Friends and family have performed a rousing haka for the widow and children of the late Sean Wainui, as the rugby star was set to depart home for his tangi.
On Monday, the Chiefs and Māori All Blacks player was killed in a car crash near Tauranga at just 25 years old.
Wife Paige hugged her children, Kawariki and Arahia, while they took in the powerful spectacle, which she shared on social media.
"This pain is unbearable," she wrote in her Instagram post.
"Kei te hoki koe ki tō whenua taurikura my baby māku koe e arahi. I know your waiting for us. We're on our way to gizzy bringing you home now baby," she wrote in the caption."
Just six weeks ago, the couple had celebrated their first wedding anniversary, which Wainui acknowledged with his own Instagram post.
"One year of marriage with my darling," he wrote. "Love you more and more everyday. Here's to another 100."
The tribute comes after a video of Wainui teaching his eight-month-old son Kawariki to do the haka went viral in February.
A Givealittle page set up by the Chiefs has raised almost $187,000 since it was posted on Wednesday morning.
"Sean Wainui was an incredible rugby player, father, husband and proud of his Māori heritage," the Chiefs wrote on the fundraising page.
"Once a Chief, always a Chief."
