You don’t meet many All Blacks named Fabian.
You meet even less that spent the first 16 years of their lives growing up in a tiny village in the Netherlands called Akersloot.
But Fabian Holland’s rugby fairytale is as real as it gets.
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Fabian Holland of New Zealand at Eden Park. Getty
A Dutch boy with big – scarcely believable – dreams has grown up to be a 204cm, 124kg behemoth and World Rugby’s Breakthrough Player of the Year.
Sorry, what?
“Wales vs the All Blacks in 2009. That was the first time I stumbled across rugby,” the appropriately named Holland tells Wide World of Sports, recalling the Cardiff Test where Dan Carter’s unerring left boot piloted New Zealand to a 19-12 win.
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Dan Carter at Millennium Stadium. Getty
“I was six years old, and then literally a week later signed up for a local rugby club in the Netherlands. Fell in love with the sport.”
A fast-growing Holland hungrily devoured any rugby scraps he could get his mitts on, not easy in the football-mad Netherlands.
Posters of All Blacks stars went up on his bedroom wall and Holland plugged away at his new love, learning English by listening to the dulcet tones of Justin Marshall and other Kiwi rugby commentators calling games from the other side of the world.
Captain DJ Forbes and New Zealand perform a haka after winning the 2014 Wellington Sevens. Getty
Then came a life-changing experience in 2014 when the champion New Zealand sevens team dropped into Holland’s humble Castricum Rugby Club, a stone’s throw or so from the North Sea coast.
The Kiwi sevens stars arrived for a camp on the way to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
“And that’s when the dream of becoming an All Black started,” the now 23-year-old giant remembers.
Fabian Holland of the Highlanders speaks to media. Getty
“Being around legends like Tim Mikkelsen, DJ Forbes. I obviously didn’t have the frame to be playing sevens. But I just fell in love with the All Blacks aura and I was a massive fan just watching it.”
There would be no looking back from there, despite a script that most movie producers would chuck out as too far-fetched.
“When I was 16, yeah, I took a bit of a leap. Just a slight one,” he chuckles.
Fabian Holland of New Zealand with his family at Forsyth Barr Stadium. Getty
Holland had convinced his parents – chemical engineer Reinout and nature management Margot – to move to New Zealand.
He initially enrolled for six months at Christchurch Boys’ High School, a rugby hotbed to rival any in the world.
The school has produced 47 All Blacks since 1895, with a ridiculous roll call that includes Carter, Andrew Mehrtens, Brodie Retallick, Robbie Deans, Anton Lienert-Brown and brothers Owen and Ben Franks.
Fabian Holland of New Zealand celebrates following a Rugby Championship match. Getty
“I wouldn’t be where I am today without my parents, 100 per cent,” Holland says.
“They probably put a bit of their own ambition aside for me to chase my dream. And that is something I will never take for granted.”
Did mum and dad ever suggest a more well trodden Dutch career path?
Fabian Holland chats with New Zealand Rugby CEO Mark Robinson. Getty
Running a wind farm in Noordoostpolder or the like?
“No, no, not really!” Holland enthuses with his hybrid Kiwi southern man accent.
“They knew from a young age that was my dream. And for them to help me take a step towards the dream, was very important.
Fabian Holland poses during the Highlanders headshots session. Getty
“They just loved that I had the bravery and guts to follow my dream and put all my eggs in one basket. They’ve always been in my corner and I still have them on the phone every day.”
Holland first earned his stripes banging bodies in the school’s second XV – “the first few weeks were a shock” – before working his way into the top line up.
A six month stay became a permanent one as Holland’s frame, athleticism and sheer love for the game saw him quickly rise through the representative ranks.
Fabian Holland of Otago collects the ball from a lineout. Getty
The lock cracked the NZ Schools and NZ under-20s teams before a shift south to Dunedin to play for Otago and the Highlanders.
Coach Jamie Joseph helped add some extra edge to his game and Holland last year made history as the first Dutch-born All Black.
He got through his first haka and immediately looked at home at Test level, playing in 11 of 12 internationals.
Leroy Carter and Fabian Holland of New Zealand hold the Bledisloe Cup. Getty
Holland was named World Rugby’s Breakthrough Player of the Year ahead of shortlisted Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Henry Pollock and Ethan Hooker.
The crazy story has made waves in his homeland but Holland insists he is as motivated as ever.
The Highlanders kick off the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific season against the defending champion Crusaders on Friday.
Holland will miss the match as he recovers from a dislocated shoulder but is confident in his teammates.
“We’re a young team but we’re feeling really well balanced across the board and we’ve got a very, very hungry group. So just keen to rip in.
“I’m starting from zero again. Have a good season with the Highlanders and hopefully play my way back into the All Blacks. It’s never given. It wasn’t that long ago that I was one of those young guys in the environment.”