Ex-Samoan sevens star dies after bridge jump
A close friend of rugby player Kelly Meafua, who died after jumping off a bridge following a win in France, said the former Samoa sevens international was a force to be reckoned with on the field.
Off it, though, Meafua was a loyal, cheerful friend who maintained regular contact with his old Otahuhu club rugby mates after he left Auckland to play in Australia and France.
Otahuhu club president Alolupotea John Roche said he was shocked by the death of Meafua, 32, who he described as more than just a talented rugby player.
‘‘It’s so sad. Our family was so sad about it,’’ Roche said. ‘‘We had a bad day when we heard the news. Not only because he played for the Otahuhu club, but he was also my two boys’ best friend.’’
Meafua is the second player from the Otahuhu club to have died in tragic circumstances.
In December Meafua’s former team-mate Kawa Leauma, who played for a club in Spain and had represented the Spanish national side in a friendly match in October, fell 8m from a building in Amsterdam. The Spanish Rugby Federation said Leauma died from head injuries, following a ‘‘freak accident’’. Leauma also played for Auckland clubs Papatoetoe, Mount Wellington and Manukau Rovers.
Roche said the loss of Meafua after the death of Leauma, was a double blow for Otahuhu.
Samoa-born Meafua played for Otahuhu for several seasons before moving to Australia in 2014.
Loose forward Meafua, who was playing for Montauban, was reported in France to have jumped off the Pont-Vieux bridge into the river Tarn, from a height of more than 20m, on Saturday.
It happened after they celebrated a victory over Narbonne in the Pro D2 second-tier competition. Teammate Christopher Vaotoa went to Meafua’s rescue, but had to be rescued by firefighters and was taken to hospital with hypothermia before being discharged. Meafua’s body was recovered the following morning.
In addition to making regular appearances for the Samoan sevens team, he represented the Greater Sydney Rams in Australia’s National Rugby Championship. Meafua moved to France in 2015, to play for Narbonne, before heading back to Australia for a couple of seasons. A return to France saw him play for Beziers and Montauban.
Roche said Meafua, who was married with children, was competitive during games, but that changed once he removed his boots.
‘‘He was a very cheerful guy, a very sociable person who liked everyone,’’ Roche noted. ‘‘But when you put him on the field, he was a different person altogether.
‘‘He would get stuck into the games, he was one player you wanted to keep in your team. It was a big loss when he left Otahuhu for Australia, but we knew that he wanted to move on with his life and look after his family as well.’’*