A young fan from Ruatoria who made a fan video for Nehe Milner-Skudder has been brought to Auckland to meet the team and his idol.
Kuratiwaka Ngarimu's video - in which he says Milner-Skudder is the man - was viewed over 150,000 times on Facebook before the Rugby World Cup final.
In the video he says: "Far Nehe Milner-Skudder, you're the man! If you ever come around to Ruatoria, my Mum can make you a cake and if you like kāngawaru, she can make you those too."
Young Kuratiwaka was flown up to Auckland with his mum and will spend time with the team this afternoon.
He was cheered on to the stage at the All Blacks homecoming celebrations and gifted Milner-Skudder cake made by his mum in front of the massive Auckland crowd.
After the video was posted Skudder replied with a tribute of his own, on the eve of the All Blacks Rugby World Cup win over Australia.
"Pretty choice to see a little Ngati breatha like yourself send through a video wishing me well and the team well for the big game coming up.
Kuratiwaka shares a proud connection with Milner-Skudder through iwi as both have a connection to Ngāti Porou.
The Rugby World Cup final referee revealed he had to undergo surgery during the tournament