Update: Latest on stab victim Toutai Kefu
Toutai Kefu has undergone surgery and is recovering well from the serious stab injuries sustained in a violent attack by intruders.
Tonga's 47-year-old head coach, who played 60 Tests for the Wallabies and was part of their 1999 World Cup win, was rushed to hospital with his wife and two of his children earlier this week.
The trio were reported to be injured when confronting three intruders at their Brisbane home in what local police later described as a bungled burglary attempt.
Police allege the trio were armed with knives, a machete and an axe, all of which were used during the attack.
"Both Josh (Kefu's son) and Dad had their surgery yesterday and are recovering well," Kefu's daughter Olivia said in a social media post.
She went on to add that her mother and sister Madi will have surgery on Tuesday.
"Thank you to everyone for all the kind messages and support, it means the absolute world to us all," she wrote.
Kefu was stabbed and suffered abdominal injuries during the home invasion, which police believed was a burglary gone wrong.
His wife and children suffered cuts and lacerations in the attack.
Police arrested two teenage boys in connection with the incident and are searching for a third suspect who absconded in a stolen car.
One of the arrested teenagers was charged with multiple counts of attempted murder and assault, causing grievous bodily harm and one count each of unlawful use of a motor vehicle, breaking and entering, burglary and deprivation of liberty.
Australian media has reported that he appeared in Brisbane's Children's Court on Tuesday.
The second arrested youth remained under police guard at a local hospital after he presented there with injuries.
Support for Kefu has come from across the rugby world.
Queensland Rugby Union's statement described the incident as "shocking."
"Our thoughts and prayers are with Toutai and his family at this time," it said.
"We offer our support to them and the wider Queensland Rugby community who are affected by the incident."
Rugby Australia chief executive Andy Marinos said thoughts were with Kefu and his family.
"It was shocking news to receive this morning. Toutai is a titan of our game – a warrior on the field and off it," Marinos said.
"To the Kefu family – the Australian rugby community is here for you. We also want to extend that support to others affected as well.
"The rugby family is a close-knit one and we always rally around each other when another is in need."
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Spot on Ben. Dead right. Havili looked great at 10. Easily the highest rugby IQ of any NZ player these days. Getting a kick charged down is a result of getting used to adjusting your depth to the line at 10, which he will sort out with time. But other than that it was an outstanding first effort in that position this year. I think the NZ media has misunderstood this directive from Razor. Havili might rank behind B Barrett this year, but Beuden is 33 this month and won't last much longer. DMaC is great but flaky and not really a test match animal (his efforts in Dunedin versus Aus last year for example). If Razor can't have Mounga, DMaC is too unstructured for Razor (and is just too small for test rugby). Havili will end up our first choice first five, and in partnership with Jodie will be excellent. Two triple threat operators in tandem, and big bodies and tough tacklers to boot. Jordoe will be the ABs goal kicker. I am an Aucklander and Blues (and Warriors) fan, but Havili at 10 is going to be sensational in time… he can be the best first five in the world by the end of this year. No question.
Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
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