Double hit for NZ club after deaths
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 recent months.
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 to play in 2014.
The loose forward who was playing for Montauban, was reported in France to have jumped off the PontVieux bridge into the river Tarn, from a height of more than 20m, on Saturday (NZ time).
It happened after they celebrated a victory over Narbonne in the Pro D2 second-tier competition.
Team-mate Christopher Vaotoa went to Meafua’s rescue, but had to be rescued by firefighters and was taken to hospital with hypothermia.