NRL stars Wendell Sailor and Manu Vatuvei teamed up to deliver an early Christmas present to one South Auckland family.
League heroes Manu Vatuvei and Wendell Sailor are no strangers to delivering on the field.
And on Friday, two of the greatest wings in the NRL's history delivered off the field, providing one South Auckland family with the ultimate early footy Christmas present.
Sailor - in full Father Christmas garb- and Vatuvei dished out a gift to the Ripia family, which included 20 tickets to next year's NRL Auckland Nines.
The Ripia family with Wendell Sailor and Manu Vatuvei. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Moses Ripia, his partner, Toni, and their six children are huge league fans, but they'd never been able to afford to attend the Nines tournament.
Moses said he was over the moon about receiving the tickets, as well as getting to meet Vatuvei and Sailor. "When I saw Manu Vatuvei walking up I thought you must have got the wrong house," he said.
"I can't wait to tell the boys now 'hey, Manu Vatuvei and Wendell Sailor came round', they'll be all jealous."
Ripia has played league most of his life and volunteers his time to help coach several Otara Scorpions teams.
Moses Ripia, Manu Vatuvei, Tama Flavell and Wendell Sailor enjoy some banter. Photo / Jason Oxenham
"I started off as a rugby player but when I played league I never looked back."
