Time/Electrical Storm/Can't Feel My Face/Freed From Desire: My 4th blog of the year 2025

Well, kia ora guys & girls, as I always say that welcome to all our audience here in New Zealand & around the world, it is Whet here on my usual Kiwiavenger blog that I'm tuning here but first, the AB's (Who had Mark Tele'a scoring a late try as well as Damian McKenzie nailed a conversion attempt from the sideline which secured the win in which that test was the best game of rugby I have ever seen since the 2015 Rugby World Cup final) had a close shave as we managed to cling on for the win against England at Allianz Stadium London who had reserve English player George Ford who just come on for Marcus Smith missed both a penalty goal attempt to take the lead as well as a drop goal for the win which sailed wide (For which I was bursting out laughing about it, but that was lucky eh?), so let's let's dive into the last 10 minutes of the test according to NZ Herald website:

70TH MINUTE, PENALTY ALL BLACKS (FRONT ROW STANDING UP): Monster shove from New Zealand this time! They have the penalty as England pop up and turn in under the pressure!

71ST MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SCRUM FEED ALL BLACKS: Lineout set up over halfway, but yet again it's gone straight over the top and unclaimed this time! England clean up, and Randall puts it high off the boot. Clarke does well under pressure to secure it. Roigard sends it back to McKenzie under pressure, and he puts the kick high. England knock it on again under pressure from New Zealand's chase! Jordan sends it through to the left wing where Sititi steps on the touchline trying to burst away! Back for the knock as advantage was still on.

73RD MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), PENALTY ALL BLACKS: Advantage called for the visitors! Quick ball infield to Tele'a who barges up into contact, and there's a second advantage called! Gardner will take them back for the penalty as it's slow ball on the floor.

74TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY ALL BLACKS: Lineout set up just inside the 22. Popped off the top from Tuipulotu to Tu'ungafasi who barges up the shortside into contact. That channel is quickly shut down. Through the midfield they go where Cane and Aumua link up and make a good few metres. McKenzie with the offload to Ioane who makes another couple. Back on the inside now with some quick hands, and Ioane dragged down just short of the 5 in the midfield. Another penalty called for the visitors!

76TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), TRY ALL BLACKS (M. TELE'A): Tap and go! Roigard sends it to the left for Tu'ungafasi, but he's driven back in the tackle! Sititi stopped short as well. Savea back on the inside going nowhere. Aumua carries it up, and there's another advantage called! Quick hands now to the right wing, and it's Tele'a again! The man is liquid! Somehow he manages to fend off the tackle right on the touchline and slams it down in the corner!

77TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), CONVERSION ALL BLACKS (D. MCKENZIE): A stunner from McKenzie! He slips it just inside the right post from out on the right touchline!

78TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY ENGLAND (DANGEROUS TACKLE): Short restart well reclaimed by England, and it's Dan who barges up into contact. Shift through the width of the pitch to the left wing where Tuipulotu puts in a monster tackle. Back infield where Slade makes a couple of metres before he's pulled down, and the ball comes loose as they shift back to the right. That was surely a high tackle there from the All Blacks... They're being called back for something else though...

YELLOW CARD ALL BLACKS (A. LIENERT-BROWN): Another tackle off the ball from the All Blacks, and Gardner isn't even asking questions here. Straight to the bin goes Lienert-Brown!

TMO REFERRAL & CARD UNDER REVIEW ALL BLACKS (A. LIENERT-BROWN): They're also looking at some head contact earlier in the spell... It's also Lienert-Brown in that tackle, and since that tackle was before the off-the-ball contact, the yellow will be for the head on head contact instead. And Gardner wants an off-field review as well! He has dipped into the tackle, so hopefully for him that's enough mitigation to keep it yellow.

Ford is calling for the tee here!

79TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY GOAL MISS & SCRUM FEED ENGLAND: It's 15m in from touch and almost back on the 10, and Ford bounces it back off the right post! New Zealand claim it on the floor, but they instantly knock it on! England will have a scrum halfway up the 22 with a minute left on the clock!

80TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Messy ball out the back of the scrum, and Ford is smashed in the tackle as he has to take a loose pass! Baxter with the next carry gets them back into the 22. Itoje stopped short. Slow ball here as the clock hits the red!

80TH MINUTE + 1ST MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), DROP GOAL MISS ENGLAND: Curry out on the right stopped short, so back on the inside they come for another phase. Recycled back to Ford for the drop, and he's missed it! Pushed away to the right under pressure from the All Blacks chase! The New Zealanders have it!

FULL-TIME: 22 - 24

It wasn't pretty, but New Zealand have done it! They had the lead through most of the first half and into the break, but it was England who came back hard early in the second half to hit the front and open up a bit of a lead on the scoreboard. But those last 13 minutes from the Kiwis were brutal. England went from having conceded just two penalties in the whole match to conceding back to back to back penalties in the final couple of minutes as the visitors stepped up the intensity and really started to string some big phases together down in the right areas of the pitch.

England were excellent on defence throughout the match, with great line speed putting huge pressure on New Zealand and preventing the visitors from being able to get onto the front foot when they had ball in hand. Some absolutely brutal tackles from the Roses as well, forcing the All Blacks onto the back foot and forcing a couple of knocks as a result as well to break any momentum the visitors were able to build up.

The set pieces were messy throughout the game. New Zealand conceded a couple of scrum penalties in the first half, but once the replacements came on they got the upper hand on the shove and won a couple back. The lineouts, however, were problematic throughout. A knock here and there in the air, but mostly the ball was thrown straight over the top of the jumper and resulted in loose ball that everyone scrambled to clean up at the back. The All Blacks scuppered more than a few opportunities with their poor lineout form, and gave England the opportunity to put them straight back under pressure.

New Zealand's handling really left something to be desired today. While a couple of knocks can be attributed to some epic tackling from England, there were plenty of knocks that were just... unnecessary. Passing too quickly, passing in front of the support player, trying to offload when the better option would have been to take the contact and recycle the ball cleanly. Some of those knocks cost them some great opportunities to score points.

England capitalised well on penalties conceded by the All Blacks, with Marcus Smith on point off the tee to keep England in touch with New Zealand on the scoreboard. They didn't really get themselves too close to the tryline, opting instead to take points on offer whenever they were in range in that first half when the Kiwi discipline slipped. It was in the second half before they got themselves over the chalk, and it was very much against the run of play as Smith intercepted a pass down on his own 22 to create that opportunity for the home side.

New Zealand will be relieved to have come away with this win after a bit of a wobble in that second half, but they have a tonne they will need to do before they face Ireland on Friday night. The handling, the lineouts, and, possibly most importantly, their discipline will be key areas Scott Robertson will want to focus on this week, because Ireland will punish them if they play like they did today.

England were absolutely gutted when that drop-goal from George Ford didn't go over at the death, but they will take plenty of positives from this clash. Their line speed on defence was brutal, their discipline was excellent until those final couple of minutes, and their scrums were putting New Zealand under enormous pressure in the first 60 or so minutes. They need to convert all that into more points, but they will be revving to go when they come up against the Wallabies next weekend!

And what do I think of the test? It was absolutely spot on from Wallace Sititi who was one of the best performing rookies for the All Blacks as he made searing breaks through the defence, but what about Mark Tele'a, how good? As he bagged in for a double, including his 2nd try he scored in the corner with the scores locked up at 22 with a kick to come, before Damian McKenzie slotted in to nail that conversion from the sideline that potentially was the match winner before George Ford missing both the penalty goal (After Anton Lienert-Brown who got originally sin binned for a tackle off the ball as he repeatedly infringed before being given a card under review for taking out English reserve hooker Theo Dan on purpose with high contact which was at fault) & drop goal attempts that went astray that derailed England's chances for a win in which they didn't get the result, but bring on Ireland (Whose last win against the AB's was back in 2022 where the Irish (Who is currently the reigning Six Nations champions) made history to win a test series against the All Blacks on New Zealand soil during the professional era, as well as the first visiting team to triumph a test series against New Zealand in NZ since France in 1994 which was during the amateur days) as we have not met them since the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarterfinal in which we beat them, & there was bad blood brewing between them such as the scuffle between Jonny Sexton (Who played his last game of his rugby career before falling victim to those toxic, abusive silly threats by the All Black fans for not shaking Ioane's hand post match) & Rieko Ioane after the game, but the AB's are without 2 frontline players for this clash such as Beauden Barrett & Codie Taylor who both succumb to head knocks during the test against England, compared to the Irish bringing back these 3 frontline players such as Jamison Gibson-Park (Who Pops alluded to me on November 8th last year that he's originally a Kiwi because he comes from Great Barrier Island which is near Waiheke), Mack Hansen (Aussie born ex-Brumbies player because his mother is from there as I heard a story before) & Hugo Keenan as all of the 3 players that didn't feature in the tour to South Africa, but the Ireland-AB's test (For which will be our most difficult as well as demanding but toughest rugby test of our lives (AKA the heavyweight championship of the rugby world, the green & white of the Emerald Isle, the All Black of New Zealand) since the 2023 Rugby World Cup final against the eventual world champions the Springboks of South Africa (Who will square off against Scotland at Scottish Gas Murrayfield in Edinburgh during their opening match of the tour while England lock horns with against the struggling Wallabies outfit at Allianz Stadium London) is our biggest test match of the year, as well as the biggest day of last year since the US elections is taking place on the 5th of November (And the former US president of Donald Trump is in front as he is ahead of current US vice president Kamala Harris according to the live updates (Even through with the American people who live abroad are still holding their breath), but I fear that if Trump loses that the violence might spread between the supporters of Trump by starting riots all over the place, & if they do, cops would be sent in to disperse the crowds (But this is like a cyber-Pearl Harbor invasion as well as a cyber-9/11 & then, the Troubles that took place in Northern Ireland, UK in the 70s (In which a truce deal had struck in April 1998 after 30 years of infighting betwen Catholic Ireland & Protestant England), but they'll declare martial law if the violence continues to spread between them similar to the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 (In which the year was marred by the global COVID pandemic), a year before the US Capitol riots on January 6th, 2021 which took place 3 years before Trump (Who was a former president at the time) surviving the assassination attempt from the clutches of a deceased 20 year old gunman named Thomas Crooks which triggered the most serious incident in the United States during the 2020's decade since the Insurrection on January 6th).

And the latest in the cricket as the Black Caps make history as they beat India by 26 runs in the 3rd test in Mumbai (The birthplace of Black Caps player Ajaz Patel (The hero for New Zealand as he is the highest wicket taker by a visiting bowler in India with 22 before getting his player of the game honours in the 3rd test compared to Rachin Ravindra in the 1st test & Mitchell Santner in the 2nd test while player of the series went to Will Young) before he & his family moved to New Zealand at the age of 4) to secure an unlikely series win against India (They'll be gutted that they lost the series before embarking on a tour to Australia against the Aussies for the Border-Gavaskar trophy, while New Zealand will be stoked before their preparation against England in our next test series (But they will head back to Sri Lanka first in a T20 series before heading back home to prepare a test series against the English), therefore bouncing back from disappointment against Sri Lanka before the series began in India against the Indians (And it was a feel good time of sport on the previous weekend of the 2nd to 3rd of November, but I prefer the England - AB's test as the most exciting part of sport) 3 - 0 on Indian soil with a stunning clean sweep as well as a whitewash by a visiting team in India for the first time ever which was the greatest test series victory according to our former players about captain Tom Latham & his team earn sweeping praise after creating history in India.

And also the latest in Formula One such as Max Verstappen who finally had his winless streak broken with a win at the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos in Brazil after he started 17th in the grid but going all the way forward where the race was held in the miserable conditions in which the Grand Prix was chaotic which was the first win for the 3 time defending world champion racing for Red Bull since the Spanish Grand Prix (Although Max (Who finished 3rd behind his championship rival Lando Norris who had covered him throughout the entirety of the sprint race which went to Norris's Aussie McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri (Who has a manager in the form of Mark Webber (An ex-Formula One driver) who I saw on TV during the Australian Open this year when he attended a tennis match) was winless for 10 races stretching from Spain until finally in Brazil that he triumphed, finally that his winless streak has ended in which his chances of becoming world champion for the 4th time in a row, is on & well in truly alive), but there's 3 races left in the season beginning with Las Vegas, Nevada at the Las Vegas Grand Prix then Qatar & the season finale in Abu Dhabi (And I don't know his rivals said such as McLaren's Lando Norris is hoping to bounce back to keep his quest of winning his maiden world championship alive, but 10 races ago that Ferrari was McLaren's biggest threat of winning the constructors championship (Which is currently led by McLaren at the moment).

And in news throughout the United States, as the greatest comeback in politics is complete, with Donald Trump winning against Kamala Harris (Who'll be heartbroken after losing to Trump who was overwhemingly dominant throughout the entirety of the election which had to be fair & square (First it was Hillary Clinton in 2016 who missed out to Donald Trump, now it's Harris who suffered the same fate as Hillary last year but what a disappointing end for Kamala Harris as she was attempting to become the 1st female president of the United States, but Donald Trump's win in the election last year is similar to the Springboks winning the Rugby World Cup again in 2023) to be elected President of the United States again for the first time since he left office on January 20th, 2021, by therefore thanking his supporters for voting him during the torrid elections because last year will indeed be Trump's year (Just because of him winning against Harris which was inevitable (But I wonder the headlines would say: REDEMPTION 4 YEARS IN THE MAKING FOR DONALD TRUMP, or probably more like: TRUMP OUTLASTS HARRIS TO WIN US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, or more appropriately: DONALD TRUMP RETURNS TO THE WHITE HOUSE TO SECURE GREATEST POLITICAL COMEBACK, & especially: HARRIS DOWN & OUT AFTER LOSING US ELECTION TO TRUMP), But it just had to be, although he intends to stop both wars such as that dreadful invasion which has been going since 2022 & Israel's war on both Gaza & Lebanon which is exactly located in the Middle East that are likely to end due to Trump's victory in the US elections (And many leaders who congratulated Trump including the President of China Xi Jinpeng, but there was joy, jubilation & elation (Absolute elation) throughout the Trump camp & their supporters who were voting by barracking/rooting for him throughout the entire election), but I'm gutted that Trump won (I'm sick of him winning the election, don't do that), & let's hope that the Ireland rugby team doesn't provide the moment inspired by Donald Trump if they beat the All Blacks on the 8th of November (That's November 9th New Zealand time) in Dublin) as he begins his 2nd & last term which starts on Inauguration Day on January 20th next year).

And continuing on to the rugby stuff as the AB's (Who have 5 players part of the casualty ward such as Ethan Blackadder, Luke Jacobson, Dalton Papali'i as well as new additions to the injury list (IL) such as Beauden Barrett & Codie Taylor who are both unavailable as they go through the return to play protocols + Ethan de Groot who is still missing after sitting out the previous test against England due to breaking internal standards) name our team to play against Ireland (Who haven't played since the 2nd test against the world champion Springboks team at Kings Park in Durban which resulted victory to Ireland with a match winning drop goal provided by Ciaran Frawley, but the Irish haven't beaten us since 2022 in Wellington in the 3rd & deciding test in which New Zealand has had last lost a test series for the 1st time since against France in 1994 which was during the amateur era at Eden Park in Auckland where the last time we lost a test at Eden Park as well as the city of Auckland courtesy from the try from the end of the world by one of the French players that famously took victory in the test) at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin (Our most recent meeting between the 2 sides was in 2023 during the Rugby World Cup quarterfinal where the All Blacks managed to ease past the Irish to go through to the semifinal against Argentina after Sam Whitelock provided the winning turnover that broke Irish hearts, & after the game that Sexton was involved in a altercation with Rieko Ioane, then he got abused by the New Zealand fans on social media for not shaking Ioane's hand post-match, but we haven't played at that ground since 2021 in which we lost the test against Ireland (Who have always been competitive since their first win against us in Chicago, Illinois in the United States back in 2016 in which we were heartbroken thus creating a new rivalry between both sides in international rugby, but it's been 3 years since the last time Ireland tasted defeat at that ground, & it was against France in the Six Nations which was during the COVID era, & they haven't been defeated at that ground since 2021) a year before they went on to win the 3 match test series on New Zealand soil after being 1 - 0 down, & become the first side to win a test series since the beginning of the professional era) in the most difficult, but demanding as well as the toughest rugby test match of our lives since last year's Rugby World Cup final against South Africa which ended in defeat, so here's the starting lineup according to Razor:

STARTING XV

FORWARD PACK

FRONT ROW

1 (Loose head prop): Tamaiti Williams (Crusaders/Canterbury)

2 (Hooker): Asafo Aumua (Hurricanes/Wellington)

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

SECOND ROW

4 (No.4 lock): Scott Barrett (Captain, Crusaders/Taranaki)

5 (No.5 lock): Tupou Vaa'i (Chiefs/Taranaki)

LOOSE FORWARDS

6 (Blind side flanker): Wallace Sititi (Chiefs/North Harbour)

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

8 (Number 8): Ardie Savea (Moana Pasifika/Wellington)

BACK LINE

HALVES

9 (Half-back): Cortez Ratima (Chiefs/Waikato)

10 (First five-eighth): Damian McKenzie (Chiefs/Waikato)

MIDFIELD

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

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

OUTSIDE BACKS

11 (Left wing): Caleb Clarke (Blues/Auckland)

14 (Right wing): Mark Tele'a (Blues/North Harbour)

& 15 (Fullback): Will Jordan (Crusaders/Tasman)

& REPLACEMENT PLAYERS

16 (Reserve hooker): George Bell (Who returns to the side to replace Asafo Aumua who is elevated to the run-on XV as the starting hooker as part of the 2 injury enforced changes being made by the AB's)

17 (Reserve loose head prop): Ofa Tu'ungafasi

18 (Reserve tight head prop): Pasilio Tosi

19 (Reserve lock): Patrick Tuipulotu

20 (Reserve loose forward): Samipeni Finau

21 (Reserve half-back): Cam Roigard

22 (Reserve midfielder): Anton Lienert-Brown

& 23 (Reserve back): Stephen Perofeta (Who is called up to replace Damian McKenzie who is elevated to the starting lineup, starting at first five in another of both injury enforced changes that New Zealand have made)

So that is my 580th blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 4th of this year, viva Ukraine & Palestine.

Civil War/Better/I Touch Myself/Check It Out: My 3rd blog of the year 2025

Well, g'day guys & girls, welcome to our audience here in New Zealand & around the world, it is Whet here tuning into my Kiwiavenger blog but first to our whanau news such as Paige Ahearn (My cousin) who is following the American restaurant located in Wellington called Mama Brown's (We might go there if we were in Wellington) according to the comment from Pops on the 28th of October last year, but I always say the name of Paige's daughter (Norah who has always been my cousin once removed, but I saw a picture of her taken from Pops phone on November the 1st last year as she wore her Halloween costume on Halloween according to the social media account of Norah's mum Paige Ahearn that she posted) every day therefore teasing a return to Wellington in January next year as our next possible holiday (And I want to do it of me & Pops wanting to meet both women of Cathey & Paige, & a baby girl of Norah before I miss out as part of my only bucket list that I have, but I decided to shelve that holiday that me & Pops are planning to go in January next year, & postpone it to December next year to January 2026 (And we'll go if both Aunty Tan & Rejean are here in New Zealand) because me & Pops (Whose memory is far from improving, but maybe getting too old to travel that far to Wellington but maybe I'll go with Dad once he retires from his teaching job because he has only got 10 years left until retirement) will always have to look after the house, & I'm happy to be at home doing the gaming stuff that I literally enjoy), even if Pops isn't tied up to something (And we might stay for 3 nights from Friday to Sunday then come back home on a Monday a day before the Graze Out bloke arrives for our Tuesday to Thursday meals, but I have decided to cancel the Wellington trip (No I'm not going with either Pops or Dad, I'm not interested) altogether citing fears of Pops old age, & in the interest of excessive fatigue meaning that I will never ever meet Cathey & Paige again, & Norah for a lifetime, & for the rest of my life (Damn these people, damn your cause, that hell's over, I will never go on a holiday again with anybody like Pops & Dad following my announcement of not going to Welly by calling it off (And the Northland trip from 2023, will probably be my last holiday along with Carole & Pops, but I'm retiring from going on a trip because I quit from now on, I'm giving up) mainly because the reason why is the money which is during the current cost of living crisis (And everything is expensive at the moment regarding to inflation caused by that dreadful invasion that has been going since 2022, but we need to always save our money), & I have made the decision to cut ties by ending my links/finishing my connections with Paige (Who already has started a family with Jarrod, but she's asking for respect as she is requesting privacy towards her, her husband & their daughter throughout their lives, as well as being a bit too busy that she's mainly a hard worker & a workaholic as well as being a full-time mum & housewife by looking after Norah all the time) as my honorary sister (And the reason why that I may be getting intolerant to her, Cathey & Norah due to the fact that I'm getting fed up as well as being sick & tired about these 3 that I often criticise them for not meeting those people for the remainder of my life (And I wish to meet all 3 of them before I die, but that is unlikely about to happen due to mainly travel costs, meaning that you have to pay for everything), especially Paige for cutting ties as my honorary sister from now on), because I've got only one, & that is Kelsey).

And new cases have gone up on the new COVID XEC subvariant that we are declaring war on that had arrived in New Zealand & in the UK as well as France, Australia & the United States when it was first arrived in Germany & detected in 27 countries across North America, Asia & Europe, but it could be spreading everywhere like in January next year during the summer, & they're urging people to be aware by wearing masks as possible if there is a situation going on there like that, but vaccinations will be required for the matter for dozens of people (I thought it ended but we are now entering our 5th year since it began in 2020, a year after the 1st recorded confirmed case of COVID was taken by animals at a market in Wuhan, China, but there was controversy regarding Facebook (Now Meta) who were heavily relied on blocking COVID related content in 2021 which was during the pandemic in which they declared war on them on social media by censoring those terrible COVID stuff according to chief executive officer & founder Mark Zuckerberg (Who said after blocking content regarding to COVID related stuff in 2021: "Don't even think about it").

And I did not know that the former Prime Minister of New Zealand of Jacinda Ardern (Who was the victim of hateful abuse made by the Christchurch mosque shooter (Who should not have recieved a gun licence after being such a good actor in which he illegally acquired one for all of his clean background, according to his sister) in 2019 before carrying out the worst shooting incident ever recorded on New Zealand soil since the Aramoana massacre in 1990 (And the terrible mosque shootings, was reminscent of Port Arthur in Tasmania, Australia in 1996 in which 35 innocent victims have been taken away in which an AR15 rifle had been illegally used before the clamp down on assault rifles being brought into Australia in the aftermath of the tragic shootings by prohibiting them in the process such as the implementation of gun control measures just like New Zealand did in 2019), on March 15th which resulted in 51 casualties, but the shooter has since been locked up behind bars for the imprisonment for life sentence that he's currently serving) recieving her damehood therefore becoming Dame Jacinda Ardern for her services of leading our country for 6 years from 2017 until 2023 as well as her services of leading her political party Labour & leading the way in terms of COVID response back when we had the pandemic here in 2020.

And finally the All Blacks team (Who still have 3 players that are part of the IL (Injury list) such as Ethan Blackadder, Luke Jacobson & Dalton Papali'i, unavailable for this test along with prop forward Ethan de Groot for breaking team protocol, but is expected to return for the clash against Ireland in Dublin) have been named to play against England (Who haven't played since the 2nd test at Eden Park in Auckland where the AB's successfully defended our fortress therefore winning the 2 match test series 2 - 0, but haven't beaten the AB's since 2019 during the semifinal of the Rugby World Cup in Yokohama in which New Zealand were defeated on Japanese soil for the 1st & only time, & the last time we lost a test at Twickenham in England was in 2012 in which the English won the Hillary Shield for also the 1st & only time) at Allianz Stadium London (Our most recent meeting between the 2 sides was last year where the AB's managed to cling on for the win, but the English fell short in the end by 7 points in which we almost conceded a penalty try for collapsing the maul as well as a yellow card against an All Black player, but one of the Aussie referees ruled that an English player may have adjudged to have been caught obstructing a New Zealand player, meaning that England may have derailed their quest of sealing a draw) in which we haven't played at that ground since that drawn test in 2022 which resulted in Beauden Barrett being shown the yellow card for which I thought it was deemed to be a penalty try as a result of a professional foul which sparked a certain England comeback after we were leading for quite a while, in which the English thwarted us for our chances of a victory as well as TJ Perenara & his achilles heel injury that took him out of the game for an entire year in 2023, especially the Rugby World Cup (Along with other All Blacks including Sevu Reece (Knee) & Patrick Tuipulotu (Broken arm) before even returning a year later for the Hurricanes during the Super Rugby Pacific competition, for our 1st test of 4 in the Northern Tour, so here is the starting lineup according to Razor:

STARTING XV

FORWARD PACK

FRONT ROW

1 (Loose head prop): Tamaiti Williams (Crusaders/Canterbury)

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

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

SECOND ROW

4 (No.4 lock): Scott Barrett (Captain, Crusaders/Taranaki)

5 (No.5 lock): Tupou Vaa'i (Chiefs/Taranaki)

LOOSE FORWARDS

6 (Blind side flanker): Wallace Sititi (Chiefs/North Harbour)

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

8 (Number 8): Ardie Savea (Moana Pasifika/Wellington)

BACK LINE

HALVES

9 (Half-back): Cortez Ratima (Chiefs/Waikato)

10 (First five-eighth): Beauden Barrett (Blues/Taranaki)

MIDFIELD

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

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

OUTSIDE BACKS

11 (Left wing): Caleb Clarke (Blues/Auckland)

14 (Right wing): Mark Tele'a (Blues/North Harbour)

& 15 (Fullback): Will Jordan (Crusaders/Tasman)

& REPLACEMENT PLAYERS

16 (Reserve hooker): Asafo Aumua (Who is dropped to the pine at reserve hooker to replace George Bell)

17 (Reserve loose head prop): Ofa Tu'ungafasi

18 (Reserve tight head prop): Pasilio Tosi (Who is dropped to the bench at reserve tight head prop as he replaces Fletcher Newell)

19 (Reserve lock): Patrick Tuipulotu (Who is also dropped to the pine at the reserve lock position as he replaces Josh Lord)

20 (Reserve loose forward): Samipeni Finau (Who takes Peter Lakai's place at the reserve loose forward position, therefore wearing the number 20 jersey)

21 (Reserve half-back): Cam Roigard (Who is dropped to the bench as he takes TJ Perenara's spot in the reserve halfback position)

22 (Reserve midfielder): Anton Lienert-Brown (Who is expected to replace David Havili to wear the number 22 jersey at the reserve midfield position)

& 23 (Reserve back): Damian McKenzie (Who is relegated to the bench to replace the 2 try hero in the previous test against Japan in Yokohama of Ruben Love as he covers the reserve back position)

So that is my 579th blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 3rd of this year, viva Ukraine & Palestine.

Heavy Is the Crown/Harder to Breathe/This Love: My 2nd blog of the year 2025

Well, kia ora guys & girls, as I always say welcome to all our audience here in New Zealand & around the world, it's Whetu here in this Kiwiavenger type of blog but first in the rugby as the AB's thumped Japan with authority by 64 points to 19 including test debutant Ruben Love bagging in a double as he scored both tries on his test debut by coming off the bench despite the All Blacks having a clunky 2nd half so let's dive into the last 11 minutes of the test according to NZ Herald website (And I haven't been doing the live updates to the rugby since the England test at Eden Park in Auckland back in July):

69TH MINUTE, TRY JAPAN: Opeti Helu

The reserve prop is in and Japan have a third try. He had some work to do. All Blacks 50 Japan 19

73RD MINUTE (4 MINUTES LATER): Seven minutes to go

All Blacks first half: 43

All Blacks second half: 7

75TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Japan back on attack

Can they get a fourth? Nope they spill the ball and the All Blacks get a chance to clear. 

77TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): All Blacks chance to end with a try

PENALTY ALL BLACKS: McKenzie chips into the in goal for Samipeni Finau to chase but his tired legs say no and it goes out. Penalty advantage and the ABs kick to the corner.

90 seconds left.

SCRUM FEED JAPAN: Another break for the All Blacks. Sititi puts Perenara into space but it drops the ball.

80TH MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER), TRY ALL BLACKS: 80th min - All Blacks try - Ruben Love

And Love finishes with a second right on fulltime. 

FULL TIME: ALL BLACKS 64 JAPAN 19

Patrick Tuipulotu

"It was quite tough. We started quite rough, didn't get our set piece right and let them in with an early try. Managed to get some retention with the ball so as long we held the ball we were able to get good possession and end up with some tries.

"We probably just got a bit tighter, we let them in around our ruck. Once we shored that up we got to get some good tackles and they obviously carry low so we had to get lower than them. Managed some good drop tackles and our second guy coming in. Managed to slow it down and get our line set." 

To work on for rest of tour

"Just consistency in our set piece. We left a lot of lineouts out there. Something we want to pride ourselves on is having top quality ball off out lineout especially so that our backs can get some go forward our scrum, that will be a work-on for us as well especially against the European teams who love set piece."

And what do I think of the test? Well, it was a comprehensive win by the All Blacks out there, to be honest after a shaky 2nd half against the Japanese in which our starting first five Damian McKenzie who continued to struggle through the entire game (And he needs work to improve on being spot on, that is for sure), & what about Ruben Love eh? What a way to score in for a double on test debut off the pine, but bring on England as we head to Allianz Stadium London to take on the English in which we haven't played against them since July last year in a 2 match test series.

And continuing on to the rugby news as Wellington who had to defy heavy hearts & a freak injury, win their 6th full NPC championship after their win in the final which was played during extra time in which the entire game lasted 100 minutes which was decided against Bay of Plenty at Sky Stadium in Wellington (Including a double to ex-AB Julian Savea just like Ruben Love on test debut for New Zealand during the Japan test while reserve first five Callum Harkin kicked the winning penalty goal that sealed the deal for Wellington to win an epic nail-biting final which was decided at extra time) in Jackson Garden-Bachop's 100th game meanwhile the former All Black of Hika Elliot (Who was playing South Canterbury in the Heartland Championship (Which was won by Thames Valley in the Meads Cup & King Country in the Lochore Cup respectively) had been called up to the Wellington squad via an SOS call following an injury to hooker Penieli Poasa.

And in the cricket department as the Black Caps led by Tom Latham who took over from Tim Southee, made history by clinching the series against India (Who would lose their first home test series since 2012 when England triumphed against the Indians) for the first time on Indian soil after our win in the 2nd test in Pune by 113 runs with the help of Mitchell Santner who took 13 wickets in the match after enduring 93.5 overs & 18 wickets that we took during the test.

And onto the America's Cup related stuff that I have been reading my main 5 America's Cup books such as Gulf Wars: How we kept the cup, Lone Wolf: How Emirates Team New Zealand stunned the World, The Team New Zealand story 1995 - 2003, Back to Back Black Magic & Black Magic: Team New Zealand's victorious challenge, as well as rewatching the 9th race of the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup (Whether it's the ones that I've recorded such as the live race or highlights) in the aftermath of our instant success that the defender of Emirates Team New Zealand had on the water to retain the heavyweight crown of world sailing yet again for a successful America's Cup series hat-trick against the challenger of INEOS Britannia (Who will be our challenger of record again at the next America's Cup which could potentially be held in possibly 2028 (But it has been confirmed that the next one will take place in 2027 according to plan in terms of the protocol being set), but they'll be using the same AC75 foiling monohull boats that they're having just like in the last 2 editions of the Auld Mug in both Auckland 2021 & Barcelona last year) as we made history already in Barcelona, Spain, & my utter celebrations had been almost unabated by continuing on since, but I have been watching old clips of America's Cup races from 2000 that I downloaded it straight off the internet from the old ESPN America's Cup website meaning that I did get insight about the boats that we used to race back in the old days (In which was known as the IACC (Which stands for International America's Cup Class which it did not have foils in it) used from 1992 until 2007 (That was 3 years before the deed of the gift challenge took place in which Oracle won against Alinghi, & replaced them with AC72 foiling multihulls which was only used back in 2013, in an effort to make it more attractive to the sport, especially the America's Cup fan base before being replaced by the AC50's which they were used only in 2017) in which these boats were slow unlike the present day America's Cup racing boats in which they're quicker than the old IACC ones used for 15 years) compared to today's America's Cup boats that we're using now (We have used the AC75 foiling monohulls since 2021 in order to make it appealing towards the new generation of America's Cup followers), but now there is Stephen McIvor that I heard that he is a current day voice of yachting that appeals to our new or current generation of America's Cup fanatics, compared to Peter Montgomery who was the original voice of yachting who was many loved to the older generation of aficionados (And I like McIvor wherever he put his sailing commentary skills to the test in which he has been the voice of the America's Cup since 2021 (I didn't hear his voice back then when TVNZ had the broadcasting rights (And Scotty Stevenson was our commentator back then) until I watched a YouTube clip before finally hearing his actual commentary when Three (In which the New Zealand TV channel is currently owned by Warner Bros Discovery before shutting it down this year as it switches to internet only in a bid to reduce costs) had the broadcasting rights to the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup last year) in which he took over from Aly Ekykyn (Who is a British rugby commentator) who only appeared also back in 2017 as a commentator, but I prefer Montgomery because he's always gets excited as Pops told me on Labour Day last year), & finally the reason why that our country of New Zealand first started competing in the America's Cup in 1986-87 beginning with the Louis Vuitton Cup is that we drew inspiration from the Aussies who won in 1983 from the Americans therefore the longest active winning streak which lasted for 132 years had brought to a halt, before failing to defend the America's Cup in 1987 to Dennis Conner (The only individual above them all as he is the only bloke in the world to have lost the Auld Mug (First Australia in 1983), then to regain it (In which he & the rest of his American crew managed to beat the Aussies in 1987) & to lose it yet again (Then New Zealand long ago in 1995) all the time in the world according to the previous blogs that I did) & co of Stars & Stripes unlike Team New Zealand was able to defend the oldest competition in international sport way back in 2000 against Prada of Italy in which we finally did what the Aussies failed to achieve something big, but the winning boat of Taihoro last year in Barcelona, my word that is the best boat that we have ever seen in the America's Cup (But first, it was NZL 32 (In which was the greatest America's Cup boat of all time by Black Magic that we used to have, producing the 2nd biggest upset in America's Cup history behind Australia winning in 1983, in which we were overwhemingly dominant against the Young America boat led by Dennis Conner & the rest of his Stars & Stripes crew according to the previous blogs that I did) in San Diego 1995 then NZL 60 (In which was another one of these great Black Magic boats along with NZL 32 in 1995) in Auckland 2000, Aotearoa in Bermuda 2017 & Te Rehutai in Auckland 2021, & now Taihoro in Barcelona last year which was superior than the other 4 as by far the most standout America's Cup winning boat ever that Emirates Team New Zealand (The current CEO of our defender is Grant Dalton because it used to be the late great Sir Peter Blake (1948 - 2001) who led the mercurial Team New Zealand which ushered a new era of Kiwi dominance in sailing's greatest prize) has had throughout our lifetime, not just in recent memory), during the AC75 era which began in 2021).

And finally in the motor racing department as the latest in Formula One as Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jr (Who is due to head to Williams next year to team up with British-Thai driver Alex Albon) has won the latest Grand Prix in Mexico with McLaren's Lando Norris closing the gap on his championship rival Max Verstappen (Red Bull) in terms of the championship to keep Norris's quest of a maiden F1 world title alive, but Ferrari are steadily improving by making all the upgrades possible (Like the Jack of all trades & stuff) by taking over from Red Bull as the 2nd quickest team in Formula One behind McLaren, therefore forming an age old rivalry between Ferrari & McLaren (Who are powered by a Mercedes-AMG engine) in one of the rivalries between both of Formula One's oldest teams (Similar to the late 90s/early 2000s in which there was a rivalry between the Finn Mika Hakkinen & the German Michael Schumacher, both driving for the respective constructors such as McLaren & Ferrari just like both the late Ayrton Senna (McLaren) & Alain Prost (Ferrari) driving for their constructors respectively in the early 90s), but recently that the star of Point Break, Speed, the Matrix & John Wick movies of Lebanese born Canadian of Hawaiian roots of Keanu Reeves making his professional motor racing debut (He had past racing experience as he won the celeb race in 2009 at Long Beach, California during the 2009 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Indycar event) at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway at the tender age of 60 when he teamed up with Cody Jones of Dude Perfect YouTube sports fame in a Toyota GR Cup race as he spun out on the grass on the exit of turn 9 about halfway through the 45 minute race as he finished in 25th out of the 35 drivers competing (Although he started 31st on the grid during qualifying for the race).

So that is my 578th blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 2nd of this year, viva Ukraine & Palestine.

Everybody's Fool/Come As You Are/Crash Into Me/One Tree Hill: My 1st blog of the year 2025

"And during the few moments that we have left, we want to talk right down to earth, in a language that everybody here, can easily understand" - Malcolm X

Well, happy new year ladies & gents, welcome to our audience here in New Zealand & around the world (Inspired by the opening lines of American news anchor who works for CNN of Wolf Blitzer, but it's my 13th year of blogging under the name Kiwiavenger since it began in 2012), it's Whet here tuning in to this Kiwiavenger blog but first, after our America's Cup (For which was originally known as the Hundred Guineas Cup before changing their name that they're currently using as of today after the winning boat of America, but it is my first post-America's Cup blog now since it ended at race 9 that had taken place in Barcelona when Team New Zealand crossed the line for the win against the true challenger of record of INEOS Britannia as we became the first syndicate to win the Auld Mug on 3 occasions in a row since the reign of the New York Yacht Club (Who had been holders from 1870, until the Aussies had won it 113 years later) had ended in 1983 therefore our America's Cup dynasty as well as our legacy & reputation in the 'Everest of sailing', continues (And I'm still stoked about the result, super stoked that we had therefore continued our dominance in the quest of our defence such as the contest of yachting's biggest prize, the Auld Mug for the 3rd straight time, especially our sailing hero of Peter Burling who cemented his status as the GOAT as well as I label Burling as the self-proclaimed sailing god, compared to the 2 time Rugby World Cup winning captain of the Springboks of Siya Kolisi who is always been the self-proclaimed rugby god) success once more on the water that we had for Emirates Team New Zealand led by none other than master sailor Peter Burling (A Tauranga Boys College old boy alongside 2021 World Test Championship winning captain for the Black Caps of Kane Williamson & last but not least, a 2015 Rugby World Cup winning player for the All Blacks of Sam Cane) & his Aussie co-helmsman Nathan Outteridge who had to complete our 3rd consecutive series win for sport's oldest international competition, the Auld Mug in Barcelona, Spain for another successful America's Cup glory against INEOS Britannia (And the first time we defended the Auld Mug on foreign soil, in which we produced a Mediterranean masterclass (And that fateful weekend of sport in New Zealand will be a weekend long remembered. It has seen the defeat of INEOS Britannia, & will soon see the end of the South Africa women's cricket team) according to the commentary from the current day voice of the America's Cup of Stephen McIvor, but at least we didn't disappoint), so too are the White Ferns who are finally on top of the women's T20 cricket world after our epic win against South Africa in the final in Dubai in the UAE as we turn our attention to the rugby (And the long weekend on the 26th to the 28th (Labour day here in New Zealand) of October last year is all about the rugby because we decided to move on from the success that we had when we triumphed in the yachting yet again as well as the women's T20 cricket) with the AB's side (Who are without the loose forward trio of Ethan Blackadder, Luke Jacobson & Dalton Papali'i as part of the IL (Injury list) for this upcoming test, but one of the rugby players that me & Pops met & took a picture with at Frank Bar of Stevie P (Stephen Perofeta) is returning to the rugby field as he is healthy again & raring to go) have named their team to play against the Brave Blossoms of Japan (Who haven't played since losing the Pacific Nations Cup final against the eventual champions Fiji) there at Yokohama Stadium in Yokohama (Our most recent meeting between the 2 sides was in 2022 where the Japanese almost made history, but they fell short in the end by 7 points which was marred by Brodie Retallick's red card for a sickening high contact which was deemed to be shocking on Japanese loose forward Kazuki Himeno which resulted in a fortnight's ban for Retallick) in which we haven't played at that ground since the 2019 Rugby World Cup semifinal defeat against England, so here is the starting lineup according to Razor:

STARTING XV

FORWARD PACK

FRONT ROW

1 (Loose head prop): Tamaiti Williams (Crusaders/Canterbury)

2 (Hooker): Asafo Aumua (Hurricanes/Wellington)

3 (Tight head prop): Pasilio Tosi (Hurricanes/Bay of Plenty)

SECOND ROW

4 (No.4 lock): Sam Darry (Blues/Canterbury)

5 (No.5 lock): Patrick Tuipulotu (Blues/Auckland)

LOOSE FORWARDS

6 (Blind side flanker): Samipeni Finau (Chiefs/Waikato)

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

8 (Number 8): Wallace Sititi (Chiefs/North Harbour)

BACK LINE

HALVES

9 (Half-back): Cam Roigard (Hurricanes/Counties Manukau)

10 (First five-eighth): Damian McKenzie (Chiefs/Waikato)

MIDFIELD

12 (Second five-eighth): Anton Lienert-Brown (Chiefs/Waikato)

13 (Centre): Billy Proctor (Hurricanes/Wellington)

OUTSIDE BACKS

11 (Left wing): Mark Tele'a (Blues/North Harbour)

14 (Right wing): Sevu Reece (Crusaders/Southland)

& 15 (Fullback): Stephen Perofeta (Blues/Taranaki)

& REPLACEMENT PLAYERS

16 (Reserve hooker): George Bell (Who comes into the side with Asafo Aumua being drafted to the run-on team to replace Codie Taylor)

17 (Reserve loose head prop): Ofa Tu'ungafasi (Who returns to the bench as he replaces Tamaiti Williams who is promoted to the starting lineup)

18 (Reserve tight head prop): Fletcher Newell (Who returns from injury to be on the pine as he replaces Pasilio Tosi (The Taniela Tupou of New Zealand rugby) who is elevated to the starting lineup)

19 (Reserve lock): Josh Lord (Who returns as he takes Patrick Tuipulotu's spot at the reserve lock position with Tuipulotu earning promotion to the run-on team therefore captaining the side)

20 (Reserve loose forward): Peter Lakai (Who is in line to make his test debut off the pine as he takes the injured Luke Jacobson's spot at reserve loose forward)

21 (Reserve half-back): TJ Perenara (Who is dropped to the bench as he takes Cortez Ratima's spot in the reserve halfback position)

22 (Reserve midfielder): David Havili (Who is expected to wear the number 22 jersey to replace Damian McKenzie who is elevated to the run-on team)

& 23 (Reserve back): Ruben Love (Who is also in line to make his debut for the All Blacks off the bench as he covers the reserve back position once taken by David Havili)

And the latest in the United States that a civil war might break out just like in the early to mid 1860's, even if Donald Trump is defeated in an election to the current US Vice President Kamala Harris, therefore sending the pro-right wing conservative people into a frenzy by starting a riot which would spread all over the place causing fears & concerns of an outbreak of violence (And I told Pops about it on the 25th of October last year in which we were on our way back home after having dinner at BK (Burger King), but I always play the GTA IV game (For which is my 2nd most standout video game that I've ever played behind Gran Turismo 7) & it's expansion pack of the Ballad of Gay Tony every day & my favourite part of the gameplay is the shooting system which is the best ever since the 2005 version of Star Wars Battlefront II, as well as engaging in a police shooting/shootout reminds me of I haven't seen combat like that since either Kyiv or Rafah (Which is during my experiences of watching both terrible wars that are still going on the news channels of CNN (The left wing American news channel that Aunty Tan usually watches) & Al Jazeera (Also the news channel based in Qatar that Carole always watches due to her Middle Eastern roots that is non-biased compared to CNN) about it, but I've now got the Call of Duty game on both PS4 & PS5 versions that I've never played due to me experiencing both sickening but shocking wars that they're still currently having that I've seen on both news outlets), but it's like being back in either that dreadful invasion that has been going since 2022 (In which Pops told me before to keep it clean about not mentioning that horrible war in full on my blogs which is prohibited (I originally posted stuff about it, but Pops says that it's deemed to be both objectionable & sensitive to avoid being offended to the country who started it, but is it fine to mention the Middle East war on my blogs? I'll probably get rid of it once the Israeli invasion in both Gaza & Lebanon ends) or the Israeli invasion of Hamas (For which I label Israel's war on Hamas as the worst tragic stuff that I have ever seen of my lifetime, since that awful terrorist attacks unfolded in the United States on September 11th way back in 2001 (A year before the US government's decision to establish the Department of Homeland Security also way back in 2002 following the 9/11 tragedy), you are wasting my time), & it was at one point that I took aim at either at one of the Russian, North Korean or Chinese gangsters with a gun in the game, then they shoot at the protagonist of TBOGT, Luis Lopez before police arrive, then I shoot at cops (Along with either NOOSE or FIB officers if it's four stars or above) & keep shooting at them (And Pops alluded to me before about that I'm always playing the Xbox 360 version of GTA IV via backwards compatibility on my Xbox Series X console in which he describes the horrible police shootings/shootouts as war stuff, like the ones in Gaza) until I reach the six star wanted level rating when Luis hops on in a good, correct fast car like the Grotti Turismo, the Vapid Bullet GT or the Ocelot F620 which are the main examples before law enforcement reinforcements arrive by evading the authorities until I lose that wanted level rating, similar to & inspired by both Gone in 60 Seconds & the Fast & the Furious movies respectively, unlike in the GTA IV game during the mission Three Leaf Clover (For which I have mentioned a story inspired by the controversial GTA games again, but the 'Three Leaf Clover' mission which was inspired by the Hollywood movies of both Heat, Point Break & the Italian Job was by far, the most standout mission in the history of the Grand Theft Auto franchise, & the most intense above them all, as well as the most during the High Definition era of the Grand Theft Auto series, & one of the greatest but if not the greatest missions of all time) were Patrick 'Packie' McReary said to one of the robbers during a heist that "Ireland's not the only thing that's green, dollars are too", & then Derrick McReary (Whose best line is that he tells him what to do, when he stop shoving half of Bolivia up his nose every Saturday night prior to Michael getting shot by an armed hostage who killed or murdered him should I say before he was shot dead by the robbers) said to both Niko Bellic & Packie that he has not seen combat like that since Belfast & also that he said that it's like being back in the Troubles (For which were a ethno-nationalist war in Northern Ireland in the UK colloquially known as the Northern Ireland war that lasted for about 3 decades from the late 1960s until long ago in 1998 in which the conflict concluded with the Good Friday agreement), by crikey & also that Derrick was saying that he hasn't been there at Chinatown in Liberty City since Frankie threw him a farewell dinner when he was going to Ireland because that was a lifetime ago.

And in rock music related news that I'm an Alanis Morissette, Avril Lavigne, Michelle Branch & Evanescence follower from now on as of today according to the previous blog that I did last year, because it used to be of my big 7 of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, Linkin Park (Who now have a female lead singer of Emily Armstrong who replaced the late Chester Bennington, but I should be a fanatic of that band it again just like the main 4 women in rock musicians & bands now), Incubus, a Perfect Circle, our own Kiwi rock band Shihad & Filter, but the famous American pop punk band of the Offspring who have recently have released a new single already called 'Make It All Right' (In which the song gives you Blink-182 vibes back in 1999/2000 as it sounds closer to 'All the Small Things' as well as back in the high school days in the United States, especially the movies that they made about it like American Pie for example, during the late 90s/early 2000s heyday period, but actually 'Make It All Right' is by far, one of my fave songs from the Offspring from now on) from the album Supercharged as part of the old time rock bands releasing new material or new stuff should I say last year & in 2023 along with Franz Ferdinand (Who released their new song 'Audacious' that I heard recently on Brian FM from the album the Human Fear which is due to come out this month which is this year), Kings of Leon (Who the band released Can We Please Have Fun on May 10th last year), Pearl Jam (Who the band also released Dark Matter on the 19th of April also last year a month before Kings of Leon had most recently released their new album) & Linkin Park (Their album From Zero came out on November 15th last year) as well as Sum 41 (Also their album had been released on the 29th of March also last year), Green Day (Whose album Saviors was released last year on January 19th) & of course, Blink-182 (One of their albums called One More Time... came out on the 20th of October in 2023).

And finally the entertainment world is in mourning on September the 9th as famous American actor James Earl Jones, better known as the voice of the iconic villain/bad guy of Darth Vader in the Star Wars original trilogy which instantly gained him recognition in both the United States & around the world, then he appeared in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith in which he had an uncredited role, has passed away aged 93 due to mainly old age so all thoughts, prayers & heartfelt condolences go to the family of James Earl Jones, RIP (Rest in power), but there is also Liam Payne who is the member of the famous boy band One Direction (Which features other members including Zayn Malik & Harry Styles, but are no longer together as of today) who lost his life so rest easy to him (And all thoughts, prayers & heartfelt condolences go to the young man who is gone but not forgotten).

James Earl Jones

1931 - 2024

& Liam Payne

1993 - 2024

So that is my 577th blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 1st of this year, viva Ukraine & Palestine.

War Pigs/Iron Man/Paranoid/Bliss: My 52nd blog of the year 2024 (AKA New Zealand triumph in the America's Cup (2024 edition) + my very last blog of the year)

Well, kia ora guys & girls (G'day), it is Whetu again here, & welcome to my last blog of the year of 2024, but first, the giants of world sailing of Emirates Team New Zealand have done it! The America's Cup is still ours after our epic win in race 9 against the true challenger of record INEOS Britannia (Who made many gains towards our Taihoro boat there in Barcelona, Spain, but it wasn't to be as they didn't get the result, although there had been a delay for 40 minutes earlier in the day due to a lack of breeze, then in all of a sudden that race 9 of the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup is all good to go, but I wonder the headlines say: BARCELONA MAGIC FOR EMIRATES TEAM NEW ZEALAND or more like: KA PAI: TEAM NEW ZEALAND DEFEND AULD MUG IN STYLE, or especially: THE DEFENDERS STILL REMAIN AC HOLDERS AFTER BRILLIANT RACE 9, or more likely: TNZ RULE ON THE WATERS OF BARCELONA AGAINST GREAT BRITAIN, or more appropriately: SWEET AS BRO: ETNZ CAPTURE AMERICA'S CUP GLORY ONCE AGAIN IN SPAIN ("What a disappointing end for INEOS Britannia (And what a nice way to finish for Emirates Team New Zealand to end an America's Cup campaign like this), what a race for our viewers right around the world, it's all happening" As retired cricket commentator as of today of ex-Aussie cricketer Bill Lawry would always say) in a heavyweight sailing contest for the ages with Team New Zealand made it onto the record books as we became the first foreign syndicate during modern times to win the Auld Mug 3 consecutive times (And it's 1,312 days between Team New Zealand's rentention of the Auld Mug on home waters in Auckland, New Zealand which was during St Patrick's Day on the March 17th 2021, until then in which Emirates Team New Zealand (The most successful America's Cup team in recent history in which our reign as the master of high-speed yachting stays intact as Britain's long, long wait goes on (And talk about the tension, the buzz, the drama, the atmosphere! "As they brought in the razzle dazzle (Yes boy), me oh my, boomfa!" As former All Black Justin Marshall (Who used to play for Southland, Canterbury, the Crusaders, Leeds Tykes, Ospreys, Montpellier & Saracens throughout his rugby career, but he currently works as a rugby commentator for New Zealand pay TV broadcaster Sky) would always say) who made history to complete the historic first ever threepeat on foreign waters in Barcelona during the modern era of AC racing for which I was stoked about the result, unlike our failed attempt that we had in 2003 in which we lost the Auld Mug in the hands of the Swiss syndicate Alinghi in Auckland) after we won it twice (In both San Diego 1995 (The America's Cup, is now New Zealand's cup!) & Bermuda in 2017 (Once again, the America's Cup is...New Zealand's cup!), then defended it twice (In Auckland not once but twice in 2000 (The America's Cup, is still, New Zealand's Cup!), then 2021 (The America's Cup, remains New Zealand's cup!), so let's recap the live updates provided to Stuff.co.nz (For which I have not been doing live updates of the America's Cup since 2021):

1:47 AM: Race 9 is live! The winds have picked up enough for racing to resume. There are shifting winds from one side of the course to the other.

1:50 AM: We're into the duel for the start line and Team NZ are leading Britannia towards the boundary edge. The Brits come across them to block their path and are using their circling tactic again, trying to tangle up the Kiwis. Here they come (This is where the fun begins), approaching the line (Just seconds away until the start, stand by), and the race is underway (And away we go! The America's Cup is on the line here on the waters of Barcelona. Let the party begin! Brace yourself ladies & gentlemen, it is showtime!). It's close in the start.

1:51 AM: Team NZ seem happy enough despite appearing to lose that start to the Brits. The Kiwis have the slenderest of leads for the first cross between the boats, but it's changed again so Britannia are in front. Nothing in it, with six legs due in this race.

1:53 AM: The two boats are heading towards the far side of the course from the start, where there were lighter winds, and the turn around the first mark will be interesting. Team NZ do have the lead after shifting towards the right.

1:56 AM: Team NZ hit the first gate almost 200m ahead and have the clear advantage in the first of six legs. Britannia are 19sec back but hit greater speeds in turning the mark. The Kiwis were more than 35 knots, the Brits touching 40, but it's Team NZ in control.

1:58 AM: The flatter waters appear to favour Team NZ and in the light air, too. Britannia can see the Kiwis in their sights, albeit trailing by more than 300m through the second leg.

2:00 AM: Team NZ pass the 2nd gate and are in a position where faultless sailing will surely retain the Cup. Britannia have fallen back, by 22sec, but they looked sharp for the start of leg three. Can they catch the Kiwis? We don't see much overtaking in match racing.

2:03 AM: The two boats are split across the course and Britannia divert to switch over to Team NZ's position on the left-hand side. The Brits are gaining on them (They're just punishing Emirates Team New Zealand right there, they've dug in the trenches). The deficit has narrowed massively! Team NZ will have to work to defend their lead. You can hear Sir Ben Ainslie telling his crew, "come on, let's go".

2:05 AM: Wow, this gap has closed up. The Brits can see the helmets of the Team NZ crew, the difference down to about 20m. That's so tight (Now, straight out drag race, can you answer this Kiwi charge?!). They approach the third gate and the Kiwis only lead by... well, they don't. It's split of 0sec (We're through the halfway point, & it is even Stevens at the moment).

2:07 AM: Britannia coach Rob Wilson says they got a route back in to catch Team NZ and the conditions have been tricky because of the building breeze, as well as the shifts around the course. 

The Kiwis have restored a greater lead and have made gains in taking their path down the right-hand side of the course for leg four.

2:10 AM: Team NZ have showed through the match race that they possess greater speed in the second half of races.

The Kiwis have brushed the water in a shaky manoeuvre around gate four and have extended their lead to more than 100m.

Kiwi coach Ray Davies says the nerves are "not bad" and the Brits are not letting them get away easily. He believes they will be okay in the race that might decide the America's Cup (Well, this could be the difference between winning the Auld Mug, or nothing).

2:12 AM: Britannia won't go away. We're into the penultimate leg and Team NZ are still ahead despite the Brits pursuing. This is as close as they've been in the match.

2:14 AM: This is the last mark. Team NZ are executing their last turn of the race and are through the gate with a lead of 17sec for the final downwind leg. Britannia will need the Kiwis to blunder to keep their hopes alive. Team NZ have pulled further away to lead by more than 300m (Keep a passionate heart and a cool head).

2:16 AM: Team NZ win the America's Cup again! (And it's going Kiwi, in 2024! For the 3rd time in a row! And for the 5th time ever! Emirates Team New Zealand, is still, champion, of the America's Cup!) They doubled their lead down the final leg and have retained the Auld Mug, beating Britannia 7-2 by 37 seconds in race 9 (But it's over! It's over! It's a 5th America's Cup for Emirates Team New Zealand!).

You can hear laughter and cheers from the Kiwi crew as they cross the finish and the party can start (Oh what a race! Haha, we got him. Oh yes!). The Cup is theirs and the sailors are out of the cockpit congratulating one another (The America's Cup, is yet again, New Zealand's Cup! And I've got to stop...Because I've got a lump on my throat).

2:20 AM: Team NZ helmsman Peter Burling says it's still just sinking in and that it's an amazing feeling.

Nathan Outteridge, the team's Aussie sailor who wins the Cup for the first time, says it's pretty special and is looking forward to the celebrations tonight.

2:22 AM: Sir Ben Ainslie says Team NZ are the best ever in the America's Cup and pays enormous credit to the Kiwis.

He says he can't thank his team enough for their efforts in Barcelona. 

"The best team won," he said.

Ainslie says they are getting closer each time and seems determined to keep going.

And what do I think of the race? Wow! Unbelievable! How cool is that! Tremendous (Terrific), that is glorious! As we crossed the line to win race 9 (In which the race that I watched was the key highlight for me in the Louis Vuitton Cup 37th America's Cup because not only I was over the moon & getting goosebumps once more just like in 2021 when I watched the race again that I've recorded on TV) & to win the series 7 - 2 in what is by far, my best sporting moment of this year for our country of New Zealand along with the record 10 gold medals that we won at the Summer Games in Paris (While race 9 of this years edition of the Auld Mug would have to be the best America's Cup race that I have ever watched on TV, & it was better than race 10 in 2021 in which Team New Zealand had beaten Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli to retain the Auld Mug on St Paddy's Day (And just after 2:16 am (New Zealand time), on the early hours in the morning of Sunday, October 20th (Saturday, October 19th in Spain), the current day voice of yachting Stephen McIvor told it like it was to a world-wide TV audience: "The threepeat is complete! And Emirates Team New Zealand, win the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup!" But the latest boat Taihoro (For which for me would have to be by far, my fave Emirates Team New Zealand boat of all time along with Pops, out of the 4 winning boats that we previously had such as NZL 32 long ago in 1995, NZL 60 way back in 2000, Aotearoa back in 2017 & Te Rehutai in 2021) was every bit as superior as the famous Te Rehutai that lifted the cup again in Auckland. Back then Jimmy Spithill twice could do nothing about it (So too is Francesco Bruni who was with Spithill in 2021). This time INEOS Britannia faced the same predicament) which was 4 months ago (+ Lydia Ko winning the AIG Women's Open in the UK fresh off from her Paris Summer Games triumph before adding another one in the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G at TPC River's Bend as she blitzed the field by 5 shots to claim her 3rd LPGA Tour championship of this years season for I haven't mentioned it up until that point), & this years triumph of the Auld Mug was better than the ones that we previously won in 1995, 2000, 2017 & 2021, & Peter Burling (The GOAT of modern day sailing & one of my favourite sailors because it used to be Russell Coutts, now it's Burling (Who was able to continue where he left off since his debut AC triumph in 2017 where he took over from Barker (And he has never put a foot wrong since he first burst onto the scene in 2017 in Bermuda. Oh hell yes! How good! How about that), before defending it for the 2nd time in 2021 & now he's done it & his syndicate for his unprecedented 3 in a row in which he has never experienced failure before), oh my word! He'll be a hero of our country that cements New Zealand's iconic sporting folklore (And how appropriate about that the best team had won indeed quite frankly, & that's what's happened throughout a Kiwi point of view, but the quality of racing on the waters of Barcelona reminds us of racing SWers straight out of Takapuna in Auckland as said by Burling during a post-race interview after one of our races, & what a beauty it was, but the partying has just started throughout the country about our heroes who triumphed on the water in Spain, while they'll be celebrations across in key New Zealand cities such as Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, Dunedin, Hamilton & Tauranga (And my last thoughts before I sign off to wrap things up in the AC department? Emirates Team New Zealand have made history again, & man was it so sweet once more).

And in rugby news in the NPC competition here in New Zealand such as the top of the table Wellington (Who haven't won since 2022 (A year after Waikato had won the title in 2021 & a year before Taranaki became champions of the NPC last year) will host Bay of Plenty (Who'll appear in their debut full NPC final where they'll look to win the title after 48 years where they last did it in 1976 (That was the year that the NPC competition began, but there was no final back then until it was introduced long ago in 1992) at Sky Stadium in Wellington for the final (And it has been 11 years since Welly had last hosted a full NPC final back in 2013 where Wellington got defeated in the hands of Canterbury) after both sides recorded victories over Canterbury (BOP) at the Tauranga Domain in Tauranga, & Waikato (Wellington) at Sky Stadium in the Wellington (Including a yellow card from Wellington second-five of Riley Higgins that nearly derailed their aspirations of reaching the final) province in their respective semifinal games on Saturday, October 19th (Same day that the Auld Mug had gone in the way of Team NZ for the 3rd straight time in Barcelona, Spain, as well as for our 5th overall).

And onto the cricket stuff as the Black Caps (Who had Rachin Ravindra (Who is the next big thing in New Zealand cricket) scoring a century as he posted 134 in the 1st innings in which he was awarded standout player of the game) have won as they beat India (Who were bowled out for 46 runs in the 1st innings) by 8 wickets in the first test in Bengaluru to go 1 - 0 up in the series as well as ending a 36 year drought which goes a long way back to 1988 when we won in Mumbai in which the team was captained by John 'Wrighty' Wright, but continuing onto much better news as the White Ferns finally becoming champions of the world in the women's T20 format as well as our first major limited overs women's cricket tournament win since 2000 & our first for the country in cricket's shortest format, either men or women following our epic victory in the final in Dubai in the UAE against the tournament favourites South Africa (Who had beaten the defending champions at the time of Australia in the semi before we beat the West Indies in the other semifinal to reach our historic first ever final of the women's T20 World Cup) by 32 runs (Including Amelia 'Mellie' Kerr who had a great tournament she is having as she was the standout player of the final as well as the tournament (And what a player, what a women's T20 World Cup she's having), in a farewell game for our captain Sophie Devine (Who was part when New Zealand last played in the women's T20 World Cup final in 2010 along with Suzie Bates in which we didn't get the result in the end against Australia, & what a tournament that was, how good's that, how good is that!) as she bowed out in style in her final swansong to cap off a perfect sporting weekend here in our country of New Zealand on the 19th to 20th of October such as the America's Cup success in which Emirates Team New Zealand finally successfully complete a hat trick of America's Cup series wins (And that's the first time ever during modern times of the Auld Mug) along with the Black Caps ending a 36 year wait of beating India in India & the White Ferns (Who went into the tournament off the back of 10 straight defeats (Well, that's something I never heard of before) becoming the women's world champions in the T20 format for the first time against South Africa in the final that took place in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

And finally in motor racing news in the F1 department such as Monaco's Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari, secures the win in the United States Grand Prix at COTA in Austin, Texas as the 3 time defending world champion Max Verstappen's winless streak extends to 8 (His last win came in Spain this year, before the tide was turned as George Russell in the Mercedes-AMG won in Austria after both Norris & Verstappen (Who went downhill since after his win at the Spanish Grand Prix) collided during the Grand Prix as they both got together, then Russell's teammate Sir Lewis Hamilton at his home Grand Prix in Britain which was an ever popular victory for the multiple world champion, followed by Aussie Oscar Piastri driving for McLaren in Hungary for his first career win in F1 which was embroiled with controversy whether Lando Norris should've won the Grand Prix at the Hungaroring Circuit, before Hamilton won in Belgium in the aftermath of his teammate Russell getting stripped of his race win as a result of an underweight car which resulted in a disqualification, then Britain's Lando Norris as he spoiled Max Verstappen's homecoming in the Netherlands in which he surged back into championship contention, then Leclerc in Italy in which they sent the tifosi into a frenzy when Ferrari won at their home race in front of their adoring but passionate home fans cheering them on throughout the course of the Grand Prix, followed by Piastri who won it again in Azerbaijian as his constructor of McLaren that he races for, had taken over from Red Bull as leader of the constructors championship in Formula One for the first time since 2014 (And they have maintained their constructors championship lead since), before Norris won it in the dark on the streets of Singapore in the Singapore GP which was marred by Verstappen getting penalized by the race stewards for his erratic driving, in Daniel Ricciardo's last ever race in F1, & now Leclerc in the United States for which he hasn't won since Italy) which was overshadowed with Kiwi Liam Lawson (Who replaced the departed Aussie Daniel Ricciardo, but they have made security arrangements to safeguard him for the next race in Mexico (Which is Sergio Perez's home race as if he fails to finish strong, he may potentially lose a ride next year) due to the F1 fans becoming hostile towards Lawson (And my message to the fans who bear hatred towards him: "Leave our Kiwi alone") in the RB who finished a creditable but solid 9th to grab both points in the championship in his return to Formula One since last year in Qatar after starting from the rear of the field due to a grid drop, but continuing on to another sport which is football as the new Auckland City FC club get their highly anticipated first win in their A-League debut match with a 2 - 0 shutout victory over Brisbane City FC at Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland.

So that is my 576th blog of the year 2024 (MMXXIV) & my 52nd of this year, viva Ukraine & Palestine (And you have a very happy new year, so best wishes & thank you for all of my support covering my blogs this year, bring on 2025! (And my last thoughts before I wrap this blog up? Until next time it is bye from us).

Wonderwall/Kashmir: My 51st blog of the year 2024

Well, hi everyone & merry Christmas, it is Whet here on my Kiwiavenger blog on my penultimate blog of this year, but first in the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup such as INEOS Britannia has closed the gap on Emirates Team New Zealand who are leading 4 - 2 in the best of 13 first to 7 series, because the Brits are coming, the Brits are coming! And they must've had a change of fortune all over the place in Barcelona in Spain as INEOS Britannia are clawing their way back & are on the comeback trail...they are coming. But chance for New Zealand to regroup after both consecutive defeats inside 2 days as the chance of the biggest upset in America's Cup history is on for the Brits (But what happens if INEOS Britannia win the America's Cup? I would be stunned, absolutely stunned & shocked if they took the Auld Mug to the UK) looking to produce a shock result, game on, (But there has been an update as the Taihoro boat of Team New Zealand dominate the last 2 races (Including race 7 in which we bounced back after both defeats in the hands of the Brits) after falling flat when INEOS were on the board when they won a race before winning another one (In which we committed the errors that we made) including scoring a crucial win on race 8 to be on match point at 6 - 2 (The winning margins for races 7 & 8 are 36 seconds & 55 seconds respectively), therefore our aspirations of retaining yachting's biggest prize, the America's Cup (Which is the oldest competition in international sport) for the 3rd time in a row where no non-American syndicate had ever done that before (In which Emirates Team New Zealand are the most successful syndicate during modern times), is well & truly alive (And my last thoughts before the all-important race takes place in the early hours of October 20th? "There is no tomorrow! Today we crush INEOS Britannia once & for all! Now let's get a move on, we've got an Auld Mug to retain here!").

And news in the rugby department as here are the latest results from the NPC that we have just seen in the quarters:

Wellington 29 - 14 Counties Manukau

Bay of Plenty 19 - 17 Hawke's Bay

Taranaki 14 - 15 Waikato

Tasman 14 - 62 Canterbury

And here are the sides who are playing in the semi of this years Bunnings NPC competition:

Bay of Plenty Vs Canterbury

& Wellington Vs Waikato

And news straight out of Bathurst as Brodie Kostecki (The defending series champion who is heading to DJR next year had to overcome an illness to win the pinnacle event of the Supercars Championship) & his co-driver Todd Hazelwood (Who were pole-sitters a day before the biggest race of the year in Australia took place) has taken out the great race at the annual Bathurst 1000 touring car race at the Mount Panorama Street Circuit in Bathurst by holding off a pair of Red Bull Ampol Racing Chevrolets of Broc Feeney & his co-driver as well as team boss of Jamie Whincup who finished 2nd & championship leader Will Brown & his-co driver Scott Pye who rounded out the podium during that epic but gruelling 161 laps.

And finally the latest on the war in the Middle East as the leader of Hamas has been slain by Israeli forces where his remains had contained a bargaining chip, but Hamas has announced that they wouldn't free those hostages immediately that are still being kept in captivity, unless that sickening war ends & if Israel pulls out of Gaza by withdrawing their troops out of the country (And my message to the people of Israel for their war aggression towards the Middle East that it's still going is: "What the hell is wrong with you! Get over it.").

So that is my 575th blog of the year 2024 (MMXXIV) & my 51st of this year, viva Ukraine & Palestine.

Don't Look Back In Anger/Champagne Supernova/Roll With It: My 50th blog of the year 2024 (AKA my last blog prior to Christmas this year)

Well, hi everybody, this is Whet here on my Kiwiavenger blog that I'm always tuning into, but first, a year has been passed since the Springboks (Who currently have an 100%, unblemished record every time they appear in a final of rugby's global showpiece event undefeated with 4 wins out of 4, therefore becoming the most successful rugby playing nation in the world with a record 4 Rugby World Cups to their name (They first did it in 1995, then 2007, as well as 2019 in which they returned to power, & last year where they remained in power when the ref blew the final whistle of a rugby game which is like a chequered flag being waved at a motor racing event to signal the end of the race (But a yellow card in football & rugby is like a black & white flag in motor racing which indicates an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty whether it's timed, drive through or stop & go, while a red card is like a black flag in motor racing which signals a driver getting disqualified during the race), & they just become the 2nd side to defend the William Webb Ellis cup after New Zealand in 2015 (And their 3 main tactics of winning games for the Boks include the rolling maul (Which is their number 1 main skill employed in the game) as well as the kicking game, especially in the box kicking aerial bombardment department & the utilization of the bomb/nuke squad that close out matches, even players who are in the starting lineup begin to fall out in favour by bringing on a bench player early in the match) became champions of the world in the sport of rugby, again...in the aftermath of a victory by a single point (In which South Africa (Who last year became one of the oldest & most experienced squads to have ever won a Rugby World Cup, including players like Eben Etzebeth (Who has now taken over from Vic Matfield as the most capped Springbok player of all time) for example) became the first side to win all of their knockout games, by 1 point or less (First it was hosts at the time of France in the quarters, then England in the semis & the All Blacks in the final) against the AB's last year whose quest of regaining the Rugby World Cup had been derailed by a red card (And it wasn't a straight red, but it was a card under review being sent by the TMO bunker) by the captain at the time of Sam Cane for a high contact which was above the sternum on South African centre Jesse Kriel therefore costing our story dubbed as the scars of '23 (And there were 3 yellow cards had been handed out during the final against one All Black of Shannon Frizell for an illegal croc roll on Bongi Mbonambi as he deliberately damaged one of the Springbok hookers knees therefore injuring him in the process, then both Springboks of captain Siya Kolisi & Cheslin Kolbe respectively for dangerous high tackles on opposition players), compared to & inspired by the events of 1995 where South Africa won against New Zealand as the South Africans thwarted us of our aspirations of regaining the RWC due to our frontline players like the late Jonah Lomu (Who was rugby's biggest star during his generation from the mid 90s to the early noughties (2000s) period before Frenchman Antoine Dupont took over from him since the 2020s decade during our generation), Jeff Wilson & Josh Kronfeld had been dealt with food poisoning with captain at the time of Sean Fitzpatrick (Affectually known as Fitzy), & the Brooke brothers of both Robin (AKA Rob) & Zinzan (Zinny) being the notable exceptions, which united the host country under their leadership of the late great Nelson Mandela who was president of South Africa at the time (That's according to the blogs that I previously did) following Joel Stransky's drop goal at extra time, won them the final by allowing Francois Pienaar (One of 3 Springbok skippers to lift the famous William Webb Ellis trophy along with John Smit in 2007 then Kolisi not once but twice in both 2019 & last year) to collect the trophy from his great mate Mandela (Who was released from a prison in Robben Island way, way back in 1990, 4 years before becoming president of South Africa for which he served for 5 years until 1999 where Thabo Mbeki took over from him) in one of South Africa's most iconic sporting moments, then in late September that they've won the Rugby Championship this year for the first time since 2019 as they defeated Argentina in the decider during the last round of the Southern Hemisphere championship tournament at Nelspruit as they provided a bit of Mbombela magic, but there has been an update in the women's rugby as the Black Ferns led by Ruahei Demant & Kennedy Tukuafu got back to winning ways by getting the job done for their first victory against France at BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada during the last round of WXV1 since 2022 during the delayed 2021 Women's Rugby World Cup in the semi, therefore snapping a 3 game losing streak which stretches back from the pre-WXV 1 test against England at Allianz Stadium London, then Ireland (Who is drawn in Pool C along with the Black Ferns in next year's Women's Rugby World Cup tournament, but if we lose to the Irish, it'll be the Red Roses England in the semi when the tournament is expanded to 16 teams) in the opening WXV 1 test in Vancouver in a historic upset of the ages & the England Red Roses (Dubbed as the Springboks of women's rugby who would later gone on to retain the prestigious WXV 1 championship following a comeback win against the defending Pac 4 champions Canada in the decider, & cement their status as the favourites to lift next year's Women's Rugby World Cup trophy on their home patch) again during the penultimate round of the competition just like in the London women's test.

And I have revealed about me being a relative to Norah who is my first cousin once removed according to the comment that I did to Pops on the 12th of October about my cousin Paige Ahearn's daughter for which I'll still be having the chance to both my first cousin & potentially my bestie of Paige (For which is my most likely person to have a selfie or have lunch or dinner with, along with one of my old besties Cathey) & Norah + my biological aunty Cathey Middelplaats (+ my number 2 bestie) when me & Pops go to the Windy City of Welly in Wellington in January next year (And it'll have to be from Friday to Monday, except the days of having the Graze Out meals every Tuesday to Thursday, but Pops will get the 2025 diary in early December this year & write down the dates that he is arranging for us) for my first holiday with Pops in which I am looking forward to since the infamous trip to the Northland province (Better known as the winter less North for which I'll be going again with both Carole & Pops in possibly 2027, a year after our 2nd Wellington trip in late next year/January 2026 for which I'll be going with Pops, Aunty Tan & Rejean) late last year in December (Just before Aunty Tan & Rejean touched down to our country to stay at our place as well as tiding up our home, even before they left in late January this year for which me & Pops have not seen both of them since, but I was reminiscing about me, Carole & Pops going to an Indian restaurant over in Kerikeri in Northland where I literally enjoyed except for me where my shirt did get curry stains on my sleeve, then in all of a sudden a year later this year that me & Pops went to Burger King to have dinner there where I always had a double whopper with cheese with large fries & a bottle of water because that was our last time me & Pops go out for a meal before Christmas this year) that we went with Carole where we saw Kathryn (Who I have not seen her since May this year when our Ngapo whanau clan turned up at Momiji for dinner including my half bro & Hollie-Rae Mete's half cousin Jans (Who needs to find another career after dealing with persistent back issues whilst doing his fencing job) & Ken & their dogs of Daisy & Yodi as well as the married couple/husband & wife duo of Andy & Kelsey (Who are both in Italy to attend a wedding of Zaki & his wife's daughter of Areje (Sister of Yasser & aunty of Kace) & her Aussie fiance) & their dog of Millie that I always enjoyed literally (+ there was Gail & Richard in due course).

And onto the gaming stuff that I finally pre-ordered a PS5 Pro which is due to come out on the 7th of November this year at EB to go with the PS5 disc drive that I got from the Warehouse for it (And the PS5 Pro didn't feature the disc drive so I wanted to get my hands on a disc drive that's all I'm saying) because not only I traded in my PS4 Pro that I've had for 5 years & my Xbox One S for 3 years that I've also had & I had to use my passport to an employee to show some ID/identification to complete that pre-order, but I have also revealed about my gaming related story that the PS5 version of Gran Turismo 7 (I've got the PS4 version that I used to play, but I still play the PS5 version now that was released in 2022 (Originally 2020 then 1 year later in 2021, but got pushed back to March 2022 due to delays regarding to the COVID pandemic) is by far, my fave video game that I have ever played along with the Xbox 360 version of GTA IV (It was released in 2008 (Originally in 2007, but had to be delayed to a year later) via backwards compatiblity on the Xbox Series X console that I've still got which is my 2nd fave (And I used to play that PS3 version during the early to mid 2010s decade when I once had that console before switching it to the PS4, but the GTA IV game like I said that Dad said to me is an oldie but goodie) just like Dad whose fave video game that he ever played was the first Tony Hawk's Pro Skater on the original Playstation (I've got Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 (A remaster of the first 2 THPS games that was originally released in both 1999 & 2000 respectively) on both the PS4 & PS5 versions of the game which came out in 2020 (PS4) & a year later in 2021 (PS5), then Rugby League Live 4 on the PS4 which came out in 2017 ranks his number 2 fave that he has ever played.

And finally in America's Cup related news such as our defenders of Emirates Team New Zealand (AKA the All Blacks on water) has taken out the first 2 races of the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup against Ben Ainslie, Dylan Fletcher & co of the British challenger INEOS Britannia (The Louis Vuitton Cup champions who weren't so competitive compared to Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli in 2021, & now we are 4 wins away of our rentention of the Auld Mug for the 3rd time in a row (No foreign syndicate has ever done that before in history) in their first America's Cup involvement for Great Britain since 1964 (In which their boat Sovereign were on the losing side 4 times as they fell short against a heavily favoured American boat called Constellation) there in Barcelona, Spain (Which is a European Football Championship winning country as of today, but there was hostility between locals & tourists in which the locals actually think that the tourists shouldn't belong there for the duration of sport's oldest competition mainly due to political tensions whether they were in favour against hosting a pinnacle sailing event) during day 1, including the first race in which New Zealand had drawn first blood comprehensively in which we managed to outperform Great Britain (Who had some battery supply issues prior to the start) & outnumber them for the entire race, then dominating the 2nd for which I thought was a close one where the Brits became competitive as they made their gains towards us, but in the end, it wasn't good enough to draw level in order to keep up against Peter Burling & Nathan Outteridge's boys in black & red (And there has been an update as we go 4 - 0 ahead of the Brits during the latest race of the Auld Mug).

So that is my 574th blog of the year 2024 (MMXXIV) & my 50th of this year, viva Ukraine & Palestine.