Former All Blacks captain Taine Randell has swapped the rugby field for the campaign trail, talking with Radio Waatea’s Matthew Tukaki about his bid to enter Parliament as New Zealand First’s candidate for Tukituki.
Randell is contesting the Hawke’s Bay electorate currently held by National MP Catherine Wedd, bringing a background that stretches from captaining the All Blacks to international finance, business, governance and investment.
Speaking with Tukaki, Randell discusses the realities of campaigning, what he is hearing on the ground in Tukituki and how he views the polls as Election 2026 heads towards its final weeks.
But politics has also required the former All Black to master a very different arena — social media.
Randell talks about moving from the pressure of international rugby and the boardroom into the fast-moving world of political campaigning and TikTok, where candidates are increasingly using short-form video to reach voters directly.
It is another transformation for the 51-year-old, whose career after rugby included financial markets, exporting and governance before his decision to stand for New Zealand First.
From All Blacks captain to political candidate and TikTok content creator, Taine Randell joins Matthew Tukaki to discuss whether his next big challenge could take him all the way from Hawke’s Bay to Parliament.
#TaineRandell #MatthewTukaki #Tukituki #Election2026 #NZFirst #NewZealandFirst #HawkesBay #AllBlacks #PoliticsNZ #NZPolitics #TikTokNZ #ElectionCampaign #TukitukiElectorate #RadioWaatea #WaateaNews #MāoriNews #Aotearoa
