Aotearoa’s Black Ferns continued their wairua-uplifting ways this week, showing their aroha in a special moment they shared with King Charles ahead of their match against the Red Roses in England this Sunday.
They shared their manaakitanga on social media, when player Ayesha Leti-I’iga cheerfully broke protocol and asked the king for a hug.
“We all wanted a hug but only if that’s okay with you,” she said.
In response, he said: “A hug? Why not.”
This then saw a scrummage of Black Ferns players come to hug him.
According to the New Zealand Herald, the king later made an impromptu speech, which made the squad laugh.
“I much appreciated this chance to meet you and have such a warm hug from most of you,” he added: “Very healing.”
King Charles is recovering from a serious bout of cancer.
The king also passed on his deep sympathy for the recent death of Kiingi Tuheitia.
The team presented Charles with a jersey and sang a waiata, with the king wishing them good luck ahead of Sunday’s game.
Later, speaking to British media, Leti-I’iga said she didn’t intend for a lot of the girls to jump in and hug the king.
“I asked him, ‘Can we have a hug?” and the king said ‘Yes’ but as I went in to hug him the others all jumped on top so it turned into more of a scrum.”
Her teammate Liana Mikaele-Tuu responded, “I thought you said ‘We’, so we all got involved.”
Additional reporting by NZ Herald.