A utility back from Tuva Rugby Club, Samu Tiqe Lutumailagi, who collapsed during a Nadroga Rugby Union club competition match in Lawaqa two weeks ago, passed away at Lautoka Hospital on Monday.
Lutumailagi, 27, from Semo Village, Tuva, Nadroga, took on the role of hooker for his team in a match against Lomawai on June 20. He stepped in for the absent hooker.
His father, Tomasi Hatuku, speaking from Semo yesterday, described Tiqe, as he was commonly known, as a hardworking young man who was actively involved in their community and religious obligations.
Hatuku, who works as a taxi driver in Nadi, mentioned he was unaware of Lutumailagi’s plans to go to Lawaqa for the competition that day.
“We had breakfast together that Thursday morning, and I left for work assuming he would tend to his cassava plantation, his usual hobby,” Hatuku said. “I did not know he went back home to pick up his playing gear after I left.”
The district of Tuva has eight villages: Vouwa, Nadroumai, Togovere, Semo, Nabau, Kamisi, Emuri, and Niu Yoka. Lutumailagi was the fifth child among eight siblings, one of the seven sons of Hatuku and Amelia Vesu.
Hatuku later learned that Lutumailagi borrowed money from his older sister for the fare to Lawaqa to play in the match. “I was at work when I received the call that he had been rushed from Koromumu (Sigatoka Hospital) to Lautoka in a serious condition,” he said. “I also learned he collapsed after the second scrum.”
According to his father, Tiqe had a deep love for rugby, starting with rugby league during his time at 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. Since last year, he had been a member of the Nadi NASA team.
Lutumailagi will be laid to rest at Semo on Friday.
When contacted for a comment, Nadroga secretary Isireli Basiyalo referred inquiries to the union president, Jiuta Waqavonovono, who was not available at the time.