Segner achieves 'distant dream' as first German-born All Black

Anton Segner became the first German-born player to turn out for rugby union's fabled New Zealand All Blacks team on Saturday.

The back-row forward came on at half-time in New Zealand's 47-17 win against Italy in Wellington in the new Nations Championship.

"In Germany when I was nine years old it was a very, very distant dream, if a dream at all," Segner told reporters.

His family had flown over from Europe to watch.

"It is all happening incredibly fast," the 24-year-old from Frankfurt told dpa. "It will only really sink in later when I am with my family."

Segner grew up in Germany playing amateur rugby but earned a scholarship to New Zealand in 2017. He never looked back and in 2021 joined Super Rugby side the Blues, based in Auckland.

He qualified for New Zealand and has been biding his time before finally making his debut on Saturday.