Justin Marshall reveals 'regret' over Toutai Kefu's stabbing news
All Blacks legend Justin Marshall has revealed he has “regrets” after hearing that Wallabies great Toutai Kefu is fighting for his life after being stabbed during a home invasion.
Kefu was rushed to hospital after he was stabbed while defending his family from three home invaders in Brisbane on Monday.
The 47-year-old, who is the head coach of Tonga, is reportedly in a serious condition with abdominal wounds, while Kefu’s wife and two children also suffered lacerations and injuries to their arm, back, abdominals and hand.
Speaking to Fox Sports in the wake of the news, Marshall, who described his relationship with Kefu as “great”, said he “regrets” his brief interaction with the Tonga boss when they crossed paths prior to the All Blacks vs Fiji and Manu Samoa vs ‘Ikale Tahi double-header in Hamilton last month.
“This is why I talk with some regret because you hear news like we’ve heard today and it’s really shocked me and has thrown me, but my point is I saw him about three weeks ago in the tunnel before Hamilton when they were playing a test match there,” Marshall said.
“The thing about that is, you sometimes look back at things with guilt, and I’m looking back at that encounter with guilt.
“I know Kef really well and we’ve got a great relationship and I was in a hurry, we had a team meeting upstairs and had a rehearsal and he was just casually standing outside the change room and we stopped and chatted, but I didn’t get to ask him a lot of the things that I wanted to ask him.
“I said, ‘Sorry, but I’ve got to go, I’m late for rehearsal’. I didn’t get to see him again and the news that I’m hearing today, it leaves me with regret that I didn’t have the time to ask him about him and his family.
“I basically asked him, ‘How’s the coaching going, how are you finding it, are you enjoying New Zealand?’ And then I said, ‘Sorry mate, I have to go’.
“That always leaves you with a bit of emptiness when you hear the details and he’s basically fighting for his life and his family has been harmed and you think, ‘I wish I had taken more time to talk to him’.”
Marshall, the 81-test halfback who played for the All Blacks between 1995 and 2005, squared off against Kefu, who played 60 tests for the Wallabies between 1997 and 2003, many times throughout his career at both Super Rugby and international level.
Perhaps the most notable moment the two shared on the rugby field came during the 2001 Bledisloe Cup series, when Kefu crossed for the match-winning try in the dying stages of the final match of that year’s Tri-Nations.
Two former All Blacks legends are reportedly helping cross-code star Roger Tuivasa-Sheck prepare for his highly-anticipated rugby union debut. #NPC #AllBlacks #RogerTuivasaSheck #Auckland https://t.co/uoPI5VKPM1
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 16, 2021
Kefu’s try in Sydney gave the Wallabies a 29-26 win over the All Blacks, which ensured Australia a Bledisloe Cup whitewash over their Kiwi counterparts.
Marshall unsuccessfully tried to stop Kefu in the lead-up to his decisive try, and the 48-year-old said that play has remained at the forefront of his Bledisloe Cup memories.
“That is very much part of my regular life really because I always tell that story of him pipping us at the post and Kef was the guy who scored that try and I was the guy underneath him hoping to prevent it and he got the better moment of me,” Marshall told Fox Sports.
“So, he’s very much in my every day when I think about telling stories, particularly when it relates to the Bledisloe.
“Those days were great days and when you hear news like you heard today, it always puts you in a frame of mind that you just can’t believe what you’re hearing to be honest.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Bar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
9 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
35 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
2 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
35 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
49 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
35 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
35 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. All the Kiwis sticking up for this unprincipled individual because they can't accept justified criticism, he has zero credibility or integrity. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
35 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
35 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
2 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to commentsObscene that SA haven’t been knocking
1 Go to commentsChances of Blackadder being injured seem too high to give him serious consideration. ABs loosie combination finally looked good with 2 committed to tackling and clearing rucks in the centre and Ardie roaming. Hoskins/Ardie together would force one of them into where they don’t excel and don’t get to use their talent, or require a change in tactics. If we continue to evolve last years systems I would take Papali’i and Finau at 6 and 7 (conceding that Blackadder will be injured) and Ardie at 8.
35 Go to commentsArdie’s preferred position 7? Where do they get these writers from? I've no idea where he's playing in Japan, but the previous two seasons he wore the 7 jersey exactly twice.
18 Go to comments