Fabian Holland goes the distance in dream All Blacks debut

He played every minute. Tackled, carried, cleaned, and held his own in a fierce test match battle.

Fabian Holland, the towering Highlanders lock born in the Netherlands, left it all out there in his first All Blacks appearance to help seal a 38-31 win over France in Dunedin.

The 22-year-old stood tall in the number five jersey, and went the full 80 minutes in front of teammates, friends, family and a roaring home crowd under the roof at Forsyth Barr Stadium.

After the final whistle, 1News caught up with Holland, who was still soaking it all in.

"I would lie if I didn't say [my body] is a bit sore, but nah, yeah, awesome. Absolutely loved it.

First things first, celebrate with the brothers and then recovery and onto the next job in Wellington."

He admits parts of the match are already a blur but there is one moment that stood out.

"I think running out of the tunnel and then singing the national anthem next to the Grooter [Ethan De Groot], seeing my family in the stands, that was pretty emotional for me. That was probably when it really hit me."

And while the moment was emotional, the game itself was next level.

The physicality, the pace, the pressure, Holland says Test footy is a whole different beast to Super Rugby.

"It's very quick, it's very physical. I guess the margins for error are just so much slimmer here in Test rugby. The level of detail that comes with it, it's second to none. You saw it out there, the first few minutes we made a few errors, it took us a wee bit to get into the game. But once we fixed up those errors, we created a little bit of momentum and that's when the boys got under the post."

Before the match, 1News spoke with Holland and the people who helped shape his remarkable journey, a dream that began on the fields of the Netherlands.

His mum Margot had flown in from Europe, originally expecting to watch the game beside him in the stands. Instead, she watched her son run out in black and make his All Blacks debut.

"It has always been the All Blacks since he was a little kid," she said.

As soon as he put his foot on the pitch he loved it. It was always his dream."

That dream began with a bold move at just 16 years old. Holland left home and came to New Zealand by himself, boarding at Christchurch Boys’ High. He rose through the Baby Blacks and the Highlanders, chasing just one jersey, the black one.

Fabian’s adopted Kiwi family in Dunedin, Liz and Lee Piper had seen up close the size of his ambition — and his breakfast appetite.

"We saw a destruction of the fridge. He was a 10 egg a day man!"

There was an egg farm out at Brighton. We went from one tray a week to ten!!!"

Holland's story even made its way into NATO discussions, where the Dutch and New Zealand Prime Ministers shared a laugh and admiration over the 22 year old's rise.

All Blacks coach Scott Robertson summed it up simply.

"From Zeeland to New Zealand. He's come a long way. It’s movie sort of stuff, isn’t it?"