Alex Nankivell's journey of discovery has led him to Munster

Nankivell went about solving a family mystery and finding his genetic grandfather when New Zealand came to a halt for a second time with Covid lockdowns.

EYES ON THE BALL: Alex Nankivell training with Munster. Pic Credit ©INPHO/James Crombie

Some people spent Covid lockdowns learning to bake. Others wrote books and blogs. Munster’s Alex Nankivell went about solving a family mystery and finding his genetic grandfather when New Zealand came to a halt for a second time late in 2021.

His dad Kim, who had been adopted, had always identified as Maori. Alex still isn’t sure exactly how he knew, but he did, and it was also known “through the grapevine” that Kim’s birth mother was somewhere in Auckland. Even that was a leaf blowing somewhere in the wind.