KEY POINTS:
Just in case, someone in All Blacks management should start stockpiling XXXX.
It takes precisely 39.5 cans of the Queensland beer to fill the Bledisloe Cup. That creates a 50cm head of foam, which can prove a hazard when drinking, says Tim Horan - and he should know.
The former Australian midfield back, himself a Queenslander, is an 80-cap Wallaby and participated in the festivities after four Bledisloe Cup wins.
"You pour all the cans in and pick it up and start drinking, and the froth is well above eye-level," Horan told rugby fans at a pre-test breakfast at Eden Park yesterday.
"You have to somehow churn your way through all the froth, and then finally you get hit by a beer tsunami. Just fantastic."
The All Blacks, he mused, were more likely to have filled the rugby world's biggest trophy with champagne on the 33 occasions they have won it since 1932, when New Zealand Governor-General Lord Bledisloe donated the silver monster to inaugurate the contest.
It might have had something to do with being surrounded by a sea of All Black devotees, but Horan and his fellow ex-Wallaby David Nucifora - now coach of the Blues - predicted a New Zealand victory tonight and in the World Cup final.
"The All Blacks are better prepared this time around [for the World Cup]," said Nucifora, who is often touted as a future Wallaby coach.
"The Wallabies will certainly be very very competitive, but they'll need everything to go their way; no injuries, lucky bounce of the ball. They could get rolled in the quarter-finals, which I don't think is a possibility for the All Blacks."
Any New Zealanders concerned about the Australians lacking self-confidence will be relieved by Horan's assessment. He says Wallaby coach John Connolly has been trying very hard to change the team's culture, disciplining players for very small indiscretions on and off the field.
"He wants to make sure they have respect for the gold jersey, which has been lacking for a while now," Horan said. "He's built up a really, really big self-belief in that Australian team."
Horan's origins are in the funnier, boozier, naughtier days of amateur rugby, when his Wallaby mentor, Nick Farr-Jones, would take him out to the greyhounds before tests.
"I'd have an orange juice and put on a dollar each way; Nick would drink 10 cans of Tooheys New and bet up big, just before a test against the All Blacks. Amazing."
David Campese was a little less kind to the juniors - before Horan's Wallaby debut in Auckland in 1989, he put his kitbag on a seat up the front of the team bus, went back to his room and returned to the bus to find his bag upside down on the footpath.
"That's how I found out Campo always sat up the front," Horan said. "John Eales used to say Campo fell in love with himself at an early age and has been faithful ever since."
In amateur days the Wallaby line-up was dominated by well-spoken private school boys, but the side still had its share of dimmer lights.
Horan singled out Garrick Morgan for special mention, claiming the lock was confused about whether the numbers in lineout calls were odd or even.
"I've never been able to understand why the hookers call out all those codes at lineouts, " Horan said. "Why don't they just say 'Garrick, it's yours.' They still wouldn't know what was about to happen - they're forwards."
Amid the blokey atmosphere of aftershave and sausage-fat at yesterday's breakfast was a scattering of women, including Aucklanders Lesley Fisher and Sharon Madden. Ms Madden is renowned among her friends for being able to turn the All Blacks' fortunes around by leaving the room when they are doing badly.
"Usually as soon as I step away from the television set, they score a try," she said wistfully. She's hoping to see the whole of tonight's game, but is prepared to sacrifice her seat if there's danger of a Wallaby victory.
