NZ Rugby pays tribute to Chiefs ace killed in car crash

NZ CEO Mark Robinson extended rugby’s condolences to Wainui’s wife Paige, their children Kawariki and Arahia, and their wider whānau “on what is a dark day for rugby”

TRAGEDY: Sean Wainui of the Chiefs who died in a road traffic accident Monday in New Zealand.

Sean Wainui, a rising star of New Zealand Rugby with the Hamilton-based Chiefs, was killed early Monday in a car accident. He was 25 and the father of two children.

His death was confirmed by family members and by New Zealand Rugby which said “one of New Zealand Rugby’s tallest Totara trees has fallen.” Wainui played 44 matches for the Chiefs from 2018. He also played nine times for the Christchurch-based Crusaders and was a New Zealand Maori representative from 2015.