Warriors stars pumped to play All Stars at home

When Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad was growing up, he admits being Māori didn’t mean a great deal, for him, or a whole lot of others in New Zealand.

Now, a couple of decades on, the Warriors and Kiwis rep is as proud as punch of his lineage, and knows he’s far from the only one, in a changing society where diverse cultures are brought to the fore much more than before.

February 15 next year promises to be another such occasion, with the next instalment of the NRL’s All Stars match.

Having played for the Maori All Stars twice in Australia, Nicoll-Klokstad is desperate to represent his heritage on home soil for the first time when his side takes on the Indigenous All Stars in Hamilton.

“I remember growing up, you weren’t as proud as you are these days about being Māori,” the 30-year-old tells NRL.com in Hamilton, as he donned the latest version of the team’s jersey.

“I know that things have definitely done the 180 and people are standing up and being proud of who they are as a person.

“That’s something that the people of Aotearoa, the families, the children, the communities, are going to really look forward to, putting our culture on display.”

Nicoll-Klokstad was speaking in Hamilton as tickets for the clash at FMG Stadium went on sale on Friday, with fans urged to get in early before they sell out. 

Since the Māori sides were introduced to the pre-season game in 2019, the ledgers have been very tight.

On the men’s side it’s three-apiece, as well as a draw (there is no golden point), with this year seeing a 10-6 win by the Māori in Sydney.

Nicoll-Klokstad played in both the draw (in Townsville in 2021) and this year’s victory, and is excited by the prospect of another opportunity, particularly after a hamstring tweak kept him out of the 2023 iteration in Rotorua, the only other time the event has been staged on his side of the ditch.

“You walk in feeling a little bit whakamā, or shy, and you leave proud, grateful, and ready to learn a lot more about who you are as a person, who you are as a tribe or iwi, and you take that back to clubland and to your family,” says the Auckland-born utility, whose iwi is Ngāti Tūwharetoa, with his family from Taupō.

It’s a sentiment shared by Harata Butler, who is in line for a fifth appearance in the women’s fixture, for a Māori team that means everything to her.

“I’ve been honoured to put on the black and white jersey as a Kiwi Fern, but this jersey means way more,” she said. “I hold it probably the highest of any of my accolades in sport.

“It’s a game, a kaupapa that embraces and represents my people, my family, my whenua, my pepeha, my whakapapa.”

Born and raised in the far north of the country, the 32-year-old former Sharks, Cowboys and now Warriors prop moved to the Waikato town of Huntly aged 12, and these days represents the Taniwharau club based there.

Just south of that is Taupiri Mountain, where Butler’s parents, and more extended whānau of hers lay, then a little further south again is Ngāruawāhia, residence of the Māori Queen.

Now it’s time to turn the tables of an 0-3 record at FMG Stadium Waikato this year, where the Warriors made the venue their second home in the NRLW.

The Indigenous All Stars will arrive off a 20-18 victory this season, which broke a six-year run of alternating winners, and they will be hungry to make it three in a row, notes Goulborn-born, proud Wiradjuri woman, Grace Kemp.

The Raiders prop, and former Wallaroos representative, whose six rugby tests all came in 2022 in New Zealand, featured in the last two editions for the Indigenous team.

After missing playing in Hamilton this year against the Warriors due to a broken finger, the 24-year-old is anticipating a great atmosphere when she’s back there in two months’ time.

“It’s going to be really different this year. We know our Māori sisters are going to pull their strength from their people here, and we’ll definitely feel that energy when we come over.”

Tickets to the Harvey Norman All Stars game are on sale now. Head to NRL.com/tickets to get yours today.