Rugby back hailed as one of the greats in both codes of the game
VA’AIGA TUIGAMALA, who has died after a short illness aged 52, appears on many lists of rugby’s “all-time greats” and was respected for his character as well as his prowess on the field.
“Inga the Winger” was regarded by New Zealand and Samoa, the two countries he played for, as one of the most powerful, hard-hitting and versatile backs who ever played the game.
His pace and considerable size made him a hard man to bring down. He tended to run over defenders, and one opponent said tackling him was like being “caught up in the spokes of a fast-moving bicycle wheel”.
He won 19 caps for the All Blacks at rugby union, while for his native Samoa he played both union (23 caps) and rugby league (two caps). He became a legend at Wigan Warriors, where his Christianity and patent goodness had a serious impact on the life of Jason Robinson, who also played international rugby in both codes and said he was “heartbroken” at the death of the man who had “saved my life”.
Va’aiga Lealuga Tuigamala was born on September 4 1969 into a large religious family at Faleasi’u, on the Samoan island of Upola. He had 14 siblings. Some of the family moved to Auckland, where Va’aiga went to Kelston Boys’ High School and started playing rugby for Ponsonby.
He played for Auckland from 1988 to 1993 and first appeared in an All Blacks shirt in 1989. In 1993 he accepted an invitation to play rugby league for Wigan, where he played as a centre and scored 62 tries, won two Challenge Cups, two Regal Trophies and a Premiership title. He also helped Wigan beat Brisbane Broncos in the World Club Challenge.
When rugby union went professional in the mid1990s, Tuigamala joined Wasps – briefly, but long enough to help them win the Premiership – and was then transferred to Newcastle for a record fee of £1 million and helped them to win the Premiership, too. In 2001 he delayed having an injured arm repaired so that he could help Newcastle win the Premiership Cup.
From 1996 to 2001 he played for Western Samoa, making his debut against Ireland in Dublin, and featured in his country’s famous 38-31 victory over Wales in the 1999 World Cup (Clem Thomas, the Welsh international turned journalist, joked afterwards: “It’s a good job we didn’t have to play the whole of Samoa”).
Jason Robinson, a young player at Wigan when Tuigamala arrived, has said: “I got into a situation where I was drinking six nights a week. I can remember just sitting in my bedroom with a knife, thinking I didn’t want my life to be like this.” At his lowest point Robinson contemplated suicide and thanks Tuigamala for “helping me find God and turning my life around”.
Many rugby league stars turned to union but Tuigamala and Robinson were the most successful conversions.
After his retirement from rugby in 2002, at the age of 32, Va’aiga and his wife Daphne ran a funeral business in Auckland for several years. Their most distinguished client was the King of Tonga, Taufa’ahau Tupou IV. The business failed ultimately because people didn’t pay their bills. “These were grieving people, often poor people, and I couldn’t bring myself to demand money from them,” said Tuigamala.
He then worked as an adviser to a cousin, David Tua, a Samoan/new Zealand heavyweight boxer, who won an Olympic bronze as an amateur. Two of Tuigamala’s sons are now serous prospects in the ring.
In 2007 he suffered a stroke. Last year he was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and set up a charity to teach older men to exercise and diet properly.
In 2008 he was awarded the Order of Merit of New Zealand. He leaves a widow and four children. His youngest sister, Pastor Helen Verry, died in an accident at her church a few weeks before him.