Oblivion/Little Monster: My 4th blog of the year 2024

Well, I manage to purchase the 4 music albums that I got from the Vinyl Room here in Whanganui such as Fatboy Slim, Matchbox Twenty, Oasis & Alanis Morissette (Who I label her as the pride of Canada or the pride of the Great White North where Aunty Tan (Who I have not seen her since 2019) currently is with her French Canadian partner Rejean (Who I also haven't seen him since in the same year the last time I saw her) in Mont-Saint-Hilaire which is near Montreal, Quebec, Canada, but somehow she is a naturalized American citizen as of today) that Pops got it for me so I completed my music album collection which is exactly 28 ranging 13 different music icons & legends from 4 different countries of the United States, New Zealand, United Kingdom & Canada such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Foo Fighters, Linkin Park, Incubus, A Perfect Circle, Shihad, Filter, Audioslave, Lenny Kravitz & the 4 I mentioned them in this blog now.

And the Christmas holiday to Northland is on as me, Pops & Carole are heading over there starting on Christmas Eve right until the 29th of December (That's 3 days before New Year's Day 2024) to stay in Kerikeri but visiting at Kathy & Kenny's place in Hihi in what will be my first holiday since the South Island trip that I went with Pops, Aunty Tan & Rejean in 2019 (That was the year right before the COVID-19 pandemic that we had in 2020), & I cannot wait (And it doesn't get any better than this), but Pops & Carole are heading back to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands this year following that success that they had in November 2022 where I was at home to look after the house (And I'll be doing the same as both of them are going away on holiday).

And the reason why the AB's lost in last years Rugby World Cup final (And I mean, what went wrong? Because not only that they proved costly for the All Blacks of securing our record 4th Rugby World Cup title, but can we bounce back in 2027 in Australia under new coach Scott Robertson? You absolutely bet I would) was New Zealand captain Sam Cane's red card which was upgraded from yellow by English referee Wayne Barnes (Who had recieved vile abuse on social media after the final by those disgruntled All Blacks fans, but like I said before on my previous blog in August that they're going to introduce a clamp down on of online hate being spread on social media such as fines or suspensions being handed out, but the treatment of Barnes by some New Zealand fans following the Rugby World Cup final is unacceptable, & Barnes condemns that these death threats & online abuse are in the strongest terms possible - & he wants it to be clear: That hate has no place on social media, & they must all stand united against it) for a cheap shot on Jesse Kriel which was a high degree of danger with no mitigation, in one of the most cowardly & horrific acts of the year (And the high tackles in rugby is similar to antisemitism & islamopohbia being on the rise worldwide as both Jewish & Muslim people are worried that they're getting threatened, especially being attacked by antisemitic & islamophobic people then also police officers in America getting shot by an armed suspect all the time while shots being fired in public throught the US as well as random people are getting shot by guns throughout the States & unlike that random people who threw a coward punch/dog shot/king hit/sucker punch on those victims in a would be incident such as an unprovoked attack) & I mean, that is disgraceful, disgraceful behaviour! And it was the turning point of the final as South Africa's quest of a record breaking 4th RWC championship was successful after a win in the final by a single point & it was game over (And I'm still gutted about the red card that Cane (Who is now with Tokyo Sungoliath in the Japan Rugby League One competition) had meaning that he was hit with a 3 week ban (6 if he's suspended before, but this is like National trying to crack down by tackling gangs here in New Zealand inside 100 days after their political party had just won the election) or 2 if he completes the intervention progamme for suspended players set up by the sport's governing body, World Rugby, to avoid getting suspended again, while I'm always disappointed about the result in the RWC final, but this is similar to Anton Lienert-Brown who missed the first 2 games of last years Rugby Championship for the All Blacks due to suspension for a dangerous tackle on Crusader Dallas McLeod in the Super Rugby Pacific final in Hamilton this year in June & Ethan de Groot who had been handed a 2 week ban when he missed the last 2 pool matches against both Italy & Uruguay of the 2023 Rugby World Cup), but we have just heard reports that New Zealand number 8 forward Ardie Savea has been awarded World Rugby men's Player of the Year a night after the World Cup final (And that is the first time since Thierry Dusautoir of France in 2011 that a player from a losing finalist of the RWC had been awarded World Rugby men's player of the year) as Pops told me in October, & also there are revelations that World Rugby clarified that the try scored by the All Blacks in the RWC final before being disallowed by the TMO for a knock-on in the scrum, would've counted meaning that we could've won ourselves the Rugby World Cup.

And the confirmed number of COVID-19 cases here in New Zealand & in the US is up with reports of a new subvariant soup emerge meaning that our country of NZ & in the States is declaring war on COVID-19 again (And we are now seeing 2 wars (Including Israel & the one that I simply can't mention on my blog because it's cracked down & not only it's objectionable to the people of that country who started it since February 2022) & a pandemic inside both New Zealand & in America but it's like that were in a war as Whanganui has now become a battlefield) but when are we going to bring back the alert level as well as the shutdowns & restrictions? If confirmed cases continue to rise.

And I remember a story from Ben in October last year after we watched Wanganui play in the Heartland Championship rugby game against Horowhenua-Kapiti that when after Shihad had just changed their name to Pacifier way back in 2002 following the 9/11 attacks in 2001 before 2 years later in 2004 that they declared & intended they would change their name back to Shihad, a year before their loyal fans repaid the band's faith & respect when they won their hearts by hosting their free concert at Aotea Square in Auckland in 2005.

And I can recall that the United Kingdom is in peril after the Queen had passed away last year & now in all of a sudden, the royal family is imploding due to the feud between Meghan Markle (Who is still with His Royal Highness Prince Harry who released his best-selling autobiography called Spare last year after her disastrous time with the royal family that they did not approve their marriage as 64% of the British disapprove of Prince Harry while Netflix are getting sick & tired of the royals) & the royal family as tensions linger following Her Majesty's passing about it as they are in their flop era (And will New Zealand ever become a republic, I do not think it will following the royals implosion from our point of view).

And finally in the NBA that the Golden State Warriors player of Draymond Green has been given a 5 game ban for an illegal WWE style chokehold on Minnesota Timberwolves player Rudy Gobert (Who later got fined for the scuffle along with McDaniels) which resulted in an ejection for the technical foul while Green got a flagrant 2 foul meaning that he'll have to forfeit $769,704 for causing the incident which deemed to be an hostile act (And luckily there wasn't any striking involved) along with Jaden McDaniels & one of Green's Golden State Warriors teammates Klay Thompson during the in-season tournament game.

So that is my 528th blog of the year 2024 (MMXXIV) & my 4th of this year, viva Ukraine & Palestine.

Ten Tonne Skeleton/Trouble's Coming: My 3rd blog of the year 2024

Well, there is another one of those Rugby World Cup related stories about there has been 5 occasions that a side had beaten the host nation before going on to win the RWC such as the Wallabies in 1991 where they beat one of the co-hosts Wales during the pool stages, then also one of the co-hosts Ireland in the quarterfinal which resulted in a hard fought win & then another one of the co-hosts of England in the final to claim their 1st of 2 Rugby World Cup championships, followed by Australia again in 1999 where they defeated Wales in the quarterfinal before going on to win the tournament against the All Blacks chief tormentors France in the final to win their most recent crown, then the English did it in 2003 where they beat also one of New Zealand's chief tormentors & defending champions at the time of the Wallabies in the final at a packed Stadium Australia with Jonny Wilkinson providing the heroics with a match winning drop goal with his weaker right foot to bring home the William Webb Ellis cup to England after Martin Johnson famously hoisted the trophy aloft & of course South Africa twice in both 2019 against Japan in the quarterfinal before going on to win the World Cup against another one of the AB's chief tormentors of England in the final where they ended a 12 year wait of winning Rugby World Cups & last year against France, also in the quarterfinal (Including the charge down by one of the Springbok wingers of Cheslin Kolbe on Thomas Ramos who attempted to convert the try which resulted heartbreak for the French at their home tournament) before they were on their way of becoming the 2nd side to retain the RWC against the 14 man AB's in the final at a packed Stade de France where Siya Kolisi (One of 3 winning South African captains at a Rugby World Cup because it used to be Francois Pienaar in 1995 then John Smit in 2007, but he got a yellow card along with Cheslin Kolbe & New Zealand's Shannon Frizell in which last years final had the most cards in it (And also not only that the Springboks became the first side to win the Rugby World Cup by overcoming 2 yellow cards in the final as well as they won all of their knockout matches including the final in last year's tournament, by 1 point or less) at that moment, only became the 2nd captain to lift the William Webb Ellis trophy twice after our own Richie McCaw in 2015 & the 1st South African skipper to win back to back Rugby World Cups in which South Africa's success in France last year, evoked memories of 2007 in which rugby's most treasured prize, the William Webb Ellis cup, stays in South Africa, in a final marred but ruined by cards & foul play incidents as Sam Cane (Who just joined Tokyo Sungoliath in Japan in which I label him as a terrorist & a liar for what he did on Jesse Kriel with an illegal head contact which was sorta like an unprovoked attack (Like a random Springbok fan assaulted a Irish rugby referee Dave McHugh during the test match between South Africa & New Zealand way back in 2002 before being subdued & escorted by security, but the war on dangerous high tackles in rugby continues, 6 years after World Rugby already introduced a crack down on contact regarding to the head & neck area (In a effort to make the game safe), & it just keeps going (Unlike there is a war between Israel & Hamas but someone like Cane high tackling on Kriel is similar to a Hamas fighter taking out an Israeli soldier even though they haven't got guns if their bullets are empty but it's like war without the guns as clubs would instead be used according to a comment that I remember from Pops, but Cane's sending off is shades of Sonny Bill Williams's red card that cost the All Blacks to go 2 nil up in the series against the British & Irish Lions in 2017), but he now has a 3 week suspension (Or 2 if he tidies up his act of undergoing counselling regarding to the tackle area of having to turn up to go to tackle academy which is run by the sports governing body, World Rugby in an effort to re-educate & re-learn his tackling technique (But tackle academy is like diversion in which a first time criminal is ordered to alter the behaviour in an effort to clear a criminal charge in order to avoid becoming a repeat offender), but if he doesn't, it's your head! And anymore of these, & he's gone (The minimum penalty is 1 week while the maximum is 1 year (Which is exactly 52 weeks) for his World Cup final red card which resulted in calamity, devastation & heartbreak for the All Blacks, therefore costing our chance of regaining the RWC in which the AB's fans were stunned, completely stunned about the one point defeat, so I now got over it about that bitterly disappointing result last year in which the South Africans dominated from start to finish in which they adapted to the wet weather conditions which favoured them of winning the tournament, & at least we were in the final last year in which we missed out by falling short just like in 1995, but I'd rather prefer 2015 as still my favourite Rugby World Cup standout memory moment (And I'm not sure about the All Blacks would next win a Rugby World Cup, probably 16 years I think, but I dunno, we'll have to work or sort that one out that's for sure, but we will see) in which the only time New Zealand has won the tournament on foreign soil against the Wallabies in the final which was by far, the greatest rugby match I have ever watched on TV, but winning the RWC outside of our home country seemed to be always difficult nowadays) became the first man in history to be sent off in a Rugby World Cup final (And now Wayne Barnes (My message to him is: You're damn incompetent that you just cost our chance of regaining the Rugby World Cup, even though it results in a sending off if anyone wants to troll someone like Barnes on social media, not only there is accusations that they just killed the game (And I think it was the right decision to show Cane the red card by the bunker after originally being given a yellow card offence & an on-field review in which the TMO has 8 minutes to remain as a yellow or upgrade it to a red, but I'm gutted & a bit upset about the red card that All Black captain Sam Cane had in the final against South Africa, I'm absolutely bewildered) is retiring from refereeing because he not only received death threats from unhappy New Zealand rugby fans about the red card by Cane (As I heard a comment from Carole at Behind the Door on 4 in Upokongaro on the 10th of November last year), just like Ben O'Keefe received a barrage of abuse on social media by those angry Chiefs fans ruining a great final whether one of the Crusaders players had passed the ball forward out of the hands or not during the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific final, in a similar incident to Anthony Taylor where he got assaulted by those disgruntled AS Roma fans after the UEFA Europa League final this year & also, Bryce Lawrence on why he quit refereeing after receiving abuse & especially death threats from not so happy South African fans on social media after the Springboks had coughed up their title defence in the 2011 Rugby World Cup due to a poor refereeing decision which allowed the Wallabies to win the quarterfinal to set up a semi final showdown with New Zealand, but Barnes (The man who ruined New Zealand rugby before in 2007 where he missed an obvious forward pass by the French in the leadup to the try which knocked the All Blacks out of the World Cup) following his retirement, is out there to stamp out online hate in which further action had been taken by sending a report to the authorities about it, but they will not tolerate silly behaviour like that (Especially on social media), someone will go) & there is hope of New Zealand hosting the 2035 tournament 24 years after hosting the last one then South Africa would have their turn for their possibility & intentions of hosting the 2039 tournament after they last held it in 1995, given that their success that they had this year in France (The South Africans thought they could host this year's tournament in their home country, & they would've won so easily because of the crowd were right behind them, but they instead that they had to do it in France while player of the game honours went to the blindside flanker of the Springboks as well as the 2019 World Rugby player of the year of Pieter-Steph du Toit who had a solid game (Compared to Duane Vermeulen (The elder statesman of South African rugby who is now retired from all forms of rugby after securing back to back Rugby World Cups for South Africa) did in 2019 against England in the final) as he made 29 tackles where he was the top tackler in that match during that highly controversial final in which the New Zealand fans are having less charitable memories).

And the latest on F1 such as the 3 time defending world champion Max Verstappen has taken victory in Mexico, therefore breaking his record for most wins in a single season with 16 (Sir Lewis Hamilton (Who secured bonus points for setting the fastest lap of the race to stay in contention & is in a two horse race against Perez of finishing in the runner up position although with both the drivers & constructors championships had already been decided & wrapped up) finished in 2nd after making amends of his disqualification at the US GP while Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari has rounded out the podium, but I somehow label Verstappen as an incredible driver, just to prove that he had shown his remarkable driving skills & raw talent on display, not only because the speed of the man is unbelieveable (And has he got skills or what?), & he managed to reinvent his driving style which once belonged to the great humble man back in the day of Schumi who is the legendary all-time great but highly controversial figure of the sport, Michael Schumacher (Max's father Jos's old teammate back in the Benetton days in 1994 & one of my favourite Formula One idols that I used to follow before Sir LH & now Super Max (But I like Senna but unfortunately he tragically passed away due to a serious crash back way back in 1994 at the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola in Italy, in one of F1's most tragic weekends) in the aftermath of his teammate Sergio Perez (Whose future with Red Bull hangs in the balance) retiring after the very 1st lap after a collision on Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in his home Grand Prix & also during the race that Kevin Magnussen had crashed into the wall during an incident which triggered a red flag, but there has been an update as Verstappen has produced another victory in Sao Paulo therefore continuing his dominance of having his record extended 17th win of the season (2nd place went to Lando Norris who claimed the fastest lap of the race while Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso has rounded out the podium in which he managed to beat Perez in the Red Bull on the final lap of the race during a hard fought battle for the podium, but also Charles Leclerc before the race that he crashed into the wall as the field were down to 19 drivers following Leclerc's pre-race accident just right before the start), but the next race takes place at the historic first ever Las Vegas Grand Prix in Las Vegas, Nevada in America (The 3rd American race in Formula One after Miami, Florida which hosted the Miami Grand Prix at the Miami Autodrome & COTA in Austin which hosted the United States Grand Prix, with both American races had gone in the way of Red Bull's Max Verstappen) as it gears up to host the penultimate race of a really astonishing F1 season in 2023, then the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi that plays host to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Which had its memorable moment in 2021 (The year in which was considered by far, the greatest Formula One season ever) as Verstappen snatched the jaws from defeat as he beat Sir Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the title deciding race in the season ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix dubbed as Lewis Vs Max: Decider In The Desert in which the world championship had gone in the way of Verstappen before something controversial had happened as Hamilton lodged a protest to Australian race director Michael Masi whether Verstappen had came in illegally when the pit window was closed to pit for fresh tyres before the safety car period had been expired with 1 lap to go, but the protest waved off meaning that the pit window was in fact open (In which Indycar can't do that (F1 used to do that when drivers cannot be pitted for fresh rubber, but it had been abolished in light of Crashgate in 2008 that Nelson Piquet Jr was instructed by his race engineer to crash out of the race by allowing his teammate Fernando Alonso to capitalize for the win in controversial fashion, & in the most of controversial circumstances) as Formula One can) as Max Verstappen was allowed to keep his title, resulting in Masi getting sacked as the F1 driving standards observer (And unlike in 2007 that Lewis Hamilton waited to determine the outcome of the result of the world championship whether Kimi Raikkonen should be stripped of his race win & the title as Hamilton actually thinks that he might have an outside chance of claiming his maiden Formula One crown in his rookie year, but the decision made by the FIA was upheld as Raikkonen is declared champion of the world for the first & only time of the Iceman's career) gets set to host the season finale a week later.

And finally, here are the other results from the 2023 Cricket World Cup that have just come in:

Afghanistan 291/5 (50)

Australia 293/7 (46.5)

AUS won by 3 wickets (19 balls left)

England 339/9 (50)

Netherlands 179 (37.2)

ENG won by 160 runs

Sri Lanka 171 (46.4)

New Zealand 172/5 (23.2)

NZ won by 5 wickets

Afghanistan 244 (50)

South Africa 247/5 (47.2)

SA won by 5 wickets (15 balls left)

Bangladesh 306/8 (50)

Australia 307/2 (44.4)

AUS won by 8 wickets (32 balls left)

England 337/9 (50)

Pakistan 244 (43.3)

ENG won by 93 runs

India 410/4 (50)

Netherlands 250 (47.5)

IND won by 160 runs

So here is the confirmed list for the semifinal matches being played in the 2023 Cricket World Cup:

India (Hosts) Vs New Zealand: Wandhede Stadium, Mumbai (Their most recent meeting between the two was on the 22nd of October where India had just handed the Black Caps their first loss of this year's tournament with a 4 wicket win with 2 overs remaining in a rematch of the 2019 semifinal which had gone in the way of the Black Caps thanks to Martin Guptill's run out on the 2011 Cricket World Cup winning captain for India of MS Dhoni in which had should've & could've been a no ball for a fielding violation, as well as the first time New Zealand would lose a men's CWC match since against England (Who throughly deserve to win according to them scoring the most boundaries in the final) in the final which was one of the best in history which was decided by a dramatic super over 2019)

& South Africa Vs Australia: Eden Gardens, Kolkata (The last time both of these sides met was on the 12th of October where South Africa had won 2 in a row against Australia including in 2019 where the South Africans had beaten them by 10 runs then fast forward to this year that SA would gone on to win by 134 runs where both sides will meet again for a place in the final in a replay of the 1999 semifinal in which South Africa were stunned & heartbroken after their player Allan Donald got run out with 2 deliveries to go in which Australia went through, despite the match had been tied as a result of the Aussies of which by far, of having a superior net run rate)

So that is my 527th blog of the year 2024 (MMXXIV) & my 3rd of this year, viva Ukraine & Palestine.

The American Dream Is Killing Me/You're a God: My 2nd blog of the year 2024 (AKA My first post-2023 Rugby World Cup blog)

Well, this is my first blog following the 2023 Rugby World Cup which had gone in the way of the Racing 92 bound Siya Kolisi led Springboks of South Africa (Who maintained their unblemished record at a Rugby World Cup final because they are now 4 & 0 (And the streak lives! Meaning that South Africa's perfect record in the final of the RWC, remains unconquered despite conceding their first try in the final of the tournament) after previously winning it in 1995 then 2007 & 2019) after they won their unprecedented but record breaking 4th William Webb Ellis Cup (And at least our very own All Blacks (Which had Sam Cane (Who originally being given a yellow card by English referee Wayne Barnes before being upgraded by the bunker) sent off for a illegal high but dangerous tackle on Jesse Kriel in which Cane was the first man to be red carded in a Rugby World Cup final which was in fact the turning point/game changer, similar to England Red Roses rugby player Lydia Thompson did on Black Fern Portia Woodman (Before she was known as Portia Woodman-Wickliffe due to her same sex marriage with Renee) last year at the Women's Rugby World Cup final in which the Black Ferns prevailed to retain the Women's Rugby World Cup in the final against England at the garden of Eden at Eden Park in Auckland) did not win the RWC but it's good that we reached the final at the Stade de France in Paris somehow) in France & in counter point, have become the most successful rugby playing nation at the RWC after a 1 point win over the AB's in Saint-Denis which hurts us Kiwis, but news coming straight out of the league such as the New Zealand Kiwis (Who had experienced players (AKA the old heads) such as Kieran Foran, Nelson Asofa-Solomona, James Fisher-Harris & Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad as well as the newcomers/newbies/emerging talent such as Leo Thompson & Ronaldo Mulitalo) winning our 1st Pacific Rugby League Championship Cup crown (Our first major rugby league international competition in 9 years in which we won the Rugby League Four Nations championship in 2014) after a comprehensive blowout victory which was a clean sheet against the defending world champs the Kangaroos of Australia by 30 points (This was New Zealand's biggest winning margin against Australia in 18 years when we won the Tri-Nations crown (Our 1st in a major Rugby League international competition followed by the Rugby League World Cup in 2008 then the Four Nations in both 2010 & 2014 as I mentioned in this blog & now the Pacific Rugby League Championship Cup this year) which was the final in which the final score was in fact 24 - 0 at Headingley in Leeds, England) in the final in front of our adoring home crowd at FMG Stadium Waikato in Hamilton so here is the last 10 minutes according to the live updates from Newshub (And that's the first time I'll be doing coverage of the last 10, but this time in a different sport of Rugby League):

THE LAST 10 - AUS VS NZL

70TH MINUTE, PENALTY KIWIS (OFFSIDE IN FRONT OF KICKER): Staggs takes it up to his 20m on the fourth before Haas powers up to the 30m. The Kangaroos swing it wide left on the last where an obvious forward pass by Cotter to Edwards is let go by the referee. Edwards chips ahead where Munster is penalised for being in front of the kicker as he regathers 30m out. New Zealand find touch on halfway.

71ST MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), TRY KIWIS (0 - 28, G. NEAME): NEAME STRETCHES OUT TO PILE ON ANOTHER TRY! Fisher-Harris takes it inside 40m before Brown goes searching for a gap but is contained 20m out. Papali'i works it up to the 10m on the fourth before Brown throws a short ball to Neame who bursts into a hole and stretches out to score in the tackle of Tedesco under the sticks.

73RD MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), CONVERSION KIWIS (0 - 30, J. ISAAKO): Isaako converts from in front.

74TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Leota takes it over halfway before Fisher-Harris is cut down 32m out on the fourth. Nicoll-Klokstad is rounded up on a sweep to the right before Hughes unloads to Nikora who surrenders 18m out on the last. Australia will work it out from the handover.

75TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY AUSTRALIA (HIGH TACKLE): The Kangaroos earn a relieving penalty after a high tackle by Foran. Cotter and Haas take carries over halfway before quick hands to the right sees Holmes rounded yp 35m out on the third.

76TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Fa'asuamaleaui takes it inside 30m before Cotter is tackled 21m out on the last. Munster bombs to the right where Martin knocks on attempting to tap it back as Mulitalo comes away with the ball for the Kiwis.

77TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY AUSTRALIA (RUCK INTERFERENCE): Nicoll-Klokstad takes it up to halfway before Neame rumbles 32m out where he is stripped one on one by Fa'asuamaleaui. The Kangaroos are awarded a penalty for ruck interference and Cherry-Evans finds touch on halfway.

78TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Tedesco takes it inside 40m before Fa'asuamaleaui is cut down 30m out on the third. Staggs bumps off Timoko on a shift to the right but spills possession whilst attempting to offload in the tackle of Brown. New Zealand with the scrum on their 20m.

79TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY KIWIS (STRIP IN A TACKLE), CAPTAIN'S CHALLENGE REFERRAL & CAPTAIN'S CHALLENGE REFERRAL UNSUCCESSFUL: New Zealand get a relieving penalty after Munster is pinged for a strip in a tackle on Asofa-Solomona that also involves Cotter. The Kangaroos futilely opt to use their CAPTAIN'S CHALLENGE but were unsuccessful.

80TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Leota and Asofa-Solomona take runs inside 40m before Neame is contained 22m out on the fourth. Brown pops in an early grubber for himself that is batted dead by Holmes. There won't be time for a dropout as the Kiwis produce a record 30-point shutout to seal the Pacific Championships title.

FULL-TIME: 0 - 30

WHAT A PERFORMANCE BY THE KIWIS! New Zealand has shutout Australia by a record 0-30 scoreline to seal the inaugural Pacific Championships Cup title in Hamilton. In shades of the 2005 Tri Nations final, Australia went in as overwhelming favourites after a blemish free group phase but barely fired a shot in the final as the Kiwis piled on five unanswered tries. Leading 0-12 at halftime, the Kiwis extended the lead through another acrobatic finish in the corner by Jamayne Isaako in the 48th minute. Matthew 'Matt' Timoko exploded through on the hour mark to put the game beyond doubt before Griffin Neame crossed for his first test try with nine minutes remaining. (And it's going Kiwi! In 2023. New Zealand, for the 1st time ever! Is champion! Of the Pacific Rugby League Championship Cup!)

The Kiwis' back three were outstanding as Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Ronaldo Mulitalo and Jamayne Isaako combined for 601m, four line breaks and 18 tackle breaks. Nicoll-Klokstad was a clear standout with 277m and a try assist from 30 runs with his polished hands contributing to tries to Isaako and Matt Timoko. Halves Jahrome Hughes and Dylan Brown kicked well and both threatened whenever they opted to run. Joseph Tapine (Or Joe) produced a powerful showing in the pack with 210m from 20m runs. (Pacific Rugby League Championship Cup for New Zealand! A comprehensive win, by 30 points)

If anything could go wrong for the Kangaroos it invariably did as they coughed up the ball on countless occasions which prevented them from applying any pressure on the Kiwis' defence. 50 missed tackles didn't help their cause but the 7-0 line break count told the story of a sluggish display in all departments. James (Teddy) Tedesco toiled hard at fullback with 164m and six tackle breaks while on the wing Valentine Holmes (The man better known as Val) defused a couple of threatening kicks and looked dangerous on a few occasions as he netted 165m from 18 runs (New Zealand win the Pacific Rugby League Championship Cup, it's a comprehensive win, they win by 30 points)

That's all we have for this one. (Absolute ecstasy for New Zealand! Agony, agony for Australia!)

And here are the other results from the 2023 Cricket World Cup that have just come in:

South Africa 357/4 (50)

New Zealand 167 (35.3)

SA won by 190 runs

India 357/8

Sri Lanka 55 (19.4)

IND won by 302 runs

Netherlands 179 (46.3)

Afghanistan 181/3 (31.3)

AFG won by 7 wickets

New Zealand 401/6 (50)

Pakistan 200/1 (25.3)

Target 180

PAK won by 21 runs (DLS method)

Australia 286 (49.3)

England 253 (48.1)

AUS won by 33 runs

India 326/5 (50)

South Africa 83 (27.1)

IND won by 243 runs

& Sri Lanka 279 (49.3)

Bangladesh 282/7 (41.1)

BAN won by 3 wickets (53 balls left)

And finally, my favourite part of my blogs is I really love to motivate about sport (Such as rugby, cricket, football & motor racing), music (Such as both Blink-182 & Green Day releasing their new songs this year (Well, both bands were at the peak of their powers 20 years ago when they released albums such as the self titled album by Blink-182 way back in 2003, a year before Green Day would gone on to release their most successful album to date which is American Idiot also way back in 2004) such as One More Time (From the album already released this year One More Time...(Along with the Foo Fighters releasing But Here We Are featuring both singles that I always love such as Rescued, Under You, Nothing At All & now The Glass) & The American Dream Is Killing Me (From the album due to release this year (This is going to be a huge year such as the US General Elections & not only with the sporting front with so many sports events to look forward in 2024 such as Euro 2024 in Germany as well as the contest of yachting's biggest prize, the America's Cup in Barcelona, Spain, & the big one which is the summer Olympics in Paris, France (The nation that hosted a successful Rugby World Cup this year because they had an excellent job of hosting that global rugby showpiece event, they would be really pleased to see about that) called Saviors) respectively as 2nd cuzzie of Benny (Who is best known as Kathy's son) told me on the 5th of November at my favourite restaurant in town of Caroline's Boatshed here in Whanganui when our whanau had dinner there) & everything like our family stuff (And I saw both Kathryn & Ken on both the 5th & 6th of November last year so good luck there to both of you, not only I will be seeing them on Christmas day when me, Pops & Carole are up in Northland) & gaming like I was playing the new EA Sports WRC game on the PS5 & I really loved it but my favourite part of the game would have to be the current gen WRC cars (I love the Toyota GR Yaris one which is certainly one of my favourites) as well as cars from the past such as the previous generation World Rally Car from 2017 until 2021 (My favourites are the Ford Fiesta WRC & the Volkswagen Polo WRC) then the 1st gen World Rally Car from 1997 until 2011 (I especially love both Citroen World Rally Cars such as the C4 & Xsara) followed by the Group A machinery (Both the Lancia Delta HF Integrale & Subaru Impreza 1995 would have to be my favourites) & last but not least, the Rally 2 class (The rally cars that I love in that class such as both Skoda's of the 2018 Fabia Rally2 Evo & the Fabia RS Rally2 from 2022) & also the new Gran Turismo 7 Spec II update that I really love (And I've got 172 cars in the game now (Originally 180, then 183 now as my favourites & 204 as of today) such as the 2010 Lexus LFA (The best sports car with the worst gearbox, but I used to own that car when I sold it in-game), the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon from 2018 & the newer Porsche 911 GT3 RS 992 model which came out last year) but I always play that GT7 game which is still by far, one of my favourites on the PS5.

So that is my 526th blog of the year 2024 (MMXXIV) & my 2nd of this year, viva Ukraine & Palestine.

Moon Over The Castle/Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle): My 1st blog of the year 2024 (AKA Keeping South African rugby great)

And it's going Springbok again! In 2023. (FLAWLESS! Pressure? What pressure! And the World Cup goes the way of South Africa again! WHAT. A. FINAL. For the 4th time in the tournament's 36 year history, South Africa have won the World Cup! By the barest of margins! By the barest of all margins!) South Africa, for the 4th time ever! Is still champion! Of the world! World Cup for South Africa! A hard fought win, by 1 point. South Africa win the World Cup again, it's a hard fought win, they win by 1 point. Absolute ecstasy for South Africa! Agony, agony for New Zealand! Rugby's most treasured prize, the William Webb Ellis cup, stays in South Africa! South Africa, champions of the world! Again...at last...& a nation will party all night long. And South Africa win the World Cup again! For the 4th time...& in front of 80,000 people, they upstaged the All Blacks team. It's over! Triumph for the rainbow nation...again, heartache, for the men in black. But it's over! It's over! It's a 4th Rugby World Cup, for South Africa!

Well, the All Blacks (Who had Shannon Frizell yellow carded for an illegal contact to the limb area on Bongi Mbonambi then All Blacks captain Sam Cane was on the recieving end by getting also yellow carded which was changed it into a red according to the bunker for an illegal high tackle on Springbok centre Jesse Kriel in which he becomes the first man in history to be sent off in a Rugby World Cup final, & it must've been our discipline which must've been lacking, cost us of winning the World Cup (And what a disappointing end for the All Blacks, what a match for our viewers right around the world) have suffered a World Cup heartbreak as we had blown the opportunity to win a 4th Rugby World Cup after a 1 point defeat in the final in the pinnacle of international rugby against the resilient but dominant Springboks side (Who won all of their Rugby World Cup knockout games last year by less than a single point) led by their inspirational leader of Siya Kolisi (Who becomes the 2nd man to lift the Webb Ellis cup twice after Richie McCaw in 2015, but I wonder the headlines would say: AB'S HEARTBROKEN IN WORLD CUP FINAL AGAINST SOUTH AFRICA or probably more like: DOMINANT SPRINGBOKS CRUSH NEW ZEALAND TO RETAIN RWC, or more appropriately: KOLISI LED BOKS REMAIN BEST IN THE RUGBY WORLD, & especially: ALL BLACKS FALTER IN RWC FINAL, COACH SAY & then another headline that probably says: KOLISI'S BOYS BRING THE WEBB ELLIS CUP HOME, AGAIN, & there's another one, this time in French: AFRIQUE DU SUD, CHAMPION DU MONDE EN RUGBY, or more likely: THE CHAMPIONS, STILL REMAIN CHAMPS) who win their record breaking but unprecedented 4th RWC championship & become the 2nd side to retain the William Webb Ellis cup (And they had to overcome 2 yellow cards to win the final, first by captain Kolisi (Who is now a 2 time Rugby World Cup winning captain just like our own Richie McCaw who did it in 2011 & 2015, but can any team like the All Blacks chase down & end the Springboks (First it was Francois Pienaar in 1995 as the winning skipper for the Boks, followed by John Smit in 2007 & Kolisi not once but twice now in 2019 & last year) quest for a historic first ever threepeat in Australia in 2027 & dominate the team of the 2020's decade just like England did that against the AB's in 2019 in the semifinal? We will see), then Cheslin Kolbe), so hard luck fellas out there today (And it hurts most Kiwis but they'll be gutted that we missed out on that occasion) because maybe 2027 will be our year of lifting the World Cup (And bring on the Razor era by the way but it was supposed to be our year last year, but that didn't happen when most people predicted that South Africa is going to retain the Rugby World Cup, & they did), so let's hope things will change by turning it around (And I mean what went wrong for the All Blacks to lose a final like this? Maybe it's the officiating as well as our discipline that hurts therefore costing our chance of winning our 4th World Cup crown after Cane went off & we were down to 14 players for the remainder of the game so I gave up watching meaning that I decided to move on from my life but hey, that was disappointing about our final heartbreak against the best South African side ever coached by Jacques Nienaber (4th different South African coach to win a World Cup after the late Kitch Christie in 1995, then Jake White in 2007 & former player Rassie Erasmus in 2019 (And after the 2019 success that many people say that Nienaber would be the next successful South African rugby coach, & they did by pulling it off, not only it was Kolisi again as he is still Head of the Table in the rugby world this year when he provided the Lionel Messi moment when Messi captained Argentina to become champion of the world for the first time since 1986 as they prevailed over France on penalties in the final at the 2022 Football World Cup & finally become a World Cup winning player as well as being the most recent Football World Cup winning skipper, then the Roman Reigns moment at Wrestlemania 39 when Reigns (Who was accompanied by his manager Paul Heyman & his Bloodline tag team stablemate Solo Sikoa) won against 'The American Nightmare' Cody Rhodes to retain the Unidsputed WWE Universal Championship, then the Alex Palou moment when Palou beat our own New Zealander Scott Dixon to regain the Indycar title in Portland by clinching it with one race to spare & also, the Max Verstappen moment when Verstappen successfully defended the Formula 1 World Championship crown by clinching it at the Qatar Grand Prix sprint race which was won by an Australian driving for McLaren, Oscar Piastri, as well as his status as the self-proclaimed rugby god, remains intact when the Boks had triumphed at the RWC once more) because it was their day, but I will still keep following the rugby & I always back the All Blacks because I vow loyalty to them).

And here are the other results from the 2023 Cricket World Cup that have just come in (And that is the first time I'll be doing other results of the World Cup, this time in the cricket):

New Zealand 288/6 (50)

Afghanistan 139 (34.4)

NZ won by 149 runs

Bangladesh 256/8 (50)

India 261/3 (41.3)

IND won by 7 wickets (51 balls left)

Australia 367/9 (50)

Pakistan 305 (45.3)

AUS won by 62 runs

Netherlands 262 (49.4)

Sri Lanka 263/5 (48.2)

SL won by 5 wickets (10 balls left)

New Zealand 273 (50)

India 274/6 (48)

IND won by 4 wickets (12 balls left)

Pakistan 282/7 (50)

Afghanistan 286/2 (49)

AFG won by 8 wickets (6 balls left)

South Africa 382/5 (50)

Bangladesh 233 (46.4)

SA won by 149 runs

Australia 399/8 (50)

Netherlands 90 (21)

AUS won by 309 runs

England 156 (33.2)

Sri Lanka 160/2 (25.4)

SL won by 8 wickets

Pakistan 270 (46.4)

South Africa 271/9 (47.2)

SA won by 1 wicket (16 balls left)

Australia 388 (49.2)

New Zealand 383/9 (50)

AUS won by 5 runs

Netherlands 229 (50)

Bangladesh 142 (42.2)

NED won by 87 runs

India 229/9 (50)

England 129 (34.5)

IND won by 100 runs

Sri Lanka 241 (49.3)

Afghanistan 242/3 (45.2)

AFG won by 7 wickets (28 balls left)

& Bangladesh 204 (45.1)

Pakistan 205/3 (32.3)

PAK won by 7 wickets

So that is my 525th blog of the year 2024 (MMXXIV) & my 1st of this year, viva Ukraine & Palestine.

Loyal/One More Time/Because The Night: My 48th blog of the year 2023 (AKA my last ever blog of this year)

Well, this is my last blog of the year 2023 as well as my last before I go on holiday to Northland with Pops & Carole, but the latest on the Rugby World Cup such as the All Blacks (Who had Will Jordan providing the heroics as he was over for his hat-trick of tries & is now the all-time top try scorer of the tournament this year now with 8 along with the late Jonah Lomu (1999), Bryan Habana (2007) & Julian Savea (2015) have done it, they are in the final of the Rugby World Cup (Our 1st since 2015 & our record 5th RWC final appearance) which is the big dance & we're just one win away from winning back rugby's most treasured prize, the William Webb Ellis cup after our comprehensive win against Argentina which ended in sheer humiliation compared to the Ireland test in which was a supposed contest in fact, at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis in the 1st semifinal so so let's relive the live updates of the last 10 minutes of the semi according to Newshub:

THE LAST 10 - ARG VS NZL

70TH MINUTE, SCRUM FEED ARGENTINA: Untidy as Retallick fails to claim the lineout, but Argentina then knocked on, giving the ball back to New Zealand. This time they couldn't hold either, as a useless tip ball from McKenzie was spilt by Frizell at his ankles. Scrum Argentina on the 10m line.

72ND MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Bruni brings it away, but almost immediately it was back in All Blacks hands from a knock, with Jordan offloading for Christie. He pokes it in behind, seeing it roll to touch 15m off his own line.

73RD MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Argentina go quickly before thumping a kick long to touch, where the All Blacks then went quickly. All very disjointed, as McKenzie grubbers through the line, but it fell for Argentina who kicked again. They find touch just inside the 22.

74TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), TRY ALL BLACKS (W. JORDAN): WILL JORDAN YOU ARE A FREAK! Savea held in midfield, working an inside ball to send Jordan shooting out of the 22! He found cover on halfway, but chipped over the top into the 22! Perfectly weighted, he regathers and steams it in down the right edge.

75TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), CONVERSION MISS ALL BLACKS (R. MO'UNGA): From 15m in from the right touch, Mo'unga shanks it away to the right.

76TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Good simple exit, and Mo'unga drives into touch just past the 10m line.

77TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): New Zealand pinch it at the lineout, chipping it up over halfway where M Carreras charged back up over the 10m line. Argentina worked to midfield, throwing runners at the line, before driving to the corner. Dribbles to touch 7m from the line.

78TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): New Zealand settle it out of the 22, before going to Mo'unga in the pocket to clear to touch just past halfway.

79TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Messy across to the left edge for Argentina, going one-off against some ferocious New Zealand defence. J Barrett drilled Sanchez who stayed down, with it then spilt by Mallia. Mo'unga mopped up in his own half, working a perfect 50/22 into the corner! 5m lineout to come.

80TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): New Zealand go to a drive, but it was well stopped, forcing them to peel it away. They opened the space nicely, with Mo'unga taking the selfish route as he had a go at the line! He was stopped a metre short, before Taukei'aho had a go, but he knocked on. 5m scrum for Argentina.

80TH MINUTE + 2ND MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Bruni rumbles out of the boot, before a couple of good busts further to the right took play out of the 22. Sanchez worked a chip to the left, which Jordan easily gathered electing to play on! Frizell spills in midfield, so Argentina will get another go.

80TH MINUTE + 3RD MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY ARGENTINA (OFFSIDE): All very messy in midfield, and it falls for Lienert-Brown to hack it ahead! He got it a couple of times, but skewed on the third, as Argentina smothered just inside their own 22. They are out on their feet, but get a penalty as Newell was pinged for offside. Sanchez misses touch though, allowing Mo'unga to put it into touch to bring this one to a close!

FULL TIME: 6 - 44

Statement made. No upset for New Zealand, it is instead Argentina walking away upset, after being pummeled 44-6 in one of the biggest semi-final margins this tournament has ever seen. The momentum from the first continued into the second, as New Zealand ended up running in seven tries to zilch. Simply remarkable, and they now wait to see who they meet next week.

Smiles all around for New Zealand, they are a chance to become world champions for a fourth time. They did the job required of them, and in some style. They were able to give some of their key men rests, which will leave them in good stead for next week. In a real alpha move, they didn't even bring Scott Barrett back once his yellow card expired! Will Jordan was in excellent try-scoring form, showing his pace once again. Aaron Smith and Richie Mo'unga were also terrific, but it feels unfair to be singling players out after what was a great team showing. The only negative was the goal kicking, with Mo'unga only converting 3/7 conversions.

Argentina unfortunately just weren't up to the level required. Their ball handling was dreadful, summing up a performance of a team that was second-best. You can't question the effort, this was simply about skill, and a lack thereof. Kremer was the best, but it was slim pickings on a tough evening for the South Americans. They will have a chance to put this to bed in next week's third-place playoff, so expect them to come out firing.

That is all from the Stade de France this evening. A dominant New Zealand side is the first team into the final!

And here is the other result from the semis of the 2023 Rugby World Cup that have just come in:

England 15 - 16 South Africa (And it was the South Africans (Who haven't lost a test since against the reigning Six Nations champions Ireland who got knocked out by New Zealand in the quarterfinal during the pool game) night at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis as they managed to survive the mighty challenge of England to reach another Rugby World Cup final off the back of a match winning penalty by none other than reserve first-five Handre Pollard (Who came on early for Manie Libbok during the game), but their quest of successfully defending the RWC, is still alive after that hard fought 2019 Rugby World Cup final replay win against the English)

So it's New Zealand (Who is South Africa's main challengers in the 2023 Rugby World Cup (First it was France in both 1987 & 2011 followed by Australia in 2015) to play South Africa (Who'll put their Rugby World Cup championship on the line, & in counter point that with Siya Kolisi's status as a self-proclaimed rugby god as well as the Head of the Table in international rugby (He was Head of the Table in 2019 when the Springboks triumphed over England in the final in Yokohama, Japan), is at stake, but who'll provide the Lionel Messi (A superstar footballer from Argentina who was the most recent Football World Cup winning captain for his country in 2022), Roman Reigns (An American wrestling icon (And current champion of the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship title) who is of British, Italian & Samoan origin & is a relative of his mentor Dwayne Johnson, but comes from the famous Anoa'i wrestling family which featured the late great Yokozuna), Alex Palou (A well known Spanish racing car driver who is Indycar's answer of his childhood idol & twice Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso) & Max Verstappen (A famous Dutch racing car driver who is now a 3 time Formula One world champion & better known as the son of ex-driver Jos who is F1's equivalent to twice Indy 500 winner Arie Luyendyk) moment? We will find out on the 29th of October New Zealand time) in the 2023 Rugby World Cup final (It is a rematch of the 1995 final in which the first time of 3 occasions that the Springboks (Led by that inspirational skipper at the time of Francois Pienaar who lifted the famous William Webb Ellis trophy in front of a packed home crowd) had won the World Cup against the All Blacks in a final in which they united the nation under the leadership of the late great South African president of Nelson Mandela with Joel Stransky providing the heroics as he slotted a drop kick that broke our hearts & it hurts after the defeat against the Boks not only because we were so gutted about the result, but their most recent meeting between the 2 teams was this year in which the South Africans had a comprehensive blowout win at Twickenham in London, England dubbed as the Twickenham horror show as the AB's side dealt with injury to key players such as Shannon Frizell & Brodie Retallick, went on to lose the test (And the next one against the hosts France in the RWC opener in which the French became the last side to defeat New Zealand in international rugby) in which was our worst test match defeat since 1999 against the Wallabies in Sydney who would have gone on to retain the Bledisloe & to win the Rugby World Cup later that year) but will it be All Black captain Sam Cane (It was David Kirk who did it in 1987 against France in the final then Richie McCaw twice in 2011 against France in the final & in 2015 against the Wallabies in the final) or Springbok captain Siya Kolisi (Who is gunning to become the 2nd skipper to lift the Rugby World Cup trophy twice (And the 1st South African captain to become a 2 time Rugby World Cup winning skipper) just like McCaw did who was the 1st at both the 2011 & 2015 Rugby World Cups for the All Blacks of New Zealand) again to become the Rugby World Cup winning captain to lift the William Webb Ellis trophy this year? (It was David Kirk from New Zealand in 1987 followed by Nick Farr-Jones (Australia) in 1991, Pienaar (South Africa) in 1995, John Eales (Australia) in 1999, Martin Johnson (England) in 2003, John Smit (South Africa) in 2007, McCaw (New Zealand) twice in 2011 & 2015 & last but not least, Kolisi (South Africa) in 2019) We will find it out in 7 days time but will New Zealand win their record breaking 4th World Cup title & their 1st since 2015, or will the famous William Webb Ellis trophy stay in South Africa? In part 3 of international rugby's most storied rivalry this year with both sides locked with 1 wins apiece (First New Zealand in the test at Go Media Stadium Mount Smart in Auckland, then the Springboks successfully replied at Twickenham before the World Cup which cemented them as the favourites to lift the trophy) at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis on Sunday morning New Zealand time to decide who will become champion of the world (Well, who is it going to be? Whether it's the All Blacks (Who have Ian Foster in his final game in charge as All Blacks coach as he desperately wants a win to sign off his coaching career, but I was told Pops that there is going to be an New Zealand-South Africa final, but it's happening as dreams are about to become reality that there will be a dream final between both nations just like the Chiefs & the Crusaders fought out in the final for the right to become champions of Super Rugby Pacific this year at FMG Stadium Waikato in Hamilton, in which the Crusaders again dominated the final just like last year as the Chiefs missed out not only because they were disappointed & gutted about the result but it was supposed to be the Chiefs year & they didn't when they missed out on that occasion, & of course Spain successfully won the Football Women's World Cup against England in a hard fought final in front of a sold out Stadium Australia in Sydney) to party like it's 1987, 2011 & 2015 (Go the All Blacks!) or will the South Africans who'll defend their title just like New Zealand did in 2015) but it's Argentina against England (Both sides deserve to be in the final but it wasn't to be as they lost to both opponents New Zealand & South Africa in the semifinal) 1st to decide who'll finish 3rd at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis on Saturday New Zealand time.

Alright, the latest in Formula One such as Max Verstappen (Who dominated F1 for the last 3 seasons since 2021) has won the sprint race to start on pole then he won that epic United States Grand Prix at COTA in Austin, Texas, in the aftermath of Lewis Hamilton's disqualification for failing a post race inspection alongside Ferrari's Charles Leclerc while Lando Norris in the McLaren has just finished 2nd followed by the winner in Singapore of Carlos Sainz in the Ferrari who rounded out the podium (And there are 4 races left in the season with both the drivers & constructors championship has already been decided on that occasion, but the next one is in Mexico (Which is the home race of Red Bull's Sergio Perez who is 2nd in the championship ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes, but behind his Red Bull Racing teammate of Verstappen) where Max Verstappen dominated the race last year as he broke the record for the most number of victories in a single season previously set by both Germans who are world champions of Michael Schumacher in 2004 & Sebastian Vettel in 2013, followed by Sao Paulo in Brazil, then they head back to America for the historic first ever Las Vegas Grand Prix & finally, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix plays host to the season finale of the 2023 Formula One season).

And finally my last thoughts before the final? There is no tomorrow, men, today we crush South Africa once & for all. Now let's get a move on, we've got a Rugby World Cup to win here! (Kia ora, good afternoon, the All Blacks carry the hopes of a nation & a burden of history in that morning's all important Rugby World Cup final. In just a few hours a question posed every 4 years will have it's answer? Will this be New Zealand's time or has they have before, will South Africa find something special to once again break Kiwi hearts?)

So that is my 524th blog of the year 2023 (MMXXIII) & my 48th of this year, viva Ukraine (And you have a great Christmas & a very happy new year, so best wishes, bring on 2024! (And my last thoughts before I wrap this blog up? God bless you all).

P.S. And the All Blacks team has been revealed ahead of our highly anticipated Rugby World Cup final against the Springboks (The last time we met South Africa in international rugby, it was this year in a pre-RWC test at Twickenham in London where the South Africans edged & decimated us in convincing fashion in which was our worst ever test defeat by 28 points, surpassing the 21 we had in 1999 against Australia in Sydney, but we haven't beaten the the Boks since July at Mount Smart in Auckland during the Rugby Championship, & also we never lost against them at a RWC since 1999 which was the 3rd & 4th place playoff, & our most recent meeting between the two sides during the tournament was in 2019 where we had a 10 point win in the opening match of the World Cup where the last time South Africa had lost during the tournament before benefiting all 6 games to win their first RWC championship in 12 years, including the final against England in which the South Africans have never lost a RWC final before, but can the All Blacks finally conquer South Africa's undefeated streak, at a Rugby World Cup final? (Because they are 3 & 0 at the moment) We will find out, on the 28th of October (That's the 29th New Zealand time), but we'll see) as history beckons for both sides wanting to end the year 2023 on a high with a positive note (And it'll be the biggest match of their rugby players careers so far) if they want to lift the famous William Webb Ellis trophy, so here is the starting lineup according to outgoing coach Fozzy (Ian Foster) in what was to be his final game as coach of the All Blacks before the incoming coach of Scott Robertson takes over starting from next year along with the 7 departing main players such as Beauden Barrett, Shannon Frizell, Richie Mo'unga, Brodie Retallick, Aaron Smith, Codie Taylor & Sam Whitelock:

STARTING XV

FORWARD PACK

FRONT ROW

1 (Loose head prop): Ethan de Groot (Highlanders/Southland)

2 (Hooker): Codie Taylor (Crusaders/Canterbury)

3 (Tight head prop): Tyrel Lomax (Hurricanes/Tasman)

SECOND ROW

4 (No.4 lock): Brodie Retallick (Chiefs/Hawke's Bay)

5 (No.5 lock): Scott Barrett (Crusaders/Taranaki)

LOOSE FORWARDS

6 (Blind side flanker): Shannon Frizell (Highlanders/Tasman)

7 (Open side flanker): Sam Cane (Captain, Chiefs/Bay of Plenty)

8 (Number 8): Ardie Savea (Hurricanes/Wellington)

BACK LINE

HALVES

9 (Half-back): Aaron Smith (Highlanders/Manawatu)

10 (First five-eighth): Richie Mo'unga (Crusaders/Canterbury)

MIDFIELD

12 (Second five-eighth): Jordie Barrett (Hurricanes/Taranaki)

13 (Centre): Rieko Ioane (Blues/Auckland)

OUTSIDE BACKS

11 (Left wing): Mark Telea (Blues/North Harbour)

14 (Right wing): Will Jordan (Crusaders/Tasman)

& 15 (Fullback): Beauden Barrett (Blues/Taranaki)

& REPLACEMENT PLAYERS

16 (Reserve hooker): Samisoni Taukei'aho 

17 (Reserve loose head prop): Tamaiti Williams

18 (Reserve tight head prop): Nepo Laulala (Who takes Fletcher Newell's place at the reserve tighthead prop position)

19 (Reserve lock): Sam Whitelock (Who is dropped to the bench with Brodie Retallck elevated to the starting lineup to start as the number 4 lock position)

20 (Reserve loose forward): Dalton Papali'i

21 (Reserve half-back): Finlay Christie

22 (Reserve first-five eighth): Damian McKenzie

& 23 (Reserve back): Anton Lienert-Brown

And the current world champion Springboks side (Who have now taken over as the top ranked rugby playing nation in the world following Ireland's elimination in the quarterfinals (I thought Bundee Aki is going to be the player of the tournament, but it's now Richie Mo'unga who could be player of the tournament after Ireland had lost to the All Blacks in the quarters) have named a strong team by naming all but one forwards on the bench again (That's the 3rd time that they had done that but that ploy worked when they defeated the All Blacks at Twickenham in London in which South Africa used their 7 - 1 split for the first time in history according to the blog that I did last month, but they were unsuccessful against the Irish during the pool game in which the last time South Africa had lost a test match) for their date with destiny against their arch-rivals New Zealand (Who are gunning to end an 8 year drought of winning the Rugby World Cup after South Africa dominated in 2019) in the final with the winning captain of the Rugby World Cup will get their hands on the William Webb Ellis Cup along with 32 others in the squad, as well as the chance of becoming the most successful rugby playing nation, in Rugby World Cup history as both sides are locked at 3 Rugby World Cup crowns each, but who'll break the deadlock to win their elusive 4th?) so here is the starting lineup according to coach Jacques Nienaber:

STARTING XV

FORWARD PACK

FRONT ROW

1 (Loose head prop): Steven Kitshoff (Ulster)

2 (Hooker): Bongi Mbonambi (Sharks)

3 (Tight head prop): Frans Malherbe (Stormers)

SECOND ROW

4 (No.4 lock): Eben Etzebeth (Sharks)

5 (No.5 lock): Franco Mostert (Mie Honda Heat)

LOOSE FORWARDS

7 (Blind side flanker): Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz)

6 (Open side flanker): Siya Kolisi (Captain, Racing 92)

8 (Number 8): Duane Vermeulen (Unattached)

BACK LINE

HALVES

9 (Half-back/Scrum-half): Faf de Klerk (Yokohama Canon Eagles)

10 (First five-eighth/Fly-half): Handre Pollard (Leicester Tigers)

MIDFIELD

12 (Second five-eighth/Inside centre): Damian de Allende (Saitama Wild Knights)

13 (Centre/Outside centre): Jesse Kriel (Yokohama Canon Eagles)

OUTSIDE BACKS

11 (Left wing): Cheslin Kolbe (Tokyo Sungoliath)

14 (Right wing): Kurt-Lee Arendse (Bulls)

& 15 (Fullback): Damian Willemse (Stormers)

& REPLACEMENT PLAYERS

16 (Reserve hooker): Deon Fourie

17 (Reserve loose head prop): Ox Nche

18 (Reserve tight head prop): Trevor Nyakane

19 (Reserve lock): Jean Kleyn

20 (Reserve lock): RG Snyman

21 (Reserve loose forward): Kwagga Smith

22 (Reserve loose forward): Jasper Wiese

& 23 (Reserve back): Willie le Roux.

Don't Dream It's Over/Better Be Home Soon: My 47th blog of the year 2023 (AKA my penultimate blog of this year)

Well, another fantastic win against the AB's, this time against Ireland (Who nearly had it should they won but their drought of reaching their 1st semi at the Rugby World Cup continues as New Zealand had ended the incredible 17 match winning streak of the defending Six Nations champions Ireland) at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis during this year's Rugby World Cup in a hard fought quarterfinal win in what was to be Johnny Sexton's final ever test match (Remember he made his test debut against Fiji back in 2009), to book us a place in the semifinal of the tournament, so let's relive the live updates of the last 13 minutes of the quarterfinal match according to Newshub:

THE LAST 13 - IRE VS NZL

70TH MINUTE, PENALTY IRELAND (NOT RELEASING): Ioane claims a long restart, working outside the 22, with another phase before New Zealand cleared long. Sexton returned nicely, before another chip in behind. B Barrett did well to keep it in, but it put pressure on Lienert-Brown, and Ireland won the turnover penalty! To the corner again!

72ND MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): JORDIE BARRETT SAVES THE DAY FOR NEW ZEALAND! It was lobbed in for a drive, and once again Ireland rumbled for the line. They looked certain to score, when Kelleher peeled away, but Barrett lodged himself under it, holding it up! Line dropout to come.

73RD MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SCRUM ALL BLACKS: DORIS KNOCKS IT ON! Huge moment as he spills the restart! New Zealand will pack a scrum 55m out from the line.

74TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): New Zealand look to milk a penalty, but don't get it, working up over halfway to the short side via the run of Mo'unga. Hard carries from New Zealand, one-off whilst they are down to 14. Cane then Whitelock, worming just shy of the 10m line.

75TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Smith box kicks, with O'Brien just about claiming it, before being driven over the sideline. Coles to throw the lineout on the 10m line.

76TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), DROP GOAL MISS (B. BARRETT): New Zealand go to a drive, happily killing time in and around the fringes before J Barrett carted in midfield. Mo'unga chipped in behind, seeing it roll into the in-goal where Ireland had to force for a line dropout.

New Zealand are back to 15.

B Barrett winds up from 50m out, with nobody on him off the restart, but he hooks it horribly towards the corner. Forced for a 22m dropout.

77TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Whitelock claims and New Zealand go to work, pick and going across the halfway line. Smith looked to milk a penalty before eventually box-kicking, sending it up towards the 22. O'Brien claims, settling just back of the 10m line.

78TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Aki works left into space, before the defensive pattern settled as runners bashed over halfway. A couple of big hits from New Zealand, but a good tip ball by Doris gets Ireland to the 10m line.

79TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Lowe is chopped, before Beirne followed in midfield. Slow ball for Ireland up to 16 phases. They have it 35m from the line. THIS IS THE GAME!

80TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Ireland work a flank to get Conan closer to the 22, before Lowe worked in midfield. Then Aki, Kelleher next but the All Blacks haven't missed. O'Brien uses the left edge to earn 5m. 23 phases now!

80TH MINUTE + 1ST MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Conan bashes into the 22, before Savea had a go. He couldn't get it, with a couple more bashes away to the left. Kelleher into the 22...

80TH MINUTE + 2ND MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Doris then Beirne, 33 phases now but Ireland are still 22m out. Aki makes a strong bust to get it 15m from the chalk, before Conan followed. Another big carry follows closer infield.

80TH MINUTE + 3RD MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY ALL BLACKS (NOT RELEASING): THE ALL BLACKS DO IT! 38 PHASES! COURAGE, STRENGTH, INTEGRITY! INCREDIBLE EFFORT, AND FINALLY WHITELOCK GETS IN OVER THE BALL TO TURN IT OVER! He wins the penalty, New Zealand tap and kick it into touch, that is the end of one of the all-time great World Cup games.

FULL TIME: 24 - 28

Wow. Just wow. That was some game, one of the all-time great games. It was the unstoppable force versus the immovable object at the end there, and it spoke of the heart this All Blacks team have, as after 38 phases, tackle after tackle, the veteran Sam Whitelock got in over the ball to win the crucial turnover. Heartbreak for Ireland, ecstasy for New Zealand, who march on into next week's semi-finals.

You have to feel for Ireland. This is an incredible side, who were world number one for good reason, but their quarter-final curse continues. They gave it their all, but have fallen short after winning 17 on the trot leading into this one. Their slow start might have cost them, though equally, they will feel like they did enough to work their way back into the game. It seemed to be flowing their way when they crashed in for a penalty try, but they never scored again, and will have to live with that for another four years - and in truth, for much longer than that. That is the end for this team, the ageless Johnny Sexton finally bows out, and he isn't the only one who won't be there in four years time. He left everything out there, as did his whole side, who threw everything they had at the All Blacks, but today the execution was not quite there.

What a win that is for New Zealand. They have played many a World Cup knockout game, but as a contest there have been few like that. It had the intensity and quality for a final, with both sides not willing to give an inch, but a few extra moments of quality got them over the line. First the try to Fainga'anuku, and that later one to Jordan, you wonder whether Ireland could score a try like that. Pace, and power to the line, don't underestimate the work of Mo'unga to draw defenders to the line. It is the forwards who will take the accolades, and in particular Sam Cane and Ardie Savea who were terrific in contact and at the breakdown. Both Retallick and Whitelock also grabbed turnovers, showing the brilliant work New Zealand did around the breakdown. Jordie Barrett too was immense in what was the biggest game of his career to date. They'll get straight into recovery, before turning their attention towards Argentina in next week's semi-final.

That is all from the Stade de France tonight. Terrific quarter-final rugby, where in the end New Zealand managed to get home.

And here are the other results from the quarterfinals of the 2023 Rugby World Cup that have just come in:

Wales 17 - 29 Argentina (It was Argentina's day as they save themselves from getting knocked out against Wales at Stade de Marseille in Marseille with the Argentinians provided both defining moments such as Argentinan reserve back Matias Moroni saving a try off Louis Rees-Zammit, then wily old Argentinan veteran Nicolas Sanchez who intercepted a Welsh pass as he raced all the way to the try line to score to seal a place in the semi against the All Blacks)

England 30 - 24 Fiji (And it was England's day as they gain revenge against Fiji (Who are in their 1st quarterfinal at a Rugby World Cup since 2007 but they didn't quite do the job on that occasion) after bouncing back from defeat against them before the tournament in Marseille (Although Farrell didn't play as he was suspended of course, along with Billy Vunipola), but Owen Farrell's drop goal provided a key pivotal moment in the quarterfinal therefore the English had denied Fiji their tremendous fightback that they had through terrible officiating)

& France 28 - 29 South Africa (It was South Africa's night as they stave off elimination for their hunt towards of retaining the crown as well as their unprecedented 4th RWC championship to down the hosts France (Led by Antoine Dupont who had to wear a scrum cap since his cheekbone had been fractured during the pool game against Namibia) who had just suffered a World Cup heartbreak at home at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, & they could've used Romain Ntamack should he had not been injured as the South Africans have handed France their first defeat since against Scotland at Murrayfield in August this year (And it was a great game that Carole alluded to as she watched it, but it was the South Africans who prevailed in the end by a whisker)

And here is the confirmed list for the semifinal matches being played for which I'm looking forward to:

Argentina Vs New Zealand (Their most recent meeting at a Rugby World Cup was 8 years ago when the All Blacks ran out as winners as both halfback Aaron Smith & reserve loose forward Sam Cane dotted it down against Argentina in our World Cup opener at Wembley Stadium in London, England back in 2015 despite both captain at the time of Richie McCaw & centre Conrad Smith had picked up yellow cards during the game for the AB's)

& England Vs South Africa (The last time both of these sides had met at a Rugby World Cup was during the final in 2019 at Yokohama Stadium in Yokohama, Japan where the Springboks had a comprehensive win against England to be crowned the world champions for the 3rd time as they ended a 12 year wait of winning rugby's global showpiece event, in a rematch of the 2007 final (Including both wingers Makazole Mapimpi & Cheslin Kolbe became the 1st 2 try scorers for the Springboks at a Rugby World Cup final), & their first in 12 years)

And the war between Hamas & Israel is ongoing as many American cities such as New York, Los Angeles & in the UK have made the decision to heighten security due to tensions surrounding the war therefore protecting schools, mosques & Jewish centres that fear for their own safety in which ordinary people are living in fear in response to mass protests being triggered between the Jews & the Muslims, but continuing onto the war as the Israelis launch an offensive attack as rockets have been fired into Israel amid Hamas war & Gaza raid (And also the hostage crisis had taken place as many women & children have been kidnapped by Hamas forces including 27 Americans whose lives had been taken away, but the rave festival should've been called off when Hamas militant fighters had infiltrated).

And in men's Cricket World Cup news such as Afghanistan pulled off a miraculous victory over reigning champs England as they claimed the biggest upset in men's CWC history (And South Africa has beaten Australia (Who defeated Sri Lanka with Glenn Maxwell having a late surge towards victory with his batting ability) again then the Black Caps who had a win against Bangladesh with Daryl Mitchell scoring a creditable 89 not out as well as New Zealand captain Kane Williamson who had to retire hurt at 78 but he might be ruled out of the next game against the giant killers of Afghanistan, while India maintain their 100% winning record at a men's Cricket World Cup against rivals Pakistan) for their 2nd win at a men's CWC as well as their first since 2015 against Scotland in Dunedin, New Zealand then the unthinkable has happened as the Netherlands pulled off the biggest boilover in men's Cricket World Cup history as they upstaged South Africa with Australian born Dutch captain Scott Edwards providing the heroics as he scored 78 not out then Roelof van der Merwe (A South African born player of Dutch origin) had a cameo role as he scored 29 to put them back into the contest.

And finally that we have our new Prime Minister of our country with Christopher Luxon victorious over Chris Hipkins in the New Zealand general election on the 14th of October as he takes charge of our country from Hipkins in the aftermath of National's successful election campaign that they just had meaning that National is back in power for the first time since 2017.

So that is my 523rd blog of the year 2023 (MMXXIII) & my 47th of this year, viva Ukraine.

P.S. And the All Blacks team has been revealed ahead of our gigantic semifinal clash against Argentina (The last time we met the Argentinians in international rugby, it was this year in Mendoza in the Rugby Championship opener as went on to win the test which was overshadowed by the injury of Fijian born young AB's winger of Emoni Narawa, but Argentina have never beaten the AB's since last year in Christchurch, & also we never lost against them at a RWC (And every time we win a Rugby World Cup, we would always beat Argentina first, whether it's a pool game in both 1987 & 2015, or a quarterfinal in 2011), so here is the starting lineup according to coach Fozzy (Ian Foster):

STARTING XV

FORWARD PACK

FRONT ROW

1 (Loose head prop): Ethan de Groot (Highlanders/Southland)

2 (Hooker): Codie Taylor (Crusaders/Canterbury)

3 (Tight head prop): Tyrel Lomax (Hurricanes/Tasman)

SECOND ROW

4 (No.4 lock): Sam Whitelock (Crusaders/Canterbury)

5 (No.5 lock): Scott Barrett (Crusaders/Taranaki)

LOOSE FORWARDS

6 (Blind side flanker): Shannon Frizell (Highlanders/Tasman)

7 (Open side flanker): Sam Cane (Captain, Chiefs/Bay of Plenty)

8 (Number 8): Ardie Savea (Hurricanes/Wellington)

BACK LINE

HALVES

9 (Half-back): Aaron Smith (Highlanders/Manawatu)

10 (First five-eighth): Richie Mo'unga (Crusaders/Canterbury)

MIDFIELD

12 (Second five-eighth): Jordie Barrett (Hurricanes/Taranaki)

13 (Centre): Rieko Ioane (Blues/Auckland)

OUTSIDE BACKS

11 (Left wing): Mark Telea (Blues/North Harbour)

14 (Right wing): Will Jordan (Crusaders/Tasman)

& 15 (Fullback): Beauden Barrett (Blues/Taranaki)

& REPLACEMENT PLAYERS

16 (Reserve hooker): Samisoni Taukei'aho (Who takes Dane Coles's place at the reserve hooker position) 

17 (Reserve loose head prop): Tamaiti Williams

18 (Reserve tight head prop): Fletcher Newell

19 (Reserve lock): Brodie Retallick (Who is dropped to the bench with Sam Whitelock elevated to the starting lineup to start as the number 4 lock position)

20 (Reserve loose forward): Dalton Papali'i

21 (Reserve half-back): Finlay Christie

22 (Reserve first-five eighth): Damian McKenzie

& 23 (Reserve back): Anton Lienert-Brown

And the opponents Argentina led by their ever-impressive veteran Julian Montoya have named their strongest possible lineup when they take to the field against the All Blacks as they set to end New Zealand's bid of reaching our first final since 2015 &, in counter point that we haven't won the Rugby World Cup in 8 years, so here is the starting lineup according to Australian born coach Michael Chieka:

STARTING XV

FORWARD PACK

FRONT ROW

1 (Loose head prop): Thomas Gallo (Benetton)

2 (Hooker): Julian Montoya (Captain, Leicester Tigers)

3 (Tight head prop): Francisco Gomez Kodela (Lyon)

SECOND ROW

4 (No.4 lock): Guido Petti (Bordeaux Begles)

5 (No.5 lock): Tomas Lavanini (Clermont)

LOOSE FORWARDS

6 (Blind side flanker): Juan Martin Gonzalez (Saracens)

7 (Open side flanker): Marcos Kremer (Clermont)

8 (Number 8): Facundo Isa (Toulon)

BACK LINE

HALVES

9 (Half-back/Scrum-half): Gonzalo Bertranou (Dragons)

10 (First five-eighth/Fly-half): Santiago Carreras (Gloucester)

MIDFIELD

12 (Second five-eighth/Inside centre): Santiago Chocobares (Toulouse)

13 (Centre/Outside centre): Lucio Cinti (Saracens)

OUTSIDE BACKS

11 (Left wing): Mateo Carreras (Newcastle Falcons)

14 (Right wing): Emiliano Boffelli (Edinburgh)

& 15 (Fullback): Juan Cruz Mallia (Toulouse)

& REPLACEMENT PLAYERS

16 (Reserve hooker): Agustin Creevy

17 (Reserve loose head prop): Joel Sclavi

18 (Reserve tight head prop): Eduardo Bello

19 (Reserve lock): Matias Alemanno

20 (Reserve loose forward): Rodrigo Bruni

21 (Reserve half-back/scrum-half): Lautaro Bazan Velez

22 (Reserve first five-eighth/fly-half): Nicolas Sanchez

& 23 (Reserve back): Matias Moroni.

Something So Strong/Don't Forget Your Roots: My 46th blog of the year 2023

Well, another fantastic win against the AB's, this time against Uruguay at OL Stadium in Lyon during this year's Rugby World Cup in another comprehensive blowout which resulted in a clean sheet (Shut-out) performance (1st time the AB's did that since 2021 against Tonga in which the score was in fact 102 - 0 & the first time at a Rugby World Cup since the demolition against Canada 63 - 0 in 2019) including Leicester Fainga'anuku's heroics as he dotted it down for his hat-trick of tries just like Aaron Smith did against Italy at the same ground to book a place in the quarterfinal (And we lost both Tyrel Lomax to a potentially tournament ending injury as well as Fletcher Newell who had taken off the field as a precaution, also with an injury), so let's relive the live updates of the last 10 minutes of the match according to Newshub:

THE LAST 10 - NZL VS URU

70TH MINUTE: Uruguay send the restart long into the 22, taken safely by Clarke before Barrett settles play with a carry. McKenzie clears with a good exit that finds touch on the 10m line.

71ST MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Uruguay secure the lineout before Barrett gets through and steals the ball. Clarke charges over halfway before the ball is sent wide to Jordan who chips over the top, and Silva only just gets back to clean up and force it in his in goal. All Black attacking scrum on the 5 as Silva took it back.

73RD MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), TRY ALL BLACKS (64 - 0, T. WILLIAMS): FIRST TEST TRY FOR WILLIAMS! Jacobson carries off the back and offloads for Christie who is 5 short. Quick ball around the corner for the forwards but Uruguay are there to meet them. Short ball for Williams before Vaa'i goes quick and he is a metre short. Williams gets up and goes again, proving to be too big and too strong as he barges his way over to score 10 in from left touch.

74TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), CONVERSION ALL BLACKS (66 - 0, B. BARRETT): Barrett drills the kick low and hard to send it through the middle 10 in from left touch.

75TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY ALL BLACKS: Uruguay send the kick off long and into the 22 as Vaa'i takes it safely. Christie gets dragged into the ruck illegally and Uruguay concede the penalty with Barrett finding touch 30 out from the Uruguay line.

77TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), TRY ALL BLACKS (71 - 0, L. FAINGA'ANUKU): FAINGA'ANUKU HAS THREE! Lineout secured by Vaa'i as Clarke charges to the 22 in midfield. Jacobson goes for the quick pick and go, followed by Vaa'i and he is just 15 short. Blackadder offloads for Clarke and the All Blacks are just 5 short, charging towards the try line. McKenzie goes wide left to Williams who is only just short, before Fainga'anuku goes quick with the pick and go to dive over in the left corner for his third try.

78TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), CONVERSION ALL BLACKS (73 - 0, B. BARRETT): Barrett draws the kick from right to left to send it through the uprights from the left touchline.

79TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Uruguay's restart is sent deep into the 22 as Clarke brings it back well. Back door play for Barrett in midfield and he bursts straight through! He gets to the fullback and kicks over the top, with the ball going too far and travelling dead. Uruguay 22m restart.

80TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY URUGUAY (NOT RELEASING): Restart taken well by Barrett before the ball is sent wide left to Clarke and he is taken on the 22m line. Wide the All Blacks go as Blackadder storms his way down the right flank to find himself within 10. Christie goes for a snipe but he is isolated and concedes the penalty. Quick tap as Uruguay break over halfway, before the pass travels forward and that is all she wrote from Lyon this evening!

FULL-TIME: 73 - 0

An outstanding first-ever Test match between New Zealand and Uruguay sees the All Blacks run away with a 73-point, 11-try victory as they showed their class against a brave Uruguay side. After heading into the halftime break with a 26-point lead, the All Blacks came out of the sheds firing to seal this match and their place in the quarterfinals of RWC 2023.

An uncharacteristically slow start by the All Blacks was matched by a fired-up Uruguay side who came out with a point to prove. With 9 changes made to the side that dominated Italy, it was obvious to see the New Zealanders lacked cohesion and were rather rusty. The first 20 minutes proved to be an even contest before the All Blacks upped the tempo and ran rampant, crossing for a total of 11 tries and not allowing any points against them. A hattrick to Fainga'anuku and doubles for McKenzie and Jordan made sure the All Blacks back three had a proper day out, with Fainga'anuku in particular making a strong case to be included in the All Blacks best 23.

In typical Uruguay fashion, they performed admirably and should be proud of their efforts. While the result doesn't look flash, their intensity over the first 20 minutes was impressive and provided them with a lot to build off. Unfortunately, they couldn't maintain that level of play for the 80 minutes, as the All Blacks proved to be too classy and experienced to run away with the contest. Arata was classy in the 9 jersey, while Freitas and Mieres looked dangerous anytime they got the ball in space. That spells the end of Uruguay's 2023 Rugby World Cup, as they finish in 4th place in Pool A and will be incredibly proud of their tournament.

That is all for now from Lyon. I hope you have enjoyed coverage of this Pool A Rugby World Cup 2023 fixture between the All Blacks and Uruguay.

And here are the other results from the pool matches of the 2023 Rugby World Cup that have just come in:

France 60 - 7 Italy (It was France's night as they decimated Italy who fell from the skies as Damian Penaud led an eight-try rout at OL Stadium in Lyon to advance through to the quarterfinal against the reigning 3 time world champs the Springboks (And the French captain as well as the best halfback in world rugby of Antoine Dupont has been given clearance by the surgeon to train with the team, then play the Boks in France's most important knockout game)

Wales 43 - 19 Georgia (It was Wales's day as they had a bit of payback against the Georgians after losing to them last year with young Welsh winger Louis Rees-Zammit picking up a hat-trick just like Fainga'anuku did against Uruguay but they lost loose forward Taulupe Faletau with a broken arm meaning that he's ruled out of the next game against Argentina in the quarterfinal as well as the tournament at the Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes (And Kieran Hardy (The halfback) has joined the squad as injury replacement for Faletau who will not take further part in this tournament)

England 18 - 17 Samoa (And it was England's day as they had a close shave & managed pull off a South Canterbury inspired comeback win to edge Samoa who are bitterly disappointed that they blew their lead just like Ngati Porou East Coast when they almost pulled it off did at Stade Pierre Mauroy in Lille, & head to the quarterfinal against Fiji in a rematch of the pre-Rugby World Cup test in which the Fijians prevailed in a historic upset at Twickenham to become the first tier 2 side to defeat England)

Ireland 36 - 14 Scotland (And it was Ireland's night as they hammer Scotland to book a date with the AB's (Who'll meet the Irish (Who have Australian born Mack Hansen in the squad & there was an incredible story about him as he just found out that he was Irish qualified when he first got in the Ireland national side according to his mother being from there, just like New Zealand born Willi Heinz who played for England four years ago in 2019 due to his grandmother being English) again at a RWC, just like in 2019) in the quarters at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis)

Japan 27 - 39 Argentina (It was Argentina's day as they wallop Japan to go through to the quarterfinal of the Rugby World Cup for the first time since 2015 with Mateo Carreras getting a hat-trick just like both Fainga'anuku & Rees-Zammit did at Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes, but the Argentinians (Who'll face the Welsh in the quarters) have lost Pablo Matera with a terrible hamstring injury therefore ending his tournament, allowing lock forward Lucas Paulos to assume the call-up for the injured Matera)

Tonga 45 - 24 Romania (And it was Tonga's day as they dispatched Romania to end their campaign with a huge victory at Stade Pierre Mauroy in Lille)

& Fiji 23 - 24 Portugal (And it was Portugal's night as they secure their historic first ever win at the Rugby World Cup with a boilover against Fiji (Who advanced through to the quarters against the English not only by virtue of points difference ahead of the Wallabies (Their hopes of reaching the knockouts are done & dusted for the host nation of the 2027 tournament of Australia) as they picked up the defensive losing bonus point) by a single point at Stade de Toulouse in Toulouse (And that's the 2nd time that there has been a major upset of the tournament but first, it was Fiji against Australia & now it's the Portuguese who pulled it off against Fiji)

And here is the confirmed list for quarterfinal matches being played (Well, not only these high octane quarterfinal matches are going to be epic indeed, so yeah definitely):

Wales Vs Argentina (The last time both of these sides had met at a Rugby World Cup was during the opening game in the pool stages in 1999 with the Welsh securing a 5 point win over the Argentinians at the newly constructed Millennium Stadium in Cardiff)

Ireland Vs New Zealand (Their most recent meeting at a RWC was in 2019 where the AB's thrashed them in the quarterfinal in our 2nd ever meeting between the 2 countries at a RWC at Tokyo Stadium in Tokyo, Japan)

England Vs Fiji (The last time they clashed at a Rugby World Cup was in 2015 where Mike Brown had got a double to get their Rugby World Cup campaign off to a winning start as they secured a bonus point win at Twickenham in London)

& France Vs South Africa (And their only meeting between the 2 sides at a RWC was in 1995 during the semifinal in the wet in which France should've won the game because of a match winning try had not been counted according to the referee at Kings Park in Durban)

And some terrible news such as a brutal terrorist invasion by Hamas killed most party goers at a music festival (In which they should not have gone ahead on schedule during the conflict) when an airstrike had occurred as well as several gunmen who are part of the Palestinian Islamist group, opened fire & taken people hostage, with the death toll being risen to 1,300, as the war between Israel & Hamas began in the aftermath of the group launched a devastating surprise attack from Gaza, so all thoughts, prayers & condolences to the victims of this sad, diffcult & tough time (And there was a rocket attack when the Israeli leader of Benjamin Netanyahu had ordered a retaliatory strike as the war & violence had broken out as Israeli air raids pound Gaza Strip 4 days after Hamas sent rockets & fighters into Israel in an unprecedented attack).

And the Black Caps of New Zealand got off to a winning start at this year's men's Cricket World Cup as they secure their 1st win against England (Who beaten the Black Caps twice in 2019, including the final in which we should've won) at a men's CWC since 2015 by 9 wickets with South African born Devon Conway (Who top scored 152 not out compared to Ravindra who got 123 not out) & Rachin Ravindra (Who is a Kiwi of Indian origin, just like Ish Sodhi) picking up unbeaten tons respectively followed by Pakistan who did it against both the Netherlands (Who got beaten by the Black Caps next time round in which we won by 99 runs) & Sri Lanka (Who lost to South Africa in their 1st game of the World Cup) then Bangladesh who took victory against Afghanistan before losing to England who got their tournament back on track before the hosts India had decimated Australia with a victory followed by Afghanistan with a century none other than the Indian captain Rohit Sharma.

And finally in motor racing news such as Dutchman Max Verstappen is now a 3 time Formula One world champion after finishing 2nd behind McLaren's Oscar Piastri in the sprint race while Verstappen's Red Bull teammate of Sergio Perez has crashed out allowing Verstappen to go in for the kill & clinch the championship with 5 races to spare before he had a dominating peformance to win at the Qatar Grand Prix at Losail International Circuit in Lusail (In which the race was marred by both Mercedes drivers George Russell & Sir Lewis Hamilton who both collided during the Grand Prix (Hamilton had to retire but Russell was one shy of a place on the podium in which he recovered to finish 4th, but our own flying Kiwi of Liam Lawson in the Alphatauri originally was going to make his sprint race debut but he couldn't after just 1 lap due to a spin on the opening lap in which he crashed) which was reminiscent of Spain in 2016 where Max Verstappen won the race for the first time after both Hamilton & his Mercedes-AMG teammate at the time of Nico Rosberg collide (And there was Sonny Bill Williams, the twice Rugby World Cup winning player who attended the Grand Prix saying on TV that the All Blacks (Who have never lost a test match since the RWC opener against the host nation France at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, but never lost a Rugby World Cup quarterfinal since 2007 against the same opponent in Cardiff, Wales) are gonna win this quarterfinal against the Irish (Who haven't been beaten since last year against New Zealand at the garden of Eden at Eden Park in Auckland, & are on a 17 match winning streak going into the quarterfinal but they are gunning for their first win in the QF stages of the RWC), in our country's biggest but most difficult & demanding Rugby World Cup game of our lives since the semifinal encounter against England in 2019), but great news New Zealand motor racing fans over in Bathurst in Australia during the Supercars Championship (A motor racing series designated by all our bogans there (And I'm a friendly bogan which is the one who listens to a lot of rock music but I never use foul language a lot, especially in front of my family) such as defending 3 time champion Shane van Gisbergen (Who is 2nd in the championship as he trails behind his nearest rival of Brodie Kostecki going into the next event at the former Indycar venue of Surfers Paradise in Queensland then also the former F1 venue of Adelaide in South Australia will once again host the season finale just like last year) winning his 3rd & last crack at the Mountain during this years Bathurst 1000 sponsored by Repco along with his Kiwi co-driver Richie Stanaway, before heading to America to compete in NASCAR racing over there.

So that is my 522nd blog of the year 2023 (MMXXIII) & my 46th of this year, viva Ukraine.

P.S. And the All Blacks (Who haven't tasted defeat at a RWC quarterfinal in 16 years against France at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff where it was the most controversial test match in history in which Yannick Jauzion scored a try off a forward pass that English referee Wayne Barnes missed (And the decision would've been overturned if today's modern video technology replays be available which proved costly for the AB's but luckily Graham Henry survived his All Blacks coaching job following the aftermath of the events of 2007 where we had to win our home World Cup in 2011 after 24 years of heartache, then successfully defended it in 2015 in England in which was the 1st & only time that New Zealand had won the World Cup outside of our home country, 4 years before our dreaded semifinal defeat in 2019 against England which hurt us, & we must've blown that opportunity of reaching our 3rd straight final in our bid for a historic first ever threepeat at the RWC (And the negotiations have felt short needless to say) team has been revealed ahead of our big quarterfinal clash against Ireland (The last time we met the Irish in international rugby, it was last year at Sky Stadium in Wellington as Ireland went on to win the test series in style when they overturned their 1 - 0 deficit as they came from behind where they benefited the last 2 tests to dominate out there), so here is the starting lineup according to coach Fozzy (Ian Foster):

STARTING XV

FORWARD PACK

FRONT ROW

1 (Loose head prop): Ethan de Groot (Highlanders/Southland)

2 (Hooker): Codie Taylor (Crusaders/Canterbury)

3 (Tight head prop): Tyrel Lomax (Hurricanes/Tasman)

SECOND ROW

4 (No.4 lock): Brodie Retallick (Chiefs/Hawke's Bay)

5 (No.5 lock): Scott Barrett (Crusaders/Taranaki)

LOOSE FORWARDS

6 (Blind side flanker): Shannon Frizell (Highlanders/Tasman)

7 (Open side flanker): Sam Cane (Captain, Chiefs/Bay of Plenty)

8 (Number 8): Ardie Savea (Hurricanes/Wellington)

BACK LINE

HALVES

9 (Half-back): Aaron Smith (Highlanders/Manawatu)

10 (First five-eighth): Richie Mo'unga (Crusaders/Canterbury)

MIDFIELD

12 (Second five-eighth): Jordie Barrett (Hurricanes/Taranaki)

13 (Centre): Rieko Ioane (Blues/Auckland)

OUTSIDE BACKS

11 (Left wing): Leicester Fainga'anuku (Crusaders/Tasman)

14 (Right wing): Will Jordan (Crusaders/Tasman)

& 15 (Fullback): Beauden Barrett (Blues/Taranaki)

& REPLACEMENT PLAYERS

16 (Reserve hooker): Dane Coles (Who takes Samisoni Tau'keiaho's place at the reserve hooker position) 

17 (Reserve loose head prop): Tamaiti Williams

18 (Reserve tight head prop): Fletcher Newell

19 (Reserve lock): Sam Whitelock (Who is dropped to the bench with Scott Barrett elevated to the starting lineup to start as the number 5 lock position)

20 (Reserve loose forward): Dalton Papali'i (Who takes Ethan Blackadder's place as the reserve openside flanker)

21 (Reserve half-back): Finlay Christie

22 (Reserve first-five eighth): Damian McKenzie (Who is dropped to the bench as he replaces Beauden Barrett to cover the reserve first-five eighth position with Barrett elevated to the starting lineup as the starting fullback)

& 23 (Reserve back): Anton Lienert-Brown (Who is dropped to the bench to make way for Rieko Ioane who'll start at centre as he replaces Caleb Clarke to cover the reserve back position)

And the opponents Ireland still led by their ever-impressive veteran Johnny Sexton have named an unchanged but strong side ready to end New Zealand's quest of making the semifinals for the 1st time (After coming close on 7 occasions, losing all of their games against Australia twice in 1987 & 1991, France in both 1995 & 2003, Wales in 2011, Argentina in 2015 & last but not least, New Zealand in 2019, all in the quarterfinals in which the Irish fell short every time they would appear) & our quest of winning the William Webb Ellis trophy for the first time since 2015 (And this quarterfinal game will be their biggest match of their players careers but let's hope that we would not see the last of New Zealand coach Ian Foster who could be in his final game in charge if the AB's miss out on winning that all important test against the Irish (If we overcome against them, it's either Wales or Argentina in the semis) which is the most difficult but demanding Rugby World Cup game of our lives since the encounter against England in 2019 in the semi in which Samoan born Manu Tuilagi's all-important but vital try that sealed a place in the final which broke our hearts), so here is the starting lineup according to English born coach Andy Farrell:

STARTING XV

FORWARD PACK

FRONT ROW

1 (Loose head prop): Andrew Porter (Leinster)

2 (Hooker): Dan Sheehan (Leinster)

3 (Tight head prop): Tadhg Furlong (Leinster)

SECOND ROW

4 (No.4 lock): Tadhg Beirne (Munster)

5 (No.5 lock): Iain Henderson (Ulster)

LOOSE FORWARDS

6 (Blind side flanker): Peter O'Mahony (Munster)

7 (Open side flanker): Josh van der Flier (Leinster)

8 (Number 8): Caelan Doris (Leinster)

BACK LINE

HALVES

9 (Half-back/Scrum-half): Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster)

10 (First five-eighth/Fly-half): Johnny Sexton (Captain, Unattached)

MIDFIELD

12 (Second five-eighth/Inside centre): Bundee Aki (Connacht)

13 (Centre/Outside centre): Garry Ringrose (Leinster)

OUTSIDE BACKS

11 (Left wing): James Lowe (Leinster)

14 (Right wing): Mack Hansen (Connacht)

& 15 (Fullback): Hugo Keenan (Leinster)

& REPLACEMENT PLAYERS

16 (Reserve hooker): Ronan Kelleher

17 (Reserve loose head prop): Dave Kilcoyne

18 (Reserve tight head prop): Finlay Bealham

19 (Reserve lock): Joe McCarthy

20 (Reserve loose forward): Jack Conan

21 (Reserve half-back/scrum-half): Conor Murray

22 (Reserve first five-eighth/fly-half): Jack Crowley

& 23 (Reserve back): Jimmy O'Brien.