The 32-year-old lost his fight for life in Amsterdam hospital after being admitted on Saturday with serious head injuries.
Kawa Leauma tragically passed away
The Spanish Rugby Federation confirmed the shocking news in a statement, saying: “We regret to inform you of the overnight death of Kawa Leauma who suffered an abnormal accident after Spain’s match against the Netherlands in Amsterdam. ”
He added: “In accordance with the wishes of his wife, who at the moment is heading to the Dutch capital, we cannot give more information at this time and ask for maximum respect for her and her family.
Leauma, who had traveled to the Netherlands with the Spanish national rugby team for a Six Nations B match against the Netherlands, is said to have fallen around 7 meters from the terrace of a shopping center.
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The Auckland, New Zealand-born player was rushed to hospital for surgery.
Ordizia Rugby Elkartea, the team from the Spanish Basque Country where he played, admitted that the latest hospital update they received yesterday was not promising and would need further intervention surgical.
In addition to his wife who is still based in New Zealand, his sister also traveled to Amsterdam from the United States.
Spain won the game against the Netherlands by 52–7, but Leauma, who made several appearances for Samoa’s Under-20s before becoming available to play for her adopted homeland via residency, no did not play.
He was told on Friday that he would not be used for Saturday’s game, but he stayed to watch the action.
His absence from the game was initially wrongly linked to his positive test for Covid before it was attributed to a ‘paperwork’ issue which led officials to decide to delay his official debut with the Spain senior squad.
The first reports immediately after the accident indicated that it had happened while he was returning to his hotel.
But it emerged yesterday that this had happened in the city of Leiden, near Amsterdam, after he decided to reunite with other Netherlands-based rugby players he knew after the game. at the beginning of his career.
Reports in Spain indicate that he may have entered an area where the ground could have given way beneath him, although an investigation is ongoing.
Leauma, who turned 32 last Friday, was in his fourth season with his current club, better known as AMPO Ordizia.
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