Fabian Holland is a young rugby player with natural gifts, a ferocious work ethic and a relentless drive to be better. But he has not made it to the top without help from people along the way. Hayden Meikle hears from three people who know him well.
THE FIRST XV STALWART
(Mike Drury spent nine years as coach or manager of the Christchurch Boys’ High School First XV. He remains master in charge of rugby at the school.)
I first met Fabian near the end of the first term in 2019.
He arrived on a Friday, and he was out playing rugby for the school on the Saturday. He was full of jet-lag but even at that stage you could see there was something about him.
He was a fair lump of a kid but it became evident pretty quickly that he was more than just a big man. There was a lot of substance to him, and he already had a pretty well developed skill set as a rugby player.
He sort of fitted in really well, too. He was in a homestay situation in his first year with one of our staff members.
After starting Fabian in our Second XV, we were getting close to our traditional game against Christ’s College and we sort of got to the point that we realised he was going really well. And we thought, well, if we’re going to give him a crack in a game like that, he needs to have a run with the Firsts.
He made his First XV debut at Methven against Mid Canterbury Combined. It was a bit of a nothing game, and we put 100 points on them, so it was hard not to show out, but he did enough to come into the First XV permanently.
He played against Christ’s, it was on Sky TV, and he was named player of the day. So I guess, from that point, he was getting noticed.
Fabian quickly formed quite a nice partnership with Jamie Hannah, who is now at the Crusaders. They were a fantastic locking combo.
I remember he went home at the end of year 12, and he had to have an operation on his ankle. That was originally going to be the end of it, but he loved it, so he came back for year 13 and went into the hostel.
That coincided with Covid. All the other hostel boys sort of cleared off home and Fabian was left there on his own, basically. That must have been tough, being so many miles away from home. His real character shone through at that time.
We started getting interest in Fabian from most teams around New Zealand. Some people saw it as a big move for him, going to Otago and the Highlanders, but remember the kid had moved from the Netherlands to Christchurch.
If I’m honest, we’re not surprised that he is in the All Blacks. Everything he’s done to this point has laid that foundation.
He’s had obstacles. He’s had injuries. It’s been tough at times.
But he’s just become such a talisman for the Highlanders, and I think everyone in the Fabian Holland fan club felt it would be hard for him to be left out of the All Blacks.
He still needs to get on the field before he gets on the honours board as the 48th All Black from Christchurch Boys’.
It’s pretty cool, and it’s nice that he has a couple of top old boys in there with him in Will Jordan and Anton Lienert-Brown.
THE TALENT SPOTTER
(Kane Jury was the Highlanders talent development manager before becoming an assistant coach.)
The first time I met Fabian was 9.30am on a very crisp Saturday in Dunedin. He was wearing a basketball singlet, funnily enough.
He just seemed so enthusiastic around finding out more about university and life down south. He was very much into bio-mechanics and sport science.
We could have spoken about rugby for a long time. But it was pretty evident that this young fella was focused on study as well as wanting to be a rugby player.
I think Fabian went to pretty much all the Super Rugby clubs. They flew him in for visits and showed him the red carpet.
I guess we did something similar at the Highlanders but what we did with Fabian, like all our young guys, was talk a lot about what he wanted to do while he was working towards becoming a rugby player, and we’re very lucky down here with our tertiary institutions and opportunities around apprenticeships.
We talked about how he could make the Highlanders better, and gave him a bit of an understanding of what our club was about.
Life in Dunedin was a big focus for him. He had a really good understanding of the city. He loved surfing, mountain biking, tramping and our lifestyle really suited him.
He also had a wee connection to us because there was a guy back in his home town, Castricum, who talked about Otago and the Highlanders. So we had a wee advantage there.
He visited seven or eight of our local rugby clubs, and they were all pretty keen to talk this 2.04m, 18-year-old kid. He just felt the club that gave him the best understanding of life down here was the Dunedin club.
Here’s a funny story. He went for his restricted licence in Christchurch, so he could drive down to Dunedin. But he failed it. So he went to Ashburton to have another go. Failed that again.
I actually flew up there to drive him down, ha ha.
We’re immensely proud of Fabian because he’s been through lots of ups and downs. It hasn’t been easy with Covid and his studies. He’s had to work hard to find balance in his life.
He has taken every opportunity put in front of him. And he’s still only 22. All the signs point towards a long career in the All Blacks.
THE SECOND DAD
(Lee Piper served on the boards of both Otago and Southland rugby, and is a stalwart of the Dunedin club)
Fabian had several stints living with us. The first was from the start of November 2020 until about the middle of February. And the next year was something similar until he got a flat sorted. He’s been back on and off, but those were the two biggest stints.
I think he’s been at our house for Christmas Day every year since. And him and James, my wife Liz’s son, they go away for holidays together. So we really consider him part of our family.
He’s always been extremely focused. I think he visited seven rugby clubs down here. He didn’t just say, right, I’m going to the Sharks. Every club had the opportunity to make a pitch to him.
Right from the get-go, he was very professional. And he’s just had this singular focus, which is: how do I become an All Black? What is that pathway?
I would get up on a Saturday morning to find him on the couch watching Gloucester playing Leicester or some game, and he’s talking to me about this or that as if I should know all these players.
At one stage, I kind of had a chat to him and said ‘look, mate, you need to balance out your life a bit more. It can’t all be about rugby’ And he’s certainly matured a bit in that regard.
He would be the most singularly determined sportsperson I’ve encountered, alongside Ali Shanks. She had that same approach to her cycling career. Just that focus to be the best.
I think Fabian got that first year of university studies under his belt, but even then it was a struggle. Rugby just took over.
I think he could be a great All Black. He’s just got that inner determination and that want to be better. You look at McCaw and Whitelock and those guys, and they were never satisfied. Even at a young age, Fabian has that in him.
He’s a bit of a character. He’s good company and he likes a laugh. He’s got a good little friend group and they don’t focus on rugby. They watch the NBA and do things young men do, and I think that’s been good for Fabian when rugby becomes all-consuming.
He’s a down-to-earth guy, and he gets that from his family. He’s very humble, and very loyal. He will come back to the Sharks whenever he can and watch the P2s or the Wahine or whoever is playing.
And the boy can eat. Me, James and Liz would share a chicken, and Fabian would have his own chicken. We used to get a tray of eggs and it would last us two weeks. We were buying five trays a week with Fabian there.
I don’t think his egg obsession is what it was, thankfully. But he was always very polite.
He’s a champion. We love him.
We’ve been privileged to be part of his journey. If he gets to run out at Forsyth Barr Stadium, it will be a really proud moment. He deserves every success that comes his way.
Fabian Holland
The facts
• Born: Alkmaar, the Netherlands.
• Age: 22.
• Physical: 2.04m, 124kg.
• Education: OSG Willem Blaeu, Christchurch Boys’ High School, University of Otago.
• Club: Dunedin.
• Highlanders (No 319): Debut v Blues (2022), 34 games, one try.
• Otago: Debut v Taranaki (2021), 29 games, six tries.
• Also: Netherlands U18 (2019); New Zealand Schools (2020, paper team); New Zealand U20 (2021-22), 5 games; Highlanders U20 (2021-22), 6 games; Barbarians v Fiji at Twickenham (2024); All Blacks XV v Munster and Georgia (2024).
