It's that time of the month again

I’m not on the rags because that’s a girl thing. It’s time to see who was the biggest bellend this month. And the Bellend of the Month for October 2010 is…

Marcus Jannes from Sweden. The award can be given posthumously and rightly so because this bellend used a webcam to film himself committing suicide and broadcast the successful attempt live on the Internet. If life is getting me down that badly, I would not kill myself and I especially would not be filming myself doing it. That muppet should have committed himself to a mad house because you would have to have some serious mental problems if you’re considering suicide. Mr. T would totally pity that fool and so do I, but hanging yourself on a noose made of network cable is never the answer.

Want an easy victory? Come in from behind!

That's what happened in both of tonight's rugby games, but not the league game from this afternoon: New Zealand beat Papua New Guinea 76-12 in this afternoon's Rugby League Four Nations clash. New Zealand's points came from three tries each by Junior Sa'u and Sam Perrett, two tries by Jeremy Smith, one try and two goals (remember that in league, there's no need to distinguish between conversions and penalties because they're both worth the same) by Issac Luke, one try each Simon Mannering, Lance Hohaia, Greg Eastwood, Jason Nightingale, and Sika Manu, and eight goals by Benji Marshall. Papua New Guinea's points came from one try each by Emmanuel Yere and Glen Nami; Ryan Tongia scored two goals.

Waikato is in next week's ITM Cup final after a close game; they beat Auckland 38-37. Waikato's points came from tries by Sosene Anesi, Dominiko Waqaniburotu, Romana Graham, Henry Speight, and Hikairo Forbes; Trent Renata added three penalties and two conversions. Auckland got their points from Benson Stanley, Toby Morland, Auvasa Faleali'i, and Chay Raui; Gareth Anscombe kicked three penalties and four conversions.

The All Blacks and the Wallabies played a fourth Bledisloe Cup test in Hong Kong with the Wallabies coming out on top, final score 26-24. Whose fault is this? Graham Henry. That bellend made a terrible mistake in not having Sonny Bill Williams on the field - the former league star helped Canterbury win several ITM Cup games over the past couple of months and I think he would have helped the All Blacks keep their unbeaten run alive. But let's review how the Wallabies got that alphabet soup from right under our noses: tries by Quade Cooper, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Drew Mitchell, and James O'Connor; with two conversions by James O'Conner and one by Matt Giteau. The All Blacks scored tries courtesy of Jimmy Cowan, Cory Jane, and Ma'a Nonu; Daniel Carter scored a penalty and three conversions.

The ITM Cup goes into CRUNCH TIME!!!!

Canterbury beat Wellington 57-41 in tonight's ITM Cup semifinal. Canterbury's points came from two tries by Telusa Veainu, one try each by Steve Fualau, Sean Maitland, Robbie Fruean, and Isaac Ross, and five penalties and six conversions by Colin Slade. Wellington got their points from tries by Julian Savea, Apoua Stewart, Victor Vito, and TJ Perenara; Lima Sopoaga added five penalties and three conversions.

Billy Ray's getting a divorce

And I think I know why. It's because of that song about his achy breaky heart. Weird Al's parody of that song was right on and I too would rather be tied to a chair and kicked down the stairs than having to listen to such bull. I cannot stand country and western and I believe that your spouse putting out such awful rubbish and passing it off as music is just as good as any other excuse to terminate the marriage. I commend his wife for dropping that low-life from her life, and I would've done the same. I too would happily go through a messy divorce proceeding and I would happily give up half my property (but not my Macbook; in fact, if I get married, the missus would never find out about it just in case things don't work out) in exchange for half of theirs.

There's nothing to write about tonight

Maybe I'll just write about the fact that there's nothing to write about tonight.

Tattoo prank turns sour

If you want a good reason not to get a tattoo, here's a news story I found from across the ditch. An Australian man wanted a Yinyang symbol tattooed on his back but instead he was given one of a penis with a misspelled slogan implying he was gay, and it will cost him A$2500 to remove. The loser that did the tattoo has been charged by police with two counts of assault, occasioning bodily harm, and one offence related to local public safety legislation. Of course tattooists make mistakes but that bellend has just pushed it and when he appears in court in three weeks time, I hope the judge hands down a suitable punishment for his nasty prank.

Rule Britannia, Britannia rules the wave...

But Man United ruled Britannia Stadium this morning when they scored their first away win of the season by beating Stoke City 2-1. Man United's goals were both scored by Javier Hernandez, and Stoke City's goal was scored by Tuncay Sanli. In addition, two players from each side were booked (all of them being from the British Isles): Daniel Collins, Marc Wilson, Gary Neville, and Paul Scholes.

That's just about it for the ITM Cup

Auckland squared off against Tasman and won 49-10. Gareth Anscombe, who scored 34 of Auckland's points, scored three tries, five conversions, and three penalties. The rest of Auckland's points were from one try each by Toby Morland, Brent Ward, and Atieli Pakalani.

Hawke's Bay beat Counties Manukau 31-28. Hawke's Bay's points came from tries by Kahn Fotuali'i, Bryn Evans, Michael Johnson, and Gillies Kaka; Mark Jackman scored a penalty and three conversions and Daniel Kirkpatrick scored a conversion. Counties-Manukau got their points from a try, a penalty, and a conversion by Tim Nanai-Williams, and one try each by Fritz Lee (who is back from suspension after his red card for a dangerous tackle last month), DJ Forbes, and Ahsee Tuala.

The other Rugby League Four Nations match for this weekend took place this afternoon, with Australia shutting out Papua New Guinea 42-0. The points were scored from a try and five goals by Cameron Smith, two tries by Willie Tonga, and one try each by Cooper Cronk, Darren Lockyer, Brett Morris, Billy Slater, and Brent Tate.

Nearly 100 points all up

No, it's not an All Blacks game during the Rugby World Cup. It was Taranaki's 49-47 defeat of North Harbour. Taranaki's points came from two tries by George Pisi, one try each by Jayden Hayward, Mahonri Schwalger, David Smith, and Samuela Vunisa, and three penalties and five conversions by Beauden Barrett. North Harbour scored their points from three tries by Matt Luamanu, two tries by James King, and one try by Chris Smylie; Mike Harris kicked three penalties and four conversions.

Otago finally have an embarrassing season behind them, with the final nail in the coffin being Manawatu beating them 46-24. Manawatu got their points from tries by James Oliver (no relation to that bellend behind those unappetizing "school dinners"), Craig Clare, Hadleigh Parkes, Rob Foreman, Lewis Marshall, and Karl Bryson; Aaron Cruden added four penalties and two conversions. Otago's scored from a try and a conversion by Glenn Dickson, one try each by Alando Soakai and Paula Kinikinilau, and a penalty and two conversions by Chris Noakes.

The last game for tonight featured Wellington and Southland, Wellington win 27-14. Wellington's points came from tries by Tajhon Mailata, Alapati Leiua, and Ged Robinson; Lima Sopoaga scored two penalties and three conversions. Southland still managed tries by Glen Horton and James Wilson, both converted by Robbie Robinson.

While Southland were being trampled by Wellington, the Kiwis opened their Four Nations campaign against England, the score was 24-10 to New Zealand. New Zealand’s points came from a try and four goals by Benji Marshall, and one try each by Junior Sa'u, Lance Hohaia, and Shaun Kenny-Dowall. England’s points came from a try and a goal by Gareth Widdop, and a try by James Roby.

The end is almost nigh

The 13th round of the ITM Cup started last night Northland beating an injury-plagued bay of Plenty 36-24. Northland's points came from tries by David Holwell, Aaron Bancroft, Dean Budd, Rhyan Caine, and Simon Munro; and Lachie Munro added four conversions and a penalty. Bay of Plenty got theirs from tries by Taniela Moa, Josh Hohneck, and Grant McQuoid; also, Mike Delany scored two conversions and Colin Bourke scored a conversion and a penalty.

Tonight's game was between Canterbury and Waikato, Waikato won 26-6. Waikato got their points from tries by Alex Bradley and Soseni Anesi; Trent Renata scored four penalties and two conversions. Canterbury's points composition can be summed up in just five words: two penalties by Colin Slade.

Who loves New York? You'll be loving it even more now...

That's right, Michael Bloomberg isn't just some bureaucrat with a Jewish-sounding name. He is a mayor that really knows how to work that Karcher in areas that need to be cleaned out, and one area that is being targeted is smoking. Smoking is already banned in restaurants and bars in the Big Apple but he wants to extend the ban to parks, beaches, boardwalks, pedestrian plazas, and other outdoor public spaces. I applaud him because smoking is really bad for your health, the taste and smell of cigarettes is appalling, and it's just a waste of money. A person sitting within one metre of a smoker outside can be exposed to levels of secondhand smoke similar to those experienced indoors. And besides, if kids see people smoke in public or in a movie, they'd think it's cool and start doing it. You can argue by saying you have the right to smoke on a beach or in a park, but a parent has the right to walk by with their child and not have to worry about the potential threat of an asthma attack. There are better bad habits to get into like junk food - obesity may kill but it doesn't kill as quickly as cancer.

Fonterra are opening a dairy farm in China

I think that's a bad mistake because of the melamine scandal in 2008. What happened was that Sanlu, which Fonterra has a stake in, had watered down their infant formula so there would be more there and then faked the protein content by adding melamine. Fonterra knew about the tainted infant formula but didn't say jack about it until after the Olympics. If Fonterra open that farm, then they're just opening more of their dairy products to such dishonest practices. Fonterra shouldn't be opening their farm in that communist wasteland because things might get really bad if some of the employees started making a "high-protein" range which was actually high-melamine.

Now it seems child safety is "too explicit"

A police-run sexual safety programme in schools in New Zealand has become a target of outrage that it is "too explicit". One kid was reportedly asked how he would feel if his babysitter put her hands in his underpants, and to role play viewing porn with a cousin. That does sound wrong, but the programme, called Keeping Ourselves Safe, is run through schools in conjunction with education officers to educate children about safe environments, how to avoid getting into an unsafe situation, and how to get out of danger. A lot of children are unaware of some of those dangers, so it's our job to make them aware, and then if they find themselves in some of those situations, they'll know what they can do about it. The parents that are complaining about the programme are total bellends who have completely lost the plot. I understand if it doesn't seem age-appropriate at times but these are real issues that the cops are tackling, and the parents should just stop whining and get on with their lives.

The second-to-last of the second-to-last spells the end for the boys in blue

Auckland won 39-11. Auckland scored from a try, two penalties, and three conversions by Gareth Anscombe, one try each by Toby Morland, Isaia Toeava, Tom McCartney, and Joe Rokocoko, and a conversion by Matt Berquist. Otago only managed a try by Halani Aulika and two penalties by Glenn Dickson.

After that match, Hawke's Bay beat North Harbour 36-21. Hawke's Bay squared up the round with tries by Zac Guildford, Michael Johnson, Mike Coman, Ryan McLeod, and Chris Eaton; Richard Buckman added a penalty and three conversions and Mark Jackman only kicked a solitary conversion. North Harbour's points came from tries by Chris Smylie and Josh York; Michael Harris added three penalties and a conversion. Mike Coman was yellow-carded in the 21st minute.

Sonny Bill's now an All Black

But let's get on to last night's game between Wellington and Taranaki, final score was 49-15 to Wellington. Wellington's points came from tries by Alipate Leiua, Apoua Stewart, Alby Mathewson, Tajhon Mailata, Scott Fuglistaller, Ma'a Nonu, and Charlie Ngatai, with the goals being taken care of by Piri Weepu (a penalty and a conversion) and Limo Sopoaga (a penalty and three conversions). Taranaki's points came from tries by Jayden Hayward and Scott Ireland, with the extras being added in the form of a penalty by Willie Ripia and a conversion by Beauden Barrett.

Then it was on to the Man United game. They continued their unbeaten run by drawing against West Bromwich Albion 2-2 at Old Trafford. Man United's goals were scored by Javier Hernandez and Nani, and West Brom's were by Patrice Evra (an own goal) and Somen Tchoyi. The only yellow cards in the match went to two of the bellends that make up West Brom: Scott Carson and Nick Shorey.

More Round 12 action

Bay of Plenty took on Southland in a match in which the Bay outclassed fellow semifinal hopefuls Southland 33-22. The points were relatively spread out among the nine players who scored, with Bay of Plenty's points coming from a try, two penalties, and a conversion by Mike Delany, and a try each by Lelia Masaga, Toby Arnold, Taniela Moa, and Colin Bourke. Southland still managed a respectable amount of points, with theirs coming from a try, a penalty, and two conversions by James Wilson, and one try each by Seminar Manu and Brayden Mitchell. In the 62nd minute, both teams were relieved of their loosehead props for ten minutes when Jamie Mackintosh and Josh Hohneck were both yellow-carded for fighting.

Counties Manukau got their second Ranfurly Shield challenge of the season when they took on and lost to Canterbury 39-21. Canterbury scored a penalty try, the rest of their points came from tries by Robert Fruean, Sonny Bill Williams, Telusa Veainu, and Owen Franks; Stephen Brett added two penalties and four conversions. Counties Manukau got their points from tries by Sileki Nabou, Sherwin Stowers, and Ahsee Tuala, all three tries were converted by Dean Cummings.

If only Cruden had made one more kick

Round 12 of the ITM Cup kicked off last night with Waikato beating Manawatu 27-25. Stephen Donald scored most of Waikato's points, with his share coming from two tries, two penalties, and three conversions, and forming the remainder of the cube was a try by Malcolm Barnes. Aaron Cruden scored a majority of Manawatu's points, this time, it was a smaller heap consisting of a try, two penalties, and two conversions, and the other rows of the square were formed from tries by Rob Foreman and Michael Fitzgerald.

Tonight, Tasman beat Northland 34-29. Tasman's points weren't mostly the work of just one person, with tries being scored by Chris Jack, Blair Cook, Kade Poki, Fai Mika, and Poutasi Luafutu, and a penalty and three conversions being scored by Tom Marshall. Lachie Munro scored nearly half of Northland's points (a try, a penalty, and three conversions) and the rest were tries by Roy Griffin, Matt Wallis, and Tim Dow.

I may be single, but I'm not inadequate or pimpled!

Some bellend named Andrew Marr has suggested that most bloggers are "inadequate, pimpled, and single." Those are just stereotypes and they are completely inaccurate. If you click on the "next blog" link at the top of the page, you'll find several bloggers who are happily married and many of them even have kids. I support free speech but this has gone too far. Of course some bloggers ramble about their own personal issues or have little in the way of value but it's clear from the blasphemy that is coming out of his mouth that that muppet has completely lost the plot and is just out to undermine blogging as a way of self-expression when it's getting harder to go into journalism in its normal form.

Better late than never

After two long, slow months of anguish, some of the Chilean miners in Copiapo have finally been released. The youngest of the miners, 19-year-old Jimmy Sanchez, is among the seven already rescued, as is the only non-Chilean, 23-year-old Carlos Mamani from Bolivia. The rescuers took their time but they are finally making up for it even if they're only rescuing one miner per hour. I think it would have been faster if they had found a way to squeeze two or three miners into the capsule instead of just one.

Liu Xiaobo won that Nobel Peace Prize fair and square

The Chinese government are saying that giving a Nobel Peace Prize to a jailed dissident shows disrespect for their legal system. I think that's bollocks. Besides, the "crime" he is serving 11 years for is something that should be done to those far-left nutcases: subversion. All communists are subversive and the best way to fight their subversion, besides executing the Party Secretary, is to use subversion back. The Norwegian Nobel Committee sees it that way and has decided to reward this brave man with ten million kronor. He is brave enough to demand democratic transformation of the one-party government, and brave enough to break some of the most repressive of Chinese laws, but I think he should focus his efforts on North Korea next.

And that concludes Round 11

Round 11 of the ITM Cup finished yesterday afternoon with wins to Wellington and Tasman. In the first game, Wellington beat North Harbour 53-22. Wellington scored their points from two tries by Alipate Leiua, one try each by John Schwalger, Alby Matthewson, Scott Fuglistaller, Jeremy Thrush, and Julian Savea, and three penalties and four conversions by Piri Weepu. North Harbour got theirs from tries by Ben Botica and Matt Luamanu; Mike Harris added three penalties and two conversions.

In the second game, Tasman beat Bay of Plenty 41-39. Tasman's points were scored from tries by Kade Poki, Shane Christie, and Robbie Malneek, and eight penalties and a conversion by Tom Marshall. Bay of Plenty got points from two tries by Taniela Moa, one try each by Luke Braid, Grant McQuoid, Daniel Waenga, and Lelia Masaga, and a penalty and three conversions by Mike Delany.

Southland lose the Shield

But before we go into that, let's check out the game between Auckland and Counties Manukau. Auckland won 37-13. Auckland's points came from two tries each by Daniel Braid and Joe Rokocoko, one try by Jerome Kaino, two penalties and two conversions by Gareth Anscombe, and one conversion by Matt Berquist. Counties-Manukau's points all came from Dean Cummins in the form of a try, two penalties, and a conversion. Taiasina Tuifua was yellow-carded in the 78th minute.

Afterwards, Canterbury beat Southland 26-16. Sonny Bill Williams didn't contribute any letters to the alphabet soup this time around but Canterbury still managed to deliver an aftershock of a performance by winning the Ranfurly Shield - and they did this with a try, four penalties, and two conversions by Colin Slade and one try by Telusa Veainu. Southland could only manage a try by Kane Thompson, two penalties and a conversion by Robbie Robbinson, and a penalty by James Wilson.

Otago lose again

So what's the surprise in that? Very little. Waikato were the victors this time round and the scoreline was 41-15. Waikato's points came from two tries, five conversions, and two penalties by Stephen Donald, as well as a try each from Henry Speight, Save Tokula, and Mils Muliaina. Otago got their points from one try each by Alando Soakai and Sean Romans as well as a conversion and a penalty by Glenn Dickson. Halani Aulika was yellow-carded in the 69th minute.

This afternoon, Taranaki beat Manawatu 30-16. Taranaki's points came from tries by Scott Ireland, Andre Taylor, Jayden Hayward, and Beauden Barrett, with Willie Ripia and Andre Taylor each scoring a penalty and a conversion. Manawatu's points came from a try by Hamish Gosling, and three penalties and a conversion by Aaron Cruden.

Happy birthday to me...

But round eleven of the ITM Cup is here and IT'S ON!!!

Last night, Hawke's Bay beat Northland 25-13. Hawke's Bay's points came from tries by Chris Eaton, Richard Buckman, and Kahn Fotuali'i, with Mark Jackman adding two penalties and two conversions. Northland's points (a try, two penalties, and a conversion) all came from Lachie Munro.

THIS JUST WON'T DO

Sorry to use all uppercase letters but a fellow blogger has racist material in one of his posts. If you want to know just what you're up against, click here. The post in question entails prolific use of the N-word and that sort of carry-on cannot be condoned anywhere. Blogger should take action against such racist rubbish before it gets out of hand.

UPDATE: Blogger have since removed all that hate speech.

Frog justice 1, Jerome Kerviel 0

But still, the courts could have locked that bellend up for life. What Kerviel did was unforgiveable - the Societe-Generale (a French bank) lost over NZ$9 billion over a three-day period while they closed out positions which were built up by over NZ$90 billion in fraudulent transactions he had created during his time at the bank. This sort of behaviour cannot be condoned anywhere and the French justice system did a good job of putting that loser in the clink for three years, where he can have a long, hard think about his unethical behaviour.

0-0 at Stadium of Light

That's right, Manchester United are still looking for an away win after drawing against Sunderland 0-0. The only bookings of the match went to Nemanja Vidic and Michael Turner.

While the rugby league action was unfolding over the ditch on Sunday, the tenth round of the ITM Cup was finishing off: Manawatu beat Tasman 20-8. Manawatu's points came from a try, two penalties, and two conversions for Aaron Cruden and a try by Fraser Stone. Tasman's points came from a try by John Marshall and a penalty by James Marshall. Fai Mika got sent to the sin-bin in the 66th minute for infringing at the ruck, and in the 75th minute, Reece Robinson was sent to the bin for getting off his feet in a ruck.

Next game of the afternoon had Counties Manukau beating North Harbour 24-23. Counties Manukau's points came from two tries and two conversions by Tim Nanai-Williams, one try by Tana Umaga, and a penalty and a conversion by Dean Cummins. North Harbour scored their points from one try each by Ben Afeaki, Chris Smylie, and Nafi Tuitavake; Mike Harris added two penalties and a conversion.

More league action tonight

The other two rugby league games I'm going to post the results to are the NSW Cup Grand Final and the Toyota Cup Grand Final.

The NSW Cup, which is mainly contested by New South Wales-based teams (many of them being NRL teams' reserve squads), was taken out by the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, after beating the Windsor Wolves 24-12. Canterbury-Bankstown's points came from two tries and four goals by Josh Reynolds, and one try each by Rhys Jack and Trent Cutler. Windsor's points came from tries by Jesse Sene Lefao and David Tangata-Toa, and two goals by Craig Trindall.

The Toyota Cup, which is contested by the underage sides of NRL teams, was won by the New Zealand Warriors, who beat the South Sydney Rabbitohs 42-28. The Warriors scored their points from two tries by Elijah Taylor, one try each by Siuatonga Likiliki, Glen Fisilahi, Sam Lousi, Elijah Niko, and Nafetalai Seluini, and seven goals by Shaun Johnson. South Sydney got theirs from tries by James Roberts, Junior Vaivai, Blake Judd, Nathan Peats, and Jack Tulemau, and four goals by Adam Reynolds.

Here's something a little different tonight

It's called rugby league. I have recorded four rather important games onto the MY SKY today and will be watching them two at a time over the next two nights. Results of today's ITM Cup games, and Man United's away game against Sunderland, will be up here on Tuesday. The two most important games are the finals of the Super League and the NRL, and that's what you'll be getting tonight.

The Super League final for 2010 was contested by St Helens and Wigan, and Wigan won 22-10. Wigan's points came from two tries by Martin Gleeson, one try each by Darrell Goulding and Sam Tomkins, two goals by Pat Richards, and one goal by Mark Riddell. (It's worth mentioning that in league, there's no need to distinguish between conversions and penalties because they're both worth the same.) St Helens got their points from tries by Andrew Dixon and Francis Meli, with a goal by Jamie Foster.

The NRL Grand Final for 2010 was contested by the St George-Illawarra Dragons and the Sydney Roosters, and the Dragons won 32-8. St George-Illawarra's points were scored from two tries by Jason Nightingale, one try each by Mark Gasnier, Dean Young, and Nathan Fien, and six goals by Jamie Soward. Sydney's points came from one try each by Braith Anasta and Mitchell Aubusson.

The World Club Challenge will be contested in February between Wigan and St George-Illawarra.

AND COLLINGWOOD WIN THE 2010 AFL GRAND FINAL!

The final score was 16.12 (108) – 7.10 (52). Scott Pendlebury won the Norm Smith medal (if the game has to be replayed because of a tie, a second medal is awarded the following week) this time around. Collingwood’s goals were distributed as follows: two each by Alan Didak, Brent Macaffer, Chris Dawes, Steele Sidebottom, Sharrod Wellingham, and one each by Ben Johnson, Darren Jolly, Dane Swan, Dale Thomas, Harry O'Brien, Tyson Goldsack. St Kilda’s goals were distributed as follows: two by Stephen Milne and one each by Brendon Goddard, Justin Koschitzke, Lenny Hayes, Nick dal Santo, and Sam Gilbert.

Earlier today, Waikato beat Northland 45-33. Waikato’s points came from two tries by Brendon Leonard, one try each by Save Tokula and Henry Speight, and a try, four penalties, and four conversions by Stephen Donald. Northland’s points came from one try each by Mateo Malupo, Cameron Eyre, Mikaele Tuu'u, and Dean Budd, and a try, two penalties, and a conversion by Lachie Munro. Vern Kamo was yellow-carded in the 72nd minute.

Canterbury were the next team to beat Otago, doing so 35-20. Canterbury's points came from tries by Steve Fualau, Ryan Crotty, Sonny Bill Williams, and Sean Maitland, two penalties and three conversions by Colin Slade, and a dropped goal by Andy Ellis. Otago got theirs from tries by Joe Hill and Halani Aulika, and two penalties and two conversions by Glenn Dickson.

Next up, Taranaki delivered a 23-6 victory over Southland. Taranaki scored a penalty try, which is awarded after a foul if the referee believes that a try would have been scored had the foul not taken place. Their other eighteen points came from a try by Jayden Hayward and three penalties and two conversions by Willie Ripia. Southland's only point scorer, Robbie Robinson, kicked two penalties.

It's time to bring on Round 10

And last night, Bay of Plenty were a force to be reckoned with as they made their fourth straight win by beating Wellington 31-24. Bay of Plenty scored their points from tries by Ben Smith, Cory Aporo, and Lelia Masaga; Mike Delany kicked four penalties and two conversions. Wellington's points came from tries by Dane Coles and Alby Mathewson; Lima Sopoaga added four penalties and a conversion.

Tonight, Auckland and Hawke's Bay held each other to a 34-34 draw. Auckland's points came from two tries by Daniel Braid, one try by Winston Stanley, and five penalties and two conversions by Matt Berquist. Hawke's Bay's points came from one try each by Jason Shoemark, Mark Jackman, Trent Boswell-Wakefield, and Sinoti Sinoti; Mark Jackman added two penalties and four conversions. Charlie Faumuina was sent to the sin-bin in the 31st minute.