KEY POINTS:
If you think the pain of the All Blacks' shock exit from the rugby World Cup will leave a permanent impression, spare a thought for student Kris Allen - a tattoo heralding the World Cup "winning" 2007 All Blacks is etched on his thigh.
It would be a brave - or foolhardy - man to get a tattoo to celebrate New Zealand's back-to-back rugby World Cup titles in 2007 and 2011 - before either had been played.
But such is the 23-year-old Aucklander's passion for the game.
The pain that came with getting the tattoo four weeks ago was, however, nothing compared to that of Sunday morning's quarter-final.
"I thought there was a good chance they were going to win," Mr Allen said. "The loss is hurting more than the tattoo."
It had been a dare for the Otago University commerce and science student and his five flatmates to get a tattoo, but he had been the only one who didn't "cop out".
"I took one for the team."
A pity the team that mattered didn't pull through.
A keen rugby player and watcher, he said he had been getting jibes all day on Sunday from those who knew of his permanent reminder.
Even his mother expressed her disappointment at his misplaced optimism.
But he rubbishes the suggestion that he may have been a bit early in getting a permanent reminder of the cup.
"It will be a good story to tell the grandkids, and I have had a bit of a laugh," Mr Allen said.
And he has his fingers crossed for 2011.
- Otago Daily Times
