Kelly Meafua

Kelly Meafua (16 October 1990 – 6 May 2022)[1] was a Samoan rugby union player.[2] His position of choice was flanker.

Kelly Meafua
Date of birth(1990-10-16)16 October 1990
Place of birthSamoa
Date of death6 May 2022(2022-05-06) (aged 31)
Place of deathMontauban, France
Height188 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight114 kg (17 st 13 lb; 251 lb)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flanker
Current team Montauban
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2014–2015 West Harbour 14 (5)
2015 Greater Sydney Rams 6 (10)
2015–2016 Narbonne 23 (20)
2017 Greater Sydney Rams 3 (0)
2017–2018 West Harbour 15 (35)
2018–2020 Béziers 30 (45)
2020–2022 Montauban 49 (45)
National sevens team(s)
Years Team Comps
2013–2014 Samoa 19

Club career

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

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

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
  1. "Samoan player from Montauban Kelly Meafua kills himself by jumping from a bridge". time.news. 7 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  2. "Kelly Meafua". www.nswwaratahs.com.au. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  3. "Samoan sevens star Kelly Meafua dies after jumping off bridge while celebrating win in France". Stuff. 8 May 2022.
  4. "Former Samoa sevens player dies after jumping off bridge". NZ Herald. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  5. "Rugby: Former Samoa sevens player Kelly Meafua dies after jumping off bridge in France". Newshub. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
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