Ref’s CPR saves boy’s life
Trainee cop acts swiftly when player stops breathing
Aquick-thinking referee saved the life of a 14-yearold rugby player after he stopped breathing “for quite a long time” during a match. Punaarika O’Sullivan of Wellington College was hit hard in a tackle while playing in an under-15s match at his home ground on Saturday.
Aaron O’Sullivan — co-coach of the Wellington College team — said his son had just cleared the ball from his team’s in-goal area and was running it out when he was tackled by a St Patrick’s Silverstream player.
“He got clipped at the ankles . . . and there was a big pile-up.”
Punaarika’s head hit a player’s arm and shoulder as he fell and O’Sullivan knew his boy was out cold before he hit the ground. “My assistant referee straight away said, ‘He’s out’.”
Monique Dalley, who happened to be on the sideline because she was refereeing the following game, saw the youngster was in trouble and ran on to the pitch.
With the match referee and two other people, the 23-year-old began CPR because Punaarika — known as Puna — had stopped breathing.
She also called emergency services for advice.
“We all jumped in looking for a pulse and at that stage she said she couldn’t get one,” O’Sullivan said.
“I heard from emergency services, ‘Start CPR’.”
Asked how long his son was not breathing, O’Sullivan said: “It felt like an eternity for me.”
Dalley said she just did what anyone would have done in that situation.
“My instincts kicked in. I went over, saw a player on the ground and went down to assess what was happening and saw he was knocked out and just jumped into first-aid mode.
“He was breathing not very well and it just got significantly worse to the point where he wasn't really
breathing at all. It was pretty horrible.”
Wellington College principal Gregor Fountain arrived at the school at the same time as the ambulance.
“He certainly wasn’t breathing and what people said was it seemed to be for quite a long time that he had stopped breathing.
“By the time I arrived, they had just got into the ambulance and it was pretty emotional.”
Players from Wellington College’s 1st XV team arrived as the situation unfolded.
They pulled Puna’s teammates into their huddle and said a prayer for their schoolmate while he was treated.
Medics worked on Puna for up to an hour. He eventually regained consciousness and was taken to Wellington Hospital before being discharged on Sunday.
“There was a lot of relief, but there was still a lot of anxiety around the situation,” said Fountain.
O’Sullivan, a 36-year-old builder, said Dalley visited his son in hospital, bringing flowers and chocolates. He credits her with saving Puna’s life.
“I don’t know how else to repay her. If she asks me to build her a fence I’ll build her a fence.”
While Puna had suffered concussion, he was undeterred and raring to return to action in three weeks, O’Sullivan said.
“He’s all ready to go.” Wellington Referees Association chairman Ian Dallas said Dalley was assisted by three other people, including the referee of Puna’s match, a qualified surf lifesaver.
“It’s pretty special, we’re pretty proud of [Dalley] particularly, but also the other three young guys,” he said.
Dalley is training to become a police officer at the Royal New Zealand Police College and had done a first aid course only a week earlier.
She said the incident already felt like a dream. “I went in to check on him in hospital and he was like a completely different person — that was really cool to reconnect and see that he was all good,” she said.
Puna, his parents and the Wellington College coaches thanked Dalley on Monday night. Puna was still sore but had mostly recovered.
Dalley is a level 2 Wellington rugby referee, meaning she officiates in top division Colts, First XV, and Premier Reserve senior club matches.
“A goal of mine is to referee a premier game, which is something that a woman in Wellington has never done,” she wrote earlier this year on the Wellington Rugby Football Union website.
“If I can continue to put the effort in off the field then hopefully I will get that opportunity.”