Kelly Meafua (16 October 1990 – 6 May 2022)[1] was a Samoan rugby union player.[2] His position of choice was flanker.
| Date of birth | 16 October 1990 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place of birth | Samoa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 6 May 2022 (aged 31) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Montauban, France | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 188 cm (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 114 kg (17 st 13 lb; 251 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club career edit
Meafua moved to Auckland when he was 14 but did not start playing rugby until he joined Otahuhu at 20 years old.[3][4] He played for both the Auckland under–21 and Auckland Sevens before moving to Sydney to play for West Harbour in the Shute Shield.[3] Meafua then played for the Greater Sydney Rams and was part of the Waratahs extended training squad.[3][5]
Professional career edit
In 2013 Meafua played for the Samoa sevens team in the World Rugby Sevens Series before in 2015 he moved to France to play for Narbonne in the French Pro D2.[3][5] He returned to France again in 2018, this time playing for Béziers in the Pro D2 before in 2020 he switched to Montauban.[3][5]
Personal life edit
Meafua was from the villages of Sala'ilua and Lalomauga and grew up in Samoa.[3]
On the 6 May 2022 while celebrating Montauban final home game and a win over Narbonne, Meafua died after jumping off the Pont-Vieux bridge into the river Tarn.[3][5]
References edit
- ^ "Samoan player from Montauban Kelly Meafua kills himself by jumping from a bridge". time.news. 7 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- ^ "Kelly Meafua". www.nswwaratahs.com.au. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Samoan sevens star Kelly Meafua dies after jumping off bridge while celebrating win in France". Stuff. 8 May 2022.
- ^ "Former Samoa sevens player dies after jumping off bridge". NZ Herald. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Rugby: Former Samoa sevens player Kelly Meafua dies after jumping off bridge in France". Newshub. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
External links edit
 | This biographical article relating to Samoan rugby union is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |