A Tuva Rugby Club player who collapsed during a Nadroga Rugby Union club competition match in Lawaqa two weeks ago has died. Samu Tiqe Lutumailagi, 27, from Semo Village, Nadroga, passed away on Monday at Lautoka hospital.
Lutumailagi had been playing hooker for his team against Lomawai on Thursday, June 20, stepping in as the regular hooker did not show up for the match.
His father, Tomasi Hatuku, recounted that Tiqe was a hardworking young man, committed to his community and church responsibilities. Hatuku, a taxi driver based in Nadi, had left for work on Thursday morning, not knowing that Lutumailagi planned to participate in the weekly competition in Lawaqa later that day.
“We had breakfast together that morning. I left for work while he tended to his cassava plantation, as he usually did,” Hatuku recalled. “I didn’t know that after seeing me off, he returned home to pick up his playing gear.”
The district of Tuva comprises eight villages: Vouwa, Nadroumai, Togovere, Semo, Nabau, Kamisi, Emuri, and Niu Yoka. Lutumailagi was the fifth of eight children, one of seven sons born to Hatuku and Amelia Vesu.
“I later found out that he had borrowed money from his older and only sister for the fare to Lawaqa to play,” Hatuku shared. “I was at work when I received a call saying that he had been rushed from Sigatoka Hospital to Lautoka in a serious condition. I also learned that he had collapsed after the second scrum.”
Described as a typical son of Nadroga who loved playing rugby, Lutumailagi began his rugby league journey at Ratu Kadavulevu School during Forms Three and Four. He represented Cuvu College in the Fiji Secondary Schools Deans competition and was part of the Tuva U19 team that won the Coral Coast Sevens U19 title for three consecutive years. He had also been a member of the Nadi NASA team since last year.
Lutumailagi will be laid to rest in Semo on Friday. Attempts to reach the Nadroga Rugby Union president, Jiuta Waqavonovono, for comment were unsuccessful.
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