‘His love is in our children’
Sione Lauaki was farewelled by hundreds of family, friends, fans and team-mates yesterday.
Tongan-born Lauaki, who played 17 All Blacks tests between 2005 and 2008, died at Waitakere Hospital last Sunday surrounded by family. He was 35. The service at Church Unlimited in Te Atatu, mostly in Tongan, was marked by the stirring singing of the church choir.
Lauaki’s wife Stephanie spoke about the huge amount of love her husband had brought to the world.
“I feel honoured to have been his wife and the mother of his children, to be able to share in the that each minute of each day,” she said. “The way that he loved is something that I see in our children. They love in that same way: openly, hard, strong.
“I’m just really blessed that I can look at my sons and see the love of their father every day.”
All Blacks assistant coach Ian Foster, Lauaki’s coach at the Chiefs, said he had a “child-like giggle that didn’t seem appropriate coming out of that big body”. He said Lauaki was “slow to trust” and wary: “you had to earn his trust”.
“But once he knew that you cared for him and that you were there for him then he would give you everything.”
Lauaki’s All Blacks coach Sir Graham Henry, current and former All Blacks Mils Muliaina, Michael Jones, Stephen Donald, Jerome Kaino, rugby sevens star DJ Forbes and league player Manu Vatuvei all attended the service.