By Ian Ransom
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Rugby delivered Toutai Kefu pride, glory and pain during the Wallabies’ golden years. Now it provides healing for the World Cup winner as he recovers from the trauma of a violent home invasion.
One of the finest number eights to wear Australia’s gold jersey, Kefu says he has moved on from the attack last August, when teenage boys wielding knives broke into his family home in Brisbane.
Yet it continues to cast a shadow over his family, who suffered serious injuries in the burglary-gone-wrong.
Kefu, his wife and two of his children sustained deep cuts and stab wounds during the attack which left the floor of their house soaked in blood and resulted in attempted murder charges for the intruders.
“My wife – I don’t think she’ll get full use of her arm and her hand so she’s still very much doing intensive therapy four to five times a week,” Kefu told Reuters in an interview.
“The progress has actually slowed down in the last couple of months and it’s still quite painful in the joints but she’s a trooper. She’s tough.”
The Kefus’ ordeal shocked the nation but their bravery and compassion in the aftermath inspired it.
Kefu fronted the media the day he returned home from hospital and praised his son for potentially saving his life by grappling with one of the assailants.
He has said he feels sorry for the attackers, suspecting disadvantage led to the break-in.
The family suffered nightmares and were jumpy for months but stayed in the house as a means of processing the ordeal.
“My wife has had her moments, especially early on in the piece, as we all did,” said Kefu.
“But we’ve really moved on and improved over the last couple of months.”
Getting back to his job as Tonga coach has helped Kefu, who missed the tour of Europe last year while recovering with his family.
Next month, they head to Fiji to play the Pacific Nations Cup against the hosts, Samoa and an Australia ‘A’ team, and that is followed a week later by a crunch World Cup playoff against an Asian side for a ticket to France next year.
“I’m really looking forward to it. When I came back from a bit of a break over Christmas I was really refreshed,” said Kefu.
“I’m just keen to look at the players available and maximise our time moving into the World Cup so we can actually deliver a really good team for France.”
A 60-test Wallaby, Tonga-born Kefu never had the option to play for the island nation due to a rule that locked a player to one country after playing test rugby.
That rule was relaxed in November, allowing players to switch nationality after a gap of three years if they have a parent or grandparent born in the country.
The change is a major boost for Tonga, whose top talents have long headed overseas to pursue lucrative opportunities.
Kefu was able to include former Wallaby Israel Folau and ex-All Blacks Charles Piutau and Malakai Fekitoa in his squad for the Pacific Nations Cup and World Cup playoff, and believes they could prove transformational.
“First and foremost, it makes us really bloody competitive,” he said.
“But it’s more than just a game for these guys now. This is a wonderful opportunity for all of them to represent their family, their parents, their village.
“These things are more than wins and losses, more than the game itself.”
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Nick Mulvenney and Stephen Coates)
