Publications
Partners
Cape Town - Fresh from breaking box office records with his title role in Aquaman, movie star Jason Momoa has sent the rugby world into a frenzy with an appearance at the Vancouver Sevens wearing an All Blacks jersey.
The Hawaiian-born star was vocal in his support of the All Blacks Sevens in Vancouver, but it was his retro All Blacks jersey that really got the internet talking.
It wasn’t just any All Blacks jersey that Momoa was wearing in the
stands though. To the trained eye it was obviously a match-worn jersey
from the late 1980s or early 1990s. Fans across the world begun to
speculate about which All Black originally donned the jersey and how
Momoa had come to receive the jersey.
When approached by allblacks.com, Momoa gave the story behind the special jersey and what it means to him.
“It
was a gift from my stuntman Glenn Ennis about 15 years ago when I was
on Stargate Atlantis. He was captain for Canada and played against the
All Blacks at the 1991 Rugby World Cup where he traded jerseys with the
legendary Zinzan Brooke,” Momoa said.
“It is one of the greatest presents I have ever been given. I never leave home without it. It always travels with me.”
The
game in question was notable for a couple of reasons. Not only was it a World Cup quarter-final, but it was also the first time the All
Blacks and Canada had met in international rugby.
Canada went
down 29-13 in an impressive performance which still ranks as their
closest losing margin to the All Blacks in four Tests played.
Brooke crossed for one of the All Blacks five tries in the game (watch below) and waged a great physical battle with his opposite number Ennis in the match.
Momoa is a noted fan of the All Blacks and has connections to New
Zealand from having lived in the country for a short period and having
Kiwi actor Temuera Morrison play his father in Aquaman.
The 6-foot-4 tall Momoa stated his love of rugby in a recent interview.
"I
bleed All Blacks. Rugby is the ultimate sport to me. There are no pads.
Growing up in America we didn't have it as much, I played more hockey.
But then when I went down and lived in Australia and New Zealand, it's
my favourite sport."
Momoa would've seen New Zealand finish fifth in Vancouver, with the Blitzboks emerging victorious on Sunday, picking up their first title of the 2018/19 season.
Smash-hit Aquaman has raked in the cash at the box office, picking up $1.144 billion off a $160-$200 million budget.
