Tributes are flowing in for Kiwis rugby league great Olsen Filipaina, who passed away on Thursday from kidney failure, aged 64.
Filipaina has been remembered by many for his passion for the black-and-white jersey and his great sense of humour.
But his legacy lives on in every Pacific Island player who has forged a successful career in the NRL.
Fiipaina was a giant force on the field, but a gentle giant off it, famous for his toe-kick, his big smile and his flair in the Kiwis jersey.
"He just loved representing New Zealand," remembers former NZ Kiwis coach Graham Lowe. "He just loved it and Olsen's as good as anyone who's ever worn it."
Former teammate Howie Tamati agrees: "It was the warmth of his character, I really loved him."
But the man affectionately known as 'The Big O' was an enigma - undeniably brilliant in the Kiwis jersey, but he struggled as one of the first Māori -Pacific players in the cut-throat world of what's now known as the NRL and regularly subjected to racist jibes.
"It shows the heart of the man to cope with that, and to turn it around and spellbind them," says Lowe, who fondly remembers the 1985 trans-Tasman test series, where Filipaina took down 'King Wally' Lewis.
"I didn't know much about him when I first came up against him," Lewis recalled, when Filipaina's biography was published two years ago. "But I knew plenty by the time the 80 minutes was up and one of those was not wanting to play against him again."
The Kiwis lost that series, but Filipaina won hearts, and inspired the next generation of Māori and Polynesian Kiwis, including current captain Dallin Watene-Zellezniak.
"I got to meet him and talk to him, and got to see highlights of what he did in the jersey," he says.
Says Lowe: "The NRL now has 50 percent of its players of Polynesian heritage - Olsen created that."
On Saturday, the Māori All stars will pay tribute to Olsen Filipaina - a Kiwis great, a pioneer and just a special human being.
