Players shock team-mate back to life
Minutes after falling down dead at practice, a Taranaki club rugby player was conscious and confused about why his teammates were standing around him with a defibrillator.
The man was training with his Coastal team in Rahotu last week when he collapsed.
‘‘He just hit the ground dead with a heart attack,’’ Coastal club captain Kelvin Weir said.
‘‘Quite a few of the boys just jumped into action and ran and got the defibrillator and shocked him back to life.’’
Weir, who administered the shock, said his team-mate was responsive within 30 seconds.
‘‘Within minutes he was sitting up, asking us what happened and wondering why we were all standing around him.’’
The player, whose family would like to remain private at this stage, was flown to hospital before being transferred to Waikato Hospital, where he was due to have heart surgery.
The defibrillator used to bring the man back to life had been donated by the New Zealand Rugby Foundation.
The club, which is the home club of the Barrett brothers, was chosen to receive it through its association with former player Wayne Chapman.
Chapman was left paralysed more than 20 years ago after damaging his neck while playing for the Coastal senior reserves in a Taranaki club rugby final.
It was the second time in less than two years that a Taranaki club player’s life had been saved through the use of a defibrillator, the last at the Clifton club in Tikorangi, where Kane Davis was shocked back to life by spectators.
Taranaki Rugby operations manager Cole Brown said the latest incident was a timely reminder about the importance of having a defibrillator available at each club in the province, which had been made possible through various sponsorships in some areas.
Brown said the union would be investigating with clubs over the coming weeks to make sure the defibrillators were accessible at all times players were training and playing.
They also wanted to ensure clubs had people who were trained and confident in how to use them.
New Zealand Rugby Foundation chief executive Lisa Kingi-Bon said it was their goal to have one available in every one of the country’s 495 clubs.
That goal was inspired by board member and former All Blacks doctor John Mayhew, who suffered a cardiac arrest in 2016 and had his heart shocked back into action after being resuscitated.
Mayhew said the use of defibrillators increased the survival rate of a person by more than 40% when used within three to five minutes of a cardiac arrest.
‘‘I was blessed one was nearby when I collapsed,’’ he said.
‘‘Quite a few of the boys just. . . ran and got the defibrillator and shocked him back to life.’’
Kelvin Weir
Coastal club captain