The Boys of Summer: My 69th Blog of the year 2025

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 once a cricket story according to the Captain Courageous programme about the late Hansie Cronje (The one who was suspended for life due to match fixing way back in 2000, 2 years before taking his own life in a plane accident back home in South Africa, but the pronunciation of his name such as originally Johannes seemed to be difficult but tough according to one of the newspaper articles referring to his name, so they had to refer to him as someone else, like Hansie as a nickname for example, but he was the youngest member of the South African team that toured Australia in 1993-94, before becoming the youngest ever skipper of South Africa when he took the reins of former Aussie test player Kepler Wessels (The only member of the South African team with previous test experience than the rest of the players) who took over the captaincy from the injured Wessels as the stand-in captain who unfortunately went home that sent South Africa into a frenzy as they won the test by a narrow margin of five runs as they famously bowled the Aussies out for 111 in the second innings (They were 292 in the first, including one of the Aussie batters of Michael Slater who was 8 runs short of a century) whilst chasing a target of 177 (Even though the South Africans made 169 & 239, then the Aussies had posted 292 in response to their first innings), meanwhile also the late Warnie was instrumental for Australia in the first innings as he took 7 wickets for 56 (27 overs, but he took 5 for 72 (42 overs) in the 2nd innings), but it wasn't enough to secure a win (And there was a fifer from Fanie de Villiers during Australia's 2nd innings with 6/43, but it was a successful caught & bowled attempt from de Villiers had decided the fate of the test), & after that that Cronje went on to captain South Africa for the rest of the tour, including the ODI tri-series in which they came by a whisker of winning it.

And secondly that it's been 20 years since me, the late Nan & Pops went on a holiday in Samoa (20 years! Can you believe it?) where I literally enjoyed that experience that I had with both of my grandparents such as the fish scare, me suffering food poisoning after I had a pasta meal that was uncooked, climbing Mount Vaea, as well as ice that it thought it got contaminated, & watching a game of rugby between Samoa against Fiji at Apia Park (And it was really, really hot out there, but we forgot to get our umbrella that it left at Aggie Grey's resort motel), but the key highlight for me during the holiday was getting that Samoa rugby jersey that I used to have despite that fact that it was getting dear.

And thirdly that I just recently rewatched the All Blacks game against the world champions at the time of England at Eden Park in Auckland from way back in 2004 (That was the week after the English were crushed as they got mauled by New Zealand in the first test in Dunedin) in anticipation to the England-AB's test at Allianz Stadium Twickenham in London on November 16th (15th there in the UK for which is our toughest test every damn time the All Blacks embark on a grand slam tour for that is our most significant of the Northern tour this year (And this could be our most difficult but demanding test since the encounter against the Springboks at Sky Stadium in Welly of Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington in that we lost by a record score according to the estimates, but this could be our 2nd most important test match of the year behind the South Africa one at Eden Park in the City of Sails of Tamaki Makaurau Auckland) when the match was played at Eden Park in Auckland where I only watched the first half that during the 2nd test that one of the English locks of Simon Shaw had been shown the red card for a blatant but deliberate knee to the head of an All Blacks player (Just like Danny Grewcock did for stamping in 1998 during a game at the old Carisbrook ground in Dunedin (It eventually got replaced by Forsyth Barr Stadium when it opened its doors back in 2011 in time for the men's Rugby World Cup tournament), meaning that they played with 14 players for the remainder of the game (And I remember Zaki telling me in 2020 when we watched it on TV meaning that he prefers supposed contests, not sheer humiliations such as blowouts like that thinking about that one), but I managed to watch the highlights including the 2nd half where one of my favourite rugby players back then (Used to be) of All Black winger Joe Rokocoko getting a hat-trick just like against France & the Wallabies way back in 2003, before we even won the test in Graham 'Ted' Henry's 2nd game in charge as coach of the AB's, as well as the series against England of course).

And finally that I prefer rock & metal music from 1991 onwards because of me being born in that year, even though that I'm always mainly listening to Brian FM since 2015 for that was the first time I heard that radio station a year after its launch & the reason why? Because it is ad-free (Compared to the Rock which has ads & stuff, but they have one similar to Brian which is Channel X for that is the mainstream version of Brian FM) + they have the annual Brian FM Reverse Countdown where they play the best tunes (Such as 'War Pigs' from Black Sabbath as the best in the reverse countdown this year followed by 'Nothing Else Matters' by Metallica as number 2, then number 3 would have to be Pink Floyd's 'Comfortably Numb' & 'Come As You Are' by Nirvana is the number 4 song indeed) starting from number one, until the most rubbish song such as 'Achey Breaky Heart' by Miley's dad Billy Ray Cyrus that they ever play at 2,500 for which has been expanded this year, up from the original 2,001.

So that is my 645th blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 69th of this year, viva Ukraine.

Six Feet Deep: My 68th Blog of the year 2025

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's bad news in the gaming department as the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI game has been delayed again to November the 19th next year (Well, that is disappointing according to most hardcore fans who follow GTA, but we're a year & 9 days away as of November 10th today until the new release date had been set) instead (It will be over 13 years since GTA V came out back in 2013 (5 years after the most popular & controversial Grand Theft Auto IV hit the shelves way back in 2008 that had received rave reviews about it to critical acclaim) at the time in 2026).

And secondly onto the music related stuff as the reason why I started to rediscover my love of Metallica (Who I was a fan of way back in 2007 along with AC/DC due to me mainly listen to the Rock when I moved here with Dad, his 2nd partner, his 2nd partner's family & Jans (That was before Brian FM arrived back in 2014 where it launched where it is an ad-free radio station that plays mainly rock & 80's music, some rap, & some rave going on here, but it's similar to Chom FM in Montreal, Quebec, Canada where they play classic rock there as Rejean told me before last year, as well as Channel X which is the mainstream version of Brian FM, but it broadcasts through to 16 markets such as Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch & Dunedin, but not Whanganui because it's got Brian in it, & Channel X does not have its cult following, compared to Brian FM (By far my fave radio station of the entire planet, but I listen to the rock every Saturday nights (Except on Christmas & New Year period) again is because of the song 'Nothing Else Matters' being always played on Brian meaning that it's by far my favourite Metallica song (It used to be 'Enter Sandman' first, then 'One' & 'Wherever I May Roam') now, but there is a story of me starting to follow my love of Nickelback again despite the hostility between them & the fans (And they're like U2, but they are somehow controversial according to the doco film that was released in 2023 of Hate to Love: Nickelback for which I previously mentioned in my blogs last year), is the song 'How You Remind Me' which is my fave song from the band, but 'Savin' Me' is better, while I like both 'Someday' & Photograph' as the other songs from my favourite rock band from Canada (Compared to U2 being my fave band from Ireland because of my favourite song from the band themselves is 'Beautiful Day', but I like 'Vertigo', 'One', 'The Fly', 'Mysterious Ways' & 'Even Better Than the Real Thing' as well, so that's why I'm also in love of supporting U2, needless to say), especially the Greatest Hits Vol.1 album that I've still got also in my bedroom (And it was after 9/11 that the fans were told to show hostility towards the Canadian rockers, so that's why that they bore hatred towards them when they betrayed at each other).

And thirdly that I used to be a wrestling follower, but somehow I've lost interest on it, mainly due to not playing WWE 2K25 recently, as well as Tiffany 'Tiffy Time' Stratton's utter dominance in the women's division of the WWE had seemed to be unchallenged since a year ago when at that moment, became the WWE Women's champion (In which she is still been as the champ since, following her decisive win against her former friend Nia Jax because of Stratton (Who is WWE's equivalent of AEW's Aussie-Kiwi female champion wrestler Toni Storm (Formerly used to wrestle for the World Wrestling Entertainment), & comes from a bodybuilding background in her home state of Minnesota, so that's why that the current partner of Ludwig Kaiser inspired to become a pro wrestler) successfully initiated her Money in the Bank contract (And countless championships had been defended, including her overwhelmingly dominant victory against wily old veteran Charlotte Flair (Who is in a vendetta with Canadian Chelsea Green & the Secret Hervice consisting of both Alba Fyre (Chelsea's security manager) & Piper Niven (Chelsea's assistant security manager) at WrestleMania XLI in the battle of the blonde bombshells, but a couple of months ago she has hired Stephanie Vanquer to be Tiffy Time's security manager as well as her personal protector in order to take advantage of Tiffany (Who is by far the most overwhelmingly dominant & dangerous female wrestler ever to step into the wrestling ring, compared to Roman Reigns who used to be also by far wrestling's most dangerous & ultra competitive man when he held the Undisputed WWE Championship for 1,316 days, until he lost to Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 40 last year, but I somehow label Stratton as the female Iron Sheik (Arguably by far the best male villain in WWE history), just like the former New Zealand Prime Minister from back in 2017, until the year before in 2023 of Jacinda Ardern who was once labelled as the female Winston Churchill, & she is way worse than both Michelle McCool & Victoria in terms of being the top villainess in the world of WWE wrestling) whoever she loses in situations like that against most favourable wrestlers, like Giulia for example, even in title matches anytime), & Seth Rollins (Husband of defending Women's Intercontinental champion Becky Lynch (The one who defeated fellow Irishwoman Lyra Valkyria (Who is born on the same year as female Aussie wrestler Rhea 'Mami' Ripley (Who was involved in 2023 where she beat Charlotte Flair for the WWE Smackdown Women's title at Wrestlemania 39 in one of easily, if not the greatest women's wrestling matches of all-time during the Grandest Stage of Them All, compared to the late Hulk Hogan's encounter against also the late Andre the Giant at Wrestlemania 3 way back in 1987 in one of the greatest matches of all time at the Showcase of the Immortals) way, way back in 1996, & she was the one who lost to Aussie American Nia Jax during the Queen of the Ring crown in 2024 when Nia at that significant moment, had Lyra on the ropes just to beat her & win, then to take that crown as she became Queen of the Ring) to the Women's IC crown, but Becky dissed the late Ozzy Osbourne during a show on Raw that offended the Osbourne family, especially the late Ozzy's wife Sharon & their children of Kelly & Jack) forming the villainous tag team stable of the Vision consisting of him, Bron Breakker (Former Intercontinental champion currently held by Rey's son, 'Dirty' Dominik Mysterio whose hairdo had drawn inspiration from the late 'Latino Heat' of Eddie Guerrero (It's been 20 years since his sudden passing that happened way back in 2005, 20 years! I can't believe it anyway, but his last televised match was against Mr Kennedy for a qualification spot at Survivor Series in which he qualified anyway after Mr Kennedy got disqualified in which the late 'Latino Heat' was always lying, cheating & stealing, but he struck him with a unprotected chair shot to the head which is deemed to be prohibited as of today due to the fact that it's dangerous, before his sudden passing which mourned the wrestling world as there were calls to introduce the talent wellness guidelines being set up by the WWE for which had been successful, & there was a show on Raw after 'Latino Heat' took his own life that Rey Mysterio won against 'HBK' Shawn Michaels (The one who ended Naitch's wrestling career when he beat him at Wrestlemania XXIV way back in 2008 as he famously said to him by uttering the words "I'm sorry, I love you", before he took Charlotte's dad Ric Flair out with his patented Sweet Chin Music finisher, then he won of course with a lateral press) in a one on one singles wrestling match, & he dedicated his victory by paying tribute to his late friend) who is good friends with Dominik's dad ironically) & Bronson Reed (Also a Former Intercontinental champ), but his resurgence to the top began when he beat CM Punk (The one who beat Jey Uso for the title several months ago) for the WWE World Heavyweight crown at Summerslam (That was the night before Cody Rhodes (Who will play United States Air Force pilot Guile in the Street Fighter movie due for release next year as he appears alongside his old rival Roman Reigns as Akuma/Gouki, & Aquaman actor Jason Momoa will play Blanka (There are others portraying their roles such as Noah Centineo as Street Fighter world champion Ken Masters, as well as Andrew Koji as the main protagonist of Street Fighter of Ryu, & Callina Liang as Chun-Li, the Chinese police detective) would finally get his own medicine for vengeance of at last, beating the retirement bound John Cena to regain the Undisputed WWE Championship when Cody famously lost to both Cena & the championship in controversial circumstances at WM XLI), before being ousted by his own tag team stable after both Brekker & Reed betrayed him for not following orders of taking a wrestler down.

And finally that there was once a cricket story about Pakistan's pathway to success in the 1992 men's Cricket World Cup began (Although the Pakistanis did lose their seamer (Or seam bowler I should say) of Waqar Younis with an injury even before the tournament got underway) as they lost their tournament opener against the West Indies before going on to beat Zimbabwe, then they lost 3 on the bounce against England, then rivals India, & the returning South Africa before beating the defending champions & co-hosts at the time Australia to stave themselves from elimination as well as they defeated the co-hosts of New Zealand not once but twice, including the semi that rescued 'Inzy' ul-Haq's performance with the bat that put them through to the final against England (Who would appear in their last final until 2019 in that they won against the Black Caps in a super over which was heartbreaking for our nation once again just like the 2015 defeat against Australia (Who would last appear in the final until 2023 where they won a record 6th men's Cricket World Cup crown where they pulled off the Ahmedabad heist against the hosts at the time of India (Who were shattered by the defeat on their home patch, a year before going on to become champions of the T20 cricket world against South Africa who would gone on to claim the World Test Championship this year (After 27 years where it took so long for them to win an ICC tournament), then the Champions Trophy a year later against us even though we were without our star bowler of Matt Henry who unfortunately got injured in the semifinal win over South Africa) in Ahmedabad in front of 132,000 people as the Aussies managed to silence the Indian fanatics in the crowd) in Melbourne in front of 87,182 people that the Pakistanis (Who obviously ran like cornered tigers during the tournament, & they delivered) won by 22 runs, therefore finally at last won the tournament following a standout player of the match performance from one of the real stars of cricket in the 90's period alongside the late Aussie cricketer Shane Warne of Wasim Akram who was the pick of the Pakistani bowlers with his figures of 3 wickets for 49 runs as well as being handy with the bat when he scored 33 runs of 19 deliveries, as the 1992 final turned out to be captain Imran Khan's perfect send off to his illustrious cricket career, even though with his victory also turned out to be the most satisfying moment of his life as a cricketer according to the Captain Courageous programme that is about the skippers from opposing countries which were successful during their cricket tour to Australia that I saw in Sky Sport.

So that is my 644th blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 68th of this year, viva Ukraine.

P.S. So close, no matter how far

Couldn't be much more from the heart

Forever trusting who we are

And nothing else matters

Downstairs: My 67th Blog of the year 2025

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 it looks like that Britain's Lando Norris (McLaren) who maybe well be on a chance of claiming his maiden Formula One World Championship (In which he'll attempt to become the 1st Brit to win the title since current Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton who last did it in 2020), & put an end to the utter dominance of Dutchman Max Verstappen who became world champion for the last 4 seasons after pulverising the rest of the field to take the easiest of wins in Mexico therefore heading to Brazil at Interlagos who gears up to host the Sao Paulo Grand Prix for a crucial race there (And I don't know whether Liam Lawson could return to Red Bull to replace Yuki Tsunoda (He might be going to IndyCar there as the list of Japanese drivers crossing over such as former Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato), or if he had chosen to stay for his most favoured constructor of RB Racing Bulls for next season) where it is the home race of last year's F2 champion as well as F1 rookie of Kick Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto (And there hasn't been a Brazilian driver who had raced in a home Grand Prix since Felipe Massa back in 2017) in which the Brazilian crowd will be cheering him on throughout the entire Grand Prix (And the latest in F1 as both McLarens of Oscar Piastri who finished 2nd behind the winner of Max Verstappen & current World Championship leader Lando Norris who narrowly missed out on a podium finish had been disqualified in Las Vegas for excessive plank wear, therefore Norris's lead in the World Championship had been trimmed to 24 going into the next race in the penultimate round of the season in Qatar (And here is the equation that if Lando will have to require of beating Max, & has a favourable result if Verstappen gets a DNF meaning that maiden championship is his for the very first time as he is desperately attempting to end the championship reign of Max Verstappen that lasted since 2021 throughout, & become the first Brit since Lewis Hamilton in 2020 to claim the F1 crown).

And secondly onto the rugby related stuff that it's been a decade since the late All Black Jonah Lomu (And how many times have I mentioned him on my blogs? I did that countless number of times about him) who was by far the greatest rugby player of all-time hands down (And he was our national sporting hero of our country of New Zealand back then along with Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Sir Richard Hadlee, the late Martin Crowe, the late Sir Peter Blake, Sir Russell Coutts & Peter Burling, compared to Brazil that they used to have both the late Pele & the late Ayrton Senna, India which used to have Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar & Virat Kohli, Australia that used to have the late Sir Don Bradman, the late Shane Warne, Wally Lewis, John Eales & Jimmy Spithill, the United States which used to have the late Babe Ruth, Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Tom Brady & Dennis Conner, Canada that used to have both Wayne Gretzky & Jacques Villeneuve, Germany used to have Franz Beckenbauer, Lothar Matthaeus, Philipp Lahm & Michael Schumacher, the UK has Sir Lewis Hamilton, Kiwi born Ben Stokes, Jonny Wilkinson & Sir Ben Ainslie, Argentina used to have the late Diego Maradona, but they have Lionel Messi, France used to have both Didier Deschamps & Zinedine Zidane, but they also have Kylian Mbappe & Antoine Dupont, Switzerland used to have Roger Federer, Spain used to have Rafael Nadal & Andres Iniesta, but they have Fernando Alonso, Portugal used to have the late Eusebio, but they currently have Cristiano Ronaldo, Serbia has both Novak Djokovic & Nikola Jokic, Greece has Giannis Antetokounmpo, South Africa used to have Francois Pienaar, & John Smit, but has both Siya Kolisi & Temba Bavuma, Japan has Shohei Ohtani & Michael Leitch, Italy once had both Gianluigi Buffon & Giorgio Chellini, but has Gigi Donnarumma, Pakistan once had both Imran Khan & Wasim Akram, & the Netherlands once had Ruud Gullit & Marco van Basten, but they currently have Max Verstappen), had passed away young aged 40 in Auckland back in 2015 (Same year that Jerry Collins also passed away in a tragic accident in France when a bus collided a car that took him, & his Canadian partner's life, even though the deceased couple's daughter managed to survive the impact, but she is now raised in Canada by her relatives) mainly due to a cardiac arrest related to the kidney disease that he picked up throughout his life which was a bit tragic & heartbreaking, so he was a loyal servant as well as a true legend of New Zealand rugby while he did all he can when he came so close of becoming the youngest ever men's Rugby World Cup winning player (But that honour went to South Africa's Frans Steyn way back in 2007) where New Zealand had fallen short against South Africa (Who had the late Lomu's friend off the field of Joel Stransky kicked the winning field goal during extra time that united the host country, as well as their leader of the late Nelson Mandela who attended the final according to the previous blogs that I did) in the final at Ellis Park in Joburg during the final of the 1995 men's Rugby World Cup, but his legendary moments were bumping off Mike Catt to score his 1st of 4 tries in the semi against England in one of his all-time best performances in the black jersey way, way back in 1995 (A year before being part of the Blues squad that won the inaugural Super 12 championship also way, way back in 1996 when they beat the Sharks in the final at Eden Park in Auckland) that made him a household name of the sport here in our country, & of course, last but not least, he scored the winning try against the Wallabies also way back in 2000 (Same year that he helped Wellington win the NPC title against Canterbury in the final at Lancaster Park in Christchurch, including swatting off Marika Vunibaka a few times before he made it all the way to the try line to score) in Sydney, Australia in front of over 109,000 people in attendance if not one of the greatest ever rugby tests of the century.

And thirdly that there was once a gaming story about the Mortal Kombat series (Founded by Ed Boon (The creator of the franchise whose fave fighting game series is Tekken in that he loves to play it during his spare time, thinking that he is a gamer himself) for which I've got it on both the PS4 (I mainly play that version, but I used to) & PS5 versions of the game called Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection, but my fave character would always be Johnny Cage who is the famous Hollywood A-lister as he uses his martial arts skills by putting himself to the test when he enters the mysterious Mortal Kombat tournament for which I clocked it twice, one on the Arcade version of the 1st MK game & the other on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive version (For which is easier than the arcade version) of the same game) when they released the 1st Mortal Kombat game that has parents terrified & senators who were shocked about the high impact violence system that has concerned young gamers, & after all of that kerfuffle, embarrassment & frustration surrounding the controversy of the series that the Entertainment Software Rating Board had been formed since that fateful moment regarding to legislation makers in the United States who reluctantly agreed upon most circumstances.

And finally in the rugby department that the sports governing body of World Rugby is announcing a crack down on teams who wear green like Ireland for example play against teams who wear red also like Wales for example in a bid to address people who are colourblind beginning from the 2027 men's Rugby World Cup just to avoid CVD (Colour vision deficiency) sufferers who see double by helping them see things easier (And they had already been implemented since last year where the Welsh wore their away kit against South Africa's predominantly green jersey while the Irish wore green kits against Wales's red kit for the last time at a Six Nations match in 2024 before they enforced of coming down hard on teams wearing green against teams wearing red kits thinking that a colourblind person says it's either green against green or red against red).

So that is my 643rd blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 67th of this year, viva Ukraine.

Lucy: My 66th Blog of the year 2025

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 in the cricket news such as the Black Caps claim a stunning clean sweep over England 3 - 0 in the series for the first time since 1983 where we dominated the 1st ODI in Mount Maunganui by 8 wickets (English captain Harry 'Brooky' Brook was the standout player of the game as a result of his ton that he had during the 1st innings), then the 2nd & 3rd One Day Internationals in Hamilton & Wellington where we won by 5 & 2 wickets respectively with Blair Tickner (Who was called up to the squad to replace the injured Kyle Jamieson (Who is a bit of a lookalike of the New Zealand Formula One driver of Liam Lawson because he used to look like the younger version of the late Tony 'Greigy' Greig) picking up the standout player of the game award in the last 2 ODI's for his figures of 4 for 34 (2nd One Day International) & 4 for 64 with the ball as well as 18 not out with the bat (3rd ODI) while the standout player of the series went to Daryl Mitchell where he was not out in the first 2 One Day Internationals with an unbeaten 78 (1st ODI) & an unbeaten 56 (2nd One Day International).

And secondly in the league that the Kiwis (Our main talisman is Canberra's Joseph Tapine) are into the final of the Pacific Rugby League Championship against Samoa (Who has the Premiership winning Brisbane Broncos player of Payne Haas as its star talisman) at CommBank Stadium in Sydney after we just thrashed the Tongans 40 - 14 at Eden Park in Auckland a fortnight after beating the Samoans (Who would gone on to annihilate the Tongans 34 points to 6 at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane in Haas's emotional homecoming, but I saw Samoan flags when me & Pops went to Trafalgar Square on the 8th of November as they show support of the Toa Samoa national rugby league team who are playing against New Zealand over across the ditch a day later) at Go Media Stadium also in Auckland.

And thirdly that Saturday will always be my day of going to town with Pops such as the River Traders Market that takes place every week on a Saturday (I go to the Burrow to purchase a regular croissant for morning tea to have), then Trafalgar Square where I also always go to EB Games (Where I've purchased an 8 MB PS2 memory card that I've got on the 1st of November at EB), then the Warehouse but I always buy a sushi at Ocggi Sushi for lunch & a pie for Sunday lunch at Woolworths such as a butter chicken one, as well as the Vinyl Room where I browse around for music stuff, & lastly I go to Cash Converters where I would buy a good old PlayStation 2 game to add to my retro gaming collection.

And finally onto the rugby related stuff that no side in history during the Super Rugby Pacific era that they had their second successful defence of the SRP Championship, even though with the Crusaders (Who were champions in the first 2 editions in 2022 & 2023 ala Team New Zealand in 1995 in San Diego, then 2000 on home soil in Auckland before renaming ourselves to Emirates Team New Zealand following our loyal defeat to Swiss syndicate Alinghi way back in 2003, 14 years before winning back the Auld Mug in Bermuda 2017, then we had our second successful defence in Auckland 2021 for that was blighted by the COVID pandemic, & finally at last, winning 3 times in a row (For that South Africa will attempt to do that in Australia 2027 that no side has ever won a 3rd straight men's Rugby World Cup (The closest was the All Blacks back in 2019 in which we fell short against England in the semifinal when the tourney was held in Japan) in which we successfully completed a hat-trick during modern day history in Barcelona, Spain) are seeking their 4th title during the current era (They would went on to regain the crown this year under Rob Penney who was reappointed (Also ala Sir 'Ted' Henry after the 2007 quarterfinal loss that the All Blacks bounced back to win the men's Rugby World Cup back in 2011, even though we lost our star talisman Dan Carter & his understudy Colin Slade through groin injuries which their tournament had been cruelly cut short) after an unsuccessful season last year which gone on in their rival of the Blues way (The Blues would lose in a semi to the dominant Crusaders side, but are they thinking vengeance? Well, the Blues are also seeking to regain the title next season that the Crusaders won in 2025, but the Bulls (Who currently compete in the United Rugby Championship) was the only side other than the Crusaders to regain a full Super Rugby crown, & it was way back in 2009 a year after the Crusaders did it also way back in 2008 (That was the year also after the Bulls first won Super 14 way back in 2007).

So that is my 642nd blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 66th of this year, viva Ukraine.

Can't Slow Down: My 65th Blog of the year 2025

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 was rewatching both old rugby matches involving the Scots & the AB's, such as the one in 1995 in the quarterfinal where 20,000 screaming fanatics (And there even wasn't a full capacity) came to Loftus Versfeld to witness a high scoring affair where 78 points have been scored by both sides, including a double from All Blacks second-five Walter Little (A New Zealander of Fijian descent, & is a relative of brothers who were Fijian internationals Nicky & Lawrence, while he has a son named Michael (Cousin of James) who is a rugby player (He used to play for North Harbour in the NPC & the Sunwolves (Currently defunct as of today) in Super Rugby) just like his famous dad) that made the difference of New Zealand reaching the semi against England, & the other in 2007 during a pool game at Murrayfield where the All Blacks (Who had to wear silver jerseys that were deemed to be a faux pas in terms of fashion for that was considered the worst) put 40 points on Scotland who hardly even got points on the board during the full 80 minutes.

And secondly that so many sporting events to look forward to such as the Winter Games in Milan-Cortina, Italy where the crowds will be fully able to attend the events 4 years after the last Winter Games took place in Beijing, China, with 0 fans mainly due to COVID in 2022, then the men's T20 Cricket World Cup will take place in both India & Sri Lanka (Although Pakistan will play all of their matches there due to them refusing to play in India as a result of political tensions between the 2 countries) with the Indians will be able to defend their title, having won the previous edition in the West Indies & the United States in 2024, & while the big one will be the Football/Soccer men's World Cup being staged in North America such as the United States, Canada & Mexico with 48 sides taking part (Up from 32 from the previous tournament in Qatar 2022 where Argentina led by its inspirational captain Lionel Messi (Who would finally be able to become a World Cup winning captain 36 years after his late idol of Diego Maradona who lifted the trophy aloft) were crowned champions of the world over the reigning champions at the time of France in the final on penalties for which was by far one of the greatest Football/Soccer men's World Cup finals of all-time, in Lusail, as only 32 will go through to the historic first ever round of 32, then 16 advance through to the round of 16, before 8 teams take part in the quarters, while 4 will contest the semi, as well as both losing semifinalists take part in the bronze final, & both winning semifinalists contest the final with only one world champion to be crowned), as well as the scaled down Commonwealth Games takes place in Glasgow (Originally held in the state of Victoria in Australia, but they had a change of plans due to a budget blowout just like Durban, South Africa were originally going to host it in 2022, until Birmingham in England took over the hosting rights from them) in Scotland for the first time since 2014, & the League World Cup being held in Australia & Papua New Guinea 4 years after the last one in England where the Kangaroos emerged the victors over 1st time finalists Toa Samoa (Who became the first side in history from the Pacific Islands, to make the big dance) in the grand final at Manchester last time out.

And thirdly that I must've pre-ordered both the PS4 & PS5 versions of Cricket 26 at EB Games which is due for release on November 20th a day before the Ashes cricket series gets underway in Perth between current holders Australia (It looks like Steve Smith will captain the side, in the absence of regular skipper of Pat Cummins who is unavailable through injury), & England (Led by New Zealand born Ben Stokes in which the English haven't held the Ashes since back in 2018, & it's been a decade since England had last won the Ashes also since back in 2015, although former All Black turned presenter Jeff Wilson who doesn't know which side to pick, but I'm rooting for England since I have family roots from there, especially the Faithfull whanau as well as the now late Carole) in the West test at Perth Stadium for the highly anticipated 1st Ashes test taking place on the 21st to the 25th of November this year.

And finally the latest in Football/Soccer as the iconic San Siro Stade Giuseppe Meazza ground in Milano, Italy for which is the home of both clubs of AC Milan & Inter Milan is closing down therefore being replaced by a new 70,000 seat stadium which will open in 2030 so that they can host a Euros game when the tournament is held in both Italy & Türkiye in 2032, 4 years after the UK & the Republic of Ireland plays host to Euro 2028 because it seemed to be turning into a scrapheap according to the newspaper article on Whanganui Chronicle that I saw before recently (And the British city of Manchester unveiled plans of a new 100,000 seater football/soccer stadium similar to the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne in terms of capacity called New Trafford dubbed as 'The Wembley of the North' as it seeks to replace Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United, but they have encountered a delay when it has been hit by a fresh financial blow as the UK government have previously backed the project with the Treasury recently making a decision on their funding for the new stadium).

So that is my 641st blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 65th of this year, viva Ukraine.

Ensenada: My 64th Blog of the year 2025

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 (For that will be my 2nd blog after Carole who unfortunately passed away 6 days ago for which was both heartbreaking & disheartening, but it's been a fortnight since I last saw her 8 days prior to her passing (And what's life after Carole like? Well, it seemed to me that my life has changed dramatically, again (Just like the late Nan passed away nearly a decade ago that changed my life), but first that I have lodged a protest about Paige Ahearn refusing me to accept my friend request on Facebook (Only my Malaysian bestie or I should say, BFF of Sophia Ong (Who I have not seen her for 8 years, 8 damn years when I was at the late Leon Benbaruk & Hanne's place back then in 2017 (That's a year before her marriage with her British husband, & has a son named Shaia who was born in 2021, & she had another child, but I'm not sure it's another boy or is it a girl (Maybe I'll ask her about that next time), 3 years before he had a bitter divorce with her, meaning that the late Jewish Moroccan moved to Auckland to be with his new partner Michelle Johansson (Who moved to Nottingham in England in the UK to be close with one of her sons), until Leon moved back here to Whanganui in 2022, then he left to join Chelle a year later in 2023 on the last day of July in which the last time I saw him (Compared to 2004 on New Year's Eve that I first met Leon, & became decent friends, but we used to play table hockey, then air hockey together since I got that air hockey table that I purchased in 2023 at Farmers), then he married MJ last year until he passed away back in March this year mainly as a result of health problems that he had, but I'm sorry to hear about his passing (And I've got a photo of me & him when it was taken in 2021 at Frank Bar in my bedroom) did for which I was happy, but I'll never add Jona Nareki who I met once before in 2020 as a Facebook friend mainly due to his rugby playing commitments (Even though Jona is friends with Pops on the social media platform), but one of Hera's friends back during school days of Justine Hoeta-McDonnell (Whom I heard that she's married lately meaning that she was happy about it, but Justine (A friend of mine also back in my school days where she told me in a text on my phone as of December 15th that Mrs Elizabeth Penny was playing the piano at a school assembly back in the old days during my time over there, & also Justine lives in Brisbane, Australia with her husband & kids, along with Hera who has another child which is a baby girl of Charley who is the sister of Willow, & daughter of Hera (Mum) & Brendan Baker (Dad) is the one who really appreciated my picture that I posted of my moustache lately regarding to Movember (AKA men's health awareness month), but I appreciate this hell sis) who she had an offer to be friends with me on Facebook, for which I reluctantly agreed upon it), mainly due to me losing interest of going on a holiday to Wellington with Pops or Dad in the future, but 2016 will be the last time I met both Cathey & Paige (I hate both of them now), & I won't meet them again for the rest of my life since both of them are close to the Middelplaats family (And they're not close to our Ngapo family), so I've decided to move on from them (And I insisted that I will not go to Wellington forever because of me boycotting any future holiday plans within the city that are now thrown into disarray).

And secondly that there has been a betting scandal that rocked the NBA, such as Portland Trial Blazers head coach & former NBA player Chauncey Billups, & both fellow ex-basketballers who once played in the NBA getting arrested for their crimes by the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) AKA the Feds, but there all calls for Billups (A former NBA champion who was part of the success with the Detroit Pistons in the 2003-04 season) to be stripped of his Basketball Hall of Fame induction, in wake of the scandal involving him & 2 others for their role in an illegal betting ring set up by the Mafia, & I mean, that is dreadful stuff, absolutely dreadful stuff, shocking (And the LA Clippers fans can be heard chanting F-B-I due to that betting scandal that rocked the NBA in which players playing in the league are prohibited to make bets, just like NFL players, as in the case of Calvin Ridley, in at that moment the Clippers won over the Trail Blazers during an NBA game).

And thirdly that the next America's Cup in Napoli 2027 won't feature American Magic who missed out on competing due to their syndicate missing on the teams list, so that's why they could not afford to take part as the deadline of making an entry expires soon for which is 2 years before it takes place, meaning that for the first time since 2017 that American Magic won't be involved at all (They first participated in 2021 as a replacement for Oracle Team USA in which they had a disaster when they capsized during high winds against Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli during one of the challenger series races that took 10 days to undergo repairs to the wrecked boat before they sent packing in the semis, but Barcelona last year was their 2nd & final campaign altogether when they reached another challenger series semi against the Italians in that they fell short once again) according to the Whanganui Chronicle newspaper article that I witnessed.

And finally that normal service has resumed for the All Blacks who end the year on a high with a comprehensive rout over Wales (Who had Tom Rogers who filled in for the suspended Josh Adams as he bagged a hat-trick (Compared to Caleb Clarke who would score a double (And one of its tries had been disallowed by the TMO along with another one, & while the 3rd try had to be checked then counted because it was 3rd time lucky for New Zealand) after returning from a head knock that kept him out of the England test (So too is Fabian Holland who wasn't on the field against the English through illness) that resulted in a loss meaning that we missed out on our grand slam chances, but the Welsh lost both players to the bin, one for continuing to mount penalties & for a dangerous tackle that resulted in a sin binning offence & on report before it wasn't upgraded to a send off offence meaning that it had stayed as a sin bin rather by female Scottish referee Hollie Davidson (The twice World Rugby referee of the year) who became the first woman in history to take charge in an AB's test (She did it last year when she became the first female ref, to referee a men's rugby test between South Africa against Portugal), but the standout player of the game honours went to AB's number 8 forward Wallace Sititi who had a barnstorming performance), at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff by 26 points (The highlights of that game was the sidestep by Sevu Reece who just came onto the field to score a double just like Clarke which was one of the best sidesteps of all time in rugby history).

So that is my 640th blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 64th of this year, viva Ukraine.

Starcrossed: My 63rd Blog of the year 2025 (AKA in memory of my close friend Carole Webb)

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