Brothers Rugby Club in mourning after sudden death to ‘Tongan Cowboy’ Leapuna Havili

A young tighthead prop and beloved ‘Tongan Cowboy’ from Brothers Rugby Club is being remembered for his heart of gold after he died on Monday night.

Leapuna Havili was such a bright soul who filled the room with his contagious laughter and light.

The Brothers rugby community has been shattered by the sudden death of a beloved young player who will be remembered for his heart of gold and ever-present smile.

Monday night’s death of humble tighthead prop Leapuna Havili, 24, has left the club distraught after he succumbed to his mental health battles.

Known affectionately as ’Puna’, or the ‘Tongan Cowboy’, the third grade player is being remembered as someone whose contagious and up-beat attitude in everything he did brought joy to all.

“He was one of the most easy going people. He always had a smile on his face,” remembered Puna’s former coach and mourning mate Brendan Trudgen.

Trudgen said Puna’s passing was both a shock to the system and a timely wake up call that “you just don’t know until you know”.

“You wouldn’t know that he’s fighting a mental battle because he always had a smile on his face,” Trudgen said.

“I will always remember him with his cowboy hat on after the game.”

He was the Tongan Cowboy.

And the Tongan Cowboy, “such a good guy to have around”, always garnished a game of scrum battles with a cold beer.

“There’s just certain guys that you want to have in your team,” Trudgen said.

“He was always one of them.

“You knew what you were going to get out of him as a player, but you also knew past the player, he was an incredible person.

“That’s what hurts the most.”

Leapuna Havili (middle, back row with black hat on) and his Brothers teammates. His death was the unfortunate reminder that mental health is so important and sometimes it is the ones you least expect that are struggling through something.

It is clear the whole rugby community is hurting because the GoFundMe with an initial target of $10000 is almost at $26000.

It speaks volumes as to the impact Puna had on anyone he came across and even those he didn’t.

“He was one of the first guys I got to know at Brothers. He was of a quiet nature but always wanted to make sure everyone was good,” Trudgen said.

“You could see on Tuesday night with guys that are new to the club. They hadn’t met him before but are hurting.

“He had a heart of gold.”

Puna also had a passion for the game of rugby and a love for the dark arts of scrummaging.

He was a loyal servant to the Brothers third grade scrum and it was a round 14 comeback win over Wests last year where he had the best game Trudgen had ever seen him play.

Puna, later named man of the match, “was unbelievable” in the scrum.

After being down 10-nil at half time, Brothers came back to win 22-10 and it all stemmed from Puna’s set-piece dominance.

“It was actually unbelievable. That’s a lasting memory I have,” Trudgen said.

Leapuna Havili and Brothers third grade assistant coach Dustin Henegan.

Puna and the mighty thirds made it all the way to the 2024 grand final at Ballymore but were edged out.

That was the last time Puna would ever start a rugby match at tighthead, the last time his friends and family would see him sip a cold beer in a cowboy hat post-match and the last he flipped the switch from nice guy to scrum terror.

“We will make him proud. Hopefully go back to the grand final and win it for him this year,” said Trudgen.

“Brothers definitely lost a good one. He will be sorely missed.”

Originally published as Brothers Rugby Club in mourning after sudden death to ‘Tongan Cowboy’ Leapuna Havili