Rules Of The Game Of Thrones: 4 Year Anniversary

Well, it's been 4 years and 6 days since my 1st ever blog (Dubbed as Rules Of The Game Of Thrones which I named my blog which is a portmanteau of Rules of the Game (Which is my all time favorite book but I always laugh about the fouls (And the high tackles which is kinda funny because I've got the new Rugby Challenge 3 game) which is the funny thing about the book) and the HBO TV series Game Of Thrones (I mean how exactly did Jon Snow die, oh come on!) that I did so let's get the full rundown of my 1st blog:

It was Sunday, the day of Aunty Tania Manu Ngapo's arrival in NZ from Canada, the reality is what I would do before she gets here, that is the question, but once when she arrived, I discovered that Stellar was indeed the best option to go for lunch to meet them, as it happens once they had lunch, the food that I had was really awesome such as the chicken burger & chips but my half-brothers pizza that he had was OK, as well as my step-brother having the same as my half-brother, but the pizza that he had lacked imagination because it was indeed fighting like a rock! But I always vowed loyalty and respect to desserts also such as the chocolate torte, then nek minnit after Stellar headed straight home and watched the V8 car race, played video gaming, having casserole for dinner and went to sleep for an incredible day of arrival for Aunty Tania.

P.S. We talked about the new aliases for Aunty Tania's partner Réjean and his son Eric today, Réjean is known as Giuseppe Pedersen and of course Eric AKA Giuliano Richtsteiner.

Well, my 1st blog was a bit emotionless but it was worth every penny, imagine that not only because it is 1 month ago till my birthday as well as the All Blacks 3 match test series against Wales (Me and Poppa are going to the 2nd test in Wellington for this) and Euro 2016 (Which is held in France under tight security mode but who's gonna win just like Leicester City did in the English Premier League (It was 5000 to 1 odds to win the league, not 500 to 1) but it is only 90 days till the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, I Can't wait.

P.S. On Wednesday, I cooked macaroni cheese for lunch then Pops took me there to Breakers café and bar for dinner & I had one of Jansen's favorite food is butter chicken as well as having a butter scotch cheese cake for dessert as well as they had a quiz night there so I went home during half-time (And yeah I was drinking too much water there) then 1 day later, me and Poppa went to the splash centre as well as having noodles for lunch and played last card and then yesterday that I went to Stellar for dinner because I had a foul play pizza for the 1st time in 3 years and 11 months as well as having a chocolate cheese cake for dessert before watching the rugby between the Crusaders and the Reds (Well the Crusaders did win, topping the New Zealand & Australasian conference and if the Chiefs lose, the Crusaders would remain top spot), effectively ending a great Friday it was.

Blog XLIV: Super Rugby experience in Wellington

On Saturday the 9th of April, me (Well I am an Alternative Rock type of person but Pops thinks that I like Heavy Metal so fair enough) and Pops left Wanganui to go to the Windy City of Wellington (The capital of New Zealand) but 1st we had to go through towns such as Kaitoke, Whangaehu, Turakina, Bulls, Sanson, Himatangi, Foxton, Poroutawhao, Levin, Ohau, Manakau, Otaki, Te Horo, Waikanae, Paraparaumu, Mackay, Paekakariki, Pukerua Bay, Plimmerton, Mana, Paremata, Porirua and Johnsonville and after 3 years (Well I have never been to Wellington since 2013) we have finally reached Welly (Well Pops hasn't been to Wellington since last year).

So 1st up we went John & Lim's to stay for the night (Well I saw a relay for life event that they ran for 24 hours as well as seeing the movie set for that upcoming Scarlett Johansson movie but no it is a remake of the 1981 film Goodbye Pork Pie as the whole city was in lockdown at the moment) but 1st we went to the St James Theatre for lunch where I had a Salmon with bread before we went back to their apartment to watch the Crusaders play the Western Force and the Crusaders almost lost the game with their 20 points to 19 and after that we went for a walk to see both the Thai festival and the relay for life that I mentioned before but an Argentinian rugby fan saw my Lionel Messi Argentina football/soccer jersey saying vamos Argentina or vamos Jaguares, well I laughed about it. Then me, Pops, John and Lim had a look at the giant orc then I had a quick look at EB Games then it was dinner time because we had a feed at Little Penang (Well I had the mee goring because I really like noodles). And then back to John and Lim's apartment to prepare our formalities such as putting the FC Barcelona scarf round my neck as well as getting my new All Black jacket on then Lim drove us to the railway station all the way to the game (Although we made buns with mustard so John had to get the ham) and we were at Westpac Stadium (My 3rd visit to that venue and 1st since 2013 during the Better Home and Living was held where I had lunch there) already but John has got 3 e tickets that required to be scanned and so here we are by finding our seats on halfway to watch my 2nd super rugby match, this time it's the Hurricanes taking on the Jaguares of Argentina so let's see how it unfolds between the 2 sides in the 2016 Super Rugby competition:

1ST HALF

START: The away side, wearing orange jerseys, start the game.
2ND MINUTE: Sanchez appeals for a penalty to the 22 after a Canes player joins the ruck incorrectly.
1 MINUTE LATER: A promising build-up comes to nothing when a carrier is caught not releasing as the Jaguares definitely look as though they have come to play.
2 MINUTES LATER: Neither side has managed to respect possession very well so far, but we're almost going end-to-end.
3 MINUTES LATER, MISSED + PENALTY: A relatively simple one for Beauden Barrett, who is central-ish and not too far from the try line, but it is hooked.
2 MINUTES LATER, TRY: And Beauden Barrett scores! Ardie Savea picks up the ball from a turnover, poor recycling from the Argentineans, and it is collected on the slide by Barrett whose momentum and greasy surface takes him over the line.
1 MINUTE LATER, CONVERSION: Barrett from close to the left sideline has no problem with the more difficult shot of the two so far.
5 MINUTES LATER: Jaguares continue to show their intent to go at the Canes. A (slow) scrum on their own 22 is an obvious chance to clear, instead they run the ball through the backs. 
1 MINUTE LATER: They get well over the half-way before spilling the ball, though an offside advantage was looming.
1 MINUTE LATER, YELLOW CARD: Uh-oh! Ardie Savea is sent for 10 minutes for collapsing a maul in a dangerous situation.
1 MINUTE LATER: Jaguares' first attacking lineout is promising, it brings a penalty and maybe wasn't too far away from being a penalty try.  The second is messy, but they'll get a third shot on the edge of the 22.
2 MINUTES LATER, TRY: Leonardo Senatore emerges from a pile of bodies, he managed to force his way over from the back of the ruck.
1 MINUTE LATER, CONVERSION: Sanchez nails it from the left sideline.
2 MINUTES LATER: Matias Moroni hacks forward a loose ball that TJ Perenara cannot control.  He leads the chase and traps Jane inside his 22, but the promising moment goes to waste when the chasing defenders fly off their feet at the breakdown.
5 MINUTES LATER: Boffelli gets his hand to a Laumape pass, he really should have held the intercept. He would have been away and not many would have the speed to catch him with a start.
2 MINUTES LATER, TRY: This time they do manage an intercept try! Moroni seizes a pass from Perenara, who was under pressure and should have held on.
1 MINUTE LATER, MISSED CONVERSION: Sanchez can't curl this one back from the right flank.
5 MINUTES LATER: Perenara makes a break but can't find any support...it is dealt with for now...
1 MINUTE LATER, TRY & CONVERSION: Barrett sends Blade Thomson through a hole and the big man's long, looping pass for Julian Savea brings a try in the corner. Some rare lapses from the Jaguares as Barrett's left sideline conversion sneaks in at the near post.
1 MINUTE LATER, TRY: Perenara breaks down the short side and dinks the ball forward. Chasing is Savea and he slides over the line with the ball in his grasp. Almost a carbon copy of Barrett's try! Lethal!
1 MINUTE LATER, CONVERSION: Barrett keeps his cool from the left sideline. What a swing at the end of the half!
HALF-TIME: That will be a bitter pill to swallow for the tourists on their first experience of Super Rugby in New Zealand. They were the better side for much of the half, but were hit by sucker punches.

And it was half time (During the 1st half I had some ham with buns with mustard) so I had to go to the toilet and guess who I saw, Nehe Milner-Skudder because his right arm was injured during a game against the Blues as he was walking with a broken arm and after I went to the loo, the 2nd half was about to start so let's see how it unfolds during the 2nd half:

40TH MINUTE: 2nd half kick-off
4 MINUTES LATER: Scrum penalty against the Hurricanes. The Jaguares have had some success already from punting the ball to the corner, what can they conjure here?
1 MINUTE LATER: Not much momentum on that attack, and the Jaguares turn it over.
3 MINUTES LATER: A great opportunity goes to waste for the Jaguares when the ball goes wide. Pablo Matera drops it cold with an overlap.
1 MINUTE LATER, PENALTY: Dane Coles and Savea combine down the left to break up-field and the Canes almost go all the way. The ball trickles in touch eventually under the arm of a supporting player before Sanchez reduces the deficit after a break in play.
4 MINUTES LATER, NO TRY: Could that be the pivotal moment of the night? Landajo runs away from the ruck and attempts an inside-ball, but it is telegraphed and intercepted by Brad Shields. He has just enough momentum to get over the line. But! The TMO overrules because of a foot in touch from a Jaguares player a phase earlier. Controversy!
2 MINUTES LATER, TRY: Barrett drops off Coles and he shows his speed to sprint over from 20 metres.
2 MINUTES LATER, CONVERSION: Beaudy Barrett drills it, midway between the posts and the right touch.
2 MINUTES LATER: Some pushing and shoving between both sets of forwards here. It came from innocuous penalty. This is a theme of the Jaguares' games it seems! It's nothing more than handbags.
1 MINUTE LATER: The infringement is deemed to be a Jaguares one. The Hurricanes kick to the corner.
2 MINUTES LATER, TRY: A scrum won against the head, on the Jaguares' line! The ball is spread to Halaholo, who launches a beautiful spinning pass out to Julian Savea for the hat-trick. Welcome back, Julian!
1 MINUTE LATER, MISSED CONVERSION: Barrett hooks it from the left edge.
2 MINUTES LATER: Jaguares turn it over in a good position, can they put themselves back in the hunt for at least a bonus?
4 MINUTES LATER, TRY: Landajo darts to the blind side from the scrum after Julian Savea moved in-field. Clever.
1 MINUTE LATER, CONVERSION: Straight as a dye from Sanchez, from the right flank.
2 MINUTES LATER: Sanchez with an uncharacteristic mistake. He goes for the corner flag with a big touch-finding penalty, but he can't make it. Savea pats it back in.
1 MINUTE LATER, TMO
1 MINUTE LATER, NO TRY: Sanchez puts Paz through a gap from a scrum and he looks destined to score. He reaches out, but the ball is dislodged. Credit Otere Black.
1 MINUTE LATER: Landajo pops up a ball from the back of the scrum, it is a mile forward. Boffelli thinks he's scored.
3 MINUTES LATER: With that decision going against the away side (correctly), their challenge looks to have fizzled out.
1 MINUTE LATER, TRY: Bonus point restored! Ben May crashes over Landajo from the back of the ruck to score.
1 MINUTE LATER, CONVERSION: Barrett adds some gloss to the scoreline.
FULL-TIME: It sounds comprehensive, but this game really could have gone either way 10 minutes ago. A harsh lesson for Jaguares on their New Zealand debut.

And after that, we walked all the way to the apartment to spend our night there, then the next morning we headed to Drexel's for breakfast (Well I had to visit the film set once more) where I had pancakes with bacon, scrambled eggs and hash brown before we headed back to the apartment and said goodbye to both of them and then we headed off to Murray Gray's in Johnsonville to see him and his Filipino partner Viluz and we had a chat there just before we headed back home (We filled some petrol there in Bulls while I bought a diet coke because I was getting thirsty) and we headed to 15A Kells Avenue (AKA Poppa's place) where we had noodles for lunch before I went back home to end a beautiful trip it was.

P.S. Some Great news: Pops told me that we are coming back to Wellington to see the world champion All Blacks (They are the best in the rugby world) play against 2015 Rugby World Cup quarter finalists Wales (Who lost to South Africa then they lost to the AB's) coached by New Zealander Warren Gatland (And man, these tickets are totally expensive than the Hurricanes one but this should by my 1st All Black game that I'm going to and for Pops, it's his 1st in 2 years where he and the late Nan went in Argentina to see them play against Argentina) and what about the lunch & dessert that I had as well as winning last card by getting a massive clean sweep for the very 1st time in the series it was.

A Super Rugby trip to Palmerston North like no other

Yesterday it was a great day to go to Palmerston North to see my beloved Hurricanes play against the Western Force.

Me and Pops went through Kaitoke, Whangaehu, Turakina, Bulls (Pops went to the toilet/wharepaku there), Sanson, Awahuri and Newbury, we have finally reached Palmy but 1st Poppa needed to buy both tickets for the game and he did before going to the mall to have a look so Pops bought a portable vacuum cleaner as well as his pants but I was thinking that we could go to the sports bar for dinner but Pops told me that he was looking for a restaurant such as Asian (Like Chinese or Indian), but we ended up going to Cobb and Co and I had a burger there while Poppa had roast.

And after that, we went to the Central Energy Trust Arena and we found a car park just in time but we had to wait until 6 o'clock for the gates to open and we found a seat to sit in and I saw injured Hurricanes player Nehe Milner-Skudder as well as ex Black Fern Melodie Robinson, former All Black Christian Cullen and Scotty 'Sumo' Stevenson as well as the fans, Hurricanes and Force team personnel and the cameramen.
And as the match went underway, let's see how the match unfolds during the 1st half:

START: We are underway as the referee blows his whistle.
4TH MINUTE: The defensive line has been broken as Victor Vito goes through the gap.
1 MINUTE LATER A gap opened in the defence and James Marshall took full advantage.
4 MINUTES LATER: Beauden Barrett can consider himself unlucky as he sees the ball hit the left upright and bounce away.
4 MINUTES LATER, PENALTY: Peter Grant has kicked a penalty goal.
3 MINUTES LATER: Force have won 20 rucks so far this game and this is dangerous for the defence as Ben Tapuai bursts through to advance the Force attack.
1 MINUTE LATER: Trouble here as Solomoni 'Junior' Rasolea breaches the defence
2 MINUTES LATER, PENALTY: Peter Grant steps up to take the penalty but pulls it wide and to the right.
1 MINUTE LATER: Hurricanes have won 20 rucks so far this game.
2 MINUTES LATER: Fabulous play by the Hurricanes has led to Victor Vito being able to wriggle through a gap.
3 MINUTES LATER, TRY: Great hands by the Canes leads to a try for Dane Coles as Ardie Savea sets up the try and Dane Coles makes the break as the defence re-enacts the parting of the red sea.
1 MINUTE LATER, CONVERSION: Beaudy Barrett has kicked a conversion.
1 MINUTE LATER: What a run here by Marcel Brache as he gets over the gainline.
5 MINUTES LATER: Force have won 40 rucks so far this game.
2 MINUTES LATER: The defensive line has been broken as Barrett goes through the gap.
1 MINUTE LATER: Hurricanes have won 40 rucks so far this game.
2 MINUTES LATER: A gap opened in the defence and Alby Mathewson took full advantage.
1 MINUTE LATER: This is dangerous for the defence as TJ Perenara bursts through to advance the Hurricanes attack.
1 MINUTE LATER, PENALTY: Beauden Barrett kicks the penalty.
1 MINUTE LATER, HALF-TIME: The half-time whistle blows and both teams’ head for the dressing rooms.

What about the 1st half, it wasn't pretty reckless like far beyond our expectations, alright, 2nd half anyone?

40TH MINUTE: The 2nd half is underway.
3 MINUTES LATER, PENALTY: Peter Grant makes no mistake with that penalty goal attempt.
1 MINUTE LATER: Trouble here as Vaea Fifita breaches the defence.
3 MINUTES LATER, SUBSTITUTION: Nathan Charles comes off while Heath Tessmann comes on but fabulous play by the Canes has led to Chris Eves being able to wriggle through a gap.
1 MINUTE LATER: The Hurricanes have won 60 rucks so far this game.
2 MINUTES LATER: Victor Vito leaves the field while Callum Gibbins comes on for the Canes
3 MINUTES LATER: Ben McCalman makes the break as the defence re-enacts the parting of the red sea.
2 MINUTE LATER: What a run here by Vince Aso as he gets over the gainline.
1 MINUTE LATER, TRY: Matt Hodgson has made 10 good tackles so far this game while the Canes are only a few metres out, surely they must score! And they do with James Marshall touching down and the Hurricanes have won 80 rucks so far this game.
1 MINUTE LATER: That's a great try assist by Perenara.
1 MINUTE LATER, SUBSTITUTION & MISSED CONVERSION: Alby Mathewson departs for Force as Force sub Ryan Louwrens comes onto the field as Beauden Barrett has hooked the conversion to the left of the posts.
1 MINUTE LATER: The defensive line has been broken as Rasolea goes through the gap.
1 MINUTE LATER: The Hurricanes make a substitution with Vince Aso coming off and the Hurricanes make a sub with Willis Halaholo coming on.
2 MINUTES LATER: A gap opened in the defence and Willis Halaholo took full advantage.
1 MINUTE LATER, TRY: A series of passes by Hurricanes results in a try for TJ Perenara.
1 MINUTE LATER, SUBSTITUTION & CONVERSION: Tetera Faulkner comes off as Jermaine Ainsley comes on then Ben McCalman comes off while Brynard Stander comes on before Beauden Barrett converts the try then Dane Coles comes off as Ricky Riccitelli comes on.
1 MINUTE LATER: Julian Savea leaves the field as Jason Woodward comes on for Hurricanes then TJ Perenara departs for Hurricanes while Hurricanes sub Jamison Gibson-Park comes onto the field but the Canes make a substitution with Jeff Toomaga-Allen coming off and the Canes make a sub with Ben May (The one I famously met with because I had 3 photos at my flat including giving me a Hurricanes development jersey) coming on while the Hurricanes decide to make another substitution, with Chris Eves being replaced.by the Tongan Bear, Loni Uhila getting some game time then Mark Abbott comes off as Michael Fatialofa comes on.
2 MINUTES LATER, TRY: Force have won 60 rucks so far this game but This is dangerous for the defence as Willis Halaholo bursts through to advance the Hurricanes attack and a wonderful passing move by Hurricanes is finished off by Blade Thomson.
1 MINUTE LATER, CONVERSION: Beaudy Barrett makes no mistake with that conversion attempt.
1 MINUTE LATER, SUBSTITUTION: Semisi Masirewa comes off as Albert Nikoro comes on while Pekahou 'Pek' Cowan comes off then as Chris Heiberg comes on then Heath Tessmann leaves the field while Nathan Charles comes back on for Force but Jamison Gibson-Park played a key part in that try.
2 MINUTES LATER, TRY: Silky skills by Hurricanes ends with a try for Ngani Lauampe.
1 MINUTE LATER, SUBSTITUTION: Nathan Charles departs for Force as Force sub Heath Tessmann comes back onto the field.
1 MINUTE LATER, ANOTHER SUBTITUTION & MISSED CONVERSION: Force make a substitution with Adam Coleman coming off and Steve Mafi coming on but trouble here as Jamison Gibson-Park breaches the defence then a spellbinding play by Barrett is finished off with a try but absolutely fabulous play by Hurricanes has led to Ngani Lauampe being able to wriggle through a gap but Beauden Barrett has hooked the conversion to the right of the posts.
3 MINUTES LATER: Ben May makes the break as the defence re-enacts the parting of the red sea.
1 MINUTE LATER: Hurricanes have won 100 rucks so far this game.
1 MINUTE LATER, TRY: The Hurricanes pack has powered over for Ardie Savea to score the try.
1 MINUTE LATER, TRY: Beaudy Barrett does the business as his conversion attempt goes over.
1 MINUTE LATER, FULL-TIME: It's all over! The referee has blown his whistle to end the game.

And that's it! We are done as we head off home to end a beautiful night at Palmerston North but what an rugby experience that was.

2016 Super Rugby season: Round 1 review

The Super Rugby season began when the Blues took on the defending champion Highlanders at Eden Park as the Blues got off to a winning start under their new coach (Which is a former All Black) Tana Umaga.

But the Blues got their Super Rugby campaign off to a fine start when they beat the defending champs the Highlanders 33 - 31 in Auckland on Friday as the Highlanders are being widely tipped to retain their crown this season and they made a gallant attempt to continue where they left off last year, but it wasn’t to be, and although they outscored their hosts four tries to three, with two from Ben Smith (AKA Bender/Ben From Accounts) as they won’t get a try-scoring bonus-point under the tournament’s new rules as both sides deserve credit for making this the entertaining spectacle that it was, especially the Blues who seem rejuvenated under the guidance of new head coach Tana Umaga as he won his first game in charge but the Highlanders were fastest out of the blocks and their enterprising play was rewarded in the eighth minute when Ben Smith ran on to a pass from Aaron Smith and burst through a hole in the Blues defence before diving over for the opening try.

The Blues didn’t wait long to respond and they were soon level when Melani Nanai rounded off a move which started inside his own half as first five-eighth Ihaia West was the try’s architect with a perfectly weighted chip kick in which Tevita Li gathered close to the halfway line. He drew in the final defender before offloading to Nanai who got over for an easy try as West and Lima Sopoaga then traded penalties before Blake Gibson announced himself with a superb try. The flanker bashed his way through Ben Smith deep inside the Highlanders half before crashing over. West added the extras and soon made it 17 - 10 to the hosts with another three-pointer from the kicking tee but the Highlanders didn’t panic, however, and showed why they are the champions when Ben Smith put Teihorangi Walden (A Pakeha with a Maori name) into the clear inside the Blues’ 22.

Walden then sold the cover defence an outrageous dummy before dotting down. West landed another penalty in the 37th minute before 2015’s top try-scorer Waisake Naholo left his stamp on this match with a well-taken try as Aaron Smith spotted a hole in the Blues’ defence and launched a box kick which Naholo gathered from under the noses of two defenders before crossing the whitewash on the stroke of half-time.

The 2nd half was more subdued and the opening quarter was a scrappy affair. The first points of the half came in the 57th minute via a penalty from West which meant the Highlanders led 24-23 going into the final quarter, but West then gave his team the lead 5 minutes later when he slotted another penalty.

The visitors suffered a setback ten minutes later when winger Patrick Osborne was yellow carded for cleaning out illegally at a ruck and the Blues made full use of their numerical advantage when lock Patrick Tuipulotu crashed over after his side opted to kick for a lineout from the penalty deep inside the Highlanders’ 22 but the defending champions didn’t surrender though and a flowing move – in which several players handled in the build-up – in the 78th minute was rounded off by Ben Smith in the corner close to full-time, but it wasn’t enough to secure victory.

But the next match was between the Brumbies and last year's runners-up the Hurricanes as the Brumbies made light work of the Hurricanes (Although the Brumbies defence restricted the Hurricanes to 1 try but Phil Kearns (Ex Wallaby hooker and rugby commentator for Fox Sports) described the Hurricanes as being too fat, slow and unfit) in their Super Rugby opener, claiming a 52 - 10 bonus-point win in Canberra on Friday followed by newcomers the Jaguares of Argentina beat the Cheetahs by just a single point in their historic debut match when they turned around a 21-point deficit to win their first ever Super Rugby game 34 - 33 against the Cheetahs in a thrilling contest then a day later, all eyes were in Tokyo as fellow newcomers the Sunwolves of Japan played their 1st Super Rugby game against the Lions but the Lions sealed a 26 - 13 four-try victory but they made heavy weather of seeing off the Sunwolves in Tokyo on Saturday moments before the Chiefs headed to Christchurch to play the Crusaders as the Chiefs outscored the Crusaders 4 tries to 2 to claim a deserved 27 - 21 victory in Christchurch on Saturday.

As has become customary between two New Zealand sides there was plenty of thrilling action throughout and the match was evenly poised until the Chiefs secured victory with a late Sam Cane try as Damian McKenzie (Tuwharetoa's Smiling Assassin from Gore) was the Chiefs' hero, contributing 12 points via a try, two conversions and a long-range penalty from the halfway mark as new first five-eighth Richie Mo'unga impressed for the Crusaders and scored a try, conversion and 3 penalties to finish the match with a 16-point haul as the opening half-hour was a scrappy affair as both sides tried to gain the ascendancy before Mo’unga opened the scoring for the Crusaders from the kicking tee as early as the first minute after the Chiefs were penalised at a scrum but the next points came 20 minutes later when Mo'unga added another three-pointer from the kicking tee before McKenzie opened the Chiefs' account with his penalty from 50 metres out but shortly afterwards, the Chiefs took the lead when Scott Stevenson ripped the ball from the grasp of David Kaetau Havili inside the Crusaders' 22 before crossing for the opening try as the Crusaders struck back just before half-time when, after pushing the Chiefs off the ball at a scrum, the ball was shifted to Mo'unga who got over for an easy try before he added the extras which meant the hosts led 13-8 at the break but the Chiefs took the lead five minutes into the second half when Seta Tamanivalu powered his way over for a try but five minutes later when David Havili made up for his earlier mistake when he scored in the right-hand corner to restore the home side's lead as Mo'unga then added another penalty to push his side further ahead but despite that score it was the Chiefs who finished stronger before McKenzie crossed for their third try in the 66th minute which he also converted before Cane sealed the result with his five-pointer from a rolling maul at a line-out three minutes before the final whistle as we go over to Sydney when the Waratahs dispatched the Reds for an opening win in 2016 in Super Rugby without ever hitting top gear, winning 30 - 10 moments before the Rebels started their Super Rugby campaign on a winning note with a 25 - 19 victory over the Force in Perth on Saturday followed by the match in Port Elizabeth as the Sharks got off to a winning start against the Kings 43 - 8 moments before the Stormers outscored the Bulls three tries to none to win 33 - 9 in their opening Super Rugby clash at Newlands on Saturday.

So that was Round 1 of the 2016 Super Rugby season and here are the matches for Round 2 as both the Kings and the Sunwolves have a bye:

Crusaders Vs Blues: AMI Stadium (Rugby League Park), Christchurch
Brumbies Vs Waratahs: GIO Stadium, Canberra
Chiefs Vs Lions: Waikato Stadium, Hamilton
Highlanders Vs Hurricanes: Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
Reds Vs Force: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Bulls Vs Rebels: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Cheetahs Vs Stormers: Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
& the Sharks Vs Jaguares at Kings Park Stadium in Durban to end Round 2 of Super Rugby 2016.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens movie review (My 1st blog of MMXVI, RIP Helen Ruth Ngapo, 1946 - 2016)

Well, the year had just been started (So this is my 1st blog of 2016) because we are in mourning of Nan who died from cancer at the age of 69 not only because me and my family went to the funeral on Monday by paying tribute to her.

But love was not lost when we saw the new Star Wars movie, The Force Awakens (Because we were originally going to clean the windows but Pops surprised us by going to see the new Star Wars movie), set 3 decades after Return Of The Jedi because 30 years after the defeat of the Galactic Empire, the galaxy faces a new threat from the evil Kylo Ren and the First Order. When a defector named Finn crash-lands on a desert planet, he meets Rey, a tough scavenger whose droid contains a top-secret map. Together, the young duo joins forces with Han Solo to make sure the Resistance receives the intelligence concerning the whereabouts of Luke Skywalker, the last of the Jedi Knights.

Attack on Tuanul

Approximately 30 years after the destruction of the 2nd Death Star, Luke Skywalker, the last known surviving Jedi, has disappeared. Both the First Order, a successor to the fallen Galactic Empire, and the Resistance, a military force backed by the New Republic and led by Luke's twin sister, General Leia Organa, scour the galaxy in an attempt to find him.

Leia sends Resistance pilot Poe Dameron on a secret mission to the village of Tuanul on the desert planet Jakku, to meet with village elder Lor San Tekka, who has obtained a star-chart to Luke Skywalker's location. During the meeting, First Order stormtroopers under the command of Kylo Ren and Captain Phasma attack the village. Poe and his astromech droid BB-8 attempt to flee in their X-wing starfighter, but a pair of stormtroopers disable the engines. With no alternative, Poe gives the star-chart to BB-8 and orders the astromech to flee. Poe remains behind to cover BB-8's escape.

After stormtrooper FN-2187 is deployed, his friend FN-2003 is hit with blaster fire by Poe. FN-2187 goes to help his squadmate, but FN-2003's wound proves fatal, smearing his blood on FN-2187's helmet before dying, deeply affecting him. After securing the area, the remaining villagers are herded into the town square. Tekka is captured and brought before Kylo Ren, who demands to know where the star-chart leading to Luke is. Tekka firmly responds that he doesn't know and wouldn't tell him if he did. Tekka says he knows who he used to be before he started calling himself "Kylo Ren", and chides that he cannot escape his real identity. Kylo Ren glibly responds "You're so right," and cuts Tekka down with his lightsaber.

Angered, Poe takes a shot at Ren from cover, but he casually catches the blaster bolt in mid-air with the Force. Poe is captured as well, and Ren decides to interrogate him further back on their ship. Before leaving, Phasma asks what to do with the crowd of captive villagers, and Ren orders them all slaughtered. Stormtrooper FN-2187 is horrified as the massacre plays out in front of him, remaining motionless and not firing his weapon.

Return to the Finalizer

Returning to the Finalizer, FN-2187 feels significantly distressed from the mission, and ducks aside into a shuttle to take his helmet off, panting heavily and still rattled by the massacre of the villagers. Phasma notices him, and tells the trooper to submit his blaster to be checked, making sure he fired a shot. Knowing he would be re-evaluated and discovered for not firing on the villagers, and with his faith in the First Order severely shaken, he decides to desert. Meanwhile, after failed attempts of torturing Poe for vital information about the star-chart of Luke Skywalker's location, Ren uses his mind probe Force power to pry the information from Poe's mind. Ren learns that the star-charts are located within a BB series droid that fled the village, and informs General Hux of the revelation, who sends out search teams in response.

Encounter with the scavenger

Elsewhere on Jakku, a scavenger named Rey traverses the corridors of a downed Star Destroyer at the Graveyard of Giants. Scavenging through the Star Destroyer, she finds a valuable piece of salvage and drops it in her satchel. Rey heads to Niima Outpost, and hauls the sack of salvage throughout the town. She then goes to Unkar Plutt to exchange her scraps for foodstuff, who offers her a quarter portion for her scraps. After taking the foodstuff, Rey heads to her home, a downed AT-AT, and prepares a meal for herself. After finishing her meal, she watches a starship depart from the planet and then notices a distant sound. She immediately runs off with her quarterstaff to investigate.

There, she encounters BB-8 struggling against being captured by a green-skinned humanoid scavenger named Teedo. She frees the droid and gives him directions to Niima Outpost and sends it on its way, but BB-8 insists on traveling with her. Rey goes to Unkar Plutt to again exchange her salvage for foodstuff, and the Crolute offers to buy BB-8 for sixty food portions; while tempted, Rey declines the offer. Plutt then hires two thugs to steal BB-8.

Escape from the Finalizer

Needing a pilot to escape, FN-2187 frees the captured Poe Dameron from his cell, and the two steal a Special Forces TIE fighter. FN-2187 mans the guns, killing several of his former comrades in the hanger, and then disables the Finalizer's turbolasers on the outside of the vessel. During the escape, Dameron asks the stormtrooper his name, to which he explains that he has been raised from birth to be a stormtrooper, and the serial number "FN-2187" is the only designation he has ever had. Not content with calling a man a number, Dameron names the trooper "Finn," from the FN in his name. Finn likes the name, and goes on to use it. Dameron also tells him that the map vital to the Resistance was located within his astromech droid. Before they can continue however, the TIE is hit by a missile fired from the Finalizer, sending it spiraling towards the planet below.

Escape from Jakku

Finn and Dameron eject from the TIE shortly before it crashes, each landing separately some distance from the wreck. Making his way to the crash, Finn finds Poe's jacket, but no other sign of the man, and the fighter sinks into the sand. Believing Dameron to be dead, he discards his armor and eventually arrives at the nearest settlement for water.

The thugs hired by Unkar Plutt attempt to steal BB-8, but Rey fends off the thugs with her staff. BB-8 notices a man, Finn, wearing his master, Poe Dameron's jacket, prompting Rey to chase after him. Rey attacks Finn, believing him to be a thief. Finn explains that he had met and helped Poe escape the Finalizer, but that Dameron had apparently perished during their crash. The First Order tracks Finn to the settlement, and launches an airstrike in attempt to search for BB-8 and the map. Rey, Finn, and BB-8 manage to escape the outpost in the Millennium Falcon (after intially dismissing it as garbage) by flying it through the Graveyard of Giants, while Finn fires on and destroys the pursuing TIE fighters. With the TIE fighters destroyed, they escape into space.

Back aboard the Finalizer, a nervous junior officer informs Kylo Ren that the droid escaped. Ren activates his lightsaber, but instead of simply executing the officer for failure, he lashes out in a rage-fueled tantrum, slashing at an instrument panel uncontrollably. When he calms down enough to ask how it escaped, the officer explains it was on a stolen freighter. Ren sarcastically asks if he means the droid stole a freighter by itself, but his quivering subordinate explains that it was aided by the deserter and a local girl. Seeming to recognize something from this, Kylo grows even more livid, using the Force to pull the officer by his throat across the room in order to choke him with his bare hand, then asks him what girl it was.

Reunited with the Falcon

The Falcon breaks down and leaved them stranded. The ship is in major need of repairs, so Finn, Rey and the BB-8 begin working to fix it. While they are working on repairs, the ship is caught in a tractor beam by a freighter. Although they initially believe themselves to be captured by the First Order, they soon meet their real captors: Han Solo and Chewbacca, the former owners of the ship. Upon boarding their old vessel, Han and Chewie go about inspecting their ship and find the two stowaways, Rey and Finn, who he assumes were the thieves that had stolen the Falcon. When Rey and Finn explain that they were going to take a droid named BB-8 to the Resistance as he had a map that would reveal Luke's location, Han and Chewie agree to help them.

Skirmish aboard the Eravana

Unfortunately, Han's freighter, the Eravana had been boarded by two notorious criminal factions, the Guavian Death Gang and Kanjiklub, whom Solo is indebted to. Not wanting Rey and Finn to be involved, Han places both of them in the lower corridors of the freighter while he and Chewie go meet with the criminals, with BB-8 accompanying them. Han tries but fails to convince both parties that he would fix things eventually, with the Guavian Death Gang negotiator, Bala-Tik recognizing the BB-8 astromech droid from a First Order bounty placed on it. They demand that Han hand over the droid and any stowaways he might have on board. As the scuffle continues, Rey accidentally releases three rathtars. They successfully escape the gangs and jump into hyperspace in the Falcon. Bala-tik then orders his men to inform the First Order that Han Solo and the droid unit are aboard the ship.

Meeting with the Surpreme Leader

At Starkiller Base, a planet converted into a superweapon, powered by draining a star, and capable of destroying star systems, Kylo Ren and General Hux are summoned by Supreme Leader Snoke, who appears as a gigantic remote hologram projection. Hux suggests to use the Starkiller Base superweapon to destroy the government of the New Republic and the Resistance. Snoke grants Hux the permission to do so. Snoke reveals to Ren that the astromech droid containing the star-chart now resides in the Millennium Falcon - along with his father, Han Solo. Ren insists that his father means nothing to him, and with Snoke's training, he would not be seduced to the light side of the Force.

Journey to Takodana

During the travel in hyperspace, the Falcon experiences many problems and Rey works frantically to fix it, while Finn attempts to bandage Chewie's wounds. Rey fixes the ship's damaged hyperdrive by bypassing the compressor. After fixing the ship, Han questions why Finn and Rey are fugitives. Rey explains that the First Order is after the map located within BB-8 and that Finn is with the Resistance.
After BB-8 projects the map, Han explains that after Luke disappeared, there were many parties that went searching for him. He explains that Luke tried to rebuild the Jedi Order, but an apprentice of his turned to the dark side and became Kylo Ren, destroying all that Luke had built, including the other Padawans that Luke had trained. Feeling responsible and blaming himself for the failure, Luke went into exile. Han also explains that he heard rumors about how Luke went searching for the first Jedi temple.
Solo takes Rey, Finn, and BB-8 to the planet Takodana to meet with Maz Kanata at her castle. Han says that she has maintained her castle for over a thousand years. Unbeknownst to all, spies from different sides take notice of the group. GA-97 alerts the Resistance, while Bazine Netal informs the First Order.

The conflict within

Attempting to seek guidance from his grandfather, Darth Vader, Kylo Ren sits quietly in his meditation chamber. In front of him is the burned helmet of Vader, recovered from the funeral pyre on Endor. With the re-emergence of his father and his failed attempts to recover the map of Luke, Kylo senses a disturbance in the Force. He reveals to Vader's burned helmet that the light is pulling him in again, and that even Snoke could sense the conflict brewing within him. He then asks his grandfather to show him the darkness again, and to pull him back to the dark side of the Force.

A call from the Force

While Han and Chewie speak with Maz, Finn heads out to make a deal of his own. Finn hires Sidon Ithano and his first mate Quiggold to take him away to the Outer Rim for work. Rey implores Finn not to leave, but to help the Resistance instead. Finn, however, insists on leaving, to disappear from all his troubles. After Finn leaves, Rey hears the screaming of a young girl and finds herself wandering deeper into the Castle to find the source. She descends to a sub-chamber that is filled with relics of the past. There she was called by the Force to Maz's curio box, an ancient Wroshyr wood chest. Inside, she finds the lightsaber that had previously belonged to Anakin Skywalker and his son Luke.

Upon touching the lightsaber, she receives a series of visions. Rey glimpses moments in time from the saber, in which she finds herself in Cloud City where Luke battled Darth Vader, she then sees Luke placing his metallic hand on top of R2-D2 near a fire watching the burning of his Jedi Temple, and then she finds herself lying in the rain at night to see the Knights of Ren surrounded by slaughtered victims. She then notices herself as a child on Jakku watching the departure of her parents, yelling out to them to come back, and being told to quiet herself. Rey then finds herself being chased by Kylo Ren in a snowy forest. Rey pulls herself out of the vision in terror. After the vision, she finds Kanata standing outside the room. Kanata explains to her the lightsaber's history and that it was now calling to her. Kanata reveals that she herself is Force-sensitive; although she was never a Jedi, she can simply close her eyes and concentrate and feel the light of the Force within herself, and recognizes that Rey can too. Frightened by her vision, Rey refuses to keep the lightsaber, running off into the woods with BB-8

Destruction of the Hosnian system

After gaining Supreme Leader Snoke's permission to fire the Starkiller Base's superweapon, Hux chooses the Hosnian system, which hosts the capital of the New Republic, Hosnian Prime, as well as the New Republic Starfleet, in order to demonstrate the power of the First Order in an attempt to wipe out the "illegitimate" government of the New Republic in one fell swoop. The test is a success and Hosnian Prime, home of the Galactic Senate, all other astronomical bodies in the system, and an unknown percentage of the New Republic fleet are annihilated by the First Order's superweapon. The destruction of the Hosnian system is visible from the surface of Takodana. This prompts Finn to re-evaluate his choice to leave.

Battle on Takodana

The First Order, tipped off to BB-8's presence, arrives and attacks Maz Kanata's castle. Flying in with TIE fighters and Atmospheric Assault Landers, the First Order swiftly assaults the castle and levels it, killing many of its inhabitants. BB-8 follows Rey into the forests surrounding the castle, and the First Order is unable to locate the droid until a stormtrooper officer reports to Kylo Ren that the astromech had been sighted in the company of a girl.

During the fighting at the castle, Finn wields Luke's old lightsaber to kill one stormtrooper before his life is saved by Han. Han and Chewbacca also kill multiple stormtroopers, but are captured along with Finn by the First Order. However, Resistance T-70 X-wing fighters led by Poe Dameron, who is now revealed to still be alive, arrive to fight the First Order. A fierce dogfight ensues and results in the destruction of many First Order TIEs and the deaths of many stormtroopers from X-wing strafing runs.

Rey encounters Kylo Ren at the woods, and fires at him with her blaster pistol, but Kylo restrains her using the Force, and captures her. Ren orders the First Order to pull out, saying they had what they came for. As the battle rages on above the castle, the remaining First Order troops board their ships and retreat, and Han witnesses his son carrying an unconscious Rey away. After the battle, Han and Leia are reunited, and Han reveals to Leia that he saw their son.

Reunited at the Resistance Base

Han, Chewbacca, and Finn are brought to the Resistance base on D'Qar. BB-8 encounters the astromech droid R2-D2, who, as C-3PO explains, has been dormant since Luke's disappearance. It is revealed that Han and Leia are aware that their son is Kylo Ren, and that their son's fall to the Dark Side caused them to separate, with Han returning to his smuggling business, and Leia spearheading the activities of the New Republic and the Resistance.

As Starkiller Base prepares to wipe out the world of D'Qar, the site of the Resistance's headquarters, the Resistance plans an attack of their own. Finn gives them the Base's blueprints, which reveal that the base drains the energy of a star in order to charge its superweapon, and that it requires a thermal oscillator, which sustains the energy on the planet, that, if destroyed, would de-stabilize the planet's core and implode the Base. However, they would need to do it before the Base fully charges its weapon. Finn, Han, and Chewie volunteer to disable the Base's defensive shield from the inside. Before departing to the Starkiller Base, Han and Leia embrace, and Leia pleads Han to bring their son home.

Rey's capture

Rey is brought to the Starkiller Base and interrogated by Kylo Ren, wanting information on the map to Luke Skywalker. Scoffing that he is a creature that wears a mask, Kylo takes it off - revealing that he actually has a normal appearance, and seems to just wear the mask to emulate Darth Vader. The darksider has a difficult time probing her mind, however, and Rey is even able to push back into Ren's mind. After a mental struggle, with an intense look Rey announces that she can sense fear in him - fear that he will never be as powerful as Darth Vader. Humiliated, Kylo storms out of the room to seek audience with Snoke.

Left alone, the incident makes Rey realize that she is Force-sensitive, so she attempts to use a Jedi mind trick on her stormtrooper guard, to make him release her and leave the door open. It doesn't work, but Rey concentrates and tries again: this time the mind trick works, and he releases her. She quickly also remembers to have him drop his blaster as he leaves so she can arm herself. Rey then makes her way through the Starkiller Base, honing her Force abilities while using stealth. She also draws on her experience climbing through wrecked Imperial starships to make her way through the bowels of the installation's machinery. Kylo reveals to Snoke that Rey has the ability to use the Force, and Snoke commands Kylo to bring Rey to him. When Kylo discovers that Rey escaped, he throws another fit of rage, slashing at her empty restraint chair.

Battle of Starkiller Base

Han Solo pilots the Millennium Falcon to Starkiller Base accompanied by Chewbacca and Finn. Finn's main objective is to rescue Rey from captivity. Since the Base's shields has a fractional refresh rate, Han pilots through the shields at lightspeed, and the Falcon lands roughly on the edge of a cliff. Han, Chewbacca, and Finn sneak into the main base and capture Captain Phasma, who they force to disable the shields before disposing her in a garbage chute. They reunite with Rey, who had already escaped on her own. With the shields down, Blue Squadron and Red Squadron led by Poe Dameron commence their assault. They fire on the base's hexagonal oscillator structure, but fail to destroy it as the First Order sends TIE Fighters to stage a counterattack and throw the Resistance into chaos.

Seeing this, Han, Chewbacca, Finn, and Rey try to create an opening by planting thermal detonators inside the base. Han then confronts his son, Kylo Ren, calling to him by his birth name, "Ben". They approach each other on a bridge over a large pit, and Han pleads with his son to reject Snoke and return to the light side of the Force. Ben, removing his mask and seeming almost regretful, hands his lightsaber to Solo, and asks for his father's help, in which Solo replies that he would do anything for him. Ben then thrusts his weapon through Han's chest. Witnessed by Rey, Finn, and Chewbacca, Han strokes his son's face for the last time, before falling to his death. Enraged, Chewbacca, Rey, and Finn start firing at Ren and the stormtroopers. Chewbacca injures Ren with his bowcaster, but Ren chases them out of the base and catches up to Finn and Rey in the forest.

Rey accuses Ren of being a monster for murdering his own father. She then proceeds to shoot him with her blaster, but Ren knocks Rey out by Force pushing her into a tree. A desperate and terrified Finn comes to her aid immediately. Ren then angrily accuses Finn of being a traitor, and Finn pulls out Luke's old lightsaber and attacks him in a rage. Ren is already badly injured so he is somewhat impaired, and Finn even manages to deal him a glancing wound, but nonetheless Ren quickly overpowers the former stormtrooper and deals him a grievous injury. Awakening, Rey uses telekinesis to pull Skywalker's lightsaber into her hand and proceeds to attack the Knight.

During this time, the thermal detonators go off in the base, allowing Poe to fly in and destroy the base's thermal oscillator thirty seconds before it drains the sun to charge the superweapon. This causes a chain reaction to go off, which destroys the base and levels the entire planet's terrain - without the weapon to dissipate it, the stored solar energy is tearing the planet apart from the inside.
Rey and Ren continue fighting: Ren has taken even more wounds, from Chewbacca, Finn, and Rey, but even so initially holds the advantage, drawing on his rage to ignore the pain. Ren becomes so impressed with Rey that he tries to tempt her, complimenting her strength in the Force and offering to complete her training if she joins him. This backfires, however, as it only serves to reassure Rey of her own power: recalling Kanata's words on reaching the light within, she begins to draw on the Force to hone her attacks, and the tide of the duel shifts. Ultimately Rey is able to overpower Ren and deal him a severe wound while breaking his lightsaber. By this point Kylo has taken too many wounds to continue standing, but he still struggles in vain to rise again. Before Rey can move in to finish him off, a large trench forms between them as the base begins to fall apart.

Rey returns to Finn and begins to despair that Finn would not wake up and they are trapped on the rupturing planet. However, Chewbacca arrived with the Millennium Falcon to rescue them. Inside the main base, chaos abounds as General Hux has already fled, and the other officers rush to abandon the installation as well. Hux, meanwhile, reports to Snoke, who orders him to rescue Ren in order to complete his training and to flee the Base. The Millennium Falcon and the remainder of the Resistance fleet manage to escape Starkiller Base as it erupts into a ball of fire. They then enter hyperspace to return to D'Qar.

Locating Luke Skywalker

The Resistance celebrate their victory while Leia, Chewbacca, and Rey mourn Han's death. R2-D2 suddenly awakes and reveals that he holds the map to Luke's location, with the only piece of the map missing being the one BB-8 was given by Poe. Together they complete the map and reveal the location of Ahch-To, the planet on which Luke Skywalker sought out the 1st Jedi Temple. As the unconscious Finn recovers in the medical unit, Rey kisses him on the head and thanks him for everything.

With R2-D2 and Chewbacca in tow, Rey leaves on the Millenium Falcon and follows the map to the distant planet, a water world dotted with islands, which she had previously seen in her visions. Rey pilots the starship to a particular island with a large, ancient stone temple on it. She climbs the rock-carved steps to the top of the temple, where she finds Luke Skywalker. Without exchanging any words, Rey presents him with his father's lightsaber.

And 2 words to enjoy the new Star Wars movie: Cocanium and magic because it is not a bad film either, sensational stuff.

#MMXV: The Year In Review (Jonah Lomu Tribute Special)

2015, what a year that has been, like the All Blacks winning a 3rd Rugby World Cup by going back to back but the whole rugby world is in mourning as Jonah Tali Lomu, becomes the 3rd All Black after Jerry Collins and Norm Berryman to die at the tender age of 40 due to a kidney disorder which affected his life not only because he is rugby's 1st global superstar who made an impact 20 years ago at the 1995 Rugby World Cup and even made a video game about him and the sport which is arguably the best as well as becoming the youngest ever All Black at 19.

Well, life said it ain't easy that the Richie McCaw led All Blacks lifted the William Webb Ellis Trophy by beating the Wallabies in the final to successfully complete the sequel (Which I labeled the game as Judgment Day II, the sequel to Judgment Day as the All Blacks took on South Africa in the semi final) which was the greatest moment of my life compared to the 2011 one when the All Blacks won it on home soil and what about the players like Daniel Carter, Julian Savea, Ma'a Nonu, Sonny Bill Williams and Nehe Milner-Skudder (The rookie All Black), they were great awesome players from my All Blacks perspective but the highlight of the 2015 Rugby World Cup was the mighty Japanese led by Kiwi born Michael Leitch (Ayumu Goromaru was the star player for Japan) with that historic World Cup upset victory over the Jean de Villiers led South Africans (With fellow Kiwi born player and super-sub Karne Hesketh scoring the match winning try which turned the whole world upside down) as well as the All Blacks knocking over the Thierry Dusautoir led France 62 - 13 in the Quarter Final similar to Germany's 7 - 1 victory over hosts Brazil in the FIFA World Cup semi-final last year (With Julian Savea getting his 4th hat-trick (He has done it before against Ireland, England & Georgia) of his international rugby career and ending the tournament as the top try scorer with 8 (Equals the record with Springbok Bryan Habana and the now late Jonah Lomu) + Brilliant tries from Brodie Retallick, Nehe Milner-Skudder, Jerome Kaino, Kieran Read and Tawera Kerr-Barlow who got 2).

And look what we have here, just because Christmas is just around the corner next week because I am looking forward to this not only because The Real Thing is 7 days away.

P.S. New Zealand Indycar racer Scott Dixon has won his 4th Indycar title after winning in Sonoma (It was held just a week after Justin Wilson lost his life in a fatal accident (The 1st driver to die since Dan Wheldon in 2011) in Pocono meaning that the Indycar world was in mourning), heading into the final race of the 2015 season, Dixon was 1 of 6 drivers are having a mathematical chance of winning the championship, Those drivers were Juan Pablo Montoya, Graham Rahal, Scott Dixon, Will Power, Hélio Castroneves, and Josef Newgarden. One of the championship contenders Will Power picks up his 6th pole position of the season, 5th at Sonoma, and his 35th pole of his career. He was followed by the other 4 championship contenders Newgarden (2nd), Montoya (5th), and Rahal (6th). The drivers who aren't in the championship started in the top 6: Ryan Hunter Reay (3rd) and Simon Pagenaud (4th). Other championship contenders Dixon started 9th and Castroneves started 15th. The race ran the 1st 32 laps without a caution until Luca Filippi brought out the first caution when he slowed on the track. The 1st restart came on the 38th lap, it did not take long to get the 2nd caution came on lap 39 when championship leader Juan Pablo Montoya took out his championship rival and teammate Will Power in the 4th turn. The next restart came on the 42nd lap, the 3rd caution came on lap 65 when James Jakes crashed in turn 9. The next to last restart came on the 69th lap. The 4th and last caution came on lap 71 when Jack Hawksworth spun Carlos Muñoz in turn 7. The last restart came on the 73rd lap, late in the race Sebastien Bourdais spun championship contender Graham Rahal in turn 7 and there was no caution for that because Graham Rahal got the car going, Bourdais got a drive thru penalty for avoidable contact.. After the race Rahal got out of his car and went to confront Bourdais. Dixon took his third victory at Sonoma Raceway, third of 2015, and back to back wins at Sonoma Raceway like Will Power did in 2010 and 2011. Scott Dixon has won his 4th championship tying Dario Franchitti, Sébastien Bourdais and Mario Andretti for United States open wheel titles. Dixon was followed by Hunter Reay and Charlie Kimball. Scott Dixon won the tiebreaker over Juan Pablo Montoya because Dixon had more victories, Dixon got his third victory of the season compared to Montoya who has two victories of the 2015 IndyCar season.

Weight Of The Nation II: A True Sequel

Yes, pandemonium here at Twickenham as the #AllBlacks defeated the Wallabies 34 - 17 in the #RugbyWorldCup final and become the 1st team to successfully defend the William Webb Ellis Cup as well as becoming the most successful team in Rugby World Cup history with 3 RWC titles, real drama here (So let's analyze the final moments of the game).

1ST HALF

7TH MINUTE

After a bright start, the All Blacks are in the lead after 1st 5 Daniel Carter (Who is playing on his final outing as a All Black) opens the scoring with a penalty, expertly slotted from out wide like a demoralizing frantic piece of boxes (All Blacks 3 - 0).

6 MINUTES LATER

The 1st scrum of the game barely has a chance to get set before Welsh referee Nigel Owens penalizes Owen Franks. Bernard Foley ties it up from a handy range all perfectly set up by drawing some blood among the venom (all tied up at 3).

NEK MINUTE

Wallaby lock Kane Douglas suffers a knee injury and is replaced by Kiwi born Dean Mumm. The AB's appear to have dodged a similar injury bullet after Kieran Read went down with what looked like a serious ankle injury in the 1st few minutes like hellfire and spawn.

11 MINUTES LATER

This is starting to look grim for Australia with playmaker and backline general Matt Giteau leaving the field after being knocked cold as he is replaced by the mercurial Kurtley Beale who is instrumental by going onto the field of play with prima donna.

NEK MINUTE

Scott Sio, who earlier thumped Dan Carter with a late tackle, is at fault again as a lazy arm catches 2nd 5 Ma'a Allan Nonu (Also playing the famous black jersey for the last time) high as Owens shows admirable restraint in not reaching for his pocket, as there was no malice. Carter puts New Zealand back in the lead with a few getups (All Blacks 6 - 3).

9 MINUTES LATER

Will Genia harries at the base of the breakdown but it comes at a cost as he is caught offside. Carter is on song with the boot like a voodoo doll (All Blacks 9 - 3).

3 MINUTES LATER

A moment of simple training ground magic conjures the 1st try of the final and it is no more than the All Blacks deserve as centre Conrad Smith's nicely angled inside ball momentarily frees halfback Aaron Smith, who looks outside to captain and veteran open side flanker Richard Hugh McCaw (Who is also probably playing last game for the AB's). He has the pleasing task of putting world breakthrough player of the year and fullback turned winger Nehe Milner-Skudder over in the corner as Carter converts from wide and the AB's have a solid halftime lead with a few one-liners (All Blacks 16 - 3)

2ND HALF

41ST MINUTE

Replacement centre Sonny Bill Williams replaces Conrad Smith and is too much to deal with. His 2nd lock stock and 2 smoking barrel ball finds Ma'a Nonu, who is busted free with only Beale coming across in deep cover. Nonu deserves to sidestep him with ease and though Carter misses a fairly easy conversion, with an 18-point buffer, this final looks so good as won like Arcade Fire. (All Blacks 21 - 3)

10 MINUTES LATER

High drama. The Wallabies are stringing some phases altogether and New Zealand are forced to defend their line. Fullback Ben Smith, probably the least likely player to lose his head, tips Toulon winger Drew Mitchell beyond the horizontal. It looks like Ben Smith going to be penalized and nothing else matters, but under pressure from TMO (Television Match Official) Shaun Veldsman of South Africa. Owens takes another look and reaches for the pocket. It is a harsh call, but fair play because it isn't always easy.

NEK MINUTE

From the resultant penalty and lineout drive, the All Blacks pack is splintered and danger man David Pocock breathes life into the final with a simple try as Foley converts like a sack of potatoes with much taste (All Blacks 21 - 10).

11 MINUTES LATER

Genia takes advantage of open turf at the back to neatly box-kick into space as the ball sits nicely for powerhouse centre Tevita Kuridrani, who beats Carter a little too easily on the inside. Foley's conversion means that, having dominated for most of the match, the AB's are left nursing a 4 point buffer like a Swiss army knife (All Blacks 21 - 17).

6 MINUTES LATER

For the 2nd week in a row, the left peg of Carter is the talk of Twickenham. With New Zealand in midfield. Carter feints to run and gets the defensive wall to hesitate for a split second. He uses that time to hit a 40 metre drop goal on the move and wills the ball over in a moment of rare animation with a band of skulls (All Blacks 24 - 17).

5 MINUTES LATER

This is quickly becoming Carter's final. He calmly slots a penalty from near the halfway line as the All Blacks can start to breathe again as the Wallabies require both scores in 6 minutes to switch this on its head and that is unlikely with climate change (All Blacks 27 - 17).

4 MINUTES LATER

Australia are throwing the kitchen sink at this, but the otherwise impressive Mitchell spills the ball in the AB's 22m. Ben Smith turns defence into attack and toes ahead. Replacement utility back Beauden Barrett makes Pocock look like he is running through quick silver as he smoothly motors past, before cushioning the ball with his knee and gleefully collecting the bounce. That final is over and the ball game, but not before Carter (Who was awarded player of the game honours to match his performance with 4 penalties, 2 conversions and a drop goal so the world's leading test points scorer Daniel Carter is probably the man, best rugby player in the world) signs off from international rugby with his right foot conversion, fancy that for a goal-kicker who's done it all (All Blacks 34 - 17).

2 MINUTES LATER

The Wallabies turn the ball over, SBW gets 1 more offload on his stat line and Ben Smith kicks for touch. The Rugby World Cup is still New Zealand's cup. Not only because we are simply still the best in the rugby world, HAIL TO THE KING BABY!!! I'VE GOT BALLS OF STEEL!! (It was the greatest moment of my life seeing/witnessing the All Blacks winning the World Cup just like 4 years ago, so in all of a sudden, enter the unforgiven).

And now, onto the awards ceremony as Australia receive their runner-up medals and then it is the All Blacks time to shine as they collect the prize winning medals before His Royal Highness Prince Harry to present the trophy to Richie McCaw as he is about to lift the William Webb Ellis Trophy, and THE WORLD CUP!! IS STILL IN NEW ZEALAND'S HANDS!!! But so many players in the squad (All 31 of them including 2 injured players and the coach Steve Hansen) have the opportunity of a lifetime to touch the trophy, but now on behalf of all to you, as the All Blacks will defend the cup in Japan 2019 (Although Sonny Bill Williams gave his World Cup winners medal to a young fan which was exciting but now SBW has a spare medal now).

And I like to pay tribute, to the list of World Cup winners spanning from 1987 - 2015

 

1987: New Zealand
(In 1987, the All Blacks won the inaugural Rugby World Cup.)

1991: Australia

1995: South Africa

1999: Australia

2003: England

2007: South Africa

2011: New Zealand
(Despite their dominance in the international game, it was a 24 year wait for their 2nd title.)

& last but not least, 2015: New Zealand
(September 10th 2015 the All Blacks flew to London endeavoring to do what no rugby team has done before...).