As well as being named together as first-time All Blacks, both Caleb Clarke and Hoskins Sotutu share a unique connection.
Clarke and Sotutu were announced today as two of seven uncapped players in the All Blacks squad and their selection is no surprise given their pedigree.
Besides being Blues teammates, Sotutu and Clarke share a connection through their fathers.
Their dads, Eroni Clarke and Waisake Sotutu, were Blues tea-mates back in the late 1990s, with both going on to achieve international honours with the All Blacks and Fiji respectively.
Sotutu said that the connection shared between himself and Clarke made today’s squad announcement all the more special.
“Me and Caleb are a similar age as well, so growing up we always had that connection through our dads, it’s just real special to be named with some of my Blues mates and Caleb,” Sotutu said.
It is also fitting that the announcement came on Father’s Day with both players describing the moment they broke the news to their dads.
Clarke said he held out until the very last minute to surprise his dad with the news.
“It was actually quite funny. When I rang him, I delayed saying I made the squad, and since it’s Father’s Day I was like “Happy Father’s Day dad, what did you get up to? What did you have for breakfast?” And so, I probably would have said it right at the end if I was actually going to hang up,” Clarke said.
“I said “here’s another Father’s Day gift, I made the squad.”
“I just heard all the cheering, I could hear my little brothers in the room with my parents as well so it was pretty cool to live out a dream and get to share an experience that I know my dad had as well.”
Sotutu said his father broke his usual silence upon hearing of his son’s selection.
“I let dad know, its pretty funny like I don’t what it is but if I have a good game or something he doesn’t say anything and that’s always a good sign, but today I let him know that I was in the squad and there was a bit of a pause and he said 'that’s awesome,'” Sotutu said.
Both players will now join the Auckland Mitre 10 Cup squad with the domestic tournament set to kick off next week.
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