Max Brito, the Ivory Coast wing who was paralysed in a ruck at the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa and who was previously backed by All Blacks legend Jonah Lomu, has passed away.
The 54-year-death old’s was reported by Brito’s former French team, Biscarosse Olympique, on Tuesday.
The family statement read: “Max went on his last voyage with dignity and without suffering” and was submitted on the website on behalf of his children Mike and Anthony.
In a statement, World Rugby expressed its sadness over Brito’s passing and expressed the condolences of the whole rugby community to his family, friends, former teammates, and coworkers.
A tackle by Tongan flanker Inoke Afeaki during a ruck versus Tonga in Rustenburg, 1995, left dreadlocked wing Brito, then 27 years old, gravely injured.
He was transferred to a hospital in Pretoria for surgery after breaking two vertebrae in his neck. Brito spent the remainder of his life as a tetraplegic.
Brito was only able to move his head, upper body, and had limited movement in his arms by 2007 despite undergoing multiple surgery.
In 2007, he described his mishap as feeling “like everything had gotten unplugged in my body” to the French daily Le Monde. I realised right away that I was paralysed, but I persuaded myself we would fix me and it wasn’t that horrible.
In 2020, he told England’s inewspaper that he had “13 or 14 years of fog where I didn’t know where I was’’.
“The accident was very violent. But after that I had a spiritual enlightenment and I understood that it was necessary to accept my handicap.
“And from that moment on, all the doors were open.”
Brito was born in Abidjan, the Ivory Coast’s largest city, but moved to France with his family as a five-year-old.
He played with Biscarosse Olympiqe in France’s Federale Three league after they settled in Biscarosse, a village on the Atlantic coast in southwest France.
Brito participated in the Ivory Coast‘s opening two World Cup matches against Scotland and France before suffering an injury in the opening minutes of the match against Tonga.
Abdelatif Benazzi, a legendary France forward who faced the Ivory Coast 27 years ago, expressed his sadness upon learning of Brito’s passing on the Midi Olympique rugby website.
“His accident against the Tongans in 1995 was a shock for everyone,’’ Benazzi said.
“Given the closeness we had with the Ivorians, we were particularly sensitive to this tragedy. I remember having seen him in Biscarrosse. Despite his accident, he had plenty of plans, courage.”