The Helensvale Hogs may be a long way from Hamilton, but it remains a treasured place for All Blacks flyer Leroy Carter as he prepares to celebrate the Gold Coast club.
Carter will wear Hogs' socks as part of Super Rugby Pacific's Club Round during the Chiefs' clash with Moana Pasifika on Friday.
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The 27-year-old played his junior Rugby in Queensland between the ages of 7-12 before making the move to New Zealand.
It was a family affair, with the former Sevens flyer reflecting on his roots.
“My dad was the coach, and early on, my sister was in the team," Carter said. "I got to play in the midfield, which is a dream of mine still.
“It was bare feet, early mornings, Coke Zero and a pie after the game. I was running the tee for the first grade side, some good memories back then.”
“I was pretty slow. I was playing a little bit of flanker so I wasn’t the quickest and I was tiny as well, I looked like a hobbit.”
The rest is history for Carter, emerging as one of Super Rugby Pacific's premier wingers.
He started his career on the Sevens World Series, nominated for Player of the Year in 2023.
This caught the eye of the Chiefs, who quickly snapped up the explosive winger and handed him his debut.
The rise was meteoric, Carter debuting for the All Blacks during the Rugby Championship against South Africa after a passport fiasco left him unable to travel to Argentina.
But even still, the flyer remembers his roots; idolising the first graders and battling rivals, the Coomera Crushers.
"Hayden McCaa used to be the first grader I'd run the tee out to so I remember looking up to him and his little brother Jamie," Carter said and smiled.
