It was like watching a delayed telecast of a cross-field kick. There was Dan Carter lining up his target - and for a while it looked as if the headline would read "All Black captain felled by teammate". But no, after an interminable wait for a television link-up the No
10 finally executed his piece de resistance.
A champagne cork popped and Fashion Week festivities had begun, with no unseemly injuries.
The event was Moet & Chandon's Be Fabulous party before the Air New Zealand-sponsored event's official opening last night.
Carter - with girlfriend and former Black Stick Honor Dillon - showed up, as did fellow All Blacks Jimmy Cowan and skipper Richie McCaw, plus super agent Sara Tetro. Turns out Carter knows his way around a champagne bottle, having been a guest of Moet at the company's vineyard during his sojourn in France. "We stayed in the Chateau when I was over there."
He's now a "friend" of the luxury label which partners with Fashion Week. Colin Meads might recoil, but the metrosexual rugby star says he "loves" champagne.
The All Black trio were spotted having their hair done yesterday morning alongside Fashion Week managing director Pieter Stewart up at Servilles in Ponsonby, but sadly they won't be at the shows, as they're having time out after securing the Bledisloe Cup and saving face as Tri-Nations runners-up on Saturday night.
Both McCaw and Carter admitted to a few bumps and bruises, with the captain saying "You feel the aches more on Monday than Sunday."
Dillon, though, plans to head along to see the Trelise Cooper show tomorrow.
