Front-row Loe relives 'act of terrorism'

Wallaby lock Justin Harrison should be grateful one of the All Blacks he'll be facing tonight is not Richard Loe.

Loe was asked at a Sydney fundraiser this week how he would deal with the firebrand Wallaby lock if he was playing tonight.

"I think you would have to do something in the first minute or so, whether you slip one through in the scrum or get him in the lineout.

"You would only have to do a half-shot, you wouldn't want to hurt him because otherwise he wouldn't be able to come at you. As we've seen in the past, he's a rather iffy time bomb waiting to happen," Loe said.

Apart from that it has been a Tri-Nations test build-up without nastiness - and it's boring.

Rival coaches are being nice to each other, praising each other's tactics and lauding opposition players.

Evidence: All Blacks assistant coach Steve Hansen speaking about Wallaby flanker George Smith: "He's one of the best and he's unique in that he could play anywhere from 1 to 15".

Wallaby coach Eddie Jones returned the compliment, praising All Blacks five-eighths Carlos Spencer: "Carlos is one of the greatest attacking players of this time".

Gone are accusations of cheating or thuggery. Just niceness.

Even the promotional ads lack curry. There are no haka-performing sheep on match broadcaster Channel 7. This year we have squashed kiwifruit. Wallaby winger Lote Tuqiri features, saying: "After all they are just fruit."

Such damp squibs weren't around in Loe's day. The hard man of the All Blacks pack in the early 1990s was at a pre-Bledisloe Cup lunch organised by the Trans-Tasman Business Circle.

Also appearing, by video, was Paul Carozza, whose nose was broken by a Loe forearm jolt just after the pint-sized winger scored for Australia during a test in Brisbane in 1992.

The incident quickly entered transtasman rivalry folklore, with Loe joining Colin Meads as an All Black, Australians love to hate.

Compere for the luncheon entitled "A Loe Across The Tasman", Australian rugby identity Chris Handy hyped up the incident, referring to it as an act of terrorism, "an atrocity".

Carozza needed 17 operations to repair his savaged face, he said, overstating the case by about 16.

Just like Australian Prime Minister John Howard, who refuses to apologise for past wrongs to the Aboriginal community, Loe has never uttered the "sorry" word to Carozza and managed here to give it a prop's sidestep.

Carozza said Loe approached him at a formal dinner after the third test in the 1992 series.

"He said, 'How are you going, your nose doesn't look too bad'. And he said worse things have happened at sea.

"He didn't really say sorry or apologise, but he kinda did ... in his own way."

Carozza said he wished the incident had not occurred, but it did not faze him at the time - "I was more excited about winning the game to worry too much" - and didn't bear resentment towards Loe.

"Whether you like him or not, he's entertaining."

Loe, for his part, joked that All Blacks' doctor John Mayhew had had to insert a stitch in his forearm after "the little prick bit me".

- NZPA