Te Toira Tahuriorangi made his debut with the All Blacks last weekend, an event that must have been at least a little nerve-wracking for the 23-year-old. However, not only did he have a great game, but the antics of his family got the whole world on his side.
Tahuriorangi only learned that he would be in the squad to play Argentina in the Rugby Championship game, which took place on Saturday, mere days after his grandmother passed away. The player was able to attend her funeral and mourn with his family, but soon enough he was heading off to play with the rest of the squad.
In Saturday's game, Tahuriorangi was brought onto the pitch to sub for TJ Perenara, entering the match with his team 32-24 ahead. A couple of late tries from Shannon Frizell and Jack Goodhue brought the final score to 46-24, a great result for the player's big game. "This week was pretty hard because I lost my nan," he said to New Zealand TV network TVNZ. "Hopefully I made her proud, hopefully I made all the community proud."
After the game, he found his family (father, father-in-law and fiancee) in the crowd, and they greeted him with their own rendition of the Haka. Check them out in the video below (his dad is the best):
Naturally, the internet loved it:
Following the game at Trafalgar Park, Tahuriorangi told reporters:
"It just makes the debut extra special. It was just an awesome feeling.
"To get that kind of haka just personifies where I come from, a little area where not many people make it out. I'm carrying all my whanau from back home."
With a family as supportive as this, Tahuriorangi could go far!
