Apisai Toga

Apisai Toga (6 November 1945 – 27 January 1973) was a Fijian rugby union and rugby league player. A second row and prop, he played for the St George Dragons and the Rochdale Hornets between 1964 and 1973.

Apisai Toga

Personal information
Full name	Apisai Toga
Born	6 November 1945 Nadi, Fiji
Died	27 January 1973 (aged 27) Kogarah, New South Wales, Australia
Playing information
Height	6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight	16 1/2 st
Rugby league
Position	Prop, Second-row
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1964–1967 Rochdale Hornets 1968–1973 St George Dragons 60 9 0 0 27 Total 60 9 0 0 27
Rugby union
Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1973 Fiji 3 3 0 0 9

Playing career

Toga was from the Saulaka village near Nadi. Originally a rugby union player, he was part of the Fiji team that won the rugby tournament at the 1963 South Pacific Games,[1] playing three matches and scoring three tries.[2] His brother Sela later also represented Fiji,[1] making his debut the following year.

Rochdale Hornets

He switched to rugby league in 1964, signing for English club Rochdale Hornets.[1] He made his debut for the club on 15 February in a home match against Workington Town.[3] He played right-second-row in the club's 5-16 defeat by Warrington in the 1965 Lancashire County Cup Final during the 1965–66 season at Knowsley Road, St. Helens.

St George Dragons

Not liking the weather in northern England,[1] Toga signed for Australian club St George Dragons in 1968 for £2,000, becoming the first Fijian to play in New South Wales Rugby League.[3] He was joined at the club by his brother Inisai Toga the following year.[3] A crowd favorite at Kogarah Oval, he made an immediate impact at the Dragons, and played for five seasons at the club between 1968 and 1972, making 65 appearances and scoring nine tries.[4] He played in several semi finals with St George, but never played in a grand final.

Death

Toga went home to Fiji during the 1972–73 off season, and cut his foot on coral and barbed wire which resulted in him dying of Tetanus poisoning on 27 January 1973 after collapsing during a pre season training run at Carss Park, New South Wales at the age of 27. He had only arrived back in Australia four days before his death. It was later reported that Toga was in convulsions for hours before later dying at St. George Hospital.[5] The news of Toga's death greatly saddened the Rugby League community, especially in Sydney. His body was returned to his homeland for burial on the following weekend, accompanied by Dragons captain Graeme Langlands.[6]

References

1. Apisai Toga Pacific Islands Monthly, March 1973, p125
2. Apisai Toga ESPN
3. Hornets fans crown their Greatest Thirteen Rochdale Online, 22 November 1915
4. Dragons Honour Apisai Toga Dragons, 2 June 2016
5. The Age "Homeland Burial For Fijian League Star" 01/02/1973
6. Sydney Morning Herald: 01 Feb 1973. "Toga to be buried in Fiji"