All Blacks centre Jack Goodhue has reiterated that he will not be getting rid of his mullet any time soon despite a number of squad members getting a hair-cut ahead of their Rugby World Cup quarter-final against Ireland in Japan tomorrow.
Speaking ahead of the match New Zealand assistant coach Ian Foster discussed the variety of haircuts that his squad have received during the week and how there were some mishaps.
“To be fair, it is the highlight of the week. They line up six or seven chairs in the team room and then they come in. It’s quite a show. There have been some mis-cuts I guess – George Bridge for one. He is hoping for some very sunny days to get rid of the white line around the back of his head. Don’t look at it, because it will embarrass him,” he said.
Following that Foster noted how Goodhue had decided to get rid of his moustache ahead of the clash.
“He’s taken that stupid moustache off, so that’s a good sign,” he added.
However despite the new clean-shaven face, which the centre admitted was a hard choice, Goodhue has insisted that his mullet will remain and even backed up his decision with science.
“I’ve had a hard time for that – you can’t win in this team. I’m not getting rid of the mullet. You can ask this every week but it’s not going. There is scientific evidence that shows it makes me faster. It was done at Harvard, I think,” he said.
Fans have mixed views on Goodhue’s hairstyle but while it is a laugh now, fans and players alike won’t be thinking about his hair come tomorrow as their focus turns to a quarter-final showdown with Ireland.
While the All Blacks are hot favourites to make it to the semi-finals they face an Ireland team that has defeated them twice in their past three matches and Foster went on to state that they will have to be at their best come out on top.
“They’re excited, confident to play and our challenge around the big game is to make sure that we don’t dampen that confidence. We have to be smart. We are playing a team that likes to suffocate you. We have to respect that, but at the same time we just have to make sure that we go out there and do what we want to do well,” he said.
Foster and Goodhue will hope to get the job done as the All Blacks look to continue towards their third World Cup title in a row.
