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Tonga coach and ex-Wallaby Toutai Kefu fighting for life after stabbing
By Sam Smith
Tonga head coach and former Wallabies great Toutai Kefu is reportedly fighting for his life after being stabbed while defending his family during a home invasion.
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Kefu and his family were at home when three people broke into his Brisbane home at 3am on Monday.
According to Channel 7, the 47-year-old was reportedly stabbed in the stomach after a brawl erupted and was rushed to Princess Alexandra Hospital in a serious condition with abdominal wounds.
Kefu’s wife, who suffered an arm injury, son, who suffered lacerations to his back and abdominals, and daughter, who suffered a hand injury, were also taken to hospital.
Neighbours were reportedly woken by the incident and rushed to the scene, managing to hold down one of the alleged offenders, who was arrested at the scene.
Channel 7 reports that the other two offenders remain at large.
Kefu is a Wallabies icon, having played 60 tests for Australia between 1997 and 2003.
In 1999, he was part of the Wallabies squad that won that year’s World Cup in Wales, and scored a memorable match-winning try to defeat the All Blacks in the 2001 Bledisloe Cup series.
After hanging up his boots, Kefu moved into coaching, and he currently stands as head coach of Tonga, a position he has held since 2016.
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Kefu was involved with ‘Ikale Tahi as recently as last month, as the Tongan national side played the All Blacks, Manu Samoa and the Cook Islands in successive weeks across New Zealand throughout July.
Their matches against Manu Samoa and the Cook Islands acted as World Cup qualification matches, with Tonga qualifying for the Asia-Pacific play-off tie against either South Korea, Hong Kong or Malaysia.
The winner of that two-match series will qualify for Pool B alongside South Africa, Ireland, Scotland and Europe 2 at the 2023 World Cup in France.
