Tributes continue to flow in from the international rugby community for Tonga's national Rugby Sevens captain, Atelea Okati who died following a car crash last Thursday.
Tongan Atelea Okati of Tonga falls to the ground with the ball under pressure from Li Jialin of China during their match at the Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament in Hong Kong on 27 March, 2010. Okati died following a car crash in December 2016. Photo: AFP / Mike Clarke
Matangi Tonga reports Okati was well liked in rugby circles and had played professional rugby in Romania and captained the Tonga Rugby Sevens team in its recent successes.
Tonga Loop reports the interim chief executive of the Tongan Rugby Union Fe'ao Vunipola as saying Tongan Rugby was still in shock as Okati had been in training with the Tongan Sevens team in preparation for Hong Kong.
Mr Vunipola said Tonga was a close-knit community and his death was felt across the country and Okati would be remembered as a strong leader.
Tributes have been pouring in on social media over the New Year's weekend with World Rugby Sevens, Former Fiji Sevens coach Ben Ryan and Atelea Okati's former coach, Daniel de Villiers of CSM Olimpia Bucharest, all expressing their grief online and extending their condolences to the family and friends of the Tongan captain.
