year in terms of rugby as well as our rivalry between them) next year as a replacement of the Rugby Championship for our first tour over there since 1996 in which we finally won at last won a test series against the Springboks on South African soil where we take on all 4 South African URC sides such as the Bulls, the Lions, the Sharks & the Stormers before taking on the defending world champions the Boks in 4 tests including the 1st test at Ellis Park in Joburg then the 2nd test takes place at Cape Town Stadium in Cape Town before heading back to Johannesburg for the 3rd test in the impoverished township of Soweto at FNB Stadium (AKA Soccer City for that was the venue for much of the 2010 Football/Soccer men's World Cup in which they haven't hosted a rugby test since 2013 where South Africa played Argentina, but the last time the AB's played there was in 2012 against the Boks (The first time we played there, it was in 2010 against the South Africans where Israel Dagg would gone on to score the winning try in order to silence the 94,000 Afrikaners there (It was Ma'a Nonu who would deliver a beautiful try assist to Dagg whilst playing on one boot) & the 4th & last test will take place at a neutral venue in which they'll be an epic test series of the ages to show whose proof of toughening themselves for the next men's Rugby World Cup which is expected to take place in Australia in 2027 (Which takes place a year after New Zealand's tour of South Africa (Who'll head to New Zealand for a rugby tour in 2030 a year after the British & Irish Lions descend on New Zealand shores in 2029, & the year before the 2031 men's Rugby World Cup takes place in the United States).
And thirdly in the motor racing department, especially in the Supercars Championship such as Euromarque Motorsport Park will host the 2nd New Zealand round of next season's Supercars Championship in Christchurch (One of 4 venues that hosted the NZ round of Australia's premier motor racing series after Pukekohe, then Hamilton, Taupo & the aforementioned Christchurch) after being given upgrades worth 10 million New Zealand dollars for new pit facilities & safety features that are being approved, a week after Taupo will host the first New Zealand leg of the championship.
And finally that the AB's have just simply named our team to play in our highly anticipated test against Ireland (Our last meeting between the 2 was last year in which the AB's won that epic test in Dublin, in one of the best games that Damian McKenzie had experienced in the black jersey) at Soldier Field (For which we have not played at that ground since that fateful first ever defeat back in 2016 against the Irish who became competitive since) over in Chicago, Illinois in the United States, so here is the team naming in its entirety:
STARTING XV (RUN ON)
FORWARD PACK
FRONT ROW
1 (Loose head prop): Ethan de Groot (Highlanders/Southland)
2 (Hooker): Codie Taylor (Crusaders/Canterbury)
3 (Tight head prop): Fletcher Newell (Crusaders/Canterbury)
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): Ardie Savea (Moana Pasifika/Wellington)
8 (Number 8): Peter Lakai (Hurricanes/Wellington)
BACK LINE
HALVES
9 (Half-back): Cam Roigard (Hurricanes/Counties Manukau)
10 (First five-eighth): Beauden Barrett (Blues/Taranaki)
MIDFIELD
12 (Second five-eighth): Jordie Barrett (Hurricanes/Taranaki)
13 (Centre): Quinn Tupaea (Chiefs/Waikato)
OUTSIDE BACKS
11 (Left wing): Caleb Clarke (Blues/Auckland)
14 (Right wing): Leroy Carter (Chiefs/Bay of Plenty)
& 15 (Fullback): Will Jordan (Crusaders/Tasman)
& REPLACEMENT PLAYERS (IMPACT)
16 (Reserve hooker): Samisoni Taukei'aho
17 (Reserve loose head prop): Tamaiti Williams
18 (Reserve tight head prop): Pasilio Tosi
19 (Reserve lock): Josh Lord
20 (Reserve loose forward): Wallace Sititi
21 (Reserve half-back): Cortez Ratima
22 (Reserve midfielder): Leicester Fainga'anuku
& 23 (Reserve back): Damian McKenzie.
So that is my 633rd blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 57th of this year, viva Ukraine.
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