Rugby fans queued up at Ohaeawai on Saturday to have their photo taken with the Rugby World Cup.
Affectionately referred to as "Wiremu" during the welcome, the William Webb Ellis Cup visited Taiamai Ohaeawai Rugby Football and Sports Club for three hours before two much-anticipated semi final games.
Among thecrowd were Ohaeawai ex-All Blacks, the Woodman brothers, Kawhena and Fred. The former said seeing the trophy at his home club was an exciting moment.
"This is the absolute pinnacle of world rugby. You look at the names engraved on this cup and think of the huge achievement of winning it, and it's right here in Ohaeawai."
Simone French accompanied the cup from Auckland, making sure no one touched it and that it was displayed with its official plinth and backdrop. She noted, while the New Zealand Rugby Union wasn't saying whether the 4.5kg gilded-silver trophy was the original made in 1906 or a copy made in 1986, French insisted it was the same cup held aloft by a triumphant Richie McCaw at Eden Park last October.
"This is the real deal... Bringing it here is [making Ohaeawai] part of the stadium of four million."
In a powhiri led by Taiamai kaumatua and retired Tai Tokerau Bishop Ben Te Haara, the Webb Ellis Cup was welcomed to the club and introduced to two other prestigious trophies, the Hone Heke Taonga and the Waimirirangi Taonga, awarded to Northland's top Maori rugby and netball teams respectively.
