An emotional Caleb Clarke as his father Eroni Clarke sings the national anthem. Photo: Brett Phibbs / www.photosport.nz
All Blacks wing Caleb Clarke was reduced to tears at Eden Park, after a powerful pre-match moment he never saw coming - father and former All Black Eroni Clarke singing the national anthem.
Playing his first test of the year in Saturday's Bledisloe Cup clash, Caleb admitted he had no idea his dad would lead the crowd through God Defend New Zealand in English and te reo Māori.
"I didn't even hear it in the announcement," he told Sky Sports afterwards. "I already knew I was going to be emotional in the anthem, just the fact of finally getting to Eden Park and putting on the black jersey.
"I had my eyes closed for most of it... then halfway through the English part, I'm like, 'I know this voice'."
A teammate tapped him on the shoulder, confirming what his ears had already heard.
"So I open my eyes and I look at the screen, and I see my dad and... that's when I just started bawling my eyes out," he said.
Caleb Clark scores the All Blacks' opening try against Australia. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
Eroni Clarke, who played 24 matches for the All Blacks between 1992-98, didn't tell his son or whānau that he would perform at Eden Park.
"I was just talking to my family, none of them knew either," Caleb said. "It was real cool."
After the anthem, the pair embraced on the sideline, before the haka.
Caleb recalls the exchange simply: "He just said, 'Welcome back. Go out there and just play, just have fun', and I said to him, 'Man, why didn't you tell me you were going to sing, so I could at least be prepared?'."
The emotion of the anthem was matched soon after, when Caleb crossed the line for the All Blacks' opening try of the night.
Sky Sport commentator Tony Johnson described the scene as one of the standout moments of the evening.
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