Former All Black Luke McAlister's son loses signed jersey in theft

An "irreplaceable" gift from former All Black Luke McAlister to his son has been stolen from a locked storage unit in Auckland earlier this week.

The boy's mother, Amanda Wilby, reported the theft on her Instagram account yesterday, pleading for help to find it.

"We have had a very sentimental item stolen," Wilby said on Instagram, explaining it had been a gift from McAlister to their son.

The framed jersey is "super special" and cannot be easily mistaken for something else Wilby told the Herald.

"It's super special because it's an All Blacks jersey, it has Luke's name and number on it and a poppy on it so it can't be mistaken for anything else," Wilby said.

McAlister also wrote on the jersey in silver pen the message "Connor Love You Dad".

Wilby told the Herald she was "devastated" for her son Connor McAlister-Wilby, 7, who is unaware it has been stolen.

"It would have been within the last four days.

"I haven't spoken to him about it yet - Luke and I will talk to him and try to explain it all to him," Wilby said.

She said the jersey was in a locked storage unit in the basement of an upper Queen St apartment complex.

"(The storage unit was) just for the apartment I was in and it's locked with a padlock.

"I noticed the padlock was gone and something was wrong when it was all broken and the jersey was gone.

"It (the jersey) was upside down and it was covered over with sheets.

"There hasn't been anything else that was taken," Wilby told the Herald.

The framed jersey is extra special as it was worn when the All Blacks played in France.

"We used to live there and all the photos are of Luke and all the teams he has played for, so it's really thought out.

"The poppy and Connor's birthday which is the 26th (of April) means a lot because they are around the same time.

"It's priceless," she said.

Wilby notified the police of the incident today.