All Blacks gift benches to 26 provincial rugby unions as thank you to community

All Black Josh Lord unveiled the bench in Te Kuiti. Photo / King Country Rugby

The All Blacks want New Zealand on their bench when they head off to the Rugby World Cup in France in September, so as a symbolic act, the team gifted a special wooden bench to each of the 26 provincial rugby unions.

In the Waikato region, there are four benches: One in Te Awamutu, gifted to the Waikato Rugby Union, one in Paeroa, gifted to Thames Valley Rugby Football Union (RFU), one in Te Kūiti, gifted to the King Country RFU and one in Reporoa, gifted to the Bay of Plenty RFU.

All Blacks lock and proud King Country boy Josh Lord unveiled the bench in Te Kuiti on Sunday and said it was a special day.

“I played a lot of rugby in Te Kuiti and had a lot to do with King Country Rugby, so it was pretty cool to share that moment with them,” Lord said.

The Te Kuiti bench is next to the statue of All Blacks great Sir Colin Meads on Rora Street.

Lord said: “Everyone knows how special [Meads] was and what he did for the King Country and New Zealand Rugby, so it’s a pretty cool spot, isn’t it?

Former King Country coach Noel McQuilkin, current All Black Josh Lord and Stan Meads, brother of Sir Colin Meads. Photo / King Country Rugby

“[The community] loved it aye. [I] loved seeing the kids there as well, [they] always come up with a smile,” Lord said.

King Country RFU rugby development officer Dan Tasker says a “couple hundred” members of the community attended the event, including Sir Colin Meads’ brother Stan Meads and former King Country coach Noel McQuilkin who unveiled the bench before Lord cut the ribbon.

Tasker said: “It was a really cool day for the community... We even had people from Taupo come over. Rugby is really important to the [local] community. We are fairly small, so we don’t have that many current local All Blacks.”

He says that although Lord is officially considered a “Taranaki All Black” because that is the team he plays for in the National Provincial Championship (NPC), to the King Country RFU, he is a local boy.

All Blacks coach Ian Foster at his former club Te Awamutu Sports with the bench. Photo / New Zealand Rugby

“Having a current All Black that is from here present something like this meant a lot,” Tasker said.

Lord also attended the bench gifting in Te Awamutu, alongside All Blacks coach and former Te Awamutu Sports rugby club member Ian Foster and fellow All Blacks Samipeni Finau, Luke Jacobson and Cam Roigard.

The Thames Valley RFU event in Paeroa was attended by All Blacks halfback Aaron Smith and the Reporoa bench was unveiled by All Blacks captain and former Reporoa College student Sam Cane.

All Black halfback Aaron Smith at the bench unveiling in Paeroa. Photo / New Zealand Rugby

New Zealand Rugby says the benches are a way for the All Blacks to give back to communities who support them, with the idea that the benches provide a physical place for people to connect, care and support each other.

“For many people, a bench is an international symbol of unity, of friendship, of camaraderie... In rugby, it’s the backbone of our teams in black. It’s the bench that gets us on the field, and the bench beyond that supports us all year round.”

All 26 benches have the words “Me eke mai. Our bench is your bench. Thanks for all your support.” written on them, alongside the All Blacks logo and a special design that portrays a bird.

Looking ahead to the upcoming world cup, All Black first five-eighth Beauden Barrett says: “To feel New Zealand on our bench when we hop on that plane to France - that’s all we need.”

His brother Jordie adds: “We are not just representing the All Blacks, we are representing New Zealand and the wider community. They are our bench and they are the reason we play.”