Rugby fan wins Greytown an ABs visit

CELEBRATION: Amy Rossiter-Stead, whose video has won Greytown a visit from the All Blacks, pictured with students at Greytown School. PHOTO/LYNDA FERINGA

The All Blacks will visit Greytown on September 3, just before jetting off to England to defend the Rugby World Cup, thanks to 13-year-old Amy Rossiter-Stead.

The Solway College Year 9 student won a New Zealand Rugby competition, entitled All Blacks to the Nation, after putting together a video explaining why Greytown deserved a visit.

Amy, who lives in Greytown and is a former Greytown JAB rugby player, filmed and edited the two-and-a-half minute video in four days, using an iPad Mini and iMovie.

"I heard about the competition and I thought Greytown should give it a shot, so I thought I'd give it a go because Greytown deserves to win," Amy said.

Her video, Team Greytown, had the most public online votes at the time the winners were selected by the All Blacks players, and she spent days nervously awaiting the results.

She was in a maths class when the call came through and she missed the first two calls on her mobile.

When she finally answered, All Blacks loose forward Liam Messam was on the other end of the phone congratulating her.

"At first I thought it was a prank call," she said.

"I put him on speaker phone and all my friends crowded around me and he said my Team Greytown video had won ... I started crying and I was like thank you so much."

Amy later found she had voicemail messages from other All Blacks players, including lock Luke Romano and hooker Codie Taylor.

"A lot of people in the community got behind it, that's why I think I won," she said.

Her video featured Greytown JAB players, Greytown School, Greytown Early Years Centre, Greytown Butchery and Cahoots Cafe.

There is also a guest appearance from Greytown Rugby Club matriarch Mrs Polly Matthews and the backing track was composed and performed by former Greytown Rugby player Josh Faraimo.

The key prop in the video was a 10m-long banner, donated by the Sign Factory in Masterton, which featured the competition tagline #teamallblacks in Greytown's colours of red, yellow and black.

The banner will be displayed in the town during the Rugby World Cup.

"It was so good to see how many people helped out with [the video] and voted for it. I don't think we would've won if the community hadn't got in behind me," Amy said.

It is yet to be confirmed which All Blacks players, and how many of them, will be visiting the town, but Amy has her fingers crossed for her favourites.

"Dan Carter and Richie McCaw or Ma'a Nonu, Conrad Smith or Liam Messam would be really cool."

Terina Kaiwai, who featured in the Team Greytown video, has four sons who all play for the Greytown Rugby Club.

She said the town winning an All Blacks visit was "just amazing".

"It will be for the children," she said.

"[The All Blacks] are coming down to make connections with the real people in the real world.

"We're looking forward to the rugby-playing boys and girls challenging the All Blacks - side stepping them, running straight at them and tackling them."

Greytown School syndicate leader Rhonda Jones said this was "a fantastic opportunity" for the students.

"We're so excited, the students are stoked. I'm sure we will be hearing about it for weeks," she said.

Greytown School Principal Kevin Mackay was happy a former student of the school had taken the project on and won.

"Any contact with role models is really positive for our kids, especially after they [All Blacks] won on Saturday."

For more details of the All Blacks visit, see the Greytown Rugby Facebook page.