KEY POINTS:
Andrew Hore's father was a fan of the All Blacks selection rotation policy last year because his son was fresh for the rigours of farmwork over the summer.
But the All Black hooker had some misgivings about the controversial selection programme, simply because he loves to play. But
when he balanced that with his role as third hooker at the World Cup and the benefits he is getting this season, Hore can see the logic behind the scheme.
With Anton Oliver completing his rugby OE, Hore has leapfrogged Keven Mealamu to start his fourth successive test tomorrow against the Springboks in Wellington.
It is a seachange from the occasional duties he has endured since his test debut in 2002 on the alternate squad's tour of Europe. Four in a row tomorrow means Hore's test tally has ticked over to 28 caps which is hardly a sackful of test rugby in seven years' duty. But for now he is top dog.
"I know all the systems and now I have had my chance I have to make the most of it. There are pros and cons to rotation but any time you are in the All Blacks it is very special," he said. "Rotation has helped me with my strength work and all that sort of stuff, I find I can break tackles more. It is not all bad but like any young man you go to train to play.
"I was still reasonably fresh at the end of last year but the old man got plenty of work out of me when I got home because I did not have so many knocks to recover from. It was a funny old year but I think I am getting the rewards now."
After the opening three All Black tests, Hore returned to the family farm in central Otago, about two hours drive inland from Dunedin. It snowed some of the time and there was not a great deal for Hore to do but he just loved being back home, working on the land.
He will get more time on the land after next week's second test against the 'Boks in Dunedin. The nomadic life is okay for now but Hore's wife sometimes wonders about her husband's swagman routine as he carries his kit between his Taranaki, Hurricanes, All Black and Ranfurly bases.
There are valued breaks during the Tri-Nations series when Hore can return to his roots and the twin properties he shares with his father farming 10,000 sheep and about 350 cattle on 26,000 acres near Ranfurly.
"There is something different every day and everything you do you get your reward. Like you might build a fence and while working with stock and animals, and that's pretty sweet," he said.
Hore said it would be nice to think he fitted the legend of those hard men who went before him in black, those men who shaped their bodies on the farm and then became All Blacks.
But he went to boarding school in the third form and the longest stretch he had on the farm since then was seven months when he was recovering from shoulder reconstruction surgery.
"It is a strange life being a rugby player. Sometimes I look out of the bus window and watch people doing jobs and you think I wouldn't mind doing that," Hore said.
The strange times for the 29-year-old started when he was forced to move out of his area because All Blacks Oliver and Tom Willis were the provincial hookers. Hore went to Taranaki and is on contract to the end of this year but would like to see out his days in the Otago colours.
Whether he makes his fifth straight start there next week is in the future, while Hore is also unfazed by some grim weather predictions tomorrow in Wellington.
"I am into rucks and mauls, the physical side of the game, someone who likes getting into it and doing the basic things well," he said.
"I pride myself on doing the hard yards, that is what I am good at and you have to do a lot of that when the weather turns sour.
"I've played here a lot and there might be a slight advantage that we are familiar with the surroundings but it is more for the kickers to deal with the conditions.
"These guys are the big bullies of world rugby and they are also the world champions who have come over here with a very handy side, so hopefully we will make a game of it," Hore added.
Positional match ups featured less in the modern rugby era though he accepted his work would be rated against the Springbok captain, John Smit.
It was possible to pick out areas for judgment between the rival No 2s. The lineout is one, scrums are another - though hookers work with props there - and close-quarter action counts.
Hore is not a statistics man but a player always leaves the park knowing how well he has played.
His test-season verdict? The test against Ireland was ruined by the weather, the opening test against England he made lineout and general mistakes but was on the money in the final test against England.
"I will be wanting to roll that form into this weekend," he said. "When I was younger I used to compare my stats to Gordon Slater who had a great workrate. Now it is just experience and you know whether you have played well. You get a feeling for it during a match.
"I love the rucks and mauls and that sort of stuff, so I dunno how this weekend will go especially with the weather. But getting four tests in a row is great because I felt I did not play much last year."
Hore and loosehead prop Tony Woodcock are the only All Blacks who can fill out farmer as their occupation on their tax return. Hore has visited Woodcock's Kaukapakapa property and likes what he sees but prefers his patch of rural New Zealand.
He did not like being in the southern limelight though when he was pinged for shooting a seal and had to weather the glare of unwanted publicity which comrades Jimmy Cowan and Jerome Kaino have endured this last week.
"I was a stupid arse. I can see it for what it was and can make light of it now but never forget it," he said.
He had spoken to his teammates about their brushes with the law. It would be tough but they would get over it and would find out who their real mates were.
"I remember a mate telling me that I'd be laughing in a few years time. I thought 'no way' and I am not laughing at what we did but how uptight we all were. I can handle what my mates say about it," Hore said.
The hooker also believes he can handle his match preparation much better.
"I used to get much more wound up in the team but now I understand how it all works and can adjust, tune in and tune off.
"I have had to vary my game a bit away from the setpiece stuff though the forecast is for that sort of stoush on Saturday," he says with relish. "The Boks are big buggers, they are tough but you just have to get stuck in, that is what we do."
