Samoan rugby player intoxicated before fatal France jump: Prosecutors

Samoan rugby international Kelly Meafua had consumed cocaine and large amounts of alcohol before a fatal jump from a bridge into the Tarn river in Montauban, southwest France, after a night out with teammates, the local prosecutor said Friday.

On Friday May 6, the 31-year-old back row forward had played in his side’s 48-40 win over Narbonne in the French second division and then went out celebrating his club’s last home game of the season.

After leaving a nightclub he jumped into the Tarn from the Pont Vieux bridge, a height of 22 metres (72 feet), at around 6:30 am the following morning.

His teammate Christopher Vaotoa jumped in to try to help after losing sight of him, but firefighters who arrived at the scene removed Vaotoa with hypothermia before finding Meafua’s body.

“Analyses showed that he had 2.34 grams per litre of alcohol in his blood,” well beyond France’s legal limit for driving of 0.5 grams per litre, the Montauban prosecutor Bruno Sauvage told AFP.

“With regards to the cocaine, based on the amount, it was consumed a few hours before his drowning, well after the end of the game,” he added.

Meafua was not pushed nor was it a suicide attempt, Sauvage said, contrary to social media speculation.

“It was a challenge, a voluntary decision, according to witnesses and video-surveillance footage,” he said.

Meafua played Sevens for Samoa and first came to France to play for Narbonne in 2015. He returned to play for Beziers in 2018 before switching to Montauban last season.