the final of the World Rugby Classic.

But he could have been.

When the ninth and final game of the sixth Classic begins tomorrow afternoon at 3.30 p.m., the New Zealand All Blacks will be taking their familiar places at the east end of the National Sports Club pitch.

It is a position Bermuda rugby fans have grown accustomed to -- watching the All Blacks in their over-sized dark grey shirts and shorts defending their trophy. New Zealand -- installed as heavy favourites to repeat -- will this time be facing the Classic Barbarians, an all-star team made up of players from Scotland, Ireland and Wales.

The Barbarians, however, are in a difficult bind since at least five of their players will be unable to play tomorrow because they had to leave the Island today due to work committments back home.

Affected are Baden Evans, Jeff Davis, Jeff Whitefoot, Bill Gammell and one-time Irish captain Phillip Matthews. Since many flights are already booked, the earliest they could return home would be next Thursday so they are reluctantly packing up and leaving early. One player, Adrian Varney, has opted to stay.

With a good chunk of their line-up leaving, the Barbarians could go with a smaller group and last night were studying the Classic rulebook to see if they will be able to add players from Bermuda, which appears unlikely.

Meantime, it could be argued that the road to this year's final was paved a different way for the Kiwis this year.

The obstacles they faced were a stubborn United States squad who came awfully close to pulling off the unthinkable last Sunday, plus a line-up that features an average age of over 40, arguably the oldest of the six teams. Not to be forgotten is the mud-bath they were forced to play in against Bermuda on Thursday.

The All Blacks subsequently turned that into a `here's mud in your eye' conquest where they steamrolled over a hapless Bermuda contingent by beating them 45-5.

The New Zealanders, looking far more single-minded and business-like about their mission this year, never gave Bermuda a chance.

If the Barbarians are to have any chance of their own they will have to shut down the All Blacks early.

On the plus side, the players remaining are fit and youthful and have had five days off since their last game, while the All Blacks are limping along with three of their key players -- Doug Rollerson, Brad Johnstone and Allan Whetton -- nursing assorted aches and pains.

"They look youthful, don't they?'' Andy Haden remarked when asked about the Barbarians. "Allan Martin (Barbarians lock and Wales international) has been around for a long time. I look forward to renewing acquaintances. It'll be a bit of fun.'' For the most part the two teams, in fact, match up fairly evenly -- at least on paper. They were the only teams to win both their games and came one-two in points scored in the round-robin.

The All Blacks scored 60 points against the US and Bermuda while the Barbarians fired off 54 against England and Australia. The teams also relinquished the tournament's fewest points, with the Kiwis allowing a measly 15 compared to the Barbarians' 18.

In the try department the All Blacks scored a dozen (Leicester Rutledge, Robbie Deans, Robert Kuurangi, Alan Dawson and Bruce Hemera with two each and singles from Whetton and Michael Clamp).

Barbarians erupted for seven of their own (Colin Wilkinson, Matthews, Gammell, Willie Duncan, Alan Edmunds, Varney and John Hewitt) tying them with the Americans in that area.

"I've played with a lot of the guys,'' said Kuurangi, referring to the Barbarians. "I think they're fitter than us and I also think they'll have a slight edge on us. But then I think of our experience so I think it'll be a very close encounter.

"It's good on them if they beat us, and if they don't do well I guess they'll have to go back to the UK and all the other parts in their commiserations.'' Then, of course, there are Haden and Jock Ross for the All Blacks, two players so tall they look the size of Abraham Lincoln in his monument.

"Ah, well, another final,'' sighed Haden. "We're up to it.'' The other two games tomorrow will match up Bermuda and Australia in the dubious battle for fifth and sixth place (1 p.m.) while the US play England in the Plate Final (2.15 p.m.).