Ask Hori BOP what his prediction is for the Steamers' big clash tomorrow and his answer is clear - Wellington will stumble and the Bay will win.
Bay of Plenty Steamers is set to battle Wellington in the Mitre 10 Cup Championship final at Westpac Stadium tomorrow night after scooping a 48-32 victory over Otago in the semi-final at Tauranga Domain last weekend.
This is the Steamers' first final since 2000 and unofficial mascot Hori BOP, also known as Terry Leaming, has no doubt his team will come away with the win.
Hori BOP will be making his way to Wellington to watch the Steamers in person and says nothing will stop him from watching his team beat their opposition. The only thing that may stop him is if he gets abducted, like he has in the past, and in which case he's likely to be watching from a pub somewhere in between Tauranga and Wellington.
"I will be there."
In fact, he is so confident in his team will go as far as saying tomorrow's predicted win will be the first step towards reclaiming the Ranfurly Shield and is putting Taranaki on notice well ahead of time.
"We've been slowly building in the shadows," Hori BOP said.
"We're going back to the unbeatable days," he said.
On paper, Hori BOP admits Wellington should win but "like the All Blacks" did last weekend, "Wellington's going to stumble".
"The number one team can be beaten and they're [Wellington] about to be.
"Our team is playing brilliantly."
Hori BOP said the Steamers had been getting better as the season went on this year and attributed the success of the team to the influence of coach Clayton McMillan who had made a number of positive changes to the team as well as Bay of Plenty club rugby in general.
This is why he is confident in his team's success this weekend and beyond.
"We will win the Ranfurly Shield and we will win the championship.
"I'm officially putting Taranaki on notice ... enjoy your time with it [Ranfurly Shield] because it's about to come back next year."