All Blacks halfback Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi's debut against Argentina in Nelson last night, revealing his grandmother had passed away during the week.
Tahuriorangi, 23, became All Black number 1174 when he entered the field at Trafalgar Park last night, fulfilling the childhood dream of just about every Kiwi rugby fan.
Speaking to media after the match however, the youngster revealed that what should have been a special week was instead tinged with sadness.
"This week was pretty hard because I lost my nan," he began.
"Hopefully I made her proud, hopefully I made all the community proud."
Tahuriorangi also spoke about performing the haka for the first time in the black jersey.
"My whanau was watching, I got a few kind messages.
"It was awesome, (I'm) really grateful for the opportunity to get out there."
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