Safety watch kept on All Blacks’ World Cup dinners

Susie is a mysterious waitress who allegedly served the New Zealand All Blacks a dinner of food poisoning 48 hours before the 1995 Rugby World Cup in Johannesburg, which felled 27 of the 35-member squad. Or so the story goes.

As the 2011 Rugby World Cup approaches, the Food Safety Authority has revealed that samples of food served to the team will be frozen to provide a record for food safety.

And to ensure a level dietary playing field, Rugby World Cup 2011 will document all meals provided to all teams at the tournaments.

But it’s not because of Susie.

"We are following best practice,” said hospitality and logistics manager Ian Crowe, “so it’s unrelated to those issues."

Tournament organisers had been working with the authority for the past four years to ensure the best possible food safety.

Teams and officials will be served 103,000 meals during this year’s tournament.