Living Kiwi legend Shaun Johnson took his otherworldly form from the rugby field to the Auckland Santa parade this weekend.
Johnson was the Grand Marshall of the annual X-mas celebration through Tāmaki Makaurau’s CBD and proved he deserved it when the vintage car he was riding in stalled.
The halfback jumped out of the convertible, called for some help from the crowd and pushed the whip, getting it moving and the parade continuing. Hero.
Johnson told Newshub he decided to get involved with the event so his kids could have a ball of a time.
“They reached out and asked if I'd be interested in it, and now that I've got a couple of kids of my own, it seems like a cool thing to do," he said.
"She's going to be pretty fizzed when we get out there and she gets to experience it," he said of his three-year-old daughter Millie before the event. "Some of the floats and some of the performances she'll definitely recognise.”
“It's obviously a bit of a buzz for me, but more of a buzz for her for sure."
It’s good to see SJ in great spirits after many believe he was robbed of the NRL’s highest individual honour: The Dally M award.
After a season that saw the Warriors defy expectations and cement themselves among the competition's top sides, Johnson was the hot favourite to snag the award.
However, after sitting comfortably in the lead from round 20, Johnson was pipped by just one point with Newcastle Knights star fullback Kalyn Ponga snatching the Dally M right out from under his nose.
Fans were mad at the result and posted their hot takes and accusations of theft to social media.
In the end, SJ is undoubtedly the people’s champion (and the Wahs are winning it all next year).
