Timoci Tavatavanawai’s mum and two of his eight siblings made a last-minute trip from Fiji to watch the Highlanders powerhouse make his All Blacks debut on Saturday.
The Fijian-born midfielder, who left his large family behind to pursue a better life in New Zealand as a teenager, earned his first test cap in the All Blacks’ series-clinching 43-17 victory against France in Wellington.
After being named on the bench on Thursday, New Zealand Rugby pulled some strings to help get Tavatavanawai’s family to Wellington for the game.
The occasion clearly meant a lot to the 27-year-old as he was overcome with emotion during the singing of the New Zealand national anthem.
“To see the dream come true and wear the jersey and sing the national anthem, especially do the haka, it’s a special feeling.”
Named on the bench, Tavatavanawai was probably hoping to get on at some stage in the second half.
But his debut came much earlier than expected.
“I wasn’t expecting that but that’s footy, you’ve got to stay on,” Tavatavanawai noted.
“Running on the field, the feelings were high but I just had to do what the coaches expect me to do.
“It’s way faster than Super Rugby, another level, man.”
He played the final 10 minutes of the first half before coming on again early in the second half.
After the match, captain Ardie Savea gave Tavatavanawai the honour of lifting Dave Gallaher Trophy during the official post-match presentation.
Tavatavanawai said it meant the world to him to have some of his family in the stands as well as the members of the Central Rugby Club in Blenheim who brought him to New Zealand in 2017.
“They had already booked so that was easy but to get my mum and my two younger siblings over to New Zealand to watch me play test footy was another feeling
“My mum was here to watch me play test footy and my two younger siblings, my two brothers, first time flying out of Fiji and watching professional footy.
“The management were working behind the scenes to get them over so thanks to them for pulling some strings and making some calls to get them over.”
All Blacks coach Scott Robertson thought it was “pretty special too”, having already handed out four debuts during the first test in Dunedin seven days earlier.
He said Tavatavanawai “looked right at home” on the international stage.
Although he was offered limited opportunities with the ball in hand, Tavatavanawai showcased another facet of his game with a deft kick late on.
“He played just like he does. He didn’t get a chance to get on that turnover or get one of those fends or bumps in but he made a great impact,” Robertson said.
“He’s a man of a few words but when we spoke about him and his siblings, it’s a pretty incredible story so to share it with his family is special for him but he still wanted to perform and he took those opportunities when he was out there.
“That’s the gift of rugby, everyone is united through a rugby ball and his story to get here is pretty special.”
