Whakatau ana a Ngāti Whakaue i ngā kapa rīki NRL Māori me Ahitereiria ki runga o Te Papaiouru marae, i Rotorua i te rā nei.
Hei tā Kingi Biddle, uri o Ngāti Whakaue, he mīharo te kite i ngā iwi taketake o Ahitereiria, e tūhono mai ana ki ngā iwi o Te Arawa i tēnei rā.
“Te taenga mai o te iwi Moemoeā, koia te kaupapa matua o te wā, ā, ko te tukituki o ngā kapa e rua, kapa Māori ki te kapa Ahitereiria i te Rāhoroi e tū mai nei.
Heoi he iwi, he whakapapa, he iwi taketake ka tae mai ki a Te Arawa, ka tika mā Te Arawa rātou e pōwhiri”.
Ko Mya Hill-Moana tētehi o ngā kaitākaro o te kapa wāhine Māori, ā, kei te aro nui ia ki te tūtaki, otirā ki te ako i ētehi āhuatanga hōu e pā ana ki te ahurea o Ahitereiria, i tā rātou noho tahi me te tākaro tahi i tēnei wiki.
“He take nui tēnei kēmu i tēnei wiki, kaua ko te kēmu noa, engari ko te kotahi o ngā iwi taketake o Ahitereiria, ki ngā iwi hoki o Aotearoa.
“Kai te hīkaka te ngākau, kua tae mai rātou, ā, tū atu i tērā, kāore anō kua tau i roto i a au i tēnei wā, engari hei te Paraire ka tino kikī te puku ki ngā pūrerehua”.
E ai ki ngā tāngata whenua o Ahitereiria, ahakoa te rerekē o te reo Māori ki te reo o ngā iwi taketake o te whenua Moemoeā, he nui tonu ngā āhuatanga e ōrite ana i ngā ahurea e rua.
Ko Abi Wright tētehi o ngā hunga taketake o Ahitereiria, he hononga tōna ki ngā iwi o Anaiwan, Dunghutti, Gomeroi, o Wannaruh hoki i te rohe o Newcastle, NSW, ā, hei tāna he aroha tōna ki ngā Māori, otirā ki a Aotearoa, nā te aroha me te manaaki nui o tēnei wāhi ki a ia me tōna whānau.
“We couldn't wait to get over her and experience your guys' culture - the beautiful welcoming you guys gave us, we love it and the energy and we just absolutely love you and are excited for what's next this week ''.
Ko Quincy Dodd tētehi kaitākaro o te kapa NRL o Ahitereiria, ā, ko tana taunga tuatahi tēnei ki te manawa o Te Arawa.
“It’s beautiful here, I've personally never played here in New Zealand and have never been here to Rotorua, so I'm really excited to represent my home and people in Australia and immerse myself in the Māori way”.
Hei tā Kingi Biddle, ka taea e ngā rōpū e rua te tākaro te kēmu rīki hei iwi taketake, hei iwi Māori, ka mutu, kāore e tāea te pērā i te NRL.
“E rere ana ngā mihi ki ngā hunga o te poari matua o te NRL, nā rātou i whakatūwhera i te kuaha, engari ngā mihi ki te kaupapa, kia Māori ai, kia iwi taketake ai te kēmu a te Rāhoroi nei”.
I tērā tau i toa ai te Kapa Tāne Māori, ā, i hinga te Kapa Wāhine Māori. Hei te Rāhoroi e tū mai nei, ka ū anō ngā kapa ki te tukituki, atu i te 1:15pm.
Hei reira ka kite atu ai, ko wai ka hua, ko wai ka eke panuku i tēnei tau.