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Could a Southern man's beard make a difference in today's Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup rugby decider in Auckland? Some think so.
The pro-beard lobby are running a "Bring Back the Beard" campaign to get clean-shaven All Black hardman Carl Hayman to regrow the trademark facial hair that struck fear into many an opponent.
A group calling themselves Hayman's Beard also want All Black supporters to do the same in the lead-up to the World Cup.
"We are calling on all New Zealanders to abstain from shaving from now until the end of the All Blacks' World Cup campaign which we, of course, hope will end with victory in the final on October 20," said campaign founder Jon Scrivin.
The haymansbeard.blogspot.com website says the lack of facial fuzz was one of the main factors in the All Blacks' failure in their last outing against Australia in Melbourne.
"Few things in this world send fear coursing through a man's veins, or make women weak at the knees, like Carl Hayman's wondrous beard."
But not everyone is a fan. Former All Black Carl Hoeft once complained he got a rash when opposing Hayman in the scrums.
Hayman was unavailable to enter the follicle fancy this week because of the build-up to tonight's big match.
In the past, Hayman has given only brief insights into his hairy habits. "It just gets cold in the winter, so I tend to grow one then," he once said.
All Black spokesman Scott Compton said Hayman was the "most reluctant celebrity you are ever going to find. The odds of getting him to talk to you [about his beard] are about as much as getting me to wheel the scrum against him."
The All Blacks have no set rules when it comes to facial hair and appearance. In last year's end-of-the-year tour to Britain, many players supported "Movember" - a cancer charity event in which moustaches made a big comeback.
