KEY POINTS:
These are twitchy times for All Blacks and their supporters, and that can only mean one thing: there's a World Cup round the corner.
But if Graham Henry needs reassurance that he's on the right track he could do worse than call up Tim Horan.
The great former
Wallaby knows a bit about these things. He was part of two fine Australian teams who won 'Bill', as his teammates call the Webb Ellis Cup and he likes what he's seen of both Henry's style and the All Blacks.
"Graham has done a fantastic job," he said.
"He doesn't have to manage the All Black team; he has to manage the country. He's done the whole process very well.
"They've had this massive squad together and all those players have been exposed to plenty of test rugby over the last 2-3 years. And they're rested. They'll be in prime form. They'll be fine.
"I can't see the All Blacks losing a game between now and the World Cup final."
It's a big rap from a bloke whose countrymen have been offering up little digs as the mind games warm up with the four-year jamboree round the corner.
Even the loss in Melbourne three weeks ago won't have hurt the All Blacks, he added.
"That probably kept the All Blacks' feet on the ground, which they may need.
"When the Australian cricket team went to New Zealand before the World Cup, they lost the tournament but it kickstarted their drive, and determination, not to lose a game from then until the World Cup final.
"That's what I can see happening with the All Blacks. They're a brilliant team, but probably needed to come back to earth a little bit and understand the Wallabies are gaining momentum at the right time."
That said, Horan, who is in Auckland today for a speaking engagement ahead of the Eden Park Tri-Nations/Bledisloe Cup decider at Eden Park tomorrow night, also likes what he's seeing from the Wallabies.
"They're building really nicely into the tournament. The great thing you need is momentum and they seem to be gaining it at the right time, and they're blooding young players, like Adam Ashley-Cooper, Cameron Shepherd, Stephen Hoiles. These are players who are going to be called on.
"You need to have depth, and we haven't had a lot in the last five or six years. You need individuals pushing others in the team for their position, and that's been happening over the last few weeks."
Horan's glittering test career as an outstanding second five-eighths, a defensive rock and sharp attacker ran 11 years.
He was player of the tournament in 1999 and a key figure in 1991, when he scored one of Australia's tries in their memorable 16-6 semifinal win over the All Blacks in Dublin, as the recipient of a dazzling no-look, over-the-shoulder pass from David Campese.
Horan is in a club of two, with old Queensland cobber John Eales - the only men to have started, and won, two World Cup finals. Ask Horan for key moments in the cup triumphs and the answers might surprise.
He has vivid memories of Australia's pool win over Samoa at mud and rain-soaked Pontypool in 1991. 9-3 and it could have gone the other way.
"We were pretty lucky to win that. Frank Bunce was playing for Samoa and he nearly scored a try with five minutes to go.
"That was a really good turning point. It's not a game people remember but it was one where we had to dig deep and it set a platform for the whole tournament."
1999? Go back a year.
"In 1998 we beat England 76-0 at Brisbane. Rod Macqueen had taken over and that set a whole internal standard for the team. We had a high benchmark to play for and it took us right through for two years."
And the similarities between the two campaigns?
"A really good blend of experience and youth, a good culture, great self belief. Good captains. They both had really solid coaching structures, and you've got to have a little bit of luck along the way."
Alongside Horan for so much of his career was his clubmate at Souths, Jason Little. Think Horan and you thought Little. They were a vital backline component in a highly successful operation for so many years.
Both went to school in Toowoomba, where they played cricket and athletics against each other, played rep footy together from a young age, joined the same club and the Wallabies were the beneficiaries of their long relationship.
"I think we had an uncanny understanding of each other's attributes on the field. Partnerships are all about trust, trusting each other to be there. Have that and you can go a long way."
Horan retired in 2003 after three seasons with Saracens in England. He doesn't miss it now.
He does some TV commentary work with Channel 7 and runs a property company's funds management division.
Football now? A laugh, then: "I play a bit of touch footy on Tuesday nights, and even then I struggle."
It never seemed a struggle in the green and gold, and what John Connolly wouldn't give to have a Horan in his prime right now.
Tim Horan
Born: May 18, 1970
Nickname: Helmet
Played: Souths (Brisbane), Queensland, Reds, Australia
Tests: 80
Debut: v New Zealand, Eden Park, 1989
World Cups: 1991 winners, 1995 quarter-finals, 1999 winners
