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'Time to go home' - Karl Tu'inukuafe shares heart-warming farewell picture directed to Chiefs

July 26, 2018

The rookie prop showed class in his side's 52-11 victory at Eden Park.

Karl Tu'inukuafe has taken time to share an emotional picture of his departure from the Chiefs with the All Blacks front rower heading north to join the Blues next season.

Tu'inukuafe shared a picture of his boots to his Instagram account last night, showing his locker in the Chiefs sheds emptied out besides his playing boots which he appears to be leaving behind.

"Thank you for having me," he captioned the picture.

"Time to go home."

The 25-year-old announced today he was joining the Blues in 2019 after bursting onto the Super Rugby scene this year with the Chiefs.

The North Harbour prop originally joined the Waikato franchise this year as injury cover, making his Super Rugby debut in round five but his talents caught the eye of All Blacks coach Steve Hansen which led to an international Test debut against France last month.

The whirlwind rise to the black jersey came after Tu'inukuafe admitted earlier this year he had initially returned to rugby as way to deal with health issues after gaining a concerning amount of weight at a desk job in security.

The Chiefs front rower is living the dream.

Tu'inukuafe announced this morning he was leaving the Chiefs to head back home on a deal that will see him play for the Blues through until 2021.

"It is exciting for my family and me to be coming home. I think we have a strong squad for next year. I have my Harbour coach Tom Coventry coming in to take the forwards and I get to stay in the region," said Tu'inukuafe.

Karl Tu'inukuafe made his first All Blacks appearance in the 52-11 victory over France.

"The set-up at the Blues looks great and I am going to enjoy being part of this club and hopefully I can do my part in helping the club do well."

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