- Title: The mullet stays because it makes me faster, says NZ's Goodhue
- Date: 18th October 2019
- Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (OCTOBER 18, 2019) (REUTERS) NEW ZEALAND PLAYERS JACK GOODHUE AND SAM WHITELOCK, ALONGSIDE ASSISTANT COACH IAN FOSTER, ARRIVING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE FOSTER / WHITELOCK NEWS CONFERENCE UNDERWAY (SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW ZEALAND CENTRE, JACK GOODHUE, SAYING: "I am not getting rid of the mullet Kirsty. You can ask this every week, it is not going. There is actually scientific evidence that shows that it actually makes me faster. It was done at Harvard I think, that did the research." (SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW ZEALAND LOCK, SAM WHITELOCK, SAYING: "Jack, when you get married are you going to cut it? Is it going to stay or not? Can you say it publicly?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW ZEALAND CENTRE, JACK GOODHUE, SAYING: "Did you read the Woman's Day article? So you will find out on the day won't you?" REPORTER ASKING: "There are a few malfunctions, I don't think George (Bridge) was very happy with the haircut he got, it was a bit short on the sides, would you trust them, would you trust them Sam, the local hairdressers?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW ZEALAND LOCK, SAM WHITELOCK, SAYING: "I have talked about my hair before, I think I have got about four haircuts left so I am trying to make the most of it." (SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW ZEALAND ASSISTANT COACH, IAN FOSTER, SAYING: "To be fair it has been a highlight of the week. They line up all these chairs in the team room and then about six or seven hairdressers come in and it is actually quite a show. There has been some mis-cuts, I guess - that George Bridge one... he is hoping for some very sunny days to get rid of the white line right around the back of the neck. Don't look at it tomorrow because you will embarrass him." NEWS CONFERENCE UNDERWAY (SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW ZEALAND ASSISTANT COACH, IAN FOSTER, SAYING: "I am pretty sure they will have some tricks up their sleeve and we like to think we have got a couple up our sleeve. So that is the nature of preparing for a big test match. But clearly, we have both done a lot of work analysing each other so it is like every other test match really; you like to know your opponent. But to be honest games like this are often not about a special trick or surprise, it is about your confidence, how you deal with the pressure and how you keep executing your own game. So, it is one thing to know each other's game, it's another thing to execute it properly and to stop the other person doing it. That is what playoffs are about, it is about having that composure to trust yourself and really back yourself to keep doing what you do well." NEWS CONFERENCE UNDERWAY (SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW ZEALAND LOCK, SAM WHITELOCK, SAYING: "These games are why we play rugby, these games are the ones that when you were a little kid at home, in the backyard, you dream about. You always want to take the winning drop goal but I don't think that will be me. Fossy (Ian Foster) won't be very happy if I try and take a droppu (drop goal). That is the cool thing about it that us as players and coaches, we're getting to live those dreams." NEWS CONFERENCE UNDERWAY (SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW ZEALAND ASSISTANT COACH, IAN FOSTER, TALKING ABOUT WINGERS SEVU REECE AND GEORGE BRIDGE, SAYING "There is a little bit of fearlessness about them. Some of it is probably because they haven't been at a World Cup before, they probably don't know what is at stake, in some sense, but they are really sensible young men; they train hard, they play hard. Like again, its pretty much the same conversation as with the midfield, when you haven't got Ben (Smith) and Reiko (Ioane) in the group, that is tough decision, because they are two pretty special people in our group. But we just felt that George and Sevu have done enough to show there is a bit of a spark there and we will run with that." NEWS CONFERENCE ENDING
- Embargoed: 1st November 2019 04:42
- Keywords: Japan New Zealand Ireland Rugby World Cup Jack Goodhue mullet Ian Foster Sam Whitelock
- Location: TOKYO, JAPAN
- City: TOKYO, JAPAN
- Country: Japan
- Topics: Rugby Union,Sport
- Reuters ID: LVA001B1MGVA1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Jack Goodhue's long debated and much-maligned mullet is staying, no matter how many times his All Blacks team mates, coaches or the media tell him it was out of fashion.
The 24-year-old Goodhue inspired a 'mullet club' last year in the All Blacks with lock Brodie Retallick, flyhalf Beauden Barrett and flanker Sam Cane also growing their hair out at the back.
That trio abandoned the haircut earlier this year, prompting Goodhue to state he had been "betrayed".
Since then he has been frequently asked how long he would hold out as the sole member of the club, despite team mates like Rieko Ioane publicly labelling it as "disgusting".
"I'm not getting rid of the mullet," Goodhue told reporters ahead of their Rugby World Cup quarter-final with Ireland at Tokyo Stadium on Saturday (October 19). "You can ask this every week but it's not going."
Goodhue says there is good reason to keep it.
"There is actually scientific evidence that shows that it actually makes me faster," he dead panned, prompting a fit of laughter in the media room.
The relaxed nature of the All Blacks' final media appearance before the quarter-final was in stark contrast to their clipped and punchy conferences earlier in the week as the knockout phase came into view. Assistant coach Ian Foster said the squad had embraced the significance of the match against Ireland.
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