Friday, October 19, 2007

All blacks vs Frace




In rugby union, France's national team and New Zealand's national team (known as the All Blacks) have played each other in Test rugby since 1906. The first Test between the countries on 1 January 1906, which the All Blacks won 38–8, was also France's first ever Test. They played again in 1924, and then in 1954. The 1954 match was won 3–0 by France and was their first victory over the All Blacks.
France first toured New Zealand in 1961 — before any of the Home Nations — and the All Blacks won all three Tests. The All Blacks' first ever full tour of France was in 1977, when they won both Tests. France achieved their first ever victory over the All Blacks in New Zealand on Bastille Day 1979. The teams also met at the inaugural Rugby World Cup final in 1987, which was won by the All Blacks 29–9. A first series win in New Zealand was achieved by France in 1994 when they won two Tests, and in 1999 the teams again met in the World Cup. The 1999 semi-final was hosted at Twickenham Stadium, where France overcame a 24–10 deficit to win 43–31. Since 2000 the two teams have contested the Dave Gallaher Trophy which the All Blacks won in 2000 and have never lost. They last meeting during the 2007 World Cup quarter-finals at Millennium Stadium of Cardiff which France won 20–18.
Overall the All Blacks have won 34 Tests, France 11, with one drawn. The highest victory between the countries was achieved when the All Blacks won 61–10 at Westpac Stadium in 2007. The most career points scored by members of either team is 92 by Andrew Mehrtens; he also holds the record for points in one match with 29.






The All Blacks perform a haka (Māori dance) before each international match. The haka has been closely associated with New Zealand ever since a tour of New South Wales in 1884.

Krakatau volcane




The loudspeakers on the Mosques in Jakarta have been announcing with verse, sermons, prayers and song all thoughout the night that Ramadhan is over and the Eid celebrations have started. Fireworks could be heard all night long.In Indonesia we have a long holiday and I have decided to leave tomorrow to visit one of my life long ambitions, to visit Krakatau volcanoe. I read of this catastrophic erution which occured in 1883, as a child and finally I have the chance to visit it.Krakatau volcano lies in the Sunda strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra. In about 416 A.D., caldera collapse destroyed the volcano and formed a 4-mile (7-km) wide caldera. The islands of Krakatau, Verlaten, and Lang are remnants of this volcano. The eruption and collapse of the caldera in 1883 produced one of the largest explosions on Earth in recorded time (VEI=6) and destroyed much of Krakatau island, leaving only a remnant. The official number of people killed in the 1883 eruption is somewhere around 36,000. Almost all of these folks were killed by tsunami that washed nearby shorelines. Krakatau had been obviously restless for long enough before the big eruption that there was nobody around when it occurred, however, the folks living on nearby islands and coastlines - many of which couldn't even see Krakatau - didn't evacuate and were killed.Since 1927, small eruptions have been frequent and have constructed a new island, Anak Krakatau (Child of Krakatau).