00:02When the Hetet and McRae families head to Suncorp on Sunday to watch the Rugby League World Cup final,
00:08they'll boast a stronger connection to the game than most.
00:11My great-great-great-grandfather was the team manager for the Māori All-Stars back in the 1900s, 1909.
00:21More than a century ago, Maori chief John Hetet led a team across the ditch to defend the OT Punch
00:26Cup.
00:27My great-great-grandfather, Nirai Whareuri McRae, Ned McRae, he was actually the coach and captain and player of the
00:36team.
00:36The Kiwis attracted tens of thousands of Aussies to watch what had been a struggling code.
00:41New Zealand was a nation of union players. They brought with us our haka, our culture.
00:46They had two guides with them that were from Rotorua and her name is Maggie Papakura.
00:50The Maori side fought hard to bring the cup home.
00:53And you see how proud they are and I think that our people absolutely displayed that proudness when they put
00:59on a shirt.
00:59That cup's still standing. It's one of the oldest Rugby League cups in existence.
01:03Now in the care of the Hetet family in New Zealand.
01:06The cup is in an undisclosed location.
01:09It's a beautiful history, beautiful thing, you know, and that's why I'm probably really passionate about it.
01:17This weekend the group will watch the Kiwis take on the Aussies.
01:20In scenes reminiscent of the clash their family helped coordinate over a century ago.
01:26May the best team win.
01:31This was a spectacular program...
01:31morgamosoas in about 1.0 to 15.46 .
01:32The sky is noisy, so weuspestra.
01:32You have aね.
01:32We found out the sky is inaudible, so we do not see any changes.
01:32We found out thatvelyn, so as a lively group, he is enormous from theplex and completeness,
01:32Just a Floral Anna.
