When 11-year-old Kawaha Point School pupil Ryubyn Vaipo got home last night, the back of his shirt was covered in writing.
But he was not worried about getting into trouble with his mum over getting his shirt dirty - quite the opposite. "She will be happy ... shetold me to come back with signatures all over it," he said.
Ryubyn's shirt was covered with autographs from members of the Bay of Plenty Steamers rugby squad, who had been training at Rotorua's International Stadium.
Ryubyn and dozens of other local children, mobbed their heroes following the end of the session, which was a rare chance to catch the Steamers in Rotorua this season.
Ryubyn is already a die-hard supporter of the side and worked hard to make sure he had the names of as many of the squad adorning him as possible, including his favourite players Hayden Reid and Mike Delaney. "But they are all good," he said, before racing off to grab another autograph.
Steamers coach Andre Bell, a former Rotorua Boys' High School sport co-ordinator and past Whakarewarewa player said the public signing session was something the team would always be happy to take part in.
"[Rotorua] is still part of the Bay of Plenty, it's great to see the little kids out here supporting us and the guys signing autographs."
The team are preparing for their final pre-Air New Zealand Cup game by staying in Rotorua for three days at Kiwipaka YHA. They play Waikato on Saturday in Hamilton and open their season against Wellington the following week.
Their first home game is against North Harbour in Tauranga on August 12, while they play their only Rotorua game against Manawatu on August 26.
