When Newcastle Falcons ran out of the tunnel in last month’s Twickenham Powergen Cup final, their mascot was three year old Eric Otuvaka, son of Soa, the Falcons flanker who died on March 29th from a brain tumour, with his wife Jenny, Eric and one-year-old daughter Lily by his side.

A memorial game at Kingston Park a week earlier saw Falcons play an all star invitation side which included Martin Johnson, Zinzan Brooke, Frank Bunce, Doddie Weir, Tony Underwood with Jason Robinson providing water and Paul Gascoigne taking the conversions. Funds raised on the day will go towards supporting his family through a fund set up by the club, The Soa Otuvaka Benefit Fund. This followed a packed funeral service at St Nicholas Cathedral, where team mates, family and friends gathered to hear 25-year-old Soakai described as a man who “brightened up everyone’s life and made all their problems go away” by family friend Dr Lisimoni Kami.

Soa, who also played for Tynedale, Blaydon, Darlington Mowden Park and Manchester, came to Newcastle from New Zealand as a teenager with close friend Epi Taione, who helped to carry his coffin at the funeral service.

The Professional Rugby Players Association (PRA) Benevolent Fund made a donation in October to assist Soa with his medical costs. During the RBS Six Nations internationals at Twickenham, the PRA Benevolent Fund generated £6,000 from raffles held in three hospitality areas. This money has been donated to Jenny and the children. A cheque was presented to Epi Taione at half time during the Powergen final by Pat Sanderson, Chairman of the PRA.The Newcastle players also donated their match fees to the cause.