A Tuva Rugby Club utility back who collapsed during the Nadroga Rugby Union club competition match in Lawaqa two weeks ago has died. Samu Tiqe Lutumailagi, 27, from Semo Village in Tuva, Nadroga, passed away at Lautoka Hospital on Monday.
Lutumailagi, who had been playing as a hooker for his team in their match against Lomawai on Thursday, June 20, took up the role because the regular hooker was absent. His father, Tomasi Hatuku, spoke from Semo yesterday, describing his son Tiqe as a hardworking young man dedicated to their community and religious duties.
Hatuku, a taxi driver in Nadi, had no idea that Lutumailagi planned to go to Lawaqa for the weekly competition. “We had breakfast together that morning,” Hatuku recalled. “I left for work, assuming he would attend to his cassava plantation, as that was his hobby. I didn’t know he went back home to get his playing gear.”
The district of Tuva comprises eight villages: Vouwa, Nadroumai, Togovere, Semo, Nabau, Kamisi, Emuri, and Niu Yoka. Lutumailagi was the fifth child in a family of eight siblings and one of Hatuku and Amelia Vesu’s seven sons.
“I later found out he had borrowed money from his older sister for his fare to Lawaqa,” Hatuku said. “I was at work when I got the call that he had been rushed to Koromumu (Sigatoka Hospital) and then to Lautoka in serious condition. He collapsed after the second scrum.”
Lutumailagi’s passion for rugby was evident from a young age, having played rugby league while attending Ratu Kadavulevu School for Forms Three and Four. He later represented Cuvu College in the Fiji Secondary Schools Deans competition and was part of the Tuva Under-19 team that won the Coral Coast Sevens U19 title for three consecutive years. He had been a member of the Nadi NASA team since last year.
Lutumailagi will be laid to rest in Semo on Friday. Nadroga Rugby Union officials could not provide additional comments at this time.
For further details or to send feedback, contact karalaini.waqanidrola@fijisun.com.fj.