BEING selected in the All Blacks is a dream come true for Mike Delany - it's very much the same for his father Peter.
"I was cleaning the car and listening to the radio," a proud Peter said yesterday from his Mount Maunganui home.
"I heard Daniel Carter, Canterbury, and then Mike Delany, Bay of Plenty. I didn't hear anything after that apart from me and the neighbour screaming".
The 27-year-old Bay of Plenty Steamer is one of four new All Blacks selected in the 33-strong squad announced yesterday to tour Japan and Europe. Also selected is his Bay of Plenty teammate Tanerau Latimer.
The Bay of Plenty first-five was having a lie-in at a mate's place in Hamilton when his older brother Simon rang.
"It's awesome to get some sort of recognition," Delany said.
Delany is the feel-good selection of the tour.
"He's played exceptional football for Bay of Plenty," All Blacks coach Graham Henry said.
"He's got high-ball skills, because he's got fullback skills, and has the ability to kick long, the ability to counter-attack, and we like his excitement, his positiveness.
However, it wasn't a selection Delany was banking on.
The new All Black and his father had discussed the subject last week and didn't hold a lot of hope and were planning a holiday overseas at the end of the Steamers' Air New Zealand Cup season.
Yesterday's surprise announcement took its toll,
with Peter whacking himself
with the vacuum cleaner before running down the road.
"It's absolutely unbelievable ... I don't know what to say," he said.
Delany becomes the Bay of Plenty's 21st All Black and it is the first time since 1986 the Bay has had two All Blacks in the same squad.
Delany has played 52 games for Bay of Plenty after coming from the bench for his first against Wellington in 2005. He played for the Chiefs in Super 14 this season and has become Rotorua Boys' High School's 9th All Black and the 13th born in Rotorua.
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