All Blacks prop Angus Ta'avao was a big hit in Northland, seen here at Whangārei hospital's children's ward with 13-month-old Ross Chapman. Photo / John Stone
All Blacks prop Angus Ta'avao was a big hit in Northland, seen here at Whangārei hospital's children's ward with 13-month-old Ross Chapman. Photo / John Stone
Well, the star-studded show is over.
Northland's sporting faithful have been treated to a rich lineup of national sporting heroes in the form of Rotorua-born Oklahoma City Thunder basketballer Steven Adams last weekend when he held some training camps for over 300 lucky young players at ASB Stadium.
However, thebig man's appearance was seemingly superseded by the visit later in the week from the All Blacks' Rieko Ioane, Angus Ta'avao, Patrick Tuipulotu and Nepo Laulala, who travelled north as a part of the "All Blacks to the Nation" tour.
The group of four first arrived at Whangārei hospital on Thursday for a quick trip through the children's ward and the children health centre before being greeted by thousands of Northlanders at Semenoff Stadium.
After an excellent official welcome, which included a rousing haka from pupils of Te Kāpehu Whetū, the players had a brief Q and A before get into some skills and drills for the packs of children from about 20 schools who had turned up.
Fortunately, the weather behaved itself, turning on the sunshine and in fact a fair amount of warmth, a worrying sign as we only enter Spring tomorrow . Overall, it was a fantastic day and a great way to cap off a whirlwind week for Northland sport fans.
Rieko Ioane poses with nine-year-old Siena Southall at the Whangārei hospital children's health centre on Thursday. Photo / John Stone
While Steven Adams' team kept him firmly out of the media's reach, you get the sense these guys truly enjoy coming out to the regions and interacting with their fans. It might not be the case for some sport stars but by all accounts, Adams had a ball at ASB Stadium on the weekend and it was clear to see the All Blacks weren't taking themselves too seriously on Thursday.
Fresh-faced prop Angus Ta'avao was the life of the party at Semenoff Stadium two days ago , cracking jokes and playing up to the crowd, much to everyone's delight. It was refreshing to see these guys more as people rather than players, which is what most of the public ever gets to see.
But the real benefit of these appearances is in the eyes of the kids, more so for those who are not as lucky as most kids are.
To see the joy in the kids' faces as these hulking figures rounded into their room at the hospital, it tells you all you need to know about the life for children who spend too much of their childhood inside hospitals.
It was a thought echoed by Ta'avao who had also spent a fair amount of time dealing with New Zealand's health system with his own son. He spoke about how you could almost feel trapped, even if the service and quality of care is top notch.
But a simple five-minute visit from their idols was enough to make their day, week and probably their year. Steven Adams managed to do the same for a young boy called Ruben who had cerebral palsy and the video of their interaction can bring a tear to your eye.
Ruben has cerebral palsy. All he wanted to do on Saturday was meet Steven Adams 💙.
I would hope all our sporting icons feel privileged by this but also recognise their ability to alleviate suffering, even if just for a moment. While it's not the most glamorous of activities for them, I hope they can understand the effect they have on those who aspire to follow in their footstep, no matter the circumstances.
