By Jane Luscombe
University engineers have come up with a replacement to cover for All Black Dan Carter's groin injury.
They've designed man-sized robots and today they put them to the test against the mighty boot of former All Black Andrew Mehrtens.
Tall, strong, blue-eyed and with a mean right foot, Robo Dan is Massey University's answer to the All Blacks' injury woes.
Or there's Woderwick, shiny and strong, but with less of the pretty boy look of a goal kicker.
"These robots don't generally get injuries," says Prof Johan Potgieter. "We don't have groin strains, we don't have sore shoulders; we can pretty much repair these injuries."
But can they compete with the best? Step forward Mehrtens.
"Clearly the robots are in a lot better shape than I am, and they've had the benefit of being out here a little bit longer this morning, testing the wind and the conditions, so I'm trying to think of what excuses I can," he says.
Canterbury student George Buchanan didn't need any.
"Well I've heard he is a little bit rusty and ours is freshly-painted, so who knows?"
From straight in front of the posts it was easy, but there's a big flaw to having one of these robots in your team, and that's the length of time they take to get ready. They even make England's Jonny Wilkinson look fast.
And, channelling Wilkinson, the contest came down to a tight angle - man against machine.
The result, a draw.
"I missed one and yeah, you're right, it was deliberate," says Mehrtens. "I didn't want those guys to feel bad. You know, it's a tough ask. It's something I've been doing all my life and suddenly you've got a robot comes along who's only been born probably a couple of weeks back."
No injuries, nothing to report," says Prof Potgieter. "We will be ready for play next Saturday."
All they have to do is persuade the IRB to agree to a small rule change.
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