The proudest mum in the Netherlands is enjoying some time in Dunedin with her sons, new All Blacks lock Fabian Holland and New Zealand Schools rugby player Quinten.
Talk about perfect timing.
Her holiday to New Zealand coincided with a heart-warming family moment when Holland got the call of his dreams from All Blacks coach Scott Robertson.
"It’s very special, of course," Ms de Haas said yesterday.
"It’s something that develops over time, but you never know if it will really happen.
"He’s worked so hard for this, so it is really amazing. I have so much respect for all the things he is doing and has done. It’s marvellous.
"What’s very special is his focus on what he really wants. I think that comes from himself."
Holland became obsessed with New Zealand rugby as a child.
His mother recalled taking him to an All Blacks v Scotland test in Edinburgh as a treat for his 10th birthday, and when they saw Richie McCaw and Sam Whitelock walking down the Royal Mile, the Dutch lad was too shy to go anywhere near them.
Holland was just 16 when he left Castricum, his beachside home near Amsterdam, to play rugby for Christchurch Boys’ High School.
"It was, of course, a very strange time.
"For Fabian, for his development, New Zealand was a good place to be. But it was also a lonely place for him."
The family did not see their eldest — Quinten has a twin, Franka, who also plays rugby and is back in the Netherlands with father Reinout — for two and a-half years through Covid, by which time Holland was established with the Dunedin club, Otago and the Highlanders.
They are proud Dutch people, but hearing Fabian’s name included in an All Blacks squad made them immensely proud, Ms de Haas said.
"If you love rugby, and what it means, that is the utmost you can get. So it’s very special."
Holland has developed into a 2.04m, 125kg giant — and his move to New Zealand certainly had an effect on the weekly grocery shop.
"It is much lower than it used to be, ha ha.
"He was always hungry, right from a baby. We are cheese people, of course. He was born in Alkmaar, the cheese city of Amsterdam.
"But he is a very good eater. He loves healthy food."
The proud mum is in New Zealand for the whole three-test series against France and, ideally, will get to see her boy make his test debut at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Saturday next week.
