He spoke, they listened. They brought rugby balls, he signed them. They held cameras, he posed.
All Black captain Tana Umaga was humble and relaxed as Project K students had the chance to meet their hero before he appeared at a fundraising evening for their charity at Craggy Range Winery last
night.
Project K aims at giving average students guidance and direction in life through mentoring and outdoor education programmes. The project is now in its second year at both Taradale and Karamu high schools and the programme will also be started at Central Hawke's Bay College next month.
Project K organiser Mary Stewart said the pupils had been in absolute awe of Tana and were thrilled to meet him.
But while the highlight for the pupils might have been meeting the sports star, for Mrs Stewart it was the $50,000 raised during the evening, which will go towards the running costs of the charity.
Winery general manager Sean Burns said they had raised $41,750 from the auction. Three litres of Craggy Range Le Sol Syrah with a waiter and chef for the evening went for $4150, while an All Black rugby jersey signed by the All Blacks and Lions teams was bought for $7500.
Mr Burns said that nearly another $8000 had been raised thanks to the 100 people who bought tickets to attend the evening.