A sold-out crowd in Dunedin will ensure noisy support for the All Blacks in their season-opening test against France on Saturday but there will also be cheers in the Netherlands when Fabian Holland takes the field.
The Dutch-born lock will line up for his test debut alongside captain Scott Barrett in the second row, possibly the biggest surprise among the four uncapped players included in Scott Robertsons match-day squad.
Standing 2.04m and weighing in at 124 kg 273.37 pounds, 22-year-old Holland is well-known to the Otago faithful in Dunedin, having become a cult hero at the Highlanders in Super Rugby.
But his selection is the realisation of an improbable childhood dream and a rugby obsession that started in the seaside village of Castricum, outside Amsterdam.
Holland was smitten by rugby at the age of five after watching the All Blacks on YouTube and soon had his dad downloading Super Rugby matches to watch every night.
