'He went into beastmode' - Toutai Kefu praises son following knife attack

Home invasion survivor Toutai Kefu has spoken of the bravery of his son and a long-time neighbour following his release from a Brisbane hospital where he was treated for stab wounds this week.

The former Wallaby No.8 said that he felt “sorry” for his four teenage attackers, who now face multiple charges, including attempted murder, following the horrific attack at the Kefu family residence in the early hours of Monday morning.

Kefu’s wife is yet to return to the family home and is struggling to deal with the trauma of the incident, which saw her arm almost severed by one of the attackers, who according to police were armed with a knife, machete and an axe.

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An at times a tearful Kefu told media at his home that his wife initially they thought as a possum had got into the house, only to stumble upon the gang.

“She heard a bit of a rustle downstairs, and she got up, had a look outside. She noticed the car across the road, but she thought it may be an Uber driver dropping someone off,” he said. “Then she went to back to bed, and then she heard another [rustle], it was quite noisy, and thought maybe a possum had got in the house, so she went downstairs and that’s when she was confronted by the two intruders and let laid out this shrieky kind of scream and I jumped out of bed.”

Kefu confronted the attackers and was set upon and stabbed before his son joined the melee.

“He absolutely went into beast mode,” Kefu said of his son, who was also stabbed in the attack. “I had the two intruders on me and he just jumped in with no fear and he copped a couple of hacks to his back, but it certainly could have been a different outcome if he didn’t turn up.”

“He had no thought for his own safety, but we knew that if we just applied pressure [to his wounds] that the emergency services weren’t too far away.”

The hulking former forward also said that his neighbour’s timely intervention could have potentially saved lives.

“He’s an absolute hero. Unbelievable. He turned up at the right time on that Monday morning and apprehended one of the intruders.

“If he didn’t turn up, it could have been a different story.”

Kefu said he refused to hate his attackers despite the brutal nature of their attack on him and his family.

“To find out that they were 15 and a 13-year-old allegedly involved, I was really shocked. I don’t hate him.

“I’ve got a 13 and 15-year-old. I feel sorry for them.

“I’m just grateful that we all got out, we’re alive. Might be a little bit of damage moving forward but we’re still breathing.”