"The Magpies have definitely put a lot of work into me for me to be where I am right now," says the bloke who picked up a rugby ball at 4 after a friend, Ilai said he was only going to play for Eskview club if he did.
"I started playing and he gave up after the first game but I loved it and continued playing," he says with a laugh, revealing he had switched allegiances to Napier Pirate Rugby and Sport as a youngster.
The New Zealand under-20 selection excites the 19-year-old premier tighthead prop/hooker who brings the promise of a physical presence but with loads of composure.
Rakete-Stones says preparing for "big hits" from Samoa and Fiji is important.
"I'm definitely not a popo ['kind of a fat prop']. I'm a new prop who has to be fast," he says, aligning more with someone of former Magpie Ricky Riccitelli's mould.
Rakete-Stone isn't sure what the future holds for him but he'll strive to prevail.
He hastens to highlight the input of his mother, Wendy Rakete-Stones, who "cooks a good dinner".
"They [parents] give me good support and, in return, I play my best rugby."
It was his selection into the Hurricanes under-17 tournament team which gave him a dose of self-belief that he could make something from it.
While unsure of what he can fall back on if rugby is curtailed, the teacher aide is partial to teaching with sister Nancy, 22, a schoolteacher at Peterhead School, Flaxmere.
The filial ties of Clive utility back Falcon are ever present and tight.
The 19-year-old is part of the Falcon Dynasty in rugby. His father Gordon is a former Magpie and Maori All Black and so is grandfather Ray.
"I was kind of born into rugby and played when I was 4 years old and I loved it.
"That's all I ever wanted to do so it's a dream come true," says the teenager who played in all 10 Magpies' games last winter.
No doubt Gordon is his biggest influence but so were his first XV coaches, teachers Ben Spriggens and George Rogers, at Lindisfarne College for four years.
The Magpies, as well as the preseason training stint he had with the Hurricanes last summer, have helped define his pathway.
"I have a pretty supportive family so they never miss a game," says the son of Michelle Falcon. "I was always encouraged to do what I'm enjoying from a young age."
The 2015 NZ Secondary Schools' Barbarians XV player is relishing his first opportunity to wear the black jersey and regards it an honour after watching his predecessors on TV.
"I just have to make sure I play as I usually play and not get stuck into any pressure and just keep a cool head," he says, aware some of the best players from New Zealand will be vying for a berth.
Staying calm and instinctively playing what's in front of him is his prescription.
"Whether it's kicking, running or passing I have to just play with my head up."
Falcon says becoming well versed with his portfolio means he can he can build a rapport with others on the paddock.
Any non-academic moment at Pukehou School was, by default, rugby time.
Mikaele-Tu'u, an on/off Hasting Rugby and Sports Club premier No 8, is spending a year studying as a correspondence student at Victoria University in commerce.
"It's a bigger step to the world in terms of rugby, I guess," says the 19-year-old of his selection.
Mikaele-Tu'u enjoyed last year as a "year young" rapidly realising how physical it can be.
"I adjusted well, I thought, and it was a real good experience," he says after starting in both tests against Australia.
It didn't help that last winter he fractured his right tibia (shin) and only played his first club last weekend.
The Wellington-born Samoan is mindful of the physicality the island nations will bring at the Oceania event but do the Kiwi-born of his heritage have the same mongrel?
"We'll have to match it, I suppose," says Mikaele-Tu'u with a laugh, adding it's something he has had to work on.
As a youngster playing alongside two-minute older twin brother, Antonio, with big rigs in backyard footy they had to measure up smartly from age 6. Centre Antonio plays in Waikato.
Mikaele-Tu'u arrived in the Bay at 11 and eventually wormed his way into the Hawke's Bay under-16s.
His brother and father Mike Mikaele-Tu'u, a freezing works supervisor, are his biggest influences.
The former Hastings Boys' High School counts his blessing considering the depth of talent out there.
"You never know if you're going to make it or not so I'm just grateful," says Mikaele-Tu'u who has had a taste of the previous Under-20 World Cup in Manchester.
