DHL Lions Series Draw

IALT: Talk about the All Blacks and Lions failing to beat one another in the last test match decider series. 

Last night was an epic moment for two teams, and 5 countries, New Zealand, Scotland, Ireland, England and Wales. The last decider series game , was played at Eden Park in Auckland, where the All Blacks were looking forward to retaining the Cup and become victorious as always. The kick off between the two teams was a moment not to forget, the Lions defensive line came up really quick limiting the space for the attackers to find a spot. Early handling errors by both teams were not too good as the other team tried to break through the lines. 

In the 12th minute the Lions were near the try line, 5 metres out. With big passes, one of them was intercepted by All Blacks first five eighth Beauden Barrett who looked like he was gone, but was ctackled by the Lions fullback, he then offloaded to Ngani Laumape who has some pace , he was sprinting, desperately trying to get away from Lion's centre, but ended up getting tackled and offloading to the wrong team.

It was one of those 'Celebrate Too Early Moments' where the Blacks looked like they were gone but ended up getting tackled by the Lions defence, which was a critical act. However, this didn't stop Laumape who then scored the try after the ball got pushed back by Jordie Barrett, after the ball was kicked to him by his brother Beauden. With the conversion successful the Blacks had a 7-0 margin over the Lions. 

Giving away penalties was a main error, with easy kicks for both teams. Beauden missed his first kick which was right in front, a huge bummer but that didn't stop his team from backing down. Laumape and Anton Leinart Brown were an excellent combination with both backs setting up a try for Jordie Barrett who had another player outside him. It looked like the All Blacks had an advantage but it was quickly shut down by the Lions defence after they scored two tries, giving them an equal points. 

The second half was as superb, with the score tied at 15 all, the Blacks tried desperately to break the line and go in for the winning goal. If it weren't for Barrett missing the first kick he would've retained the cup for the Blacks, but again it was a tough match with both teams doing some good team work. The Lions will tour again in the year of 2025, when I am 25 years of age. 

I hope to someday play for the All Blacks, and use what I learnt from this game and put it in action for when they come again. Only if I make the team. There will be no fourth match, but both teams deserved this win.

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Many thanks :) 

Patrick Tuipulotu DROPPED From Blues Squad

IALT: Write about Patrick Tuipulotu being dropped from the Blues Squad after being late to training. 

Blues Lock Patrick Tuipulotu has missed his chance to show in the Blues vs Lions game tonight. He failed to contact Blues Management that he was going to be late to training at their Alexandra Park Headquarters on Monday. The failure to make the starting line-up ahead of Gerald Cowley Tuioti and Scott Scrafton itself raised eyebrows. Tuipulotu place was replaced by Jimmy Tupou after what has been described by the Blues as a breach of team protocol, would have added significant impact from the bench, but coach Umaga clearly decided the 24-year-old didn't have the consistency in form needed to displace either Cowley-Tuioti or Scrafton.  

This isn't his first time Tuipulotu has found himself at odds with the Blues management this year. But whatever reasons behind his breach, the fact that he won't get a chance to play in this unique match, and stamp his own name in History, will be hugely disappointing to himself and Umaga. 

For me I think that this is a clear example of a person not looking ahead of themselves, and not being able to be responsible for their actions. In my class we have been learning about Responsibility, Honesty and Integrity, this is a good example for Responsibility. If I were this person I wouldn't be too ashamed but let this be a lesson to contact if your going to be late and always try and make an effort to turn up to training early. The Blues squad will look different with Patrick, when he is at his best he is a dangerous  ball carrier and defender.

Click HERE to read the original article.

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Many thanks :) 

Not Playing Rugby for a While

For the past 5-6 weeks the boys haven't been playing Rugby which is weird. Even though Rugby is one of our favourite sports, we haven't played it in a while and I am thinking what if we don't play will we ever get better at it? I should just leave my questions for later. We always play Rugby at Lunchtime and play Touch or Basketball at Morning Tea. Basketball is sort of taking over Rugby because we haven't played in a while. 

Whenever we get the chance to play we can't due to some boys not playing or no teacher being able to watch us play. We are not allowed to play without a teacher because there have been to much fights in the past. I think this is a little selfish because at the age of 12 or 13 we should be able to watch over ourselves, but NO!. Because boys are boys, and they like conflict as well as fun, but sometimes boys go over the mark.

Overall, I think that not playing Rugby has affected our skills in the sport and many boys are getting into playing Basketball.

I found not playing Rugby challenging because I'm beginning to play basketball ALOT!

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Many thanks!