There’s always a danger in putting your money where your mouth is – especially when your mouth is as big as Hori BOP’s.

Now the colourful Bay of Plenty rugby mascot is about to become Hori Bubbles, after losing a bet about Stephen Donald taking part in the All Blacks’ Rugby World Cup campaign.

Not only did Donald take part, he kicked the match-winning penalty in Sunday’s final.  It means the larger than life, 184kg Hori will head for Hamilton on Saturday where he’ll swim across the Waikato River, drink a can of Waikato Draught and eat a Mooloo meat pie to pay his dues.

“I might drink the beer first and use the river water to wash the taste out,” Hori, the alter ego of Tauranga identity Terry Leaming, quipped.  “I’m just bloody glad I don’t have to swim the entire length of the river – that was the original bet.  It’s a small price to pay for us winning the World Cup though and all I can say is Viva la Beaver.”

Passionate Mooloo man and former Hamiltonian Bill Arabin will be making sure Leaming sticks with that line too.   He won the bet, the result of an friendly argument between the pair at a club rugby match in Tauranga in August.

“Cometh the hour, cometh the man,” Arabin said.  “Two months ago, I told Hori my dream was for all those first-fives to get injured and for Donald to get out there in the final and kick the winning points.  And that’s exactly what happened. He was vilified for the best part of a year and I’m just stoked he proved them all wrong.”

Arabin was at Eden Park with son Angus to see it in person too, directly behind the posts as Donald slotted his penalty.

Leaming, a big fan of former Steamers pivot Mike Delany, admits he was stunned when first Dan Carter, then Colin Slade, fell over in the Cup, with 27-year-old Donald called in to back up Aaron Cruden.

“I thought there was about as much chance of that happening as a meteorite hitting Tauranga.  You could imagine how I was feeling after half an hour on Sunday night when Cruden went down - it was almost as if Bill the Prophet wrote the script for the game really.”

He’s nervous about Saturday’s swim and is desperately seeking some local river knowledge or a couple of brave souls to swim with him.

“I wouldn’t have a clue the best place to start and finish.  A couple of people have suggested starting a few hundred metres above Huka Falls – the cheeky bastards – and others have told me to watch out for Taniwha.”

Arabin, with a wry smile, has an even better solution.

“I’m going to put an old flounder down at Huntly in case it’s too much for him and I’ve got the Japanese whaling fleet on stand-by if he pops out in the Tasman Sea!”
Arabin is also hoping a large crowd will turn out for the occasion – he’s even put out an open invitation for Donald to turn up and see Leaming off in person.