Diehards who took the last train to Christian Cullen country yesterday may not have seen the famous All Black fullback, but they received an offer that would make his hardiest teen fan blush.
The entire trainload of Cullen fans who took the Paekakariki Express in honour of New Zealand's record test try-scorer - 46 - were invited to his bedroom by his proud father, Chris.
Cullen was not at the event, having joined the NZ Maori team for their tour to Canada.
"We have got a lot of stuff," Mr Cullen told fans who had packed out the local pub to watch, in silent awe, every Cully try ever caught on film.
And whenever they wanted, every train rider there could phone Mr Cullen and his wife, Trisha, and come over for a lie-down and a look at the shrine of shirts, trophies and medals adorning the room.
"We, as Christian's parents, are very proud of what he has done and it's very sad he's not in the All Blacks," Mr Cullen said. "That's all that I can say."
Their son's "stuff" is all that will be left in his room when he leaves for Ireland to play for Munster after the NPC in October.
And that departure was in the minds of his most loyal fans. "It's like a wake," said Julie Englebretsen as she tried on Cullen's NZ Sevens jersey.
Others were more into celebrating Cullen's contribution to rugby.
"He's just an all-round great player and an awesome person," said Jessica Barr, who confessed to having nearly as much Cullen memorabilia in her room.
- NZPA
Last train to Cullen-ville a sad trip
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