Final game of the tri-nations

The All Blacks showed their growing composure to come back and break the Wallabies again in Sydney.

The All Blacks were behind at half time 19-6 but came back to win 23-22 by full time.

New Zealand extended their winning streak over the Wallabies to a record 10 tests and the result completed a clean sweep of this year’s Tri-Nations championship.

This was knowhere near a perfect performance from the All Blacks with bad handling, some really bad defence and some bad choices particularly in the first half.

Australia (Adam Ashley-Cooper, James O'Connor tries; Matt Giteau 3pens, Kurtley Beale pens).

New Zealand (Kieran Read, Richie McCaw tries; Piri Weepu 3pens, 2cons)

All Blacks take Tri-Nations .

Two tries in the final two minutes saw the All Blacks capture their 10th Tri Nations title with a thrilling 29-22 win over South Africa in Soweto.






New Zealand 29
Tries: Tony Woodcock, Richie McCaw, Israel Dagg. Pens: Dan Carter 4. Con: Carter.

South Africa 22
Try: Schalk Burger. Pens: Morne Steyn 5 Con: Steyn

Tri-nations standings:

New Zealand. 23 points
Australia. 4 points
South Africa. 1 point

There are 3 games left in the tri-nations series, Two games between South Africa and Australia. And 1 game between New Zealand and Australia.

All Blacks win Bledisloe cup

The All Blacks have retained the Bledisloe Cup with a 20-10 win over Australia in Christchurch in front of a crowd of 39,000

The Tri-Nations is still not decided but the All Blacks have the upper hand with the next test match in two weeks time against South Africa in Soweto.

For 67 minutes after the opening flurry there was not another try as the thrust and counter-thrust continued.

The All Blacks were forced to make double the tackles as their rivals delivered relentless attacking surges. But the All Blacks line held strong against the Australian attack.

It looked ominous for the Australians and they must have wondered whether they were going to get another belting like last week in Melbourne.

They answered in positive fashion when the Wallabies claimed a turnover and from 60m out they put Kurtley Beale into the clear and the fullback out ran the chase line.

Carter eased through the defences again and from that momentum they shifted wide and Conrad Smith scored in the corner

From there it was all attrition and anxiety before the relieved All Blacks heard the fulltime whistle.

Full time score: All Blacks 20, Australia 10

The Tri-Nations point now stand at:-
All Blacks 19 points
Wallabies 4 points
Springboks 0 points

Tri-Nations game 4

The All Blacks have scored four tries to one to lead 32-14 over Australia at halftime of their first Bledisloe Cup test in Melbourne.

The first half started with 'both sides swapping penalties and tries from charged down kicks inside the first ten minutes of the match.

Wallaby first-five Matt Giteau (Australia)and his opposite Dan Carter(New Zealand) went penalty for penalty to have the game at 3-3 after five minutes.

Australian winger Drew Mitchell crossed for the first try of the game, charging down a Dan Carter clearance to score in the corner despite Josevata Rokocoko's last ditch effort to take him out. Giteau failed to convert.

Carter immediately made up for the Mitchell try from the restart as he got his hands in front of Wallaby Berrick Barne's clearing kick to score untouched beside the uprights. Carter converted.

The All Blacks scored their second try a few minutes later as Mils Muliaina got on the end of a brilliant one handed chip from winger Cory Jane to score. Carter missed the conversion.

Despite being a man down after Owen Franks was sent to the bin for 10 minutes for a shoulder charge on Richard Brown, the All Blacks scored their third try.

Wallaby Adam Ashley Cooper was caught outside the 22 meter line, with very little support at the breakdown. The ball popped out to All Black captain Richie McCaw who beat the defence to score. Carter converted.

Giteau added two crucial penalties to bring his side back into the game, however the All Blacks would strike back with their fourth try of the match through Cory Jane.

Micthell was shown a yellow card after using no arms in a tackle on Kevin Mealamu.

Final score 49 New Zealand - 28 Australia.

Tri-Nations standings after Game 4;

New Zealand 15 points.
Australia 4 points.
South Africa 0 points

Australia beat South Africa

The third game in the tri-nations series.

Matt Giteau (Australia) kicked five penalties and set up a try as Australia beat South Africa 30-13 on Saturday which is a third straight loss for the defending Tri-Nations champions.

The Wallabies led 23-3 until the Springboks scored tries in the 62nd and 72nd minutes via Jaque Fourie and Gurthro Steenkkamp to get back to 23-13 with eight minutes remaining.

But scrumhalf Will Genia dodged between two tacklers in the 75th minute to seal the win for Australia.

After two losses against the All Blacks over the past 2 weeks, the Springboks needed a win over Australia to get their tri-nations campaign back on track, but their drought in Brisbane continued - they haven't beaten the Wallabies here since 1971.

After the first 3 games in the tri-nations the standings are: New Zealand 10 points. Australia 4 points and South Africa 0 points.

Game 4 is july 31, All Blacks vs Australia.

All Blacks first hit up for 2010 tri-nations.

The All Blacks have beaten South Africa at Eden park in Auckland in the first test of the 2010 Tri Nations.

Conrad Smith and Ma'a Nonu both of which represent the Wellington Hurricanes in the super 14 scored tries in the first half.

Kieran Read scored in the second half and Tony Woodcock scored the crucial bonus point try in the final minute of the game.Daniel Carter converted 3 conversions and 2 penalties.

South Africa on the other hand came up try-less with only 12 points to Morne Steyn who converted 4 penalties

Halftime: 20-3.

Fulltime: 32-12.

Game 2 is next Saturday night from the Westpac stadium in Wellington.

Rally New Zealand

The weekend of May 9th and 10th is the New Zealand round of the world rally championship.

This year sees a return to the country's biggest city, Auckland. This means some classic high-speed stages in the Northland region are back on the itinerary after a four year absence, as well as more familiar tests in the Franklin and north Waikato districts to the south of the city. Mixed surface stages and two Super Specials are also on the cards.

Two new Super Special Stages: One all-asphalt test will be built at the recently completed Hampton Downs motor racing circuit, the other one is in Auckland city's oldest park - the 75 hectare Auckland Domain, And a new Service Park will be located on Auckland's Queens Wharf, a short walk from the downtown area.

Rally New Zealand is the oldest WRC event in the Southern Hemisphere, It is renowned for its fast flowing gravel roads and the beautiful landscape of the North Island.

Blind crests, flat-out kinks, fast jumps and huge cambers make the roads somewhat more challenging than most, but their sweeping, undulating nature means most WRC drivers love them. When it's sunny, the stages can be glorious, but when it rains, they turn muddy and extremely slippery.

The challenging terrain rewards the drivers with the very best car control. You need to be brave to do well in New Zealand but the high speeds mean the slightest mistake is punished severely.

Most recent winner of rally New Zealand was Sebastien Loeb back in 2008.

Kumeu Classic car festival

Just a quick post, The photos are from the recent Kumeu classic car festival just out of Auckland , New Zealand. Ive been attending this event for many years, It just gets bigger and bigger all the time.

Enjoy the photos.

Points scoring system for 2010 F1

The 2010 F1 season will see the most radical change in the points scoring system in 60 years. For the first time ever the drivers will be able to score points right down to 10th place, meaning that 38% of the starting grid next season will score at least one point. But what exactly does this mean?

The first thing to establish is how the points as distributed. Under the previous scoring system, the winner received 10pts, second 8 points, third 6 points, fourth place got 5 and so on as far as 8th position. While this rewarded consistency, it had it’s critics right from when it was introduced back in 2003. Many felt that it began to devalue the race win, Whereas previously it was a 4-point gap between 1st and 2nd compared to 2pts, which also meant that drivers had built up a sizable lead at the beginning of the championship, like Fernando Alonso did back in 05 and of course Jensen Button last season, and were able to sustain a championship challenge without needing to challenge for race wins but gain a steady amount of points consistently in the second half of the season. This prompted Bernie Ecclestone to try, but thankfully fail, to implement a ‘medals’ system whereby the driver with the most wins won the title regardless of how many points he had.

But under the current system this could all change. Instead of receiving 10 points for a victory, the winner will now receive 25 points, with 20 points for second, 15 points for third, etc:

Here's how the new scoring structure works:


1st place25pts

2nd place 20pts

3rd place 15pts

4th place 10pts

5th place 8pts

6th place 6pts

7th place 5pts

8th place 3pts

9th place 2pts

10th place 1pt

Ticket prices for Rugby World Cup released.

Organizers of the 2011 World Cup have released the ticket prices that they hoped would counter the rising costs of hosting an event this size.

Tickets go on sale in April next year and prices will start at (NZ)$15 for children and (NZ)$30 for adults for most of the pool matches, The final to be held at Eden Park in Auckland to cost between (NZ)$390 to (NZ)$1250.

The International Rugby Board (IRB) retain all commercially generated income as well as taking $150 million as a hosting fee, Therefore New Zealand must rely largely on ticket sales to cover the cost of hosting the tournament and although the ticket revenue has been projected at $280 million, The organizers are expecting to lose $30 million, This is due to so many games being played around the country instead of just a few select stadiums in the main cities.

With these low ticket prices for pool matches, Most of the stadiums will be full, Rugby has a huge following here in New Zealand and is extremely multi-cultural, The atmosphere at all games will be electrifying.

A list of Venues can be seen by clicking this link.

First Boeing 747-8F

On the evening of November the 17th, Boeing moved the first 747-8F from the paint hanger in Everett, Washington.

Boeing says the aircraft is painted with an oversized number 8 on the background of the tail and 747-8 featured on the belly of the aircraft. The first flight of the 747-8F is scheduled for early 2010, with Cargolux being the launch customer and is scheduled to take delivery of the first 747-8F during the fourth quarter of 2010.


The Boeing 747 has been a very popular plane and is the worlds most recognizable aircraft. Boeing claims that design of the 747-8F will be quieter, more economical and more environmentally friendly than all previous versions of the 747 and has the economic benefit of similar training and interchangeable parts.

For the 747-8 family of aircraft, Boeing has given the wing an extensive overhaul that will improve the lift over drag and also the engine, This will incorporate all the newest techology that is going into the 787 project, This will allow the airplane to fly further and in a more efficient manner than preceding 747’s.

The passenger version of the 747-8 is called the Intercontinental (747-8I), It will be capable of carrying up to 450 passengers in 3-class configuration over 8,000 nautical miles (14,816 km) at 0.86 Mach, The Intercontinental is not expected to be on the flightline for quite some time yet unfortunately.

Silver arrow GP.

German car giant Mercedes-Benz have taken over Brawn GP. What does this mean for McLarens future for there engine supplier? Well at the moment Mercedes will supply McLaren with engines until at least 2015 and possibly longer and the team will continue with their current livery under the name of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes.

Mercedes parent company Daimler AG will take a 75.1 percent stake of Brawn GP, With Ross Brawn remaining as team principal.

Mercedes have'nt yet announced their drivers for 2010, Rubens Barrichello has already left Brawn for Williams, while speculation continues with the current world champion Jenson Button could be switching to McLaren to partner Lewis Hamilton.

Brawn GP has accomplished a lot in the 2009 season which included a deal with Mercedes to supply engines, winning both the constructors' and drivers' world championships, and now accepting this offer with Daimler which will secure the future of the team for many years ahead.

Brawn GP’s factory in the UK (in Brackley) is less than 30 miles from the Mercedes Formula One engine plant at Brixworth, which should make for an extremely efficient operation for the years ahead.

F1 2010 news.

The FIA have confirmed the new US F1 team have paid their entry fee and will be on the 2010 starting grid after speculation about the team's future in an interview with a US-based Speed TV cable network.
The US team's factory is based in Charlotte, North Carolina, They sent their entry fee in 10 days ago at a figure of close to US$440,000.

Also in Formula 1 news the new Malaysian-backed Lotus Formula One team has signed its first driver but haven't released any name yet. Italian Jarno Trulli, who drove for the now-departed Toyota team this year, has been linked in media speculation to the new Lotus team whose technical head is former Toyota technical director Mike Gascoyne.

Lotus and US F1 are just 2 of five new teams that are due to make their F1 debuts in 2010, with Toyota and BMW calling it quits.

And whats going on at McLaren? Lewis Hamilton is under contract until the end of the 2012 season and Kovalainen has been linked to a move elsewhere, but he can still retain his seat for the2010 season if the team can't conclude a deal with Kimi Raikkonen, Jenson Button or Nick Heidfeld.

No such dramas at Ferrari for 2010 though, With Kimi stepping aside to allow Fernando Alonso a drive, and of course the return of Felipe Massa which should give Ferrari some hope next year.

The best gift ever.

Yesterday was my birthday, My lovely wife did something for me that Ive only ever dreamed about doing, She got me flying lessons, Flying has been a passion of mine for many years, I never really gave much thought about flying a plane because of the costs involved, Now i only wish i had done it years earlier. The plane was a Grumman AA-1C trainer and although we had 24-28 knot crosswind gusts it was extremely stable.

So where to from here? I may consider taking this passion further, I definitely intend to find out more about whats involved and if i can afford to do it then why not give it a go.

Boys day out.

Last weekend was the annual speedshow exhibition, A great day out for the boys in Auckland. This year had a line-up of cars and motorcycles - new, performance, classic and customs.

This year's event saw Speedshow fill to capacity with three main halls of the showgrounds, and an extensive outdoor display and activities to add to the attractions for the speed lovers. And the new children's area called Speedshow 4 Kids proved very popular with Roary the Racing Car shows at 10am and 12pm each day.

Some of New Zealand’s best drift cars were alongside historic racing cars and bikes and New Zealand’s best race car simulators.There were new cars and motorcycles from some of the world’s leading manufacturers and exhibitors with a wide range of motoring and motorsport-related products and services, but honestly there’s too much to mention so if you like cars and motorbikes, Speedshow was the place to be.

This year's key draw-cards included the world's fastest NASCAR and the original movie Batmobile from the original Batman movies courtesy of Warner Brothers Movie World on the Gold Coast, The motorbike from the movie "The worlds fastest Indian" as well as the world famous Britten motorbike.

The oldest exhibit was a 1903 Ford that cost 180 pounds when brand-new while nearby was a DTM-spec Mercedes Benz AMG supercar, one of only 100 in the world that cost well over $500,000 new.

This event has only been running 3 years in New Zealand and has already moved venue because of space, It doubles in size every year so next years event should be better again.

Top photo is my 5 year old son with former superbike rider, Aaron Slight.
2nd Photo is the bike from the movie "Worlds fastest Indian"

All Blacks win over Wallabies.

The All Blacks produced a hugely satisfying 33-6 win to wrap up the winter test season over Australia at the Westpac stadium in Wellington, but the question now is where to from here with an end of year tour starting in five weeks time?

The All Blacks only just avoided the bottom of the table for the tri-nations series, but beat the Wallabies with a clean sweep to regain the Bledisloe cup, It was an impressive finish to an ordinary Tri-Nations campaign that proved to the rest of the rugby world that South Africa are the number 1 team in the world after they dominated the super 14 season.

The All Blacks made good from their promise to kick on from their enterprising late rally against the South African Springboks last week and were lucky to be leading 16-6 at half time over the Wallabies, They showed they meant business from the opening whistle and finally produced a strong start to give their game the momentum that has been missing for much of the season.

It was good to see the coaching staff playing people in the positions they dominate at rather than trying them at different positions, I personally thought the coaching staff would have learn't a lesson from whats happened over the past 3 years. The response was a performance full of energy and, importantly, accuracy on both attack and defense.

The focus now will be on the end of year tour which starts on November 14 with five tests which will include games with Italy, France and England. Hopefully our coaching staff will continue with the team that have just dominated Australia which will then put New Zealand back in a position to regain the world number 1 ranking after the tri-nations in 2010.

All Blacks Fixtures 2009

Its just about time for the All Blacks season to start again. Here are the Game dates for those who are interested. The series to really follow and appreciate is the tri-nations, New Zealand, Australia and South africa are the three best teams in the world, And after the Bulls performance during the recent super 14 season, South Africa will be a tough team to beat.

Iveco series
Jun 13 All Blacks v France Dunedin
Jun 20 All Blacks v France Wellington
Jun 27 All Blacks v Italy Christchurch

Tri Nations
Jul 18 All Blacks v Australia Auckland
Jul 25 South Africa v All Blacks Bloemfontein
Aug 1 South Africa v All Blacks Durban
Aug 8 South Africa v Australia Cape Town
Aug 22 Australia v All Blacks Sydney
Aug 29 Australia v South Africa Perth
Sep 5 Australia v South Africa Brisbane
Sep 12 All Blacks v South Africa Hamilton
Sep 19 All Blacks v Australia Wellington

2009 End of Year Tour
14 Nov All Blacks v Italy Milan
21 Nov All Blacks v England London
28 Nov All Blacks v France Marseille
05 Dec All Blacks v Barbarians London

Rod and Custom Weekend

On the weekend of January 17th and 18th, I took the wife and our four children to the annual swap-meet/hot rod and custom car show in Kumeu which is North West of Auckland (New Zealand).

It’s an event we try to attend every year, It gets bigger and better every year. This year was no exception, The quality of cars was outstanding so I thought I would share some of the photos that I took.

I hope you enjoy them, If anybody would like photos of any specific Hot rods, Street rods, Customs etc, Please contact me through my contact link and i will see what I have that I can send you.