Father’s Day came a day early for the dad of All Blacks hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho.
Having not seen his son for three years, he made a special trip from Tonga to watch Saturday night’s Rugby Championship clash against Argentina in Hamilton.
And sure enough, his boy, on home turf at FMG Stadium Waikato, served up a gift-wrapped performance in New Zealand’s brilliant 53-3 bounce-back victory over the Pumas.
With a game-high 15 carries to his name and chugging through the most metres (40) of any forward on the park, Taukei’aho sure made it a night to remember for the 40-strong throng he had secured tickets for.
“My parents came over from Tonga on Thursday,” a quietly delighted Taukei’aho said. “Their first test match. I haven’t seen my dad since 2019, and mum last year.
“So it was good to get them over here and really special to share that moment with them, and get the result as well. So it was really good times.
Hannah Peters/Getty Images
Samisoni Taukei’aho celebrates the All Blacks’ big bounce-back win over the Pumas in Hamilton.
“I went and saw them in the crowd, I’ve got a few uncles, they probably had a few too many beers,” he quipped. “But they were really happy seeing me.”
It’s some way the 25-year-old has come, having shown his wares as a touring Tonga under-15 captain and subsequently earning a scholarship at Hamilton’s St Paul’s Collegiate School and arriving in New Zealand barely able to speak a word of English.
Since then, in between studying for a law degree, he has rocketed up the rugby pecking order, debuting for the Chiefs before Waikato, both in 2017, making the All Blacks last year, and this season establishing himself as clearly the best No 2 in the country.
“Obviously playing at the Chiefs with him I always knew how big and strong he is at carrying the ball,” returning All Blacks lock Brodie Retallick noted of the 1.83m, 115kg ball of power. “His set piece work has come along massively in terms of the accuracy.
“As we saw tonight, you put the ball in his hands, he goes forward nine times out of 10, if not 10 times. So it’s awesome to see what he’s doing.
“One time tonight he was calling ‘hands’, and it was only so he could get the ball when I passed it to him and carry.”
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Brodie Retallick knows just how damaging a ball runner Samisoni Taukei’aho can be.
Last year Taukei’aho celebrated a test debut in Hamilton with a sublime two-try cameo off the bench in the 60-13 win over Fiji.
Just who would have thought on his next visit there in the black jersey it would be an even bigger winning margin for the hosts, especially on the back of what happened the week before against the Pumas in Christchurch.
“I love playing at FMG, it’s home for me,” Taukei’aho said. “Every time I run out for Waikato or the Chiefs it’s always a place really close to my heart.
“So for me to be able to go out there again tonight, [I] was really grateful, and [it was] just a blessing to be able to represent this team, and to be able to play at home.
“[You] never take a win for granted in test footy.
“[There was] a lot of hurt in the group coming into this week, and [it was great] for us to go out there and deliver a performance we can be proud of, and hopefully New Zealanders are proud of.”
Taukei’aho admitted that despite now being 15 tests into his career, it was still “pinch yourself” stuff at times with the players he is around, including on Saturday night making way after 63 minutes for veteran Dane Coles, who’s “still my idol”.
“I think test footy’s a lot different to any level of rugby,” he said. “The lights are a bit brighter, things move a bit quicker, you’ve just got to adjust to what you see, and I’m just lucky that I’ve got really good personnel, really good rugby players around me that helps me make my job a lot easier, so credit to them.”
