All Black Mealamu's family grief

Christina Mealamu died when a scrum machine fell on her. Photo / Supplied

All Black Keven Mealamu says the sportsground death of his 6-year-old niece gave him a different perspective on the hype of a Rugby World Cup victory on home soil.

A coroner's report released today reveals how Christina Mealamu was crushed to death when a 165kg scrum machine fell on her during a family fun day in November 2009.

Mealamu told the Herald the report would provide a degree of closure for his family.

But he had carried Christina's loss over the course of the World Cup tournament, and would always do so.

"I can only talk for myself, but it's changed a lot of things for me in the way that I see things," the 92-test veteran hooker said. "We're all grateful for each day that we get.

"What we were able to achieve on the field was pretty awesome, but it's no comparison when it comes to life itself."

On the day of the accident, Christina was part of a family group at an annual touch tournament at the Tamaki College sports ground, which the Mealamu family had hired.

Mealamu was kicking a rugby ball with his son when he heard shouting.

He and other family members found a scrum machine had toppled onto Christina and her 3-year-old brother as they played on or near it.

CPR was performed on the unconscious girl - daughter of Mealamu's brother Luke - but when ambulance officers arrived she was not breathing and could not be resuscitated.

The boy was taken to Middlemore Hospital with minor injuries and discharged later that day.

A post-mortem examination showed Christina had received a "heavy impact to the right side of her head, which produced a skull fracture and severe injuries to the brain".

Coroner Katharine Greig's report found that the day before the accident, two Tamaki College students moved the machine by tipping it onto the end of its frame to give them more room to throw a ball.

Department of Labour inspectors found the machine was unbalanced as a result, and the inverted position was "the main contributing cause of the accident".

But the college board was not responsible for the position the machine was left in the day before the accident and therefore not in breach of the Health and Safety in Employment Act, the inspector found.

The coroner said the tragedy highlighted the dangers of equipment such as scrum machines being stored in areas where unsupervised access could occur.

"All schools and rugby clubs should be on notice of the potential dangers."

All of Tamaki College's large sporting equipment is now stored in a locked cage and can be used only under adult supervision.

Ms Greig said she had no criticism of the students who moved the machine or the college - a view shared by Mealamu, who said nobody should be blamed for the tragedy.

With the two-year anniversary of the accident approaching, he said Christina's absence was felt at a family reunion held last weekend.

"She's always been a character in our family, she was always a cheeky girl. So you could always hear her laughter. She's still a big part of our family and is still with us."

Mealamu, who carried Christina's coffin with his brother at her funeral, said the family helped each other get through after the accident.

"We've always been a tight family. But to see us get even closer, it's been really special for us."

Today's report was an important part of their grieving process, but "Christina will be with us forever".

"It still hurts for us. Knowing she's not with us physically. That's really tough for us. But she'll always be loved, she'll always be with us."

Coroner's findings

* Six-year-old Christina Mealamu suffered fatal head injuries when a rugby scrum machine toppled on to her.
* The 165kg machine had been earlier tipped onto its frame and was unstable.