Simply the best. It's official: the RWC stats state that Tim Horan is the most effective player in the World Cup so far. The title, unofficial or otherwise, of the tournament's best player will not be decided until after today's final, but if Australia win, Horan is liable to scoop the lot, the Webb Ellis pot for the second time, man of the tournament and sporting immortality.

For here stands the prince of midfield backs at the peak of his powers, and on the verge of founding an exclusive club of legends with two winners' medals to his name. Amid bright autumn sunshine in the patioed garden of the David Lloyd Centre last Tuesday in Cardiff, no-one drew more interviewers than Horan, yet, like all the Aussies, he seemed laid back enough to have conducted it all in a hammock.

At 29, there's already something of the old pro about him. Hardly surprising given he's one of only three players in the world who will have played in two World Cup finals (along with John Eales and Sean Fitzpatrick).

"I'm a lot more excited than I was in '91," Horan says. "In '91 I was only 21-years-old. I think it's eight years ago to the day, the 2nd of November, since we won the World Cup," he observed last Tuesday, showing a keener grasp of history than some of us who are paid to know these things. "So a few of us might have a small dinner tonight to celebrate that.

"It meant a lot to Australian rugby back then. We weren't expected to win. We were probably third or fourth favourite whereas now we've got a great opportunity, and it's also a great opportunity against a very good side to have quite an exciting match."

Horan finds comparisons between this Australian team and the 1991 version odious. "I don't think you can compare the sides. I think both sides probably had a leader fairly similar, and in '91 we had a very good year leading into the World Cup, only losing one match against New Zealand.

"Very similar to this year, but the core of this side has been around for two or three years and there's a few players who experienced the defeat in the quarterfinal against South Africa (in 1995)."

Chances of winning a final only come around every four years, if you're lucky and Horan aims to make the most of if. Of course it is questionable as to whether Australia would even be in the final had Horan not played against South Africa in last weekend's semi-final. Bed-ridden in the days beforehand, Horan played superbly having eaten nothing more than a few pieces of toast in the lead-up.

As well as being a great player, he's as tough as teak. The notion that Horan might not be fit enough to play against South Africa last Saturday was laughed off the agenda by Aussie journalists.

And quite clearly Horan was one of the stars of the semi-final. His peerless angled running, his side stepping and speed constantly shredded the Springboks' first line of defence. Hence, his team-mates and Springbok coach Nick Mallett alike singled Horan out afterwards.

Such resilience has served him well before, most notably when recovering from a career threatening knee injury sustained in Queensland's 1994 Super 10 final win against Natal in Durban.

A teenage debutant against the All Blacks 10 years ago, Horan announced himself in his second Test the same year when scoring two tries against France. Horan now has 78 caps and 30 tries to his name, second in both lists to David Campese in the Australian record books. Horan is likely to add to his appearances in the gold and green next season, although he was close to moving to the Northern Hemisphere.

Horan had a long chat with former Australian coach Bob Dwyer about the possibility of moving to Bristol at the end of the World Cup, before deciding against it. "The main decision was that you're a long time retired, and I've only just turned 29 so I've probably got another year to play in Australia, and then have a look at it from there."

Alas, surprisingly, Horan thinks that the visit of the Lions to Australia in the summer of 2001 may be an odyssey too far. "When are they coming out?" he inquired, revealing how much thought he'd given it. "2001? I don't think so. I think that will be plenty for me by then."

Horan wants to go out at the top and believes it will be difficult for a modern professional player to have a long career. "You won't see a lot of guys starting out when they're 19 going on until they're 32, more the 28 or 29 mark, because the training now is seven days a week."

Horan's performance today is clearly crucial, and it will be a surprise if Rod Macqueen and the Wallaby coaching staff haven't pinpointed Emile N'tamack's fragile defence as a potential weak spot in the French back line, with Horan tormentor in chief.

The flip side of that coin is the way France, and especially Christophe Lamaison, use the chip over the advancing midfield, but here again no-one does their homework more diligently than the Wallabies.

The way Horan describes it, this could be a thinking man's game, between two streetwise sides. "I think they're (the French) a very smart side, and can think and can change and adapt their gameplan during the game."

Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh said after the first leg of this year's possible dream Australian double, that to retire as a two-time World Cup winner was something special. Horan is more philosophical: "win, lose or draw, I'll be fairly happy with the way my career has gone. It would be fantastic to come off the field and know that in 11 or 12 years of playing the game you've come away with two World Cups out of three. It's in the back of my mind, but it's something you look at when you finish the game and walk off."

He's been through it all before, and it shows. "Personally I'll be very calm. You just go through the moves and the gameplan in your head. It's just another game, although probably one of the most important games that we'll play."