Family and rugby league mourn Hastings player

A blessing has taken place near the spot at the Hawke's Bay Regional Sports Park where Katiana Waikato played her last moments of sport before collapsing in Hastings on Saturday. Photo / File

A small rugby league-field blessing has taken place near the spot where women's team member and mother-of-one Katiana Waikato played her last moments of sport before collapsing in Hastings on Saturday.

Rushed to nearby Hawke's Bay Hospital by ambulance she died early yesterday and the blessing took place yesterday afternoon at the Hawke's Bay Regional Sports Park, where teammates from Hastings club Tamatea were joined by park sports trust chief executive Jock Mackintosh and Rugby League Hawke's Bay chairman and till-recently secretary Mike Tamati in attendance, as family awaited the return of Miss Waikato to family in Flaxmere.

Miss Waikato had just recently started rugby league again after some years away from the game and was playing Dannevirke in one of three women's matches opening the third weekend of Men's Premier, Men's Reserve and Women's grades in the unique Rugby League Hawke's Bay competitions, which have been played in a unique Spring-season format for more than 15 years.

She collapsed soon after a tackle and was taken to nearby Hawke's Bay Hospital by ambulance and died early yesterday.

Mr Tamati said the district league would offer all the support it could to the family and friends, players from the two teams, and the referee, a former experienced Premier men's player who has only recently taken up the whistle.

With a general shortage of match officials, the sideline umpires were provided by the two teams in the match, Mr Tamati understood.

New Zealand Rugby League chief executive Alex Hayton was at a conference and unavailable to be contacted yesterday but a spokesman in Auckland said the NZRL would work with the Hawke's Bay league and family of Miss Waikato, and was waiting until it had more details from Hawke's Bay.

He said it was "very traumatic" for everyone involved and the league would support where it could, though it was unclear whether the League 4 Life Foundation, set up to help struggling families of aspiring players could be involved.

Meanwhile, Mr Tamati's brother, former Kiwis rugby league great Kevin Tamati, who was RLHB chairman when he left to live in Queensland about 18 months ago is expected back in Hawke's Bay this week.

Tributes and messages of condolence for Miss Waikato and family flooded facebook pages yesterday, with well over 200 posted by late afternoon.