Given they know him more as plain old 'Dad' than a 139-game Waratahs great, it’s perhaps understandable Sekope Kepu's kids began looking further afield for their favourite NSW stars.
But not too far. This is front row DNA, after all.
"I lost number one (rank)” Kepu laughs.
“‘Nard’ (Bernard Foley) and ‘Izzy’ (Israel Folau) and those guys are up there. And my youngest (Isaiah) knows Tom Robertson quite well, he always claps and erupts when he sees “Throbber” run out.
"He met him at a a clinic and now he is waiting for no.1 Tom Robertson, and he jumps up and down. He is probably going to end up in the front row, Isaiah."
Given the lineage, there is every chance Kepu’s kids will end up as Waratahs one day, too.
And if they do, let's just say they won’t need much in the way of opening day orientation.
The Kepu clan - daughter Faith-Rose (10), Israel (7), Isaiah (6) and Steven-Judah (8 months) - have been as much a permanent fixture at Waratahs games as their old man for many years.
Patiently corralled by mum Anna, the Kepu kids are routinely spied bouncing around in the stands and near the dressing sheds at NSW home games, dressed to the nines in their blue Tahs jerseys. Or if it’s a Test match, dressed smartly in their Wallabies gear.
Any moment not spent cheering on Dad is usually occupied with game of touch football or a wrestle, or both.
"The Waratahs have given me and my family a lot. It’s all these guys know, the Waratahs and Wallabies,” Kepu said.
"I have been here 11 years and it’s been a massive part of my life and their’s as well.
"Every time I get to play in front of them at home, and sometimes away, it’s always special. One last time in the sky blue jersey this weekend will be pretty special, pretty emotional and one I will want to remember.”
On Saturday night the Kepu clan will dress up in blue for one last home game (barring a shock home final), when NSW take on the Brumbies at Bankwest Stadium.
After debuting for the Waratahs in 2008, Kepu is bringing down the curtain on his Super Rugby career this year ahead of a move to London Irish after the Rugby World Cup. He’ll be joined at Irish by Nick Phipps and Curtis Rona.
"It’s a big one for me and my family, it’s the last time I get to run out in the Waratahs jersey here at home, at Bankwest,” Kepu said.
"It’s been a hell of a journey I guess. I have really, really enjoyed it. It has had its ups and downs but one that I will remember for a long time.
"Coming in at the back end of 2007, I did a pre-season with the Waratahs. You had the likes of Lote Tuqiri, Timana Tahu was first starting out, big Cliff (Palu), Tatafu (Polota-Nau), Dan Vickerman, Phil Waugh. All these guys that I always looked up to and admired and they were my heroes.
"To be able to come in and work in the same environment as them and debut in 2008, that was massive and very, very special.”
Joining a “renowned” Waratahs pack stacked full of Wallabies helped New Zealand-raised Kepu become a Wallaby, too, on the 2008 Spring Tour.
He quickly became a mainstay for the Waratahs and the Wallabies, on both sides of the scrum, and was a major part of NSW’s maiden Super Rugby title win in 2014.
It is, understandably, his favourite memory. Or so far, at least.
"That was a special team,” he says.
"Jutst that whole year in general, we’d worked extremely hard. In that final, to be on the sideline and watch that penalty kick from ‘Nard’ and watching the crowd erupting at the end of the game.
"Just the sea of blue and everyone so happy for us to win it, against such a great team. No-one has won it more than they have and to be able to do it at home against them, that was a memorable night.”
Kepu spent a season at Bordeaux after the 2015 Rugby World Cup but cut it short to bring his family home.
As a clan, the Kepus treasured the chance to jump back into their familiar blue and gold jerseys.
"I look at it in the sense that I have been very, very blessed to have them grow up and watch me play my rugby here in Australia, for the Waratahs and for the Wallabies as well. Not many guys get to do that … so I am truly humbled by that,” Kepu says.
"They motivate me when I am hurting or when times are tough, you can always guarantee you’ll come home and you are “Dad”. You are someone they just wrestle and punch and slap and kick, whatever. That’s the fun part about it. They keep me very grounded.”
Kepu points all the praise towards his wife Anna, who should clearly be put up for consideration as Australia’s next saint.
"The work does that my wife does is amazing,” Kepu says.
"A lot of the work goes unnoticed, raising one, two, three and now four kids, and a lot of the time she is at home without any help from me."
There’s no rest for Kepu when it comes to wrestling young kids and so far, there’s been no rest as a Waratahs’ tighthead prop either.
With Robertson injured for most of this year, Kepu has had to shoulder the burden of not only playing every game but far more minutes in every game too.
Indeed, Kepu has the most minutes of any prop in Super Rugby this year, and at 67 minutes per game, has recorded the highest average minutes of his entire Super Rugby career as well.
He is still due to be rested for a week as part of the Wallabies’ World Cup agreement, but coach Daryl Gibson is risking the wrath of his Super Rugby colleagues by refusing to guarantee he'll make Kepu sit in the stands.
For his part, Kepu says he still feels fine.
"A lot of people have spoken about rest and when are you going to rest? Look, in the past I have played back-to-back seasons and what not,” Kepu says.
“You're getting older a bit but the Waratahs and coaching staff and have been really understanding and managing my load at training and stuff. I am really enjoying it. It is not until you sit on the sideline and not play that you really miss it.
"I don’t know how much longer I have got in the legs, I just try and go out and enjoy it and every opportunity I have got, I make the most of it."
"We could be in the comp for another five weeks … but you can’t look too far past this weekend.
"Curtis mentioned to me that (I had) the most minutes by a prop or whatever.
"I am just doing whatever I need to do for the team and as much as you hurt sometimes, you wouldn’t have it any other way.”
