In its first 60 days of release, Elden Ring became one of YouTube’s biggest ever gaming launches, seeing well over 3 billion combined video views.
In stats shared exclusively with IGN, Elden Ring saw 3.4 billion views in the two months after launch, dwarfing the next name on the list, GTA 5 on 1.9 billion. Of course, YouTube has grown since GTA’s launch in 2013, making that something of an unfair comparison – but the far more recent Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018) saw 1.4 billion, so it’s clear quite how successful Elden Ring has been.
YouTube Gaming stops short of calling it the biggest gaming launch ever, but it’s clear that FromSoftware’s open world masterpiece has set an incredibly high bar for games on YouTube in the future. In large part, that’s down to the hunger for different kinds of video about the game, from Let’s plays, to guides, to lore explainers.
YouTube Gaming also provided a list of other stats around the biggest launch videos for Elden Ring:
Most Viewed launch videos:
Channels with the most Elden Ring launch views:
Content Type Breakdown:
VOD – 71.3%
Livestreams – 25.98%
Shorts – 2.72%
Uploads By Bosses (descending order)
Margit, The Fell Omen
Malenia Blade of Miquella
Godrick the Grafted
Starscourge Radahn
Draconic Tree Sentinel
Uploads by Character Class (descending order)
Samurai
hero
Wretch
astrologer
Warrior
YouTube Gaming also called out some of the Elden Ring community’s best-known creators with ‘Elden Lord Awards’:
Finally, the team also acknowledged perhaps Elden Ring’s best-known hero, Let Me Solo Her – the player who took on the game’s hardest boss more than a thousand times, and earned a real-life sword for their efforts. According to YouTube Gaming, videos featuring Let Me Solo Her have accrued over 25 million views alone.
All of this is yet more proof of Elden Ring’s status as a true gaming phenomenon. It quickly became one of the fastest-selling games in recent history in both the US and Europe, one of Steam’s most played games by concurrent players, and one of the best reviewed games in modern history.
We called it a masterpiece in our 10/10 review, saying it “can easily be held amongst the best open-world games I’ve ever played. Like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild before it, Elden Ring is one that we’ll be looking back on as a game that moved a genre forward.”
Joe Skrebels is IGN’s Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Wednesday is going to be an active weather day in West Michigan starting with heat and humidity, and finishing with strong to potentially severe thunderstorms.
HEAT INDEX VALUES CLIMB TO 105 DEGREES
A warm front will surge through West Michigan for Wednesday and it will usher in some serious heat. Temperatures will climb from the low to mid 80s on Tuesday to the low 90s on Wednesday. What makes the heat dangerous is the humidity that will stream in with it.
High temperatures will likely be feeling like 100 degrees through Wednesday afternoon. This intensity of heat can be dangerous for West Michigan because of the relative infrequency of its occurrence. Easy tips like staying hydrated and finding ways to regulate body temperature are more than enough to stay safe.
STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS POSSIBLE
The heat and humidity will set the stage for thunderstorms Wednesday. While a few could pop early in the day, the main line is expected to form in the afternoon to evening from northwest to southeast. The Storm Prediction Center has placed most of our viewing area in a ‘Level 2’ risk area for the day.
On Level 2 risk days it is important to stay weather aware and to check in with the forecast frequently to see where the strongest storms may pop. Right now it appears the line of strongest storms with heavy rain will develop and track through during the afternoon to evening hours from northwest to southeast.
The risk of damage on Wednesday is not zero, but it isn’t overly high. Storm Team 8 will be heavily staffed in the Tracking Center to keep an eye on the line and identify any individual storms that look especially powerful.
Showers and storms will gradually push out to the southeast by Thursday afternoon. Watch for another line of strong to severe storms again Sunday night.
The Federal Government has completed the paperwork for the introduction of low-sulfur unleaded petroleum three years ahead of schedule – still more than a decade behind Europe – but it will cost motorists more at the bowser.
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Australian motorists will finally get access to better quality, lower sulfur unleaded petrol three years earlier than originally planned – but more than a decade after Europe introduced the same strict quality measures – after the Federal Government rubber-stamped the legislation for its introduction on 15 December , 2024.
The move cuts three years from the waiting time for low-sulphur unleaded petrol and should clear the way for a newer generation of engine technology in modern cars in Australian showrooms.
The new fuel will have a maximum sulfur content of 10 parts-per-million, down from the current standard of 50ppm for premium unleaded and 150ppm for regular unleaded.
As previously reported by DriveEurope mandated 10ppm unleaded in January 2009 and Australia’s fuel quality has languished at the same level as developing countries ever since.
“Last month, the Australian Government made legislation that brings forward the 10 ppm sulfur limit for all petroleum sold in Australia from 2027 to 2024,” a spokesperson for the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water said in a statement to Drive.
“The previous Government announced an intention to bring forward the 10 ppm sulfur limit from 2027 to 2024, however they did not make the required legislative instrument to bring the changes into force.
“The Australian Government is exploring a range of measures to improve Australia’s fuel quality to complement its commitment to stronger action on climate change and putting Australia on track to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
“The commencement of the reduced sulfur petroleum standards in 2024 will mean all fuel sold at the pump from 15 December 2024 will have a maximum sulfur level of 10 ppm.”
The change brings Australia into line with the world’s best standard for unleaded petroleum, but a full 14 years after Europe made the switch and more than 20 years since European regulations first targeted the sulfur content in unleaded fuel in 2000.
The change also comes with a cost to motorists, as the department forecasts a slight rise in fuel prices.
“The reduced sulfur petroleum will have a marginal price premium of around 0.6 to 1.0 cents per liter, which equates to an additional cost of around $8 per household over three years,” the spokesperson told Drive.
“The health savings outweigh the increased costs to motorists by around $760 million.”
Key to the cleaner fuel program is the upgrading of Australia’s two remaining fuel refineries — Ampol in Brisbane and Shell/Viva Energy at Geelong — in a move also intended to safeguard the country’s fuel supplies and stocks.
The number of refineries has been dropping for nearly a decade, with two — Shell at Clyde and Caltex at Kurnell, both in Sydney — decommissioned in 2012 and 2014 respectively.
Since 2019, the BP refinery in Perth and the Mobil facility in Melbourne have also closed.
The change to low-sulfur unleaded petroleum follows the earlier requirement for a similar sulfur level in diesel fuel sold in Australia following upgrades to local refineries since 1 January 2009.
Paul Gover has been a motoring journalist for more than 40 years, working on newspapers, magazines, websites, radio and television. A qualified general news journalist and sports reporter, his passion for motoring led him to Wheels, Motor, Car Australia, Which Car and Auto Action magazines. He is a champion racing driver as well as a World Car of the Year judge.
AMD confirms Zen4-based “Raphael” desktop CPUs are on track to launch within the next 8 weeks.
During Q2 Earnings call AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su confirmed Ryzen 7000 series will launch this quarter. That narrows the launch date from previously communicated ‘this fall’ (so September – December) to just September. According to the rumors AMD might reveal the new series on September 15th, which would be the date of the product announcement with launch later that month.
“Looking ahead, we’re on track to launch our all-new 5nm Ryzen 7000 desktop processors and AM5 platforms later this quarter with leadership performance in gaming and content creation,”
— AMD CEO, Dr. Lisa Su
The company is set to unveil more details on X670E motherboard designs from their partners this week. AMD is hosting the Meet The Expert event for enthusiasts and professionals where representatives from all major board partners will talk about their AMD 600-series motherboards for Ryzen 7000 series.
Furthermore, Lisa Su also reaffirmed that Radeon RX 7000 series are on track to launch ‘later this year’. This means that there are no changes or updates to the previously communicated launch window.
Day 5 of the 2022 Commonwealth Games will feature preliminaries of the men’s 200 back, women’s 200 fly, men’s 50 free, women’s 50 back, mixed 4×100 medley relay, and the men’s 1500 free. The men’s 1500 free prelims have just two heats, which will take place at the end of this morning’s session.
Today will mark yet another women’s backstroke thriller, as we’ll get to see Australian Kaylee McKeownthe Commonwealth Record holder, and Canada’s kylie masse go head-to-head in the women’s 50’s back. Although it may not happen this morning, the Commonwealth Games Record appears poised to go down in that event, as both McKeown and Masse have been well under the record mark of 27.56. For that matter, Australian sprinter Mollie O’Callaghan has been under the record mark as well, coming in at 27.46, while Wales’ Medi Harris ties the record with her seed time.
Without Canadian youngster Summer McIntosh, the women’s 200 fly field is wide open, seeing 6 swimmers seeded at 2:07 and 2:08. Those swimmers include Alys Thoms, the Commonwealth Games Record holder and reigning Commonwealth Games champion in the event. The top seed coming in is Australian Elizabeth Dekker, entering at 2:07.01.
The men’s 200 back has reigning Commonwealth Games champion Mitch Larkin of Australia leading the field by a slim margin over England’s Luke Greenbank. Meanwhile, the men’s 50 free has TTO’s Dylan Carter 1st on the psych sheet by a wide margin.
England’s Luke Greenbank led men’s 200 back prelims this morning handily, swimming a solid 1:56.33. I have led English teammate Brodie Paul Williams, who touched in 1:57.88. Greenbank built his lead over the field on the first 100, flipping in 56.50 at the 100m mark, then swam to 59.83 coming home.
Greenbank has set himself up nicely to go after the Commonwealth Games Record tonight. The record stands at 1:55.58 and was set in 2010.
Notably, reigning Commonwealth champion Mitch Larkin out of Australia was 7th this morning, though he still safely advanced to tonight’s final by over second. Larkin just never seemed to have it this morning, taking the race out in a very pedestrian 58.02 on the first 100, then came home 1:01.57.
New Zealand’s Andrew Jeffcoat was also notably off this morning, swimming at 2:03.57. Jeffcoat was seeded to make finals fairly easily, however, he added 5 seconds to his time this morning, fading hard as he split 32.04 and 32.21 on the final 2 50s of the race.
Commonwealth Games Record: 2:05.45, alys thomas – 2018
2018 Commonwealth Champion: alys thomas (WAL) – 2:05.45
Top 8 Qualifiers:
Elizabeth Dekkers (AUS) – 2:07.62
Laura Stephens (ENG) – 2:09.60
Abbey Connor (AUS) – 2:09.69
Holly Hibbett (ENG) – 2:10.49
Brianna Throssell (AUS) – 2:10.92
Mabel Zavaros (CAN) – 2:10.94
Keanna Louise Macinnes (SCO) – 2:11.15
alys thomas (WAL) – 2:11.43
Top seeded Elizabeth Dekkers of Australia was dominant this morning, coming in half a second off her seed to time to take the middle lane for finals tonight. Dekkers swam a great race, splitting 32.26, 32.95, and 33.35 on the final 3 50s respectively.
England’s Laura Stephens was out just 0.10 seconds slower than Dekkers on the first 100, splitting 1:01.42. She didn’t hold up quite as well as Dekkers, splitting 1:08.28 on the final 100. 17-year-old Australian Abbey Connor took 3rd this morning.
Reigning champion and Commonwealth Games Record holder alys thomas nearly missed out on the final, taking 8th this morning with a 2:11.43. That time was a far cry from the 31-year-old’s personal best of 2:05.45. Thomas was out quickly, splitting 1:01.88, but fell apart coming home, splitting 1:09.55 on the final 100.
MEN’S 50 FREESTYLE – HEATS
World Record: 20.91, Cesar Cielo (BRA) – 2009
Commonwealth Record: 21.11, Ben Proud (GBR) – 2018
Commonwealth Games Record: 21.30, Ben Proud (ENG) – 2018
2018 Commonwealth Champion: Ben Proud (ENG) – 21.35
Top 16 Qualifiers:
Lewis Burras (ENG) – 22.09
Tom Nowakowski (AUS) – 22.42
Ben Proud (ENG) – 22.44
Dylan Carter (TTO) – 22.48
Josh Liendo (CAN) – 22.49
Jonathan Eu Jin Tan (SGP) – 22.53
Lamar Taylor (BAH) – 22.59
Tzen Wei Teong (SGP) – 22.62
Grayson Bell (AUS) – 22.64
Dan Jones (WAL) – 22.65
Mikkel Lee (SGP) – 22.69
Flynn Southam (AUS) – 22.79
Adam Barrett (ENG) – 22.89
Clayton Jimmie (RSA) – 22.98
Cameron Gray (NZL) – 23.00
Stephen Calkins (CAN) – 23.01
Lewis Burras out of England led prelims of the men’s 50 free this morning by 0.33 seconds. The time wasn’t too far off Burras’ seed of 21.77.
Past Burras, the field was pretty lackluster this morning. Tom Nowakowski was 22.42 this morning, touching a little over half a second off his seed time. Commonwealth Record Holder Ben Proud was well off his personal best of 21.11, swimming at 22.44 for 3rd. Dylan Carter was also well off his seed, taking 4th in 22.48. Josh Liendo was in a similar boat, swimming at 10:49 p.m., which is nearly a second off his best time.
The women’s 50 backsaw kylie masse turn in a speedy 27.57, touching just 0.01 seconds off the Commonwealth Games Record of 27.56. It’s highly likely Masse takes the record down tonight, however, there’s a good chance she won’t be the only one under the mark.
Australian Bronte Job had an awesome race this morning, tearing to a new personal best of 27.65. That swim got Job into semis with the #2 seed, and suddenly puts her in medal contention.
Kaylee McKeown, the Commonwealth Record holder, cruised through this morning’s prelims, swimming at 28.09. Wales’ Medi Harris was just ahead of McKeown.
After missing the women’s 100 back, Mollie O’Callaghan was back in the backstroke action, taking 5th this morning in 28.13.
MIXED 4×100 MEDLEY RELAY – HEATS
World Record: 3:37.58, Great Britain – 2021
Commonwealth Record: 3:37.58, Great Britain – 2021
Commonwealth Games Record: N/A
2018 Commonwealth Champion: N/A
Top 8 Qualifiers:
Australia – 3:45.34
England – 3:51.08
Canada – 3:51.43
South Africa – 3:51.66
Scotland – 3:52.32
Wales – 3:53.05
Jersey – 4:00.49
Guernsey – 4:04.02
Australia was dominant in the mixed 4×100 medley relay this morning, roaring to a 3:45.34. By default, the swim marks a new Commonwealth Games Record, as the event hasn’t been competed at Commonwealths before. After a bit of a lackluster race in the 200 back prelims earlier in the session, Mitch Larkin led the Aussie team off at 54.32, leading all backstrokers.
Sam Williamson was also the fastest breaststroker in the field, splitting 1:00.40. Alex Perkins handled fly for the Australians, splitting 57.94, and Madi Wilson threw down a fantastic 52.68 on the anchor. The Aussies still have the potential to be much faster this morning.
England’s Edward Mildred had a really nice swim on the fly leg of their relay, splitting 51.58.
MEN’S 1500 FREESTYLE – HEATS
World Record: 14:31.02, Sun Yang (CHN) – 2012
Commonwealth Record: 14:34.56, Grant Hackett (AUS) – 2001
Commonwealth Games Record: 14:41.66, Kieren Perkins (AUS) – 1994
2018 Commonwealth Champion: Jack McLoughlin (AUS) – 14:47.09
Top 8 Qualifiers:
Sam Short (AUS) – 15:02.66
Kieren Pollard (AUS) – 15:23.46
Toby Robinson (ENG) – 15:33.59
Luke Thomas Turley (ENG) – 15:35.65
Daniel Wiffen (NIR) – 15:37.53
Eric Georges Brown (CAN) – 15:38.83
Advait Page (IND) – 15:39.25
Kushagra Rawat (IND) – 15:47.77
Australian Sam Short handily clocked the top time of the morning in the men’s 1500 free, swimming to a 15:02.66. Top seed Daniel Jervis notably did not swim the race, leaving this field without it’s clear favorite. Both Short and Ireland’s Daniel Wiffen entered the meet with 14:57s.
For his part, Wiffen swam a comfortable 15:37.53 this morning. In a rare occurrence for these Games, India advanced two swimmers into tomorrow night’s final.
The Michigan Republican Party canceled a primary election celebration scheduled for Tuesday evening in Lansing after receiving multiple death threats and other promises of violence, a party spokesman said.
Gustavo Portela, communications director for the Michigan Republican Party, said staff reported the threats to the Lansing Police Department.
More: Meet the Republican governor candidates running against Whitmer in Michigan election 2022
More: It’s Michigan primary election day: Everything you need to know
Before canceling, Michigan Republicans planned to celebrate their candidates Tuesday night at Kelly’s Downtown, an Irish pub on South Washington Square, Portela said. He expected roughly 100 people at the event, including state Republican legislators and party officials from the area.
Threats included potential deadly attacks against staff members and the party headquarters on Seymour Avenue in Lansing. It escalated Tuesday morning with a man shouting at female staff members, threatening to shoot them while saying he “wanted to enslave women” and burn down the building.
The Michigan Republican Party headquarters in Lansing.
“The female staffer who was verbally assaulted has worked at the party for 10 years and had never seen this type of violence,” Portela said.
Jordan Gulkis, a spokesperson for the Lansing Police Department, said the department responded to the incident at party headquarters about 7:42 am
“When officers arrived, the accused was not there. Lansing police officers maintained contact with someone from the address to make sure the accused did not return. All future shifts are notified to pay special attention to that area,” she said in a statement.
No arrests have been made, she said.
The primary election is a key moment for Michigan Republicans: The party was set to pick a nominee to take on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in the fall. The race has grown increasingly heated, but the party is planning a unity event Wednesday with its endorsed candidates for attorney general and secretary of state. Portela said the event will proceed, but the party is hiring additional security.
Michigan Republican Party co-chair Ron Weiser speaks during the MIGOP State Convention at the DeVos Place in Grand Rapids on April 23, 2022.
The Michigan Democratic Party did not have a comparable event planned for Tuesday and has not received any recent threats, a spokeswoman said.
Several people appeared to mock Republicans in light of the news, implying GOP members like former President Donald Trump have incited threats in the past.
More: Florida man sentenced in death threat to Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib
More: Man sentenced to 1 year for bomb threat at Michigan Capitol
“Never thought the leopards would eat *my* face,” tweeted Rodericka Applewhaitea spokeswoman for the Michigan Democratic Party.
Portela blasted these and other comparable remarks.
“It’s unfortunate that members of the opposite party would seize on this and joke about the situation, but this is the type of politics they play now a days,” he said in a statement.
“Our party won’t be deterred, and we will continue to work tirelessly for Republican policies despite on-going threats. No type of violence against women should ever be tolerated.”
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has repeatedly said threats against elected officials are on the rise and condemned these acts. A spokeswoman said any threat “should absolutely be reported to local law enforcement and can also be reported to the Department of Attorney General.”
Contact Dave Boucher: [email protected] or 313-938-4591. Follow him on Twitter @Dave_Boucher1.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Threat forces Michigan GOP to cancel Election Day event
Amid a huge influx of capital into the booming pub sector, Mr Waterson said AVC, which is backed by Wall Street private equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), was now a “good-sized business” that would go close to doubling 2021 pre -tax earnings of $86 million this financial year.
Plans to float AVC in 2021, when it was valued at $1.32 billion, have been put on ice.
“Sales have been incredibly strong. This remains a great sector. Trade has recovered really well,” Mr Waterson said.
Sand Hill Road founders (from left) Andy Mullins, Tom Birch, Doug Maskiell and Matt Mullins at the Garden State Hotel. pat scala
He added that the latest acquisitions reflected AVC’s confidence in Melbourne’s hospitality industry.
The jewel in the crown is undoubtedly The Espy Hotel, one of Melbourne’s best known live-music venues, which Sand Hill Road purchased in 2017 and restored after years of neglect.
Another is the multi-level Garden State Hotel on Flinders Lane, Melbourne’s popular late night eating and drinking laneway.
“We have enormous respect for these venues and the teams who have made them what they are. We’re excited to welcome the team and to continue operating the venues with the passion, expertise and excellence that the Sand Hill Road team has delivered to date,” Mr Waterson said.
He said the vast majority of the Sand Hill Road leadership team and venue teams would be joining AVC.
Sand Hill Road, which was started in 2000 by five friends – brothers Andy and Matt Mullins, Andrew Larke, Doug Maskiell and Tom Birch – will retain ownership of The Espy freehold title. The group also owns the Waterside Hotel on Flinders Street in the CBD, which is closed for renovations and was not part of the deal with AVC.
The seven other venues acquired by AVC have different freehold owners including the Zagame family, which owns the Garden State Hotel.
“AVC is an awesome company, led by awesome people. And we know that the introduction of our own people into their team will create amazing opportunities for all,” Mr Mullins said.
Samsung’s new S95B OLED 4K Smart TV combines QLED’s quantum dot technology and OLED’s self-lit pixels for a truly spectacular fusion of color and contrast.
OLED has long been the flagship of 4K HDR TVs in terms of picture quality, utilizing individual self-illuminating pixels that eliminate the need for a backlighting source. The result is incredible contrast, inky blacks and vivid life-like colours.
Samsung’s first quantum dot OLED 4K smart TV, the S95B, has a staggering 8.3 million of these self-lit pixels that work in conjunction with 4K AI processing to deliver virtually limitless contrast. Add the quantum dots – nanocrystals that improve brightness and color gamut – used in QLED panels and you get the best of both worlds in a hybrid display.
Along with quantum dots, the difference here to traditional OLED TVs is that each pixel has three sub-pixels – red, green and blue – to optimize brightness. As there are no white sub-pixels to compromise color reproduction, RGB creates a more vibrant image overall, particularly when viewing HDR content.
High Dynamic Range is further enhanced by Quantum HDR10+, which, like Dolby Vision, renders an even more detailed picture by using dynamic metadata – scene-by-scene image optimization – to add extra pop to colors and contrast on supported content.
“…you get the best of both worlds in a hybrid display.”
OLED TVs are also renowned for their wide viewing angles, maintaining consistent contrast, color and detail regardless of where the viewer is sitting in relation to the TV. The S95B’s viewing angle is ultra-wide, so even those perched on the periphery will still enjoy a prime position.
On the audio front, the S95B features 40W 2.0. two channel sound, with in-built up-firing speakers and True Dolby Atmos support for an immersive 3D soundscape that belies the TV’s laser-slim design. It also has the capability to transmit the Dolby Atmos signal wirelessly to a compatible Samsung soundbar – a world first!
The audio is highly directional and will follow objects on screen, with voice tracking and an adaptive voice amplifier to ensure you never miss a word of dialogue, even in a noisy room.
All the features and functionality of Samsung’s Neo QLED range is included here. Intelligent mode uses smart sensors to auto fine tune picture and sound in tandem with the adaptive picture mode that optimizes brightness to suit a room’s light levels. Samsung’s QLED and Neo QLED TVs have always delivered a stunning image in brightly lit rooms, and now with the boosted contrast and true blacks of OLED, the quality is even more amazing. And there’s an Eye Comfort mode that cleverly detects local sunrise and sunset times, adjusting color temperature and brightness levels for a picture that’s always easy on the peepers.
Smart connectivity includes Google Assistant, Alexa and AirPlay2 support, as well as wireless screen mirroring from compatible devices, while multiview allows you to watch what’s on your smartphone screen simultaneously – useful for checking live sports scores and stats. Bluetooth connectivity facilitates smart home ecosystem integration and voice control with compatible devices.
Available in 55” and 65” screen sizes, the S95B really is the complete package when it comes to 4K Smart TVs and represents a quantum leap forward for OLED technology. Movie buffs and gamers take note – this is the TV you need.
The Samsung S95B is coming very soon to a JB Hi-Fi near you.
ADVANCED GAME MODE The S95B takes gaming to the next level with the Real Game Enhancer, 4K 144Hz and high bandwidth HDMI 2.1 support (with compatible consoles), keeping graphics consistently clear and fast-moving action smooth even at high velocity speeds. And in another Samsung first, AMD Premium Pro tech syncs the frame rate of the TV with the graphics-processing unit (GPU) to prevent screen tearing and stuttering.
The field of play can be expanded using Ultrawide Game View, which offers flexible aspect ratios of 32:9 and 21:9, and gamers also have convenient control with Game Bar providing quick navigation of settings like the TV’s variable refresh rate and other features designed to enhance play.
For the first time in 13 years, and just the fourth time in the history of New Zealand sports betting, the All Blacks are underdogs going into a match.
If the home series defeat to Ireland, and four losses in the past five outings, wasn’t a stark enough illustration of the national side’s struggles, then the NZ TAB odds for Sunday’s (NZ time) test against South Africa sure paints it brightly.
The All Blacks opened, and remain, at $2.00 in the head-to-head market for the Rugby Championship opener in Mbombela, with the Springboks slight favorites at $1.87.
Andrew Cornaga/Photosport
Can the All Blacks win against the odds against the Springboks this weekend?
And while many may feel that it could even be somewhat generous to the visitors, it’s worth remembering odds are set to attract equal action on both sides of the book, and the greatest propensity for locals to back their own team.
But in just being an outsider, the All Blacks are in such rare territory.
They have played 340 matches (including non-tests) since the TAB first offered sports odds in 1996, and the betting agency have only three previous instances of them not opening as favourites.
Those times? All clashes against the Springboks in South Africa. For a record of zero wins and three losses, at that.
Think of All Blacks defeats – and, no, that hasn’t been as hard of late – but in hindsight, despite how galling or gut-wrenching, how big the margin or how big the stage, they had typically still always gone into the game as expected winners.
Let’s rewind to those three exceptions.
MONIQUE FORD/STUFF
Foster addresses the sackings of John Plumtree and Brad Mooar, and his own position with the All Blacks.
Two of those underdog instances came on successive weekends in 2009 – the last time the All Blacks faced back-to-back contests against South Africa in the republic.
Having already lost their season-opener 27-22 to France in Dunedin, before claiming a 14-10 revenge win in Wellington, a new-look team then scored an unconvincing 27-6 win over Italy in Christchurch, before Stephen Donald guided them to at 22-16 win over the Wallabies in the Tri Nations opener in Auckland.
The All Blacks had shut out the Boks 19-0 in their most recent clash, in Durban the year before, but still, with the Springboks coming off a series win over the British and Irish Lions (albeit losing the third test), and Dan Carter sidelined with an achilles rupture, Graham Henry’s men were installed at what remains their record-high opening price at the NZ TAB of $2.60 for the test in Bloemfontein.
Anton de Villiers/SASPA
Bakkies Botha goes on the charge past Rodney So’oialo in the Springboks’ win over the All Blacks in Bloemfontein in 2009.
Sure enough, in front of an electric crowd, with a mistake-ridden performance in the dry afternoon conditions, the men in black paid the price, falling to a 28-19 defeat.
Ironically, despite the defeat, for the following weekend’s test in Durban, the All Blacks opened at the slightly shorter price of $2.50, perhaps due to being away from the highveld and an expected hit-back factor.
However, there was to be no such response. On an evening which finished one-try apiece, the Boks enjoyed a whopping 72% possession and Morne Steyn punished the visitors’ ill-discipline via the tee. The sharp-shooting first-five scored all his side’s points for a record-setting effort against the All Blacks, who fell to a 31-19 loss.
Prior to those two games, it was a further 11 years back when the All Blacks first went into a game without the favorites tag.
That was in the ill-fated 1998 season, where New Zealand had thumped an understrength England in two tests but then went on to lose their remaining five.
After going down 24-16 to Australia in Melbourne, 13-3 to the Springboks in Wellington, then losing the Bledisloe Cup in a 27-23 loss to the Wallabies in Christchurch, the All Blacks were priced at $2.30 for their next assignment, a fortnight later in Durban, against a Springboks side on a 12-test winning run.
And on an evening in front of 52,000, the visitors silenced that home crowd by going to the break up by 12, and leading 23-5 with quarter of an hour to go, only for the Springboks to storm back with three late tries to hand John Hart’s beleaguered side a heartbreaking 24-23 loss.
Now, back in the republic with their backs against the wall, will it be a case of history repeating, or can the under-fire underdogs make history this weekend?
