A 10-year-old Dutch fan of the All Blacks has been given a big birthday surprise by his dad, meeting his favourite player, Fabian Holland, ahead of their match against Scotland.
“I never actually thought I’d get to speak to an All Black, even in Dutch, so it was pretty crazy,” Felix Suichies said about their meeting.
“It’s awesome to meet a fellow Dutchman, and I hope I made his birthday a wee bit better,” Holland said.
In a twist of fate, Murrayfield Stadium is where the 23-year-old lock watched his first international rugby test in 2012.
“It’s pretty funny, I remember my 10th birthday mum actually took me to my first professional rugby game, which was Scotland versus New Zealand here in Murrayfield, so to kind of see him here it kind of just gives me a wee deja vu moment and just reminds me of all the beautiful memories I had here with my family the first time.”
Holland said when he was last at the stadium as a child, he hoped he would be an All Black one day.
“I didn’t know if I could dream it in my wildest dreams – it’s a pretty surreal time.”
The lock said he remembered watching Dutch player Tim Visser, a former Scotland winger.
“He kind of carved the pathway for like Dutch people to play in different international teams and to dream big, so I decided to follow in his footsteps, and so it’s pretty awesome to be here today and get to play against the team he used to play for.
“Really excited for tomorrow and excited to have Felix in the stands,” Holland said, telling his young fan he’ll “see him tomorrow".
Felix Suichies flew from his home in Switzerland with dad Bart to Holland early this morning (local time), before catching a flight to Edinburgh and heading straight from their airport for the All Blacks captain’s run at Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium.
Bart only told Felix they were heading to meet the All Blacks yesterday, as he didn’t want to let him down if their timings didn’t work out.
The surprise was touch-and-go. When Bart woke up, he found out their first flight to Amsterdam had been cancelled, so they were quickly rescheduled to catch an earlier flight. Then there was a flight delay in Amsterdam.
Felix said it was “crazy” that his dream birthday surprise would continue tomorrow with watching the big game.
“I really like New Zealand, I like the culture of New Zealand, and that’s why I like the All Blacks,” Felix said.
Holland and other teammates were given stroopwafels by their young fan, a popular Dutch biscuit.
Felix started playing rugby at age five and currently plays in No. 12 for a Riviera rugby club team in Vaud, Switzerland.
He said he wants to play for the All Blacks, and it’s something Holland hopes will come true one day, too.
“He’s 10 now and he’s growing, so hopefully we’ll see him in a black jersey in a few years,” Holland said.
Dad Bart said they’ve always followed the All Blacks, but their interest peaked when Holland joined the team in 2024 as the first Dutch-born All Black.
He contacted New Zealand Rugby ahead of their trip to see if it was possible for his son to meet his idol.
“I never thought it would be anything like this. It’s the best sports team in the world, and them being so hospitable… this is what the world needs more of,” Suichies said.
“I think they changed a little boy’s life and maybe his dad’s too.”
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