Rugby star Kelly Meafua has died after leaping off a bridge in France just several hours after playing for French club Montauban as his teammate desperately tried to save his life.
The Samoan jumped from the Pont-Vieux bridge into the River Tarn in the south of the country on Saturday after his team won 48-40 against Narbonne in their final home game of the Pro D2 season. He was reportedly celebrating with his teammates when he tragically jumped from a height of over 20 metres.
His Montauban teammate and prop forward Christopher Vaotoa attempted to resuscitate and save Meafua but had to be rescued by firefighters himself. Vaotoa was hospitalised with hypothermia and discharged the following day.
Montauban released a statement expressing their shock at the sad and unfortunate news, writing: “U.S.M. Sapiac painfully announces the death of Kelly Meafua on the night of Friday to Saturday.
“One of his teammates tried to rescue him, without success. The entire club is shocked and everyone is thinking of his wife, his children, his teammates and more generally everyone who loves the club.
“Kelly was a player who was well liked by everybody. His joy for life was infectious and radiant. Today we have lost a player, a friend and a brother.”
Meafua moved to New Zealand when he was a teenager and only started playing rugby at the age of 20. He played in the Global Tens tournament in 2018 for the NSW Waratahs, and excelled for West Harbour and the Greater Sydney Rams.
The 32-year-old made the Samoa national team for the 2013 World Rugby Sevens Series and moved to France to play for Narbonne in 2015. He joined Beziers in 2018 before joining Montauban in 2020.
This season, Meafua scored eight tries in 24 Pro D2 matches for Montauban. The team are eighth in the Pro D2 division, with their win on Friday arresting a run of three straight losses.
