Sideline Sid Sports correspondent & historian www.sunlive.co.nz

One sports story that flew under Sideline Sids radar while on some R&R over the ditch, was the All Black debut of former Steamers prop Kane Hames against the Wallabies in Sydney.

In sport, some youngsters seem destined for national honours from an early age such as Western Bays Black Cap skipper Kane Williamson.

Others are like a good bottle of wine and mature with age. Kane Hames is definitely from the second group in not making his All Black debut until into his late 20s.

While Hames has been something of a rugby gypsy in recent years, he made his start on his journey to wearing the Black strip of New Zealand, while living in the Western Bay of Plenty.

This writer first met Hames when he was employed by Bay of Plenty Rugby as a regional rugby development officer around six years ago.

While new to the job, he took to his new role like a duck to water with a big smile always on his face.

Around the same time, Hames joined the Tauranga Sports premier rugby team, playing in the front row of the side.

Front rowers in rugby are a special brotherhood who take few backward steps, with the Tauranga Sports new recruit quickly becoming a fully paid-up member within the Baywide ranks.

The former Trident High School student earned the respect of the many Bay of Plenty rugby-mad youngsters that came under his tutelage.

Hames embraced his RDO position and became a qualified referee, who would run the ship in age-group rugby games on a Saturday morning, before turning out for Tauranga Sports premiers later in the day.

His determination to master new opportunities led to the then Bay Rugby RDO learning the intricacies of photography.

In his time in the Bay, he became a well-known face at junior rugby clicking off a multiple shots as the action unfolded.

Such was his success at his new acquired skills that his pics were published in a number local and regional publications.

In 2013, the Tauranga Sports tight-head prop stepped up to the plate after selection for the Bay of Plenty Steamers.

Such was his barn-storming form in the National Provincial Championship, that by season end, he had earned a berth in the Maori All Blacks tour of North America.

Following his barn-storing run of form in 2013, Kane was drafted by the Highlanders in the Super Rugby championship in 2014, playing all but one game during the season.

A little known fact is that Kane currently has a unique record in having played more Super Rugby (29) games than National Provincial Championship (16) encounters.

The current 2016 rugby year has been a real rollercoaster ride for the former Western Bay of Plenty resident. Unwanted for a Super Rugby contract at the start of the season, a couple of Chiefs front-row injuries saw him earn a late call-up to the Waikato based side.

Such was Hames' form during the 2016 Super Rugby season, that when injuries hit the All Black front-row as the prepared to face the Wallabies in Sydney, his name was read out as a new member of the All Black dynasty.

Kane came of the bench in the second half to write his name into the long history of All Black Rugby in becoming All Black number 1152.