It was a strange sight, it has to be said – three strapping All Blacks settling down for a cup of tea and a chinwag in a Dunedin rest home, its residents excitedly gathered around swapping stories, having shirts signed and even taking a sneaky selfie or two. But the rather chaotic scene was well-deserved for the residents at Fulton Radius Care Rest Home, who won a competition to bring some of the All Blacks to their home last week.
Ben Smith (29), Ben Franks (31) and vice-captain Kieran Reid (29) dropped into Fulton Radius to meet the excited rugby fans, many of whom featured on the winning video the home submitted to the New Zealand Rugby Union as part of the “All Blacks to the Nation” competition.
On the video, the residents recite a poem they penned called “In Champion’s Fields”, inspired by the well-known prose “In Flanders Fields”.
For Joyce Le Masurier, who featured on the video, meeting the trio of All Blacks was “a huge thrill” – especially Ben Franks, who she couldn’t resist giving a big hug. “I couldn’t sleep that night!” she says excitedly. “He was very polite.”
The 82-year-old rugby fan says she thoroughly enjoyed the visit and will definitely be watching as many World Cup games as she can – just as fellow resident Morris White will be doing. Morris enjoyed a long chat with Ben Smith about the upcoming World Cup.
“He’s a very decent, likable man, is Ben,” Morris muses. “It seems to be he’s a character. Like [Richie] McCaw, if you don’t mind me making that analogy.” Kieran also delivered a moving speech to the residents, in which he thanked them for their support and told them that they were all an inspiration to the team, as well as acknowledging their service to the nation.
Ben Smith, who last week flew with the 31-man team to London to begin preparations for their first match against Argentina, says the visit to Fulton Radius was an experience he won’t forget.
“It was great to get out there and see how much they enjoyed their rugby,” he tells the Weekly. “They were great, friendly people who made our day by showing all their support.”
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