He might be playing for the big guns now, but Tone Ng Shiu hasn’t forgotten where he came from.
The 22-year-old All Black Sevens star was welcomed back onto the Botany Downs Secondary College campus before catching a flight to Vancouver with the rest of the squad to play the fourth leg of the 2016/17 HSBC World Series.
He was surprised at the front gates with a rousing haka by current students and a small group of old boys before being presented with an old school sports jersey from principal Karen Brinsden who spoke of how proud the school community was of Ng Shiu’s achievements. Ng Shiu described the moment as “very emotional”.
“[I’m] pretty shocked to be honest… I love to see my school’s got my back and I’m just proud to be Botany.”
Ng Shiu had also gifted his Sevens playing jersey back to the school in a decision sparked by the desire to give back. “I needed to offer something back to the school [because] they’ve done a lot for me in the past.”
~ Times.co.nz, Kelly Teed