Well, my name is Whetu Ngapo (AKA Christian McIntyre ''Chris'' or ''Hunter'' Fallon/Imanolchristian all according to my alter-ego persona (Compared to Rejean ''Giuseppe Pedersen'' Gatineau & his 3 children, Eric (Guliano Richtsteiner), Tom (Tommy G) & Rachelle (Ayako Bianchi) as well as his niece, Natalie and I am 23 years old...but of course, 2 years & a month on after my debut blog has brought to life so this is the Rules Of The Game Of Thrones 3 (Or #rulesofthegameofthrones3, according to the excessive use of twitter terminologies): The Complete Trilogy, now...in this blog, I will preview about the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2014 being held in Brazil as well as the reigning champion #allblacks facing the hosts of next year's #rugbyworldcup, England...in a 3 match test series, believe that.
But 1st off, it is #worldcup fever time in #brazil as it plays host to this years tournament so I will give you the rundown on all 32 teams playing in the Group Stages:
Group A: Brazil/Brasil (Host nation & of course, 5 time Winners in 1958, '62, '70, '94 & 2002 (The star player for Brazil is @Neymar, Playing for FC Barcelona in Spain's domestic football competition, La Liga & Coached by @LuizFelipe''Phil''Scolari), Croatia (One of the dark horses who last appeared at a World Cup stage in 2006 (With @LukaModric (From the Champions League winning outfit, Real Madrid) & @MarioMandzukic (All the way from Bayern Munich) as it's star players), Mexico (Who beat our All Whites to qualify in the Intercontinental playoffs (Also featuring in the squad is @Javier''Chicharito''Hernandez of Manchester United) & Cameroon (Led by Chelsea's @SamuelEto'o).
Group B: Spain/España (Defending Champions + Several World Cup Winning players are involved in the squad including @Iniesta, @Xavi, @XabiAlonso (from Real Madrid), @DavidVilla (Atletico Madrid), @FernandoTorres (Chelsea), @CescFabregas & the star Goalkeeper & Captain, @IkerCasillas), Netherlands (Who missed out a chance to beat Spain 4 years ago to lift the trophy & coached by the new Manchester United manager/head coach @LouisvanGaal as well as the star players such as @Robin''RVP''vanPersie (Who is the team captain/squad leader) of Man United & @ArjenRobben from Bayern Munich in Germany's Bundesliga), Chile & Australia (AKA the Socceroos, which has got @TimCahill (Who plays for New York Red Bulls in America's Major League Soccer).
Group C: Colombia (Last qualifed in 1998), Greece (Euro 2004 Champions), Cote d'Ivoire (Captained by @DidierDrogba of Galatasaray) & Japan (Coached by Italian Alberto Zaccheroni + several players involved in the squad including @KeisukeHonda of AC Milan (Balotelli's club) & @ShinjiKagawa of Manchester United (Van Persie's club).
Group D: Uruguay (Winners of the 1st World Cup held in 1930, also won in 1950 (Featuring @LuisSuarez as a key player who plays for Liverpool in the Premier League as well as being the one who got sent off for that blatant handball challenge 4 years ago against Ghana in the quarterfinals), Costa Rica (Got beaten by Uruguay in 2010 in a Intercontinental playoff (And yeah, not only because Nan, Pops & Aunt Tania went to Costa Rica, and then all of a sudden, the locals think that their team failed to qualify, leaving them stunned & not so happy), but now qualified for this year's tournament (The people of Costa Rica are now very, very happy indeed), England (1966 Winners captained by @StevenGerrard of Liverpool (Luis Suarez's club), with @WayneRooney (Of Man United) as key player) & Italy/Italia (4x Winners in 1934, '38, '82 & 2006 (And also featuring @MarioBalotelli (An AC Milan (A club playing along with AS Roma, Juventus & Napoli in Italy's Serie A) player who was impressed in Euro 2012) as it's danger man).
Group E: Switzerland/Schweiz/Suisse, Ecuador (Did not qualify at the last tournament in 2010, which was held in South Africa), France (1998 Winners + @FranckRibery (Bayern Munich), is the key player for Les Bleus, but unfortunately, he got injured as a result so in all of a sudden, he cannot play in this years tournament according to ''the King'', Leon Benbaruk or @LBTheKing according to his would be twitter name (Married to the Danish Terminator since a decade ago, Hanne the great or should I say @DanishTerminatorHanne), as I spoke to him on the phone during my 23rd) & Honduras.
Group F: Argentina (2x Winners in 1978 & '86, captained by @Lionel''Leo''Messi of FC Barcelona (Neymar's club), Bosnia-Herzegovina (Debutants featuring a star player, playing for Manchester City (Who recently won the Premier League last month),
@EdinDžeko), Iran (1st Appearance at a World Cup since 2006) & Nigeria.
Group G: Germany/Deutschland (3x Winners in 1954, '74 & '90 under the West Germany name (Captained by Bayern Munich's @PhilippLahm), Portugal (Led by Real Madrid's star player, @Cristiano''CR7''Ronaldo), Ghana & the United States (Coached by former German international, @JürgenKlinsmann).
And last but not least, Group H, which is Belgium/Belgique (And another one of the dark horses who last qualified in 2002 & led by Manchester City's @VincentKompany, who is part of the golden generation of players such as @RomeluLukaku & @EdenHazard (Both from Chelsea), Algeria, Russia (Also last qualified in 2002, just like Belgium & hosts of the next FIFA World Cup, in 2018) & Korea Republic.
And who is going to win it, we will find it out, once the tournament's over before we know it, but all will be revealed.
But enough with that football/soccer stuff now brother but not only because of my football player knowledge carry-on as we go to our 1st rugby test match of 2014 not only our very own reigning champion All Blacks outfit have named a 31 man squad for the test series (3 newcomers including Tongan born Highlander centre Malakai Fekitoa, scrum-half TJ Perenara (Who was benched for the All Blacks comeback victory against Ireland in Dublin but did not play) & young 21 year old Blues lock Patrick Tuipilotu as well as the return of RWC 2011 winner Jerome Kaino, who was once widely regarded as the best Blindside on the planet), against next years RWC hosts England (Coached by Stuart Lancaster & captained by Chris Robshaw who had just arrived like 2 weeks ago), and Gaal yes, the team kept working out in training as part of their preparations then in all of a sudden, the All Blacks have revealed their starting lineup this morning so no Kieran Read (World's best Numero Ocho in world rugby (Comprenny? got it?) & man of the year last year) due to concussion issues & Julian Savea. But in the end, it was a low scoring affair, not only because it was a tight, close match, as the All Blacks defeated England 20 - 15 (Both teams have traded penalty goals each before Conrad Smith provided the match winner before the end) at Eden Park in the 1st of 3 tests during my intense, birthday celebrations.
So that's it? That all you've got ladies & gentlemen about the preview on the FIFA World Cup 2014 Brasil & the All Blacks/England 3 match test series (Well, I have been enjoying my 23rd birthday spirit on Saturday), not only because it is going to be epic, from out of nowhere just because this faith no more thing is over (And by the way, have I even lost my faith about this midlife crisis type of thing?).
P.S. Can you feel it, see it, here it today? If you can't, then it doesn't matter anyway.
Wednesday, 11 June 2014
Wednesday, 9 April 2014
One Of A Kind: The YES! Movement Report
Today it was the 8th & final test of the inaugural Aramoho Series Cricket between me vs Poppa (Well we had cheese toasties & feijoas for lunch & it was not too bad @ all) & I won by gaining some sweet revenge because last week (Although in all of a sudden, we did go to Spice Guru for lunch and it was absolute fantastic stuff like I had the best butter chicken in town) my 6 - 0 streak was on the line but unfortunately, my streak was dead set due to my poor batting performance (But nek minnit, our match was delayed not only because I forgot to take the wickets that we left behind).
At the 1st innings, I scored only 4 runs before getting bowled after winning the coin toss & electing to bat.
Then Pops scored 6 runs but I managed to get him out LBW after bowling a few balls...and then all of a sudden, I began to bat again when the 2nd innings got started. But I unveiled a new cunning game plan, to distract the bowler by saying something (Well you call that intimidating) like ''Oh please hell no, don't get me out'' when @Poppa attempted to bowl me out & then WHAM!! as I revealed my new batting powers just like old times like it was the 2nd & 3rd test (& YES! YES! YES! I did mention that b4 about my batting performance went horribly wrong last week) but after scoring a couple of twos, fours & 4 sixes since I have revealed my new batting powers, I finally got my hands of scoring a century at last (I got dismissed in the 1st innings, remember) before intending to declare @ 102 not out (The total score was 106 meaning that I have got only 1 wicket in hand to win the test series whilst @Poppa has got 102 runs to take victory).
And now, behold of my new way to win the 8th test of #AramohoSeriesCricket as I switched into beast mode like the Hulk as I attempt to dismiss him but it backfired as my opponent kept scoring runs on bay but all of my bowling practice that I did paid off when Papa Henry Frederick Ngapo was on 38 after scoring a couple of fours & sixes (I almost took a ripper of a catch when he hit the ball high in the air) until I managed to pull off by bowling him out & knocking him over but not only I was on celebration mode after my miraculous victory, effectively ending the losing streak I had (Although I had the honour to play my new victory music titled Ride Of The Valkyries by Richard Wagner to commemorate my win).
Well lemme tell ya something brother that this is the end of this blog stuff for now, so what'cha gonna do brother, when the Incredible Hulk...runs wild...on...you, now can you confirm you understood that message? (& YES! YES! & YES! Because now, that I am one of a kind).
P.S. Sierra
Hotel
India
Echo
Lima
Delta
SHIELD
#MMXIII (2013), The Year In Review (+ My Debut Cricket Report, Full Metal Jacket of #isms)
#2013, WOW! What a year this has been from @Scott Dixon (AKA Scotty D, the Iceman) winning #Indycar Title for only the 3rd time to #AllBlacks going 14 from 14, effectively achieving the 100% record for the 1st time ever in the professional era, but my main highlight was ending 2013 on a high when I finally had to move in to my new apartment here at Alma Road after spending 22 years living with my father, but finally, I now live on my own right as well as starting to watch the cricket (Such as the @BrendonMcCullum led #BlackCaps (Not only that they beat #WestIndies in both the Test & Twenty20 series but not the ODI (One Day International) series because it was drawn) & #Ashes test series which was won by #Australia by beating #England 5-0 in the series) + I got some christmas presents like the gingerbread maker, an #F1RacingMagazine, the new #Asterix comic book & the brand new #GranTurismo6 #PS3 game (Which is an updated version of the previous installment (That game looks better than it is, compared to Gran Turismo 5) but it has got several world class circuits like Bathurst, Brands Hatch & Silverstone + some new vehicles) + I finally got to meet @AuntTaniaManuNgapo & of course, for the 1st time ever, the almighty French Canadian, Raejean (@GiuseppePedersen) Gatineau not only because it was at the airport before Christmas. Even though, 2014 began when I was still at the apartment watching the #Cricket when Black Cap @CoreyAnderson broke the record in Queenstown against the Windies for the fastest ODI century by breaking Pakistani Shahid Afridi's current record, and then, I went to the Brick House with Dad & Raewyn Sharrock to link up with Nan, Pops, Aunt Tan & Réjean/Giuseppe for a meal but my best moment of the evening was writing a letter for Réjean wishing him the best of luck before I went out but when I gave him my letter, he was impressed about the situation, not only that I had an apology for listening to a Canadian rock band, which is @Nickelback, as well as acquiring or should I say, bestowing/managing the new aliases of Eric/Giuliano Richtsteiner's brother Tom, now known as @TommyG (Bit of that Hip Hop stage naming stuff) & Giuseppe's daughter (Guiliano & Tommy G's sister), Rachelle AKA Ayako (あやこ) Bianchi (Meaningful and of course, Super Kawaii/かわいい (That is Japanese for Cute), but due to my impressive good performance with Réjean meaning that I did land the role of being good friends after all, not only because that letter wasn't even too bad like when someone goes to hell, tell them that somebody else sent you.
With the West Indies tour to NZ was over, It was the reigning champions & the best of the ODI Cricket World (Although they lost the No.1 ranking to giants Australia), India (Led by Captain Cool, Mahendra Singh (MS) Dhoni + They even got a danger man Virat Kohli (The guy who filled the void from the great, little master, the recently retired Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar), who has lethal batting skills compared to Tendulkar) to take on the Black Caps as we did go 1-0 up in the ODI series at McLean Park, in Napier by 24 runs (After India won the toss & elected to bowl, forcing New Zealand to bat 1st) before both teams have gone up north when NZ defeated India again at Seddon Park in the Tron (Hamilton), winning the game by 15 runs under the Duckworth/Lewis system, and after that, it was at Eden Park in Auckland when the 3rd ODI took place but nek minnit, NZ came so desperately close of winning the game and clinching the series, and then all of a sudden, the match ended in a tie, so both teams had to travel back to Hamilton for the 4th ODI (The same venue used for the 2nd ODI) as the Black Caps avenged their Eden Park demons with a 7 wicket win (The highlight of the game was Ross Taylor scoring 112 not out + 2 hilarious moments of all was James 'Jimmy' Neesham attempting to run Ravindra Jadeja out but fails miserably & of course, India are trying hard to dissmiss Brendon McCullum when both fielders Jadeja & Ambati Rayudu approach in attempt to catch the ball but also, fail miserably by dropping the catch like Neesham does when he tried to run Jadeja out (Although, former Indian cricketer turned commentator Sunil 'Sunny' Gavaskar (AKA Little Master) thinks that it was amateur stuff, absolute amateur stuff) before heading over to Wellington (AKA The Capital or Windy City) for the 5th & final ODI when NZ have completed the job winning the match by 87 runs & the series with Ross Taylor having a sensational summer, by scoring back 2 back centuries, and lifting New Zealand to 303 for 5 in the 1st innings. India’s reply never really got going, with the home side’s bowlers taking wickets at important moments, including four on debut for Matt Henry but in the end, India were bowled out in the last over for 216.
And now onto the 1st test match at Eden Park between the Black Caps & India after a sensational ODI series that took place as New Zealand won the game but the main highlight was NZ captain Brendon McCullum getting a double century (He was 224) during the 1st innings, but the OMG! moment went to Neil Wagner, who bowled MS Dhoni out moments before Wagner touched the line, thinking it was a no ball according to the 3rd umpire but now in all of a sudden that the umpire has given Dhoni out moments before India were all out 166 as the Black Caps go 1 - 0 up in the test series. And finally, the 2nd & final test took place at Wellington at a different venue which is the Basin Reserve as several crowds witness the big, BIG highlight of the moment (Formerly das Ballz of Steel moment) went to Brendon McCullum (Damn, he was so good), the 1st New Zealand cricketer ever to get a triple century by reaching 300 runs surpassing Martin Crowe's record of 299, WOW! What a history making day this has been, and after McCullum got dismissed at 302, it was Jimmy Neesham's turn, scoring a century on test debut (He was 137*) before McCullum announced that it was time to declare when the Black Caps were 680 for 8 allowing India to bat but the match ended in a draw allowing NZ to win the test series.
Well that is it, as both the Super Rugby & NRL seasons got underway with the summer of cricket over but what a superb blog this has been perhaps, the 1st of 2014, not for an entire decade, but sit back & enjoy, VENI VIDI VICI (I just CAME, SAW & CONQUERED, so brace yourself, like it is life or death).
P.S. And oh by the way, I did have a gr8 game here today when I scored another century during the 4th test match compared to the 2nd test during the 2nd innings, not only I dismissed Pops not once with an leg before (aka LBW) with a fast bowl in the 1st innings but twice with a catch in the 2nd innings, with a spinner (Pops was gone, caught & bowled) and man, that was a gr8 match & so, good times eh?
With the West Indies tour to NZ was over, It was the reigning champions & the best of the ODI Cricket World (Although they lost the No.1 ranking to giants Australia), India (Led by Captain Cool, Mahendra Singh (MS) Dhoni + They even got a danger man Virat Kohli (The guy who filled the void from the great, little master, the recently retired Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar), who has lethal batting skills compared to Tendulkar) to take on the Black Caps as we did go 1-0 up in the ODI series at McLean Park, in Napier by 24 runs (After India won the toss & elected to bowl, forcing New Zealand to bat 1st) before both teams have gone up north when NZ defeated India again at Seddon Park in the Tron (Hamilton), winning the game by 15 runs under the Duckworth/Lewis system, and after that, it was at Eden Park in Auckland when the 3rd ODI took place but nek minnit, NZ came so desperately close of winning the game and clinching the series, and then all of a sudden, the match ended in a tie, so both teams had to travel back to Hamilton for the 4th ODI (The same venue used for the 2nd ODI) as the Black Caps avenged their Eden Park demons with a 7 wicket win (The highlight of the game was Ross Taylor scoring 112 not out + 2 hilarious moments of all was James 'Jimmy' Neesham attempting to run Ravindra Jadeja out but fails miserably & of course, India are trying hard to dissmiss Brendon McCullum when both fielders Jadeja & Ambati Rayudu approach in attempt to catch the ball but also, fail miserably by dropping the catch like Neesham does when he tried to run Jadeja out (Although, former Indian cricketer turned commentator Sunil 'Sunny' Gavaskar (AKA Little Master) thinks that it was amateur stuff, absolute amateur stuff) before heading over to Wellington (AKA The Capital or Windy City) for the 5th & final ODI when NZ have completed the job winning the match by 87 runs & the series with Ross Taylor having a sensational summer, by scoring back 2 back centuries, and lifting New Zealand to 303 for 5 in the 1st innings. India’s reply never really got going, with the home side’s bowlers taking wickets at important moments, including four on debut for Matt Henry but in the end, India were bowled out in the last over for 216.
And now onto the 1st test match at Eden Park between the Black Caps & India after a sensational ODI series that took place as New Zealand won the game but the main highlight was NZ captain Brendon McCullum getting a double century (He was 224) during the 1st innings, but the OMG! moment went to Neil Wagner, who bowled MS Dhoni out moments before Wagner touched the line, thinking it was a no ball according to the 3rd umpire but now in all of a sudden that the umpire has given Dhoni out moments before India were all out 166 as the Black Caps go 1 - 0 up in the test series. And finally, the 2nd & final test took place at Wellington at a different venue which is the Basin Reserve as several crowds witness the big, BIG highlight of the moment (Formerly das Ballz of Steel moment) went to Brendon McCullum (Damn, he was so good), the 1st New Zealand cricketer ever to get a triple century by reaching 300 runs surpassing Martin Crowe's record of 299, WOW! What a history making day this has been, and after McCullum got dismissed at 302, it was Jimmy Neesham's turn, scoring a century on test debut (He was 137*) before McCullum announced that it was time to declare when the Black Caps were 680 for 8 allowing India to bat but the match ended in a draw allowing NZ to win the test series.
Well that is it, as both the Super Rugby & NRL seasons got underway with the summer of cricket over but what a superb blog this has been perhaps, the 1st of 2014, not for an entire decade, but sit back & enjoy, VENI VIDI VICI (I just CAME, SAW & CONQUERED, so brace yourself, like it is life or death).
P.S. And oh by the way, I did have a gr8 game here today when I scored another century during the 4th test match compared to the 2nd test during the 2nd innings, not only I dismissed Pops not once with an leg before (aka LBW) with a fast bowl in the 1st innings but twice with a catch in the 2nd innings, with a spinner (Pops was gone, caught & bowled) and man, that was a gr8 match & so, good times eh?
Wednesday, 27 November 2013
The All Blacks Stories III: Enter the Invincible Dragon (+ RIP Peter Fats: The Ultimate Tribute)
On the 2nd day of November (AKA Movember because it is the Moustache month), the reigning World Champion All Blacks began their tour of duty starting with Japan in Tokyo where 4 new All Blacks made their test debuts (The players where Dominic Bird, Frank 'The Tank' Halai, Jeff Toomaga-Allen (The guy who replaced the injured Joe Moody) & one of Sam Whitelock's brothers, Luke) and the 1st time that both teams have played in the Land of the Rising Sun & outside of the Rugby World Cup (They previously met on both occasions, 1 in 1995 where New Zealand pounced the Japanese in South Africa 147 - 15 & the other in 2011 where the AB's pummeled them again 83 - 7 in the Tron) but in the end, the All Blacks were indeed the dominating factor in the match, beating Japan 54 - 6 (Well, I call that a low-scoring affair) with tries scored by young winger Charles Piutau (Who got both by scoring his 1st & 2nd international test tries, but his form had been improving by now), another young openside flanker Sam Cane followed by winger turned centre Ben Smith, then captain Richie McCaw before lock Jeremy Thrush crossed over for his 1st ever test try then another young winger Frank Halai did get his try on debut before fly-half/fullback Beauden Barrett did however score (He was indeed a prolific try scorer such as the ones he did against both France & South Africa).
And after that, the AB's have certainly booked a long-haul flight to France from Japan but one of the key players was in trouble as Julian Savea had fallen ill because he was battling with influenza, causing him to miss that match against Les Bleus meaning that Charles Piutau had taken Savea's place but the rugby community was in mourning as former Samoa captain Papali'itele Peter Moemoe 'Fats' Fatialofa (One of the 1st Kiwi based players to play for Samoa) had passed away from a cardiac arrest back in Samoa where he was supposed to do a radio interview but several thoughts & prayers where laid down as well as tributes being paid about him (Remember, he was the keeper of the Ranfurly Shield when Auckland won the shield as well as leading his beloved Samoa team by making it to the quarterfinal stages in 1991 following a shock upset against Wales 16 - 13 back in Cardiff, launching a new Pacific Island Rugby era).
But enough with the Peter Fats tribute as the All Blacks (Who wore the white jerseys when France, who wore blue, have gone back to it's original, darker roots) took on France in a rematch of the 3 match test series back in June at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, but after 80 minutes, NZ were just too strong by beating the French 26 - 19 & retained the Dave Gallaher Trophy but during the match both teams have traded penalties only in the 1st half until in the 2nd half, where Charles Piutau did get the 1st try of the game & of course, in the 64th minute, Kieran Read (Arguably the best No.8 in world rugby) did touch it down after getting the speed but France came so close when Brice Dulin got the try for France & Morgan Parra provided the conversion but the oh my goodness moment in the 80th minute when the All Blacks have been awarded both a penalty & the game after a French player had been caught using his hands in the scrum (Just like France had killed the game in the 2011 Rugby World Cup final when South African referee Craig Joubert handed the All Blacks both the penalty & the World Cup after 24 years of get rich & die trying).
And after the French game, the All Blacks head over to England to gain revenge against them by launching their Twickenham assault (But dont worry, we did play down rumors especially the AB's coach (Steve Hansen) that we are quite frankly, the best in the world rugby business), and we did, by winning the game 30 - 22 & regain the Hillary Shield (From the English) after a close-quarters battle for 80 minutes (Great tries being scored there by Julian Savea (He was back after overcoming with the flu when he was falling ill): not once (2 minutes post kick-off) but twice (In the 61st minute) & Kieran Read (He did manage to score just like he did against France) & hey, guess what! Dan Carter not only becomes the 5th All Black ever to reach 100 tests, joining the likes of captain Richie McCaw (The 1st All Black centurion to do so because that was during the 2011 RWC tournament), Mils Muliaina, Keven Mealamu & Tony Woodcock; but unfortunate there for Carter as he gets replaced by Aaron Cruden after spending 25 minutes of his 100th rugby test of a lifetime.
And now, onto the All Blacks last assignment as they take on the luck of the Irish whip & if NZ win, that will be the 1st time ever this has happened in the professional era of rugby union to end 2013 undefeated (14 wins in a row this year), but the All Blacks was on the recieving end after the match had been started already as Irish scrum-half Conor Murray scored the 1st try of the game (Jonathan 'Jonny' Sexton did convert after the try but I was like: Oh man, I cannot believe this) as the Irish are looking for an upset since they never won against the All Blacks (Who lost twice in Ireland, 1 against Munster in '78, the other: Australia during the RWC semi in '91) for like 108 years, but this is not looking good for NZ as Ireland score another try by the hooker Rory Best as the home fans went wild but the men in green are on top 14 to nil after a Jonathan Sexton conversion but the All Blacks were thinking of a comeback & oh, this is terrible stuff for New Zealand as Rob Kearney intercepts the ball after Israel Dagg lost the ball forward, all the way to the try line (And yeah, one of the commentators Justin Marshall suspects that the All Blacks were in trouble meaning that they won't catch Kearney for that one but let god sort'em out) but the only disappointment for the Irish was Sexton's conversion attempt struck the posts but nek minnit, the All Blacks managed to come back in style when Julian Savea had scored before Cruden had to make a simple conversion by bouncing back from a dreadful start moments before Ireland had been awarded a penalty after Wyatt Crockett was the one who took a player down as Jonny Sexton did go for goal stretching their lead 22 to 7 before halftime.
2nd half got underway but in the 52nd minute, Ireland got penalised for obstruction as Devin Toner gets Crockett out of the way by handing a simple kick for Cruden (Ireland still lead by 12 after a successful penalty attempt) & in the 64th minute, prop Ben Franks did get it down for the try despite the Welsh ref Nigel Owens blows the whistle, thinking that Ben Franks got it down so the referee tells the touch judge that it is a try so Owens says that the try was good moments before Aaron Cruden gets the conversion while the men in green were attempting to charge down a conversion attempt but in the dying stages of the game (Well this is more like the Kiwis beating England in the Rugby League World Cup Semifinal at Wembley) when Ireland led 22 - 17, as the relentless attack from New Zealand as Dane Coles makes the pass to Ryan Crotty to tie the game, but WOW!! what a pass & the match winning try but they would have to go the video for that because that looked forward as the TMO thinks that he told the referee to award the try because the pass looked a bit fine as the ref blows the whistle for the try but a conversion kick to come for the 100% record as Cruden misses the conversion attempt but he may get another go at it (Because that is according to the rules) as Ireland went early as they attempted to charge it down but Cruden did get a 2nd chance as the conversion attempt is over but that's it, it's all over as the All Blacks beat Ireland by 2 points (Well, we almost tasted an Irish Curse if Ireland won) to end the year undefeated (The All Blacks unbeaten 2013 season is way more better than the RWC 2011 victory) & for the 1st time ever, this has been happened in the professional era of rugby union (Yeah, the All Blacks did join the likes of Lorde, Lydia Ko, Scott Dixon & Steven Adams as part of a Kiwi non-sporting/sporting success for 2013 (Not for both Emirates Team NZ & the All Whites (Too bad they lost to Mexico meaning that we have to wait until the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Mother Russia) & hopefully the Kiwis if they lose) but actually Lorde is a musician), so enter the new Invincibles (Oh yeah but we are indeed...history seekers).
PS: Requiescat In Pace Fats
(1959 - 2013)
And after that, the AB's have certainly booked a long-haul flight to France from Japan but one of the key players was in trouble as Julian Savea had fallen ill because he was battling with influenza, causing him to miss that match against Les Bleus meaning that Charles Piutau had taken Savea's place but the rugby community was in mourning as former Samoa captain Papali'itele Peter Moemoe 'Fats' Fatialofa (One of the 1st Kiwi based players to play for Samoa) had passed away from a cardiac arrest back in Samoa where he was supposed to do a radio interview but several thoughts & prayers where laid down as well as tributes being paid about him (Remember, he was the keeper of the Ranfurly Shield when Auckland won the shield as well as leading his beloved Samoa team by making it to the quarterfinal stages in 1991 following a shock upset against Wales 16 - 13 back in Cardiff, launching a new Pacific Island Rugby era).
But enough with the Peter Fats tribute as the All Blacks (Who wore the white jerseys when France, who wore blue, have gone back to it's original, darker roots) took on France in a rematch of the 3 match test series back in June at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, but after 80 minutes, NZ were just too strong by beating the French 26 - 19 & retained the Dave Gallaher Trophy but during the match both teams have traded penalties only in the 1st half until in the 2nd half, where Charles Piutau did get the 1st try of the game & of course, in the 64th minute, Kieran Read (Arguably the best No.8 in world rugby) did touch it down after getting the speed but France came so close when Brice Dulin got the try for France & Morgan Parra provided the conversion but the oh my goodness moment in the 80th minute when the All Blacks have been awarded both a penalty & the game after a French player had been caught using his hands in the scrum (Just like France had killed the game in the 2011 Rugby World Cup final when South African referee Craig Joubert handed the All Blacks both the penalty & the World Cup after 24 years of get rich & die trying).
And after the French game, the All Blacks head over to England to gain revenge against them by launching their Twickenham assault (But dont worry, we did play down rumors especially the AB's coach (Steve Hansen) that we are quite frankly, the best in the world rugby business), and we did, by winning the game 30 - 22 & regain the Hillary Shield (From the English) after a close-quarters battle for 80 minutes (Great tries being scored there by Julian Savea (He was back after overcoming with the flu when he was falling ill): not once (2 minutes post kick-off) but twice (In the 61st minute) & Kieran Read (He did manage to score just like he did against France) & hey, guess what! Dan Carter not only becomes the 5th All Black ever to reach 100 tests, joining the likes of captain Richie McCaw (The 1st All Black centurion to do so because that was during the 2011 RWC tournament), Mils Muliaina, Keven Mealamu & Tony Woodcock; but unfortunate there for Carter as he gets replaced by Aaron Cruden after spending 25 minutes of his 100th rugby test of a lifetime.
And now, onto the All Blacks last assignment as they take on the luck of the Irish whip & if NZ win, that will be the 1st time ever this has happened in the professional era of rugby union to end 2013 undefeated (14 wins in a row this year), but the All Blacks was on the recieving end after the match had been started already as Irish scrum-half Conor Murray scored the 1st try of the game (Jonathan 'Jonny' Sexton did convert after the try but I was like: Oh man, I cannot believe this) as the Irish are looking for an upset since they never won against the All Blacks (Who lost twice in Ireland, 1 against Munster in '78, the other: Australia during the RWC semi in '91) for like 108 years, but this is not looking good for NZ as Ireland score another try by the hooker Rory Best as the home fans went wild but the men in green are on top 14 to nil after a Jonathan Sexton conversion but the All Blacks were thinking of a comeback & oh, this is terrible stuff for New Zealand as Rob Kearney intercepts the ball after Israel Dagg lost the ball forward, all the way to the try line (And yeah, one of the commentators Justin Marshall suspects that the All Blacks were in trouble meaning that they won't catch Kearney for that one but let god sort'em out) but the only disappointment for the Irish was Sexton's conversion attempt struck the posts but nek minnit, the All Blacks managed to come back in style when Julian Savea had scored before Cruden had to make a simple conversion by bouncing back from a dreadful start moments before Ireland had been awarded a penalty after Wyatt Crockett was the one who took a player down as Jonny Sexton did go for goal stretching their lead 22 to 7 before halftime.
2nd half got underway but in the 52nd minute, Ireland got penalised for obstruction as Devin Toner gets Crockett out of the way by handing a simple kick for Cruden (Ireland still lead by 12 after a successful penalty attempt) & in the 64th minute, prop Ben Franks did get it down for the try despite the Welsh ref Nigel Owens blows the whistle, thinking that Ben Franks got it down so the referee tells the touch judge that it is a try so Owens says that the try was good moments before Aaron Cruden gets the conversion while the men in green were attempting to charge down a conversion attempt but in the dying stages of the game (Well this is more like the Kiwis beating England in the Rugby League World Cup Semifinal at Wembley) when Ireland led 22 - 17, as the relentless attack from New Zealand as Dane Coles makes the pass to Ryan Crotty to tie the game, but WOW!! what a pass & the match winning try but they would have to go the video for that because that looked forward as the TMO thinks that he told the referee to award the try because the pass looked a bit fine as the ref blows the whistle for the try but a conversion kick to come for the 100% record as Cruden misses the conversion attempt but he may get another go at it (Because that is according to the rules) as Ireland went early as they attempted to charge it down but Cruden did get a 2nd chance as the conversion attempt is over but that's it, it's all over as the All Blacks beat Ireland by 2 points (Well, we almost tasted an Irish Curse if Ireland won) to end the year undefeated (The All Blacks unbeaten 2013 season is way more better than the RWC 2011 victory) & for the 1st time ever, this has been happened in the professional era of rugby union (Yeah, the All Blacks did join the likes of Lorde, Lydia Ko, Scott Dixon & Steven Adams as part of a Kiwi non-sporting/sporting success for 2013 (Not for both Emirates Team NZ & the All Whites (Too bad they lost to Mexico meaning that we have to wait until the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Mother Russia) & hopefully the Kiwis if they lose) but actually Lorde is a musician), so enter the new Invincibles (Oh yeah but we are indeed...history seekers).
PS: Requiescat In Pace Fats
(1959 - 2013)
Wednesday, 6 November 2013
Rush Movie Review (+ Other News Including the All Black & Indycar Spirit)
Well, it has been a great but terrible/wayward day of setbacks such as Emirates Team NZ missing out on bringing the America's Cup home by losing to Oracle Team USA who went down to win all 8 races to defend the Auld Mug & truimphs such as the All Blacks winning the Rugby Championship...again (Just like last year + Brilliant super All Black tries scored by Ben Smith, Liam Messam (Twice), Beauden Barrett & Kieran Read), beating South Africa in Johannesburg by 38 points to 27 for only the 4th time at Ellis Park as well as maintaining the AB's Rugby Championship record to still 100% (A record total of 12 out of 12 victories so far in the history) + SBW's Sydney Roosters claim the NRL Premiership in 11 years, beating the Sea Eagles of Manly-Warringah 26 to 18.
But last week, me & Poppa finally went to see the movie about the ultimate rivalry in Formula 1 between James Simon Wallis Hunt (Played by Chris Hemsworth who appeared on the Avengers as Thor, Norse God of Thunder) & Andreas Nikolaus ''Niki'' Lauda (Played by Daniel Brühl) called Rush which is set during the 1976 Formula 1 Season but the movie starts when both highly skilled racing drivers who first develop a fierce rivalry (Although they were close friends off the track) in 1970 at a Formula 3 race at the Crystal Palace circuit in England, when both their cars spin out before Hunt eventually wins the race.
James Hunt AKA Hunt The Shunt is a brash young Briton with a tendency to vomit before every race, while Niki Lauda (The Austrian) is a cool, calculating technical genius who relies on precision. After a fallout with his father, Lauda takes a large bank loan and buys his way into the BRM Formula 1 team, meeting teammate & friend from Switzerland, Gianclaudio ''Clay'' Regazzoni for the first time.
Meanwhile, Hesketh, the fledgling racing team Hunt drives for, enters Formula 1 as well when Lauda then joins Ferrari (One of the best teams in the F1 business) with Regazzoni and wins his first of his 3 F1 world championships in 1975 but Hesketh closes down shop after failing to secure sponsorship, but Hunt makes a decision to go to McLaren (However, I did react in the movie that after James Hunt left Hesketh because I was explaining that Hunt is going to McLaren) after Emerson ''Emmo'' Fittipaldi departs the team. During this time, Hunt marries supermodel Susie Miller, while Lauda begins his relationship with socialite Marlene Knaus.
The 1976 F1 World Championship begins with Lauda dominating the first two races while Hunt struggles to catch up before Hunt wins the Spanish Grand Prix, but is immediately disqualified following a post-race inspection rules that his McLaren was illegal & too wide. Struggling to comply with F1 rules & regulations, McLaren suffers a series of setbacks on the next few races, and Hunt's situation is further investigated (Dealt with) when Suzy is discovered to have a relationship with movie director Richard Burton. Following his divorce, he regains his competitive spirit and his disqualification in Spain is overturned, reinstating the points he lost and putting him back into championship contention. Meanwhile, Lauda marries Marlene in a private ceremony but starts to have fears about the concerns of both, his marriage & on his racing career which put him up like a lightning bolt.
At the Großer Preis auf Deutschland, Lauda requests the sports governing body FIA to boycott the race due to wet weather conditions on a race track which is considered very dangerous at the Nürburgring (AKA The Green Hell by Sir Jackie Stewart) containing a total of 160 corners (According to the stats that the Nürburgring is considered be the most challenging and demanding circuit in the entire universe); the urgency is revoked by majority of the racers after Hunt convinces them that Lauda fears losing the points race meaning that the event would go ahead despite dangerous conditions. Both Hunt and Lauda start the race with wet tires, which proves a costly disadvantage due to most of the circuit becoming dry, but on lap 2, both drivers pit for a tyre change, but halfway through lap 3, Lauda's Ferrari (Which had a suspension arm issue), snapped to the right and spun through the fencing into an enbankment when the car bounced back onto the track, before the Ferrari managed to burst into flames and is further struck by other cars on the circuit, resulting a serious accident. After being pulled out of the flaming wreckage, he is airlifted to the Bundeswehr hospital in Koblenz with 3rd-degree burns to his head and toxic fumes in his lungs but from there, he was flown to the Trauma Clinic in Ludwigshafen, home to Germany's most advanced burn ward at the time, where he fought for his life for the next few days & for the next 6 weeks, Lauda is treated for his injuries while he watches his rival Hunt dominate the races in Austria (At the Österreichring) & the Netherlands (At Zandvoort) in his absence, but Lauda had to wait against his doctor's orders that he returned to the sport as World Championship leader behind the wheel of his Ferrari and after his near fatal accident in Germany at the Gran Premio D'Italia to finish fourth upon his return while Hunt fails to finish the race.
But well, it all has come down to this as the championship deciding 1976 season cliffhanger closes in the land of the rising sun, Japan, as Niki Lauda has a 3 point lead ahead of James Hunt when the race is held at Fuji Speedway near Mount Fuji, in wet weather conditions after organisers agreed to run the race, but at the start, James Hunt took the lead with John Watson and Mario Andretti behind but Nek Minnit, at the end of the 2nd lap, Lauda returns to the pits by retiring from the race (Although there's nothing wrong about his Ferrari as he believed the weather conditions made the track way too dangerous), electing to stay with his wife Marlene instead of risking his life again on the circuit just like his near fatal crash in Germany last time; But now with Lauda withdrawn, James Hunt just needed to win the F1 World Driver's crown by finishing on the podium, but after facing stiff competition under grueling conditions (Hunt began to drop positions once the circuit began to dry out) and overcoming tyre issues (When Hunt's left rear tyre began to wear and he managed to pit), Hunt ended up 3rd on the podium, giving him enough points required to beat Lauda by a single point and win the World Driver's championship (Hunt was the last British F1 World Champion before Nigel Mansell in 1992 and McLaren's 1st British F1 World Champion), to his surprise, in all of a sudden.
After claming his 1st & only F1 WDC, James Hunt spends the rest of the year with fame, sex, and drugs, while Lauda (Who lost the F1 driver's crown but would eventually regain the championship from Hunt in 1977 & claim his last in '84), begins an interest in flying private planes but at a private airfield in Bologna, Lauda suggests Hunt to focus on the next racing season, but later on realizes that Hunt no longer has anything to prove, as Hunt continues to race until his retirement in 1979, and becomes a motorsport broadcast commentator with the legendary Murray Walker until he died in 1993 at 45 after drinking & smoking too much which caused the death.
And the end result: A fine absolute movie ending on a high note like a swashbuckling chapter because it wasn't even bad, it felt good after all (The beginning was like the start of a actual classic Grand Prix when Niki Lauda tried to risk his own life before the crash had happened, but moving on to the next scene 6 years earlier where James Hunt had been involved in an accident when she met his future wife, who was a medic off the track before becoming a supermodel).
+ Here is some other news such as the reigning champion No.1 ranked All Blacks of New Zealand (According to Temuera ''Tem'' Morrison (AKA Dr Hone Ropata (A guy who is not in Guatemala anymore), Jake 'Da Muss' Heke, Jango Fett & the Galactic Republic Clone Troopers) that the AB's are like a Clone Army in a bid for Galactic dominance but of course he said that New Zealand was Once Were Warriors...nah brother...still warriors but he also said that they never lost a rugby game, because they just ran out of time) played their final test match in Aotearoa, deep in the heart of the south in Dunedin, in an indoor venue (Which is Forsyth Barr Stadium), against the Wallabies of Australia, beating them 41 - 33 (Including gr8 tries from Julian Savea, Sam Cane, Aaron Cruden & Kieran Read who is the Captain filling in for Richie McCaw for the 6th time this year) by absolutely roadkilling them 1...last...time...of...2013...but, this my friends, this...is...All...Black...Rugby & for...Scott...Dixon, for claiming his 3rd...Indycar...title, but Scott Dixon's Indycar Championship contention started when he took victory in Pocono + both victories in the streets of Toronto (Which is in Ontario, Canada), motivating his chances of grabbing a 3rd Indycar title (Although, he did not win in Lexington, Ohio as his winning run ended) but however, he thought he was going to take victory in Sonoma, California, moments before the officials have given Dixon a drive-through penalty after hitting one of Will Power's pit crew members, ending his chances of both, a win & his 3rd Indycar Championship, by ending up in 15th after rejoining 21st after serving a drive-through penalty then another setback in Baltimore, Maryland came when Power collided with Dixon and was sent spinning into the wall just before Dixon was later also penalized for interference and after the race, Dixon was 49 points behind with his nearest rival from Brazil, Helio Castroneves, but however, Dixon managed to come back with a victory in Houston, Texas (1st of 2 races) when Castroneves was in trouble by suffering mechanical issues as well as Dixon closed the championship deficit to 8 points with 2 races remaining but a day later, as the 2nd race of the doubleheader was marred by a huge crash involving Dario Franchitti (One of Scott Dixon's Teammates), Takuma Sato & Ernesto ''E.J.'' Viso. On the final lap (Moments before Scott Dixon finished 2nd behind the winner Will Power as well as taking the points lead for the 1st time, managing a 25 point advantage ahead of Castroneves (Who had another bad day by suffering gearbox problems, dropping him down to 23rd) with only 1 round remaining), Franchitti made contact by touching wheels with Sato, and his car was launched up into the catch fence, as debris on the track may have injured 13 spectators, while Franchitti was injured & taken to hospital (Like Niki Lauda did in the movie & real life) with a concussion, fractured ankle, and two spinal fractures while both Sato and Viso were uninjured by managing to walk away the impact and that Indycar crash reminds me straight out of a movie (Not like Rush where the huge accident was entirely different like there was no fire getting caught because there was no clear evidence of a Niki Lauda esque crash).
But well, it all has come down to this as the championship deciding 2013 Indycar Series season cliffhanger closes in Fontana, California at the Auto Club Speedway (Where the late Canadian Indycar racer, Greg Moore was killed in a fatal crash which sent the car into the wall way back in 1999 during a CART/Champ Car event) as Scott Dixon has a 25 point lead ahead of Helio Castroneves, but only Scott Dixon just needed to win the Indycar Series crown by finishing 5th or above, but in the end, Dixon not only ended up finishing 5th, collecting enough points required to defeat Castroneves by 27 points and win the Indycar Series title for only the 3rd time (He previously did that before in 2003 (When he entered the series after spending 2 years in CART/Champ Car as well as taking his rookie of the year honours way back in 2001, his debut year after claiming the Indy Lights title (Which is America's answer to Formula 3000 (Now GP2) in 2000) & 08 (When Champ Car got folded post re-unification, effectively ending the 12 year split which began in 1996 + Dixon also won the Indy 500 during his last, successful championship season) to his surprise, in all of a sudden.
And so, there it is, the end of an unforgettable but lengthy blog about the Rush movie + the All Black rugby & Scott Dixon stuff.
P.S. Oh, hang on, there is a late addition about the German Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel being crowned Formula 1 World Champion of 2013 for the 4th consecutive time (Vettel is indeed a record breaker, meaning that he is the sport's youngest ever, quadruple F1 World Driver's Champion, so that's how a driver feels) after winning the race in India (He was the pole man for that race but not only wanting to score another title by finishing 5th or above), only to get pinged by the stewards for a celebratory doughnut which is deemed to be illegal under the rules by repremanding him (Failing to go straight to Parc Ferme) as well as a fine worth $40k, but a week later, he won again in Abu Dhabi (He did not take pole position cause the poleman for that race was his teammate, retirement bound Australian, Mark Webber (Who had a fallout in Round 2 back at Lim/Sophie's home country in Malaysia following that Multi-21 Affair (Much more like the Len Brown/Bevan Chuang sexual scandal and of course, the highly controversial Roastbusters group), where Vettel took the victory by passing his teammate & ignoring team orders), equalling the number of consecutive victories set by Vettel's worthy predecessor, the great Michael Schumacher, of 7, but was once again celebrating by doing a burnout again before putting his Red Bull back to Parc Ferme to avoid getting penalised again.
But last week, me & Poppa finally went to see the movie about the ultimate rivalry in Formula 1 between James Simon Wallis Hunt (Played by Chris Hemsworth who appeared on the Avengers as Thor, Norse God of Thunder) & Andreas Nikolaus ''Niki'' Lauda (Played by Daniel Brühl) called Rush which is set during the 1976 Formula 1 Season but the movie starts when both highly skilled racing drivers who first develop a fierce rivalry (Although they were close friends off the track) in 1970 at a Formula 3 race at the Crystal Palace circuit in England, when both their cars spin out before Hunt eventually wins the race.
James Hunt AKA Hunt The Shunt is a brash young Briton with a tendency to vomit before every race, while Niki Lauda (The Austrian) is a cool, calculating technical genius who relies on precision. After a fallout with his father, Lauda takes a large bank loan and buys his way into the BRM Formula 1 team, meeting teammate & friend from Switzerland, Gianclaudio ''Clay'' Regazzoni for the first time.
Meanwhile, Hesketh, the fledgling racing team Hunt drives for, enters Formula 1 as well when Lauda then joins Ferrari (One of the best teams in the F1 business) with Regazzoni and wins his first of his 3 F1 world championships in 1975 but Hesketh closes down shop after failing to secure sponsorship, but Hunt makes a decision to go to McLaren (However, I did react in the movie that after James Hunt left Hesketh because I was explaining that Hunt is going to McLaren) after Emerson ''Emmo'' Fittipaldi departs the team. During this time, Hunt marries supermodel Susie Miller, while Lauda begins his relationship with socialite Marlene Knaus.
The 1976 F1 World Championship begins with Lauda dominating the first two races while Hunt struggles to catch up before Hunt wins the Spanish Grand Prix, but is immediately disqualified following a post-race inspection rules that his McLaren was illegal & too wide. Struggling to comply with F1 rules & regulations, McLaren suffers a series of setbacks on the next few races, and Hunt's situation is further investigated (Dealt with) when Suzy is discovered to have a relationship with movie director Richard Burton. Following his divorce, he regains his competitive spirit and his disqualification in Spain is overturned, reinstating the points he lost and putting him back into championship contention. Meanwhile, Lauda marries Marlene in a private ceremony but starts to have fears about the concerns of both, his marriage & on his racing career which put him up like a lightning bolt.
At the Großer Preis auf Deutschland, Lauda requests the sports governing body FIA to boycott the race due to wet weather conditions on a race track which is considered very dangerous at the Nürburgring (AKA The Green Hell by Sir Jackie Stewart) containing a total of 160 corners (According to the stats that the Nürburgring is considered be the most challenging and demanding circuit in the entire universe); the urgency is revoked by majority of the racers after Hunt convinces them that Lauda fears losing the points race meaning that the event would go ahead despite dangerous conditions. Both Hunt and Lauda start the race with wet tires, which proves a costly disadvantage due to most of the circuit becoming dry, but on lap 2, both drivers pit for a tyre change, but halfway through lap 3, Lauda's Ferrari (Which had a suspension arm issue), snapped to the right and spun through the fencing into an enbankment when the car bounced back onto the track, before the Ferrari managed to burst into flames and is further struck by other cars on the circuit, resulting a serious accident. After being pulled out of the flaming wreckage, he is airlifted to the Bundeswehr hospital in Koblenz with 3rd-degree burns to his head and toxic fumes in his lungs but from there, he was flown to the Trauma Clinic in Ludwigshafen, home to Germany's most advanced burn ward at the time, where he fought for his life for the next few days & for the next 6 weeks, Lauda is treated for his injuries while he watches his rival Hunt dominate the races in Austria (At the Österreichring) & the Netherlands (At Zandvoort) in his absence, but Lauda had to wait against his doctor's orders that he returned to the sport as World Championship leader behind the wheel of his Ferrari and after his near fatal accident in Germany at the Gran Premio D'Italia to finish fourth upon his return while Hunt fails to finish the race.
But well, it all has come down to this as the championship deciding 1976 season cliffhanger closes in the land of the rising sun, Japan, as Niki Lauda has a 3 point lead ahead of James Hunt when the race is held at Fuji Speedway near Mount Fuji, in wet weather conditions after organisers agreed to run the race, but at the start, James Hunt took the lead with John Watson and Mario Andretti behind but Nek Minnit, at the end of the 2nd lap, Lauda returns to the pits by retiring from the race (Although there's nothing wrong about his Ferrari as he believed the weather conditions made the track way too dangerous), electing to stay with his wife Marlene instead of risking his life again on the circuit just like his near fatal crash in Germany last time; But now with Lauda withdrawn, James Hunt just needed to win the F1 World Driver's crown by finishing on the podium, but after facing stiff competition under grueling conditions (Hunt began to drop positions once the circuit began to dry out) and overcoming tyre issues (When Hunt's left rear tyre began to wear and he managed to pit), Hunt ended up 3rd on the podium, giving him enough points required to beat Lauda by a single point and win the World Driver's championship (Hunt was the last British F1 World Champion before Nigel Mansell in 1992 and McLaren's 1st British F1 World Champion), to his surprise, in all of a sudden.
After claming his 1st & only F1 WDC, James Hunt spends the rest of the year with fame, sex, and drugs, while Lauda (Who lost the F1 driver's crown but would eventually regain the championship from Hunt in 1977 & claim his last in '84), begins an interest in flying private planes but at a private airfield in Bologna, Lauda suggests Hunt to focus on the next racing season, but later on realizes that Hunt no longer has anything to prove, as Hunt continues to race until his retirement in 1979, and becomes a motorsport broadcast commentator with the legendary Murray Walker until he died in 1993 at 45 after drinking & smoking too much which caused the death.
And the end result: A fine absolute movie ending on a high note like a swashbuckling chapter because it wasn't even bad, it felt good after all (The beginning was like the start of a actual classic Grand Prix when Niki Lauda tried to risk his own life before the crash had happened, but moving on to the next scene 6 years earlier where James Hunt had been involved in an accident when she met his future wife, who was a medic off the track before becoming a supermodel).
+ Here is some other news such as the reigning champion No.1 ranked All Blacks of New Zealand (According to Temuera ''Tem'' Morrison (AKA Dr Hone Ropata (A guy who is not in Guatemala anymore), Jake 'Da Muss' Heke, Jango Fett & the Galactic Republic Clone Troopers) that the AB's are like a Clone Army in a bid for Galactic dominance but of course he said that New Zealand was Once Were Warriors...nah brother...still warriors but he also said that they never lost a rugby game, because they just ran out of time) played their final test match in Aotearoa, deep in the heart of the south in Dunedin, in an indoor venue (Which is Forsyth Barr Stadium), against the Wallabies of Australia, beating them 41 - 33 (Including gr8 tries from Julian Savea, Sam Cane, Aaron Cruden & Kieran Read who is the Captain filling in for Richie McCaw for the 6th time this year) by absolutely roadkilling them 1...last...time...of...2013...but, this my friends, this...is...All...Black...Rugby & for...Scott...Dixon, for claiming his 3rd...Indycar...title, but Scott Dixon's Indycar Championship contention started when he took victory in Pocono + both victories in the streets of Toronto (Which is in Ontario, Canada), motivating his chances of grabbing a 3rd Indycar title (Although, he did not win in Lexington, Ohio as his winning run ended) but however, he thought he was going to take victory in Sonoma, California, moments before the officials have given Dixon a drive-through penalty after hitting one of Will Power's pit crew members, ending his chances of both, a win & his 3rd Indycar Championship, by ending up in 15th after rejoining 21st after serving a drive-through penalty then another setback in Baltimore, Maryland came when Power collided with Dixon and was sent spinning into the wall just before Dixon was later also penalized for interference and after the race, Dixon was 49 points behind with his nearest rival from Brazil, Helio Castroneves, but however, Dixon managed to come back with a victory in Houston, Texas (1st of 2 races) when Castroneves was in trouble by suffering mechanical issues as well as Dixon closed the championship deficit to 8 points with 2 races remaining but a day later, as the 2nd race of the doubleheader was marred by a huge crash involving Dario Franchitti (One of Scott Dixon's Teammates), Takuma Sato & Ernesto ''E.J.'' Viso. On the final lap (Moments before Scott Dixon finished 2nd behind the winner Will Power as well as taking the points lead for the 1st time, managing a 25 point advantage ahead of Castroneves (Who had another bad day by suffering gearbox problems, dropping him down to 23rd) with only 1 round remaining), Franchitti made contact by touching wheels with Sato, and his car was launched up into the catch fence, as debris on the track may have injured 13 spectators, while Franchitti was injured & taken to hospital (Like Niki Lauda did in the movie & real life) with a concussion, fractured ankle, and two spinal fractures while both Sato and Viso were uninjured by managing to walk away the impact and that Indycar crash reminds me straight out of a movie (Not like Rush where the huge accident was entirely different like there was no fire getting caught because there was no clear evidence of a Niki Lauda esque crash).
But well, it all has come down to this as the championship deciding 2013 Indycar Series season cliffhanger closes in Fontana, California at the Auto Club Speedway (Where the late Canadian Indycar racer, Greg Moore was killed in a fatal crash which sent the car into the wall way back in 1999 during a CART/Champ Car event) as Scott Dixon has a 25 point lead ahead of Helio Castroneves, but only Scott Dixon just needed to win the Indycar Series crown by finishing 5th or above, but in the end, Dixon not only ended up finishing 5th, collecting enough points required to defeat Castroneves by 27 points and win the Indycar Series title for only the 3rd time (He previously did that before in 2003 (When he entered the series after spending 2 years in CART/Champ Car as well as taking his rookie of the year honours way back in 2001, his debut year after claiming the Indy Lights title (Which is America's answer to Formula 3000 (Now GP2) in 2000) & 08 (When Champ Car got folded post re-unification, effectively ending the 12 year split which began in 1996 + Dixon also won the Indy 500 during his last, successful championship season) to his surprise, in all of a sudden.
And so, there it is, the end of an unforgettable but lengthy blog about the Rush movie + the All Black rugby & Scott Dixon stuff.
P.S. Oh, hang on, there is a late addition about the German Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel being crowned Formula 1 World Champion of 2013 for the 4th consecutive time (Vettel is indeed a record breaker, meaning that he is the sport's youngest ever, quadruple F1 World Driver's Champion, so that's how a driver feels) after winning the race in India (He was the pole man for that race but not only wanting to score another title by finishing 5th or above), only to get pinged by the stewards for a celebratory doughnut which is deemed to be illegal under the rules by repremanding him (Failing to go straight to Parc Ferme) as well as a fine worth $40k, but a week later, he won again in Abu Dhabi (He did not take pole position cause the poleman for that race was his teammate, retirement bound Australian, Mark Webber (Who had a fallout in Round 2 back at Lim/Sophie's home country in Malaysia following that Multi-21 Affair (Much more like the Len Brown/Bevan Chuang sexual scandal and of course, the highly controversial Roastbusters group), where Vettel took the victory by passing his teammate & ignoring team orders), equalling the number of consecutive victories set by Vettel's worthy predecessor, the great Michael Schumacher, of 7, but was once again celebrating by doing a burnout again before putting his Red Bull back to Parc Ferme to avoid getting penalised again.
Wednesday, 18 September 2013
The 34th America's Cup 2013 Report (AKA The July - September Story Period)
It all began in the 34th America's Cup of 2013 as the Louis Vuitton Cup champions Team New Zealand (Sponsored by Emirates Airlines and 'Deano' Barker being the skipper) challenged the defenders (Won in 2010 by beating Alinghi 2 - 0), Oracle Team USA (The skipper is Australian Jimmy Spithill but Oracle had to start their America's Cup defence campaign after they were found cheating during the warmup event last year because they had 2 points taken off, recieving a $250,000 fine and banning all 3 team members meaning that Oracle Team USA would have to win 11 races to defend the Auld Mug compared to ETNZ's 9).
On the 1st day of the 2013 America's Cup, ETNZ had taken both victories against Oracle, bringing them up 2 - 0.
Then the following day saw ETNZ notched up another in race 3 but in the 4th (The score is 3 - 0), Oracle were dominant but since their 1st victory, they never have been awarded points due to the penalty being imposed by a jury.
2 days later, ETNZ did however fight back by claiming victory in race 5 (They are now, 4 - 0) before Oracle Team USA forced to use a postponement card meaning that another race scheduled has been cancelled until day four opened when Oracle announced that UK sailor Ben Ainslie has called up to replace American John Kostecki (The guy who has raced on San Fransisco Bay for decades has been omitted) according to their change of plan (Like plan B) but the plan did not resolve as both victories being recorded by Team New Zealand by closing the day in a dominant fashion of 6 - 0, 2 3rds of a chance to claim the Cup.
But it did not go well for ETNZ in day 5 as they were on ther brink of disaster (They were leading from the start until this had happened) as they almost got capsized because of the hydraulic power beginning to fade as Oracle Team USA hand over the victory thus ending the penalty imposed by the International Jury but in the next race, all things did not go well, again as Team New Zealand were leading from the start, but the race committee announced that it was going to be abandoned due to the wind exceeding the allowable maximum.
Oracle Team USA showed no mercy by winning the start, extending the lead at every mark, including for the 1st time ever, a notable gain against the Kiwi boat on the upwind leg & now, Recording back to back victories for the 1st time, allowed Oracle to finally get on the board with the score at 6 - 1 (That was Oracle's 1st full point of the America's cup defence campaign), before Oracle's hopes of another victory in race 10 did not equally match as ETNZ gain revenge over the Americans by 16 seconds (They were close at the start & during the race as Team New Zealand took the lead by 3, & increased it to 11 at mark 2. Oracle once again showed that they are competitive during the upwind beat, and the lead changed about 3 times), but it was widely regarded as the most entertaining America's Cup races of all time but ETNZ skipper Dean Barker had to say at a press conference as he said “If you did not enjoy today’s racing you should probably watch another sport like rugby or stuff”.
But on day 7, High winds have postponed racing when both teams eager to race by heading out to the start line but the start time for race 11 was pushed back several times due to the wind limit, and with the wind continuing to increase, the Race Committee made it is going to be official.
It was day 8 as Team New Zealand led all the way to win race number 11 by 15 seconds on their way of claiming 1 more shot to get the Auld Mug, to New Zealand, but during the pre start, Deano moved past in front of James Spithill and then delayed both boats crossing the start line until well after the gun had gone, but Oracle powered up on the upwind beat, but Team New Zealand covered well, and both the boats rounded opposite marks 17 seconds apart, but at the last mark, Barker kept Aotearoa between Oracle and the mark, and the rounding was well below the usual speed. Team New Zealand were managed to outperform Oracle almost dead in the water to sprint through the finish line, taking the score now to 8 - 1 (Which is only 1 victory away from lifting the America's Cup once, and for all), The second race of the day suffered a 15 minute wind delay postponement according to the committee, right as both boats head their way to the the start. Barker had nailed a time on the distance sprint to the line to jump out to a lead on the way to the reach the 1st mark until race control immediately told both boats by calling off race 12 due to the higher risk amount of wind ruining Dean Barker and his ETNZ crew of lifting the trophy until tomorrow morning hopefully (New Zealand time).
+ The news I have missed when my grandparents went across the USA & Canada:
Wanganui Heartland Rugby Championship team suffer 1st loss of the season, going down 17 - 16 by King Country (Yeah, it was a shocker as King Country gained momentum as well as scoring an upset victory to last season's runner up).
British & Irish Lions rugby side make history (It was 2 months ago), beating the Wallabies in the final test (The 2nd test in Melbourne went to the Wallabies favour) over in Sydney, Australia to end a 16 year drought and claim the Tom Richards Trophy (The last time the Lions won a test series was in 1997 against South Africa), so it is hail to Warren Gatland, baby.
The Super Rugby season between went down to the wire as the Chiefs have gone back 2 back, defeating the Brumbies in the final from last month at a sell-out crowd in the 'Tron' just like last year (With the Southern hospitality boy Robbie Robinson providing the balls of steel moment by getting a try (Before Cruden converted as well as the Chiefs had been awarded the penalty in which they kicked to give them a five-point advantage before the Chiefs yet again, won the Super Rugby title just like last year as when they 1st won and) after co-Captain Liam Messam also scored a brilliant try from the scrum before being awarded his player of the game honours).
And also, I went along with Corinna Condon to the Wanganui Premier club rugby final between Ruapehu & Pirates the day after Jansen's 10th birthday, but before the match started, I really do not know that which team I was backing so I decided that Ruapehu will win that game since I was born in the Ruapehu region but in the end, the mighty Rua won the match by 3 points (The score was 16 - 13) by going back 2 back like the Chiefs Super Rugby team but the Balls of Steel moment went to Zyon Hekenui taking a penalty shot at goal from long range when the score is tied at 13 all before Hekenui managed to land that long range penalty shot to spare and take the lead (Well, this is more like a Stephen Donald esque penalty when he did that for his beloved All Blacks in the Rugby World Cup 2011 final) before winning that game and successfully defend the Wanganui premier club rugby championship.
And finally in this Report, the All Blacks kickstarted their Rugby Championship campaign with a victory against the Wallabies at ANZ Stadium (Well that was for the Bledisloe but the score was 47 - 29 + The balls of steel moment went to Ben Smith getting a hat-trick as well as Aaron Cruden getting a try by charging down a kick before captain Richie McCaw (World Rugby cult figure and the victim of New Zealand born Wallaby Quade Cooper since the people of NZ (AKA Kiwis) strongly dislike him since 2011) returned to the international test rugby arena, with a try), before both teams headed to Wellington (There was an earthquake there at the capital when it happened) when the AB's proved too strong by absolutely roadkilling them again (The final score was 27 - 16) at Westpac Stadium (Although it wasn't damaged during the earthquake) in order to retain the Bledisloe (+ The debut of new All Black Tom Taylor, son of 1987 RWC winning player Warwick following the 1st five-eighth injury curse that had been happened (With Daniel Carter, Cruden & Beauden Barrett, are all injured) and of course, Tony Woodcock being the 4th AB to reach 100 test caps) as well as playing Argentina in Hamilton (AKA the 'Tron') with a victory (+ Francis Saili's test debut as an All Black and the end result: 28 - 13, but bad news for McCaw as his knee got injured meaning that he is out of rugby from 4 to 6 weeks) and then a week later, The All Blacks 100% record at the Rugby Championship was on the line when they took on South Africa (Who had 3 out of 3 wins beating teams such as Argentina twice & the Wallabies) at Eden Park (The hallowed rugby ground where the AB's have never lost since '94 as well as The Kapa o Pango haka was performed (The guy who reacted the haka was Jannie du Plessis and Jannie was like ''The Haka? THE HAKA?! Oh my this is gonna be fun'') after both country's respective national anthems have been played) when SA hooker Bismarck du Plessis (Jannie's brother) ran into Dan Carter in a big tackle, injuring his ACL, ruling him out of action for 6 weeks but referee Romain Poite blew the whistle before making a decision whether there was any suspected foul play but replays show the tackle was legitimate and after that, the ref thinks he is wrong that the tackle was illegal so a yellow card was shown to Du Plessis as he was off to the bin for 10 when the All Blacks were leading then but in the 2nd half, Bismarck du Plessis (The guy who got the try after spending 10 minutes in the sin bin) yet again committed a foul by copping the elbow to the throat on Messam so Poite had no choice but to send Du Plessis off with another yellow and a red card keeping him out of the match when South Africa reduced to 14 men but they lost (The 1st player to be sent off at Eden Park since Sam Warburton of Wales against France during the RWC 2011 semifinal but the judicial officer found that the red-card was later overturned by the IRB because the red card had been revoked from Du Plessis' record although Poite admitted he made an error in carding Du Plessis and when the IRB later admitted that Poite made an decision that looked stupid) as the All Blacks win the game (29 - 15) by making it 4 victories from 4 in the 2013 Rugby Championship (8 from 8 overall) while Bismarck Du Plessis, was cleared of any foul play for his challenge on Carter, as a result.
On the 1st day of the 2013 America's Cup, ETNZ had taken both victories against Oracle, bringing them up 2 - 0.
Then the following day saw ETNZ notched up another in race 3 but in the 4th (The score is 3 - 0), Oracle were dominant but since their 1st victory, they never have been awarded points due to the penalty being imposed by a jury.
2 days later, ETNZ did however fight back by claiming victory in race 5 (They are now, 4 - 0) before Oracle Team USA forced to use a postponement card meaning that another race scheduled has been cancelled until day four opened when Oracle announced that UK sailor Ben Ainslie has called up to replace American John Kostecki (The guy who has raced on San Fransisco Bay for decades has been omitted) according to their change of plan (Like plan B) but the plan did not resolve as both victories being recorded by Team New Zealand by closing the day in a dominant fashion of 6 - 0, 2 3rds of a chance to claim the Cup.
But it did not go well for ETNZ in day 5 as they were on ther brink of disaster (They were leading from the start until this had happened) as they almost got capsized because of the hydraulic power beginning to fade as Oracle Team USA hand over the victory thus ending the penalty imposed by the International Jury but in the next race, all things did not go well, again as Team New Zealand were leading from the start, but the race committee announced that it was going to be abandoned due to the wind exceeding the allowable maximum.
Oracle Team USA showed no mercy by winning the start, extending the lead at every mark, including for the 1st time ever, a notable gain against the Kiwi boat on the upwind leg & now, Recording back to back victories for the 1st time, allowed Oracle to finally get on the board with the score at 6 - 1 (That was Oracle's 1st full point of the America's cup defence campaign), before Oracle's hopes of another victory in race 10 did not equally match as ETNZ gain revenge over the Americans by 16 seconds (They were close at the start & during the race as Team New Zealand took the lead by 3, & increased it to 11 at mark 2. Oracle once again showed that they are competitive during the upwind beat, and the lead changed about 3 times), but it was widely regarded as the most entertaining America's Cup races of all time but ETNZ skipper Dean Barker had to say at a press conference as he said “If you did not enjoy today’s racing you should probably watch another sport like rugby or stuff”.
But on day 7, High winds have postponed racing when both teams eager to race by heading out to the start line but the start time for race 11 was pushed back several times due to the wind limit, and with the wind continuing to increase, the Race Committee made it is going to be official.
It was day 8 as Team New Zealand led all the way to win race number 11 by 15 seconds on their way of claiming 1 more shot to get the Auld Mug, to New Zealand, but during the pre start, Deano moved past in front of James Spithill and then delayed both boats crossing the start line until well after the gun had gone, but Oracle powered up on the upwind beat, but Team New Zealand covered well, and both the boats rounded opposite marks 17 seconds apart, but at the last mark, Barker kept Aotearoa between Oracle and the mark, and the rounding was well below the usual speed. Team New Zealand were managed to outperform Oracle almost dead in the water to sprint through the finish line, taking the score now to 8 - 1 (Which is only 1 victory away from lifting the America's Cup once, and for all), The second race of the day suffered a 15 minute wind delay postponement according to the committee, right as both boats head their way to the the start. Barker had nailed a time on the distance sprint to the line to jump out to a lead on the way to the reach the 1st mark until race control immediately told both boats by calling off race 12 due to the higher risk amount of wind ruining Dean Barker and his ETNZ crew of lifting the trophy until tomorrow morning hopefully (New Zealand time).
+ The news I have missed when my grandparents went across the USA & Canada:
Wanganui Heartland Rugby Championship team suffer 1st loss of the season, going down 17 - 16 by King Country (Yeah, it was a shocker as King Country gained momentum as well as scoring an upset victory to last season's runner up).
British & Irish Lions rugby side make history (It was 2 months ago), beating the Wallabies in the final test (The 2nd test in Melbourne went to the Wallabies favour) over in Sydney, Australia to end a 16 year drought and claim the Tom Richards Trophy (The last time the Lions won a test series was in 1997 against South Africa), so it is hail to Warren Gatland, baby.
The Super Rugby season between went down to the wire as the Chiefs have gone back 2 back, defeating the Brumbies in the final from last month at a sell-out crowd in the 'Tron' just like last year (With the Southern hospitality boy Robbie Robinson providing the balls of steel moment by getting a try (Before Cruden converted as well as the Chiefs had been awarded the penalty in which they kicked to give them a five-point advantage before the Chiefs yet again, won the Super Rugby title just like last year as when they 1st won and) after co-Captain Liam Messam also scored a brilliant try from the scrum before being awarded his player of the game honours).
And also, I went along with Corinna Condon to the Wanganui Premier club rugby final between Ruapehu & Pirates the day after Jansen's 10th birthday, but before the match started, I really do not know that which team I was backing so I decided that Ruapehu will win that game since I was born in the Ruapehu region but in the end, the mighty Rua won the match by 3 points (The score was 16 - 13) by going back 2 back like the Chiefs Super Rugby team but the Balls of Steel moment went to Zyon Hekenui taking a penalty shot at goal from long range when the score is tied at 13 all before Hekenui managed to land that long range penalty shot to spare and take the lead (Well, this is more like a Stephen Donald esque penalty when he did that for his beloved All Blacks in the Rugby World Cup 2011 final) before winning that game and successfully defend the Wanganui premier club rugby championship.
And finally in this Report, the All Blacks kickstarted their Rugby Championship campaign with a victory against the Wallabies at ANZ Stadium (Well that was for the Bledisloe but the score was 47 - 29 + The balls of steel moment went to Ben Smith getting a hat-trick as well as Aaron Cruden getting a try by charging down a kick before captain Richie McCaw (World Rugby cult figure and the victim of New Zealand born Wallaby Quade Cooper since the people of NZ (AKA Kiwis) strongly dislike him since 2011) returned to the international test rugby arena, with a try), before both teams headed to Wellington (There was an earthquake there at the capital when it happened) when the AB's proved too strong by absolutely roadkilling them again (The final score was 27 - 16) at Westpac Stadium (Although it wasn't damaged during the earthquake) in order to retain the Bledisloe (+ The debut of new All Black Tom Taylor, son of 1987 RWC winning player Warwick following the 1st five-eighth injury curse that had been happened (With Daniel Carter, Cruden & Beauden Barrett, are all injured) and of course, Tony Woodcock being the 4th AB to reach 100 test caps) as well as playing Argentina in Hamilton (AKA the 'Tron') with a victory (+ Francis Saili's test debut as an All Black and the end result: 28 - 13, but bad news for McCaw as his knee got injured meaning that he is out of rugby from 4 to 6 weeks) and then a week later, The All Blacks 100% record at the Rugby Championship was on the line when they took on South Africa (Who had 3 out of 3 wins beating teams such as Argentina twice & the Wallabies) at Eden Park (The hallowed rugby ground where the AB's have never lost since '94 as well as The Kapa o Pango haka was performed (The guy who reacted the haka was Jannie du Plessis and Jannie was like ''The Haka? THE HAKA?! Oh my this is gonna be fun'') after both country's respective national anthems have been played) when SA hooker Bismarck du Plessis (Jannie's brother) ran into Dan Carter in a big tackle, injuring his ACL, ruling him out of action for 6 weeks but referee Romain Poite blew the whistle before making a decision whether there was any suspected foul play but replays show the tackle was legitimate and after that, the ref thinks he is wrong that the tackle was illegal so a yellow card was shown to Du Plessis as he was off to the bin for 10 when the All Blacks were leading then but in the 2nd half, Bismarck du Plessis (The guy who got the try after spending 10 minutes in the sin bin) yet again committed a foul by copping the elbow to the throat on Messam so Poite had no choice but to send Du Plessis off with another yellow and a red card keeping him out of the match when South Africa reduced to 14 men but they lost (The 1st player to be sent off at Eden Park since Sam Warburton of Wales against France during the RWC 2011 semifinal but the judicial officer found that the red-card was later overturned by the IRB because the red card had been revoked from Du Plessis' record although Poite admitted he made an error in carding Du Plessis and when the IRB later admitted that Poite made an decision that looked stupid) as the All Blacks win the game (29 - 15) by making it 4 victories from 4 in the 2013 Rugby Championship (8 from 8 overall) while Bismarck Du Plessis, was cleared of any foul play for his challenge on Carter, as a result.
Wednesday, 26 June 2013
22nd Birthday Experience AKA The All Blacks Stories 2: Clash of the French Flair Titans
It was on June 7th, 2013 (The start of the Ultimate Birthday Weekend), My Birthday, that I now pronounce that I am now officially, a 22 year old, because I had a great time during my birthday (I did get some birthday presents like T-shirts from Aunty Tania & Chocolates from Dad's female comrade Raewyn) that I had an Ice Cream cake for dessert before heading over to EB Games to get my ultimate birthday present, a Playstation 3 game called Grid 2 (Sequel to the 1st one since I am still officially a long time petrol head expert veteran (But the next game that I'm getting is All Blacks Rugby Challenge 2 (Sequel to the 2011 one that I have got (But I do not play this game anymore) but the 2nd game not only contains both the All Blacks & Wallabies, but the British & Irish Lions Team tour down under) since I wanted to save up on my money not only because I still have $40 left but now I have none since I finally got the Rugby Challenge 2 game which is the updated version of the original), although the game contains Indycar Racing (Although Scott Dixon is a true New Zealand Indycar legend winning both Indycar series champions (2003 & 08) & the Indianapolis/Indy 500 once back in 2008) as well as Touring car, Super touring & GT3 vehicles that I like the most) and after that, we went to McDonalds/Maccas to pick up our stuff to take home for dinner (Well, we had a greatest dinner ever on Dad's 44th having Indian takeaways like Butter Chicken, Rice & Naan Bread).
1 day later on Saturday, Me & Poppa went to Spriggens for the club rugby game between Pirates & Marist but Pirates won the game 39 - 30 (Although Marist were leading 20 - 8 at halftime before Pirates had even started the comeback trail) with Pirates captain Lasa Ulukuta getting the hat-trick by scoring 3 tries (I still know that I always have sushi & nut bar there), then several hours later when we arrived at Uncle Bryan's, we watched the All Blacks 1st test match of the year (With Kieran Read now taking over the Captaincy duties from the great Richie McCaw who is spending on his final month of his 6 month sabbatical + Englishman Wayne Barnes was the ref for that game) by taking on the Les Bleus of France (Although they had a Les Miserables season in the 6 Nations Championship) at Eden Park in a rematch of the 2011 Rugby World Cup final, but the match started (After both countries play their respective national anthems then the AB's always start the traditional Maori Haka before the game) when Wesley Fofana scored the 1st try of the game with Maxime Machenaud added the extras giving France the lead 7 - 0 until Cruden stepped to the mark by taking the penalty (But the score was now 7 - 3 at the time) then the moment of truth when little halfback Aaron Smith scored the AB's 1st try of 2013 (The All Blacks now lead 8 - 7 before Cruden landed a successful conversion which brings the score up to 10) before Machenaud added the 3 points (It was 10 apiece) after the AB's got penalised for being offside and charging down the French kick before another moment of truth when Sam Cane crossed over (Which brings the score to 15) thanks to the urgent assistance of Ma'a Nonu before Cruden able to convert the try which brings them back in the lead by 17 - 10 before halftime but after the 2nd half got underway, things got a bit awkward when New Zealand find themselves penalised for not able to release the French player before Camille Lopez (On test debut for Les Bleus) stepped right up to take the successful penalty shot (17 - 13, AB's lead) but several minutes later, Louis Picamoles got pinged as NZ award the penalty before Cruden able to land the 3 (All Blacks still have the lead 20 - 13) as well as Rene Ranger coming on from the bench immediately replacing Israel Dagg (With Ben Smith switching positions to fullback) before the All Blacks had their greatest attack plan by turning the ball over before Ma'a Nonu ran with the ball, passing it to Rene Ranger, running a few yards moments before Yoann Huget got wasted (BOOMFA!! Welcome back to the AB's party eh?) but Grant Nisbett thinks it was Fofana the try-scorer but wrong answer mon ami, it was Huget got smashed so rest in pieces dude by getting re-aRangered but France got pinged for ruck offence before Cruden nailed the big easy 3 pointer (23 - 13 the score) before Ben Afeaki gets his 1st All Black start, replacing Wyatt Crockett but the All Blacks start the year with a big bang theory by taking an victoire su'pair in the 1st rugby test over France with the final score of 23 points to 13 (I watched it again on Sunday in order to analyze my point of view status for the next game).
1 WEEK LATER
It was the similar situation at the club rugby where 3rd placed Pirates took on 4th placed Taihape as Pirates took the lead with that try scored by Clive Stowers then Pirates built on their clear lead at half time, accumulated despite playing a man down due to a yellow card in the opening stanza but captain Lasa Ulukuta scored a double, instead of a hat-trick from last week but skyrockets clear in the season's MVP points standings, ahead of Border's mercurial fullback Fraser Middleton.
NEK MINNIT (ACTUALLY, A FEW HOURS LATER)
And by the way, it also a similar situation when we decided to head back to Uncle Bryan's for the 2nd test between the same teams at a different venue (Which is AMI Stadium Addington, located in Christchurch)
Now then, the match began when 3 minutes later (This was the 500th test match ever for the New Zealand All Blacks in their 110th year back in 1903 when the 1st test match for the New Zealand rugby team was played under the All Black name as well as Kieran Read's 50th test game but only his 3rd game as captain), Julian Savea juggled over for the 1st try of the game (That score was 5 - 0) despite the Irish referee Alain Rolland made clear indication for both the knock on by Sam Cane and offside but the TMO said that there was no clear indication by telling Rolland to award the try and after that, Aaron Cruden had a successful conversion (Although Cruden had missed several kicks last week but he only missed one during the match) but several minutes later, from the counter, the All Blacks launch down field over 80 metres with Kieran Read swatted aside tacklers in a 50-metre run upfield + The French get penalised at the breakdown and Cruden extends the lead to 10 points before halftime so let's see how the match unfolds in the 2nd test where the All Blacks attempt to defend the Dave Gallaher Trophy crown:
40TH MINUTE: 2nd half start, Maxime Medard off the field replaced by Brice Dulin for France
48TH MINUTE: WOW! Excellent try from Ben Smith, Aaron Cruden measuring the successful conversion in the 49th minute after frustration resulted in a dropped goal attempt that was charged down. New Zealand surged with second five-eighth Ma'a Nonu leading the way before wing Julian Savea charged onto the ball at full speed to break the defence and feed Ben Smith for the try.
54TH MINUTE: Cruden takes successful penalty after France were caught penalized (20 - 0).
10 MINUTES LATER: France again being caught penalized so Cruden was able to take another penalty (23 - 0)
68TH MINUTE: What a moment, Jeremy Thrush on for his All Black debut replacing Sam Whitelock (Who thought he wasn't even playing due to a broken finger but decided to play despite receiving an injury during a Super Rugby game) but received internal bleeding to his big head after incorrectly entering a maul.
75TH MINUTE: Beauden Barrett on for try scorer Ben Smith.
NEK MINNIT: AND another perfect try scored none other than Barrett (28 - 0) after the French ended with the All Blacks running turnover ball from their own goal line. A long range pass from Cruden, almost impossibly, found replacement wing Rene Ranger, who bumped off a defender then linked with Conrad Smith, who kicked ahead and the ball bounced for Cruden; the fly-half flicked a backhander to replacement Beauden Barrett, who raced in for the try before Aaron Cruden able to land the extras to make it 30 - 0.
80TH MINUTE: End of 2nd half as the game is over, the All Blacks, have done it, beating France by 30 points but for the 1st time ever, the 30 - 0 scoreline that France had failed to score points against New Zealand, and yeah, the greatest game of all that I have ever seen in my life compared to the AB's victories against Ireland 60 - 0 & Australia 22 - 0 last year.
So that was the story about my 22nd birthday experience as well as the 2nd installment of the All Blacks stories series (The 1st one was Theory of a Wallaby Roadkill & now, Clash of the French Flair Titans).
P.S. (SPOILER ALERT GENTLEMEN!!! DON'T YOU WORRY!!) Hey, but wait, there is more, I haven't finished that 3rd & final part of the All Blacks Stories 2 about the All Blacks getting a clean sweep in the French tour test series:
BEFORE THE START OF THE MATCH: Both teams play their national anthems before the All Blacks unleash the Kapa O Pango haka to the French, and it's...KICK OFF!! And Remi Tales gets the match underway before Dan Carter's kick had been charged down and France firmly on attack deep in NZ 22 but excellent start from France chasing through a chip kick from Tales but...Called offside but Fritz and Fofana have been called because it was that wrong decision.
1 day later on Saturday, Me & Poppa went to Spriggens for the club rugby game between Pirates & Marist but Pirates won the game 39 - 30 (Although Marist were leading 20 - 8 at halftime before Pirates had even started the comeback trail) with Pirates captain Lasa Ulukuta getting the hat-trick by scoring 3 tries (I still know that I always have sushi & nut bar there), then several hours later when we arrived at Uncle Bryan's, we watched the All Blacks 1st test match of the year (With Kieran Read now taking over the Captaincy duties from the great Richie McCaw who is spending on his final month of his 6 month sabbatical + Englishman Wayne Barnes was the ref for that game) by taking on the Les Bleus of France (Although they had a Les Miserables season in the 6 Nations Championship) at Eden Park in a rematch of the 2011 Rugby World Cup final, but the match started (After both countries play their respective national anthems then the AB's always start the traditional Maori Haka before the game) when Wesley Fofana scored the 1st try of the game with Maxime Machenaud added the extras giving France the lead 7 - 0 until Cruden stepped to the mark by taking the penalty (But the score was now 7 - 3 at the time) then the moment of truth when little halfback Aaron Smith scored the AB's 1st try of 2013 (The All Blacks now lead 8 - 7 before Cruden landed a successful conversion which brings the score up to 10) before Machenaud added the 3 points (It was 10 apiece) after the AB's got penalised for being offside and charging down the French kick before another moment of truth when Sam Cane crossed over (Which brings the score to 15) thanks to the urgent assistance of Ma'a Nonu before Cruden able to convert the try which brings them back in the lead by 17 - 10 before halftime but after the 2nd half got underway, things got a bit awkward when New Zealand find themselves penalised for not able to release the French player before Camille Lopez (On test debut for Les Bleus) stepped right up to take the successful penalty shot (17 - 13, AB's lead) but several minutes later, Louis Picamoles got pinged as NZ award the penalty before Cruden able to land the 3 (All Blacks still have the lead 20 - 13) as well as Rene Ranger coming on from the bench immediately replacing Israel Dagg (With Ben Smith switching positions to fullback) before the All Blacks had their greatest attack plan by turning the ball over before Ma'a Nonu ran with the ball, passing it to Rene Ranger, running a few yards moments before Yoann Huget got wasted (BOOMFA!! Welcome back to the AB's party eh?) but Grant Nisbett thinks it was Fofana the try-scorer but wrong answer mon ami, it was Huget got smashed so rest in pieces dude by getting re-aRangered but France got pinged for ruck offence before Cruden nailed the big easy 3 pointer (23 - 13 the score) before Ben Afeaki gets his 1st All Black start, replacing Wyatt Crockett but the All Blacks start the year with a big bang theory by taking an victoire su'pair in the 1st rugby test over France with the final score of 23 points to 13 (I watched it again on Sunday in order to analyze my point of view status for the next game).
1 WEEK LATER
It was the similar situation at the club rugby where 3rd placed Pirates took on 4th placed Taihape as Pirates took the lead with that try scored by Clive Stowers then Pirates built on their clear lead at half time, accumulated despite playing a man down due to a yellow card in the opening stanza but captain Lasa Ulukuta scored a double, instead of a hat-trick from last week but skyrockets clear in the season's MVP points standings, ahead of Border's mercurial fullback Fraser Middleton.
NEK MINNIT (ACTUALLY, A FEW HOURS LATER)
And by the way, it also a similar situation when we decided to head back to Uncle Bryan's for the 2nd test between the same teams at a different venue (Which is AMI Stadium Addington, located in Christchurch)
Now then, the match began when 3 minutes later (This was the 500th test match ever for the New Zealand All Blacks in their 110th year back in 1903 when the 1st test match for the New Zealand rugby team was played under the All Black name as well as Kieran Read's 50th test game but only his 3rd game as captain), Julian Savea juggled over for the 1st try of the game (That score was 5 - 0) despite the Irish referee Alain Rolland made clear indication for both the knock on by Sam Cane and offside but the TMO said that there was no clear indication by telling Rolland to award the try and after that, Aaron Cruden had a successful conversion (Although Cruden had missed several kicks last week but he only missed one during the match) but several minutes later, from the counter, the All Blacks launch down field over 80 metres with Kieran Read swatted aside tacklers in a 50-metre run upfield + The French get penalised at the breakdown and Cruden extends the lead to 10 points before halftime so let's see how the match unfolds in the 2nd test where the All Blacks attempt to defend the Dave Gallaher Trophy crown:
40TH MINUTE: 2nd half start, Maxime Medard off the field replaced by Brice Dulin for France
48TH MINUTE: WOW! Excellent try from Ben Smith, Aaron Cruden measuring the successful conversion in the 49th minute after frustration resulted in a dropped goal attempt that was charged down. New Zealand surged with second five-eighth Ma'a Nonu leading the way before wing Julian Savea charged onto the ball at full speed to break the defence and feed Ben Smith for the try.
54TH MINUTE: Cruden takes successful penalty after France were caught penalized (20 - 0).
10 MINUTES LATER: France again being caught penalized so Cruden was able to take another penalty (23 - 0)
68TH MINUTE: What a moment, Jeremy Thrush on for his All Black debut replacing Sam Whitelock (Who thought he wasn't even playing due to a broken finger but decided to play despite receiving an injury during a Super Rugby game) but received internal bleeding to his big head after incorrectly entering a maul.
75TH MINUTE: Beauden Barrett on for try scorer Ben Smith.
NEK MINNIT: AND another perfect try scored none other than Barrett (28 - 0) after the French ended with the All Blacks running turnover ball from their own goal line. A long range pass from Cruden, almost impossibly, found replacement wing Rene Ranger, who bumped off a defender then linked with Conrad Smith, who kicked ahead and the ball bounced for Cruden; the fly-half flicked a backhander to replacement Beauden Barrett, who raced in for the try before Aaron Cruden able to land the extras to make it 30 - 0.
80TH MINUTE: End of 2nd half as the game is over, the All Blacks, have done it, beating France by 30 points but for the 1st time ever, the 30 - 0 scoreline that France had failed to score points against New Zealand, and yeah, the greatest game of all that I have ever seen in my life compared to the AB's victories against Ireland 60 - 0 & Australia 22 - 0 last year.
So that was the story about my 22nd birthday experience as well as the 2nd installment of the All Blacks stories series (The 1st one was Theory of a Wallaby Roadkill & now, Clash of the French Flair Titans).
P.S. (SPOILER ALERT GENTLEMEN!!! DON'T YOU WORRY!!) Hey, but wait, there is more, I haven't finished that 3rd & final part of the All Blacks Stories 2 about the All Blacks getting a clean sweep in the French tour test series:
BEFORE THE START OF THE MATCH: Both teams play their national anthems before the All Blacks unleash the Kapa O Pango haka to the French, and it's...KICK OFF!! And Remi Tales gets the match underway before Dan Carter's kick had been charged down and France firmly on attack deep in NZ 22 but excellent start from France chasing through a chip kick from Tales but...Called offside but Fritz and Fofana have been called because it was that wrong decision.
SUBSTITUTION: Yoann Huget off after contact in early France attack. Replaced by Mathieu Bastareaud, Meanwhile France have edged out New Zealand, To say the least, Huget will no longer have Rene Ranger nightmares but ex All Black turned rugby commentator Justin Marshall says that there is plenty of brutality early in this game but great half-break by Bastareaud, He is a monster of a player, slips nice pace to winger and France firmly on attack through phases before when Grant Nisbett had something to say like plenty of spirit in the French team.
8TH MINUTE: Right in the pocket of Florian Fritz with a drop goal success puts France into the early lead 3 - 0 but Huget's back on field, well sorry, The sub noted earlier was in fact a blood bin, so the man with the busted nose may still be Rearrangered, but super break from France through Marc Andreu, barnstorming defence from All Blacks defuses danger as well as Ben Smith lighting in chasing the clearing kick there, but thoughts France bombed the chances meanwhile stand-in skipper Kieran Read and Conrad Smith made huge tackles and now NZ on the hard attack in France 22 but uh-oh, something is wrong for Les Bleus, Yoann Maestri penalised for a lineout offence, chance for the All Blacks to level ledger.
15TH MINUTE: Hard angle for Dan Carter is no worry over the black dot, New Zealand draw level @ 3 - 3, but at the restart, Israel Dagg clears to NZ 10 metre line, France got the better of that game of forceback as France midfield looking good. Remi Tales makes good break but Ma'a Nonu makes the most desperate of ankle tap tackles but it's a penalty when Owen Franks got penalised by Nigel Owens on NZ tighthead before Jean-Marc Doussain drags the penalty shot attempt very badly. Great counter attack to NZ after France miss the touchline. Dagg and Ben Smith but Smith is electric meanwhile France should have chased kick harder but France get pinged for it before Dan Carter's penalty attempt fails from 38 metres right of posts but hits the right post (Score remains at 3 - 3), Are you kidding me like Stuart Hogg in disguise? Although the All Blacks penalised again in the scrum. France win the hit and Wyatt Crockett folds, so that is 3 scrums & 3 penalties before Doussain slices to left of uprights with a wobbly kick, Fofana knocks it on, Remi Tales very good for France, 4th scrum & penalty, this time went to Thomas Domingo but it's 2 - 2 in scrum penalties before Dan Carter clears to France 22, NZ win lineout and play phases east west on 22.
20 MINUTES LATER: WOW! Wonderful try to Ben SMITH!! (The score is now 8 points to 3) He was in the corner with a sliding dive thanks to both Carter & Dagg combine with lovely passes to put winger in space & Ben Smith wonderfully well to beat both French defenders Tales and Brice Dulin but Carter misses conversion by pushing the kick past left post from right touchline before NZ got pinged by awarding the penalty to France as Jean-Marc Doussain shot attempt successful from in front off the post (Score now: 8 to 6), and a Fantastic break from NZ through Ma'a Nonu but is it a try or no try for Conrad Smith? TMO, but awww no way! it is a no try. Conrad Smith loses the ball forward in the act of going over the line. Scrum five meters to France but Scrum again because there is no sign of a penalty, But a reset. Oh dear! And France kick the ball into touch on the siren as the All Blacks still lead 8 - 6 so let's see how the match unfolds from my point of view:
Second half under way from Dan Carter. Where does HT go?
Justin Marshall suggests in commentary that All Blacks are running better angles.
SUBSTITUTIONS: Tony Woodcock on for Wyatt Crockett. Tawera Kerr-Barlow on for Piri Weepu
PENALTY: Sam Cane pinged for high tackle.
PENALTY KICK: Jean-Marc Doussain successful - again off the post. New Zealand 8-9 France (45 minutes)
New Zealand now lead 11 - 9 after a penalty from Dan Carter.
PENALTY KICK: Woeful miss from Dan Carter. Pulled badly from the midlle of the field. Hit the ground first. New Zealand 11 - 9 France (45 minutes) Calls for Aaron Cruden?
PENALTY: France penalised for going off their feet in the ruck although Ranger, Dagg and Ben Smith combining well.
PENALTY KICK: Dan Carter from just over 22 on right flank New Zealand 14 - 9 France (49 minutes).
SUBSTITUTIONS: Maxime Machenaud on for Jean-Marc Doussain. Sebastien Vahaamahina on for Alexandre Flanquart.
SUBSTITUTION: Keven Mealamu on for the Naki man Andrew Hore.
ANOTHER SUBSTITUTION (HMM, NOT ANOTHER DISEMBOWELMENT): Mathieu Bastareaud on for Florian Fritz. He made an impact as blood-bin replacement earlier for Yoann Huget.
SUBSTITUTIONS: Dimitri Szarzewski, Eddy Ben Arous, Luc Ducalcon on for Thomas Domingo, Benjamin Kayser, Nicolas Mas. It is a new front row to and fro.
New Zealand make gains on right flanks, Rene Ranger again. A massive loss he is going to be, Ranger looking dangerous every damn time he runs with a ball in hand but Bastareaud might be the mother of all the biggest centres they have ever seen.
SUBSTITUTIONS: Steven Luatua on All Black debut, replacing Victor Vito while Camille Lopez on for Remi Tales.
PENALTY: Uh-oh! What have we got there, a referee has pulled the game up to check alleged an headbutt by saying whether there is Yellow or more, and it is a YELLOW CARD!!!: Maestri was the culprit as France is down to 14 men.
PENALTY KICK: Daniel Carter lands the subsequent points. New Zealand 17 - 9 (72 minutes) Just hoping for debutant Charles Piutau now as he comes on replacing Ranger (He is off to France playing for Montpellier) & fellow newcomer Matt Todd, on for Sam Cane but France is responding to a change of players as South African born Antonie Claassen, replaced by Bernard le Roux (Also from SA), as New Zeland hard on attack through phases on France 22.
SUBSTITUTION: Oh what a night for Beauden Barrett as he comes on for Ma'a Nonu, biggest cheer of the night for a Local boy, Huh?
TRY TIME ALL BLACKS!! (22 - 9): Slick move set through the backs all the way to Ben Smith as he Kicks ahead and Barrett grabs ball and slides over, Beauden Barrett has some icing on the pain cake night in front of home crowd as Dan Carter converts (BALLS OF STEEL, BABY! You are the best).
AND IT IS (WAIT FOR IT, STOP)...FULL TIME! (AB'S WIN, 24 - 9): The All Blacks take victory and the test series clean sweep after the siren had sounded but failed to reach expectations that seemed likely early (Compared to the 2nd test), but New Zealand happy to have swept France, but that's a wrap ladies & gentleman, good to have our company, goodbye from us (Oh wait? Nek minnit, The British & Irish Lions have drawn 1st blood against the Wallabies by 2 points in the 3 match Lions Tour test series at Brisbane (The final score was 23 - 21 which featured former league & Aussie rules player Israel Folau on debut for the Walllabies scoring 2 tries as well as recieving the man of the match award) after Kurtley Beale attempted to steal the victory but he missed the kick after slipping over during the last kick of the match (OH MAN! OMG!! Now that Beale has indeed got the BALLS OF FAIL! LOL) + some casualties from Australia as Wallaby newcomer Christian Leali'fano got knocked out as well as Berrick Barnes & Pat McCabe (Although McCabe is out of the season due to an injury that he cannot play until next year) have succumbed to their injuries being struck but Australia have to regroup to level the test series in Melbourne).
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