French
DeutschKelly Meafua
| Date of birth | 16 October 1990 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Kelly Meafua (16 October 1990 – 6 May 2022)[1] was a Samoan rugby union player.[2] His position of choice was flanker.
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]- Kelly Meafua at All.Rugby
- Kelly Meafua at ItsRugby.co.uk
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