Rugby communities in Tonga and New Zealand are reeling from the sudden death of the former All Black, Sione Lauaki, at just 35 years of age.
The Tongan born athlete, played 17 times for New Zealand between 2005 and 2008, but is reported to have developed kidney problems while playing in France in 2012.
He died in Auckland on Sunday from what's understood to be kidney and heart failure.
Lauaki played 70 games for the New Zealand Super Rugby side the Chiefs.
His coach at the Chiefs, Ian Foster, is now the All Blacks assistant coach, and he told Ben Robinson Drawbridge that news of Lauaki's death came as a shock.
Sione Lauaki at an All Blacks training in Christchurch in 2008.
Photo: Photosport
Transcript
IAN FOSTER: We all knew he'd been fighting illness for a few years, but I wasn't aware how serious it was, so [it is] tragic news and very sad.
BEN ROBINSON-DRAWBRIDGE: When you first picked him to play for the Chiefs, what were your first impressions as a player?
IF: It was my first year with the Chiefs and we had a lot good, honest rugby players and we didn't have a lot of players who could bust games open, so we drafted Sione down specifically for that reason and he certainly did that. He was a powerful, skillful rugby player. He probably wasn't famous for his fitness or his work rate, but what he did give us was a whole lot of little magical moments which really helped lift us and particularly that year in the playoffs for the first time, so he was a key part of that.
BRD: Would you agree that he instilled fear in the opposition?
IF: Yeah. He had a physicality about him that was quite hard to contain. His biggest challenge was consistently putting that on the park, but when he did, he was almost unstoppable. I think most Chiefs fans, particularly, and to a lesser extent some All Blacks fans all have memories of some big things he's done in games that have really influenced it. And I guess that's what really got him up and motivated him. [He was] a key man in our team. Everybody loved him. He would just laugh. He was cheeky, mischievous, but at the same time he gave everything for the team.
BRD: So for younger players who grew up watching Sione, what do you think he taught them?
IF: Well certainly a lot on the skill side and he opened guys eyes to some things that they could do with his offloading. And for a big man, he had great feet and could side step and do that sort of stuff. And also the team saw someone who sort of struggled with the training side, it didn't come naturally to him, he found it hard. He always used to come in preseason overweight and Nick Mills' job was to try and get him fit for the next two or three months. The team saw him battle to they knew things didn't come easy for him, but he lifted them and in big moments under pressure I certainly know that when he started to speak the guys were very keen to follow him.
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