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UPDATE: Toutai Kefu 'expected to survive' violent machete attack, family members also hospitalised
The Roar
15th August, 2021
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The Roar
15th August, 2021
69
5038 Reads

Wallabies World Cup winner Toutai Kefu had surgery for severe abdominal wounds on Monday after being stabbed in his Brisbane home while trying to defend his family during a break in.

Kefu, the current coach of Tonga and member of the 1999 Cup winning Wallabies, was at home when three people broke into his family home in Coorparoo at 3am on Monday morning in what police believe was a failed robbery gone wrong involving minors.

According to a report on Channel 7 early Monday, Kefu was “fighting for life” but a police spokesman later updated his condition.

“His initial condition was described as critical, but expected to survive,” Detective Superintendent Tony Fleming was quoted as saying by the ABC.

“The mother has suffered very, very serious lacerations to her arm and I’m told her wound are very significant.”

Two of the Kefus’ children were also injured – his son sustained significant wounds to his arm and back and one of his daughters has cuts to her hand and arm.

“I can only imagine this will have a lasting effect on this family due to the trauma of what’s happened,” Fleming said

Fleming said it was understood a family member woke to noise about 3:15am and went to investigate.

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Describing it as “brutal and violent,” Fleming said the attack was allegedly carried out with an axe, knife and machete.

“It is highly likely a burglary that has gone wrong,” Fleming said.

“It is very uncommon to have violence to this extreme, with injuries to this extreme, but we do know some young people are carrying knives and weapons and sadly today is an example of the worst of that type of offending.”

Neighbours came to the Kefus’ aid and detained one of the alleged perpertrators. Another suspect presented at Princess Alexandra Hospital with cuts and has since been arrested and is under police guard at the hospital.

The ABC reported both males in custody are juveniles, with one believed to be 15-16 years old, and are on bail with curfew conditions for previous offences of property crime and allegations of violence.

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Kefu, 47, played 60 times for the Wallabies and 103 times for Queensland and scored the match-winning try in Australia’s 2001 Bledisloe Cup win.

The rugby community rallied behind Kefu on social media.

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