Some of New Zealand’s rugby greats are swapping scrums for screen time in Jason Momoa’s new ‘Chief of War’ series.
The show, described as “a thrilling, unprecedented telling of the unification of the Hawaiian Islands from an indigenous perspective”, features cameos from several former and current All Blacks and Super Rugby players - including Kees Meeuws, Piri Weepu, Rene Ranger, Frank Bunce, Troy Flavell, Ofa Tu’ungafasi, and Pita Alatini.
They join Momoa, a Hawaiian war chief, “on a bloody campaign to unite the warring islands to save them from the threat of colonisation.”
In a post shared by The Blues on Instagram, the team shared: “Catch our mate @ofatuungafasi and a few other Blues legends in @chief.of.war with @prideofgypsies 😍.”
Momoa, who co-created and stars in the series, revealed his love for the All Blacks in an interview with the NZ Herald.
“I’m a huge All Black fan. I love them,” he said.
I tried to get Tana Umaga in there, but Kees Meeuws is one of my favourites of all time. So I got Kees, and a bunch of them came to help.
Former All Black Piri Weepu also shared his excitement about appearing in the show on Instagram.
“Chhuuurrrr man, honoured to be part of (or spare part of) the epic @chief.of.war series on Apple TV+. Jason asked for some @allblacks players and got the geriatric ABs – or maybe that’s just me lol... what a privilege it was.”
Streaming now, ‘Chief of War’ marks a huge moment for Polynesian representation on our screens.
And it’s epic seeing some familiar faces in a new scene other than on the field!
