As he leaves the All Blacks, veteran halfback TJ Perenara has delivered one last performance to remember him by – and dropped a message of support for the Treaty of Waitangi into his pre-game haka against Italy.
In his role as leader of the haka, Perenara introduced the traditional Māori challenge with the words "toitū te mana o te whenua, toitū te mana motuhake, toitū te tiriti o Waitangi".
Translated, they mean "forever the strength of the land, forever the strength of independence, forever the Treaty of Waitangi".
Perenara's 10-year career with the national team has ended after 89 Test caps, as he heads to Japanese club Black Rams Tokyo on a three-year contract.
Former captain Sam Cane also bowed out today with his 104th appearance, also taking up a Japanese contract.
The veteran halfback was making his final appearance in the black jersey. (Source: SKY)
"Leading the haka is special in any moment and to be able to lead it tonight, especially with the unification of our people back home..." he said.
"I think we all saw the people that took part in our hīkoi that we saw over here and the unity that was shown and how our country has all come together.
"For us to be able to acknowledge the unification of our people, all of our people — not just tangata whenua, but tangata katoa of Aotearoa — is something that was important to us and something that's important to me. It was really cool."
About 42,000 people took part in the final day of Hīkoi mō te Tiriti on Tuesday, with many opposing the Government's Treaty Principles Bill, which has passed its first reading.
The Treaty has come under the spotlight in recent weeks, with ACT leader David Seymour introducing the Treaty Principles Bill to Parliament.
The vote on the bill was suspended after Te Pāti Māori MPs greeted the bill with a haka led by Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clark, who ripped a copy of the bill.
Once MPs returned, the bill passed its first reading.
An online petition against the bill has gathered more than 200,000 signatures.
Earlier this year, Hurricanes Paoa used a pre-game haka to deliver a political message, referring to "puppets of this redneck government" during the Super Rugby Aupiki women's tournament.
At the time, Hurricanes centurion Perenara expressed his support for the revamped haka.
"I share similar views to our women and what was said," he said. "I back our women and stand with our women.
Argentina suffered two yellow cards and a penalty try in the first half to fuel the French onslaught.
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Crowds engulfed the Parliament grounds which quickly reached capacity, with thousands spilling out onto surrounding streets.
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"Haka is something that we as Māori use to express ourselves, whether that's through celebration or whether that's through frustration.
"We use haka to express ourselves for whatever emotion we are feeling."
