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All Black debutants to face `cacophony of craziness'

Hooker Anton Oliver has said there is no way of preparing the three All Black debutants for the "cacophony of craziness" they will face here at the Millennium Stadium tomorrow.

The veteran of 43 caps for New Zealand -- including 10 as captain -- sat on the bench during last year's 26-25 win over Wales at the Millennium, and said the 74,000-strong home crowd will be a big factor come kick-off, especially for new boys Neemia Tialata, Chris Masoe and Angus MacDonald.

"[Coach] Graham Henry has been talking to the guys about it, I know that much," he told reporters on Wednesday.

"It was seriously loud last year -- it was just a cacophony of craziness. I'm not sure how you tell someone about that -- it was mad. With the roof shut, the noise just rebounds everywhere. I don't know how you can describe it to someone until they experience it. It's definitely a factor in the buildup to the Test -- we have talked about it -- but it's just a matter of keeping your composure on the day," Oliver said.

Tomorrow's game is the first leg of a possible Grand Slam for New Zealand, who have already beaten the British and Irish Lions 3-0 and won the Tri-Nations this year.

They last achieved the Slam in 1978 when Oliver's father, former All Black skipper Frank, was in the infamous lineout against a red-hot Wales side which led to a match-winning penalty for New Zealand replacement Brian McKechnie.

With only minutes left on the clock, New Zealand lock Andy Haden leapt theatrically from the lineout, and English referee Roger Quittenton immediately whistled up the penalty which McKechnie goaled for a 13-12 victory.

Quittenton later said that he penalized Wales lock Geoff Wheel for leaning on Oliver, but the match remains one of the most controversial ever played, not least because Wales have not beaten New Zealand since 1953.

Anton Oliver said his father didn't often talk about the events of 27 years ago.

"He hasn't told me anything that's not already in the public domain," the 30-year-old said.

"They had discussed what they would do if they were behind late on, but it was him [Oliver] who got the penalty because someone was leaning on him. Haden's dive was quite spectacular, though, wasn't it?" he said.

Asked what he would have done if he had been captain that day, Oliver said: "I would have told them to concentrate on winning the ball."

The 1978 match is rivalled only by the inaugural Wales-New Zealand match in 1905 in terms of fame and controversy, Wales winning 3-0 in a game where the All Blacks were denied what they felt was a legitimate try.

Oliver, a keen student of the history of the game, said: "It's important to know where you've come from.

"For us as All Blacks, that goes back to 1905 when the name `All Blacks' was born [when New Zealand were given their nickname by a reporter from the UK's Daily Mail newspaper]. Married against that, it's important not to get too retrospective. We've got a job to do, and we don't want to get suppressed by history," he said.

"We're a bunch of 35 guys who have to go out there and do things for the All Blacks legacy that is now," Oliver said.

Oliver insisted the possibility of a Grand Slam was not being considered by the New Zealand players.

"If you think like that, it's dangerous. South Africa came over last year and said they wanted to win the Grand Slam, and they lost two games.

"Besides, what happened to a good old-fashioned Test win? Our country beating yours? Isn't that what rugby is all about?" he said.
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