'Blues brothers' go the extra mile to help Haiu

Blues mates (from left) Jerome Kaino, Kurtis Haiu and Keven Mealamu keep a watch on Pat Lam as he trains for the fundraiser to help Haiu with his cancer treatment. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Blues coach Pat Lam usually expects his players to work hard for him.

But this time he will be the one doing the hard yards for at least one of his players.

Lam and nine other members of the Blues management team will run in this year's Auckland Marathon, on October 30, in a bid to help lock Kurtis Haiu.

The 27-year-old was diagnosed with bone cancer this year and has had to stop playing rugby indefinitely.

All donations received will go towards his ongoing treatment and to his young family.

At the Blues' gymnasium in Auckland yesterday, Haiu laughed and chatted with teammates and All Black stars Keven Mealamu and Jerome Kaino, who are backing the management team 100 per cent.

Mealamu said what they were doing was inspirational: "Sometimes words just don't do it. You don't know what to say," he said. "This is better than words."

Lam said it was a chance to help someone who was still very much part of the Blues.

"When we found out Kurtis had cancer, straight away we thought, 'What can we do?' Support him and say prayers.

"But this is something different. I'm always asking the boys to put it on the line for each other. We're going to be doing that in the marathon - putting it on the line for Kurtis."

The team have been training for months and have dubbed themselves "Team Malo".

"Malo is 'well done' in Samoan," Lam explained. "When we cross the line, it's going to be, 'well done'. We're going to be saying that to each other. And it's 'malo' to Kurtis too. He's hanging in there for his family."

Haiu said he and wife Frieda had been overwhelmed by the gesture.

Haiu also paid tribute to his "Blues brothers", who had stepped up in his time of need. "They just stuck by me. They call now and then and just see how things are going. We don't talk about the details, but they're just there for me, just treat me normally, and that's what I want."

Haiu said he would one day tell his baby daughters, Aaliyah and Sienna, about what his friends had done for him.

To donate to the Haiu Trust, go to www.theblues.co.nz.