Former Chiefs and Maori All Blacks player Sean Wainui's son is going viral for his subtle nod to his late father, who passed in 2021.
The rugby star's wife, Paige Wainui, who is also mother to their 5-year-old son, shared the touching moment she realised her son was honouring his dad during a game of rugby.
Little Kawariki insisted that his rugby socks were left down while playing his game of footy. It wasn't until Paige saw him running out on the field that it clicked – Sean was notorious for wearing his socks around his ankles while playing.
"As Kawariki grows up his personality is shining through more and more," Paige wrote to her 270k Instagram followers. "With that comes all the little glimpses of Seany that I now see in Kawariki."
"It's the little things that remind me of him & make us all stop and go .. 'omg wait!' 🥺," she added. "His lil jokes & comebacks, his cheeky grin vs his serious mahi face to how he prefers to wear his rugby socks."
"I feel they are all reminders & lil messages from Seany and it puts a big smile on my heart," Paige continued in her post that's gained over 1.5 million times.
"In these moments no matter what emotion I'm feeling, Kawariki reminds us all that how lucky we are to still have a piece of him here with us on this earth 🕊?"
Fans of the former Chiefs and Maori All Blacks player have taken to Paige's comments to praise Kawariki for the adorable way he is honouring his papa.
"That is so special!!! Following in his daddy's footsteps 🥹??," said one Instagram commenter.
"So so cute, It's all the little things that are really the biggest 💖," another added.
While a third added: "Look at him go, he knows exactly what he's doing."
It's a precious look at how kiddos take after their parents. Beautiful!
