Maara Tuare may not have taken to the field when the Cook Islands beat Papua New Guinea last month to qualify for the inaugural IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy to be held in Chile in April, but his contribution to the victory should not be underestimated.
The 18-year-old had been in the Cook Islands Under 20 training squad building up to the qualifier in Auckland and proven to be an inspiration to his team-mates for the way he shrugs of being born deaf and mute to play a game he loves with a smile on his face.
“He’s a very special guy,” Nooroa Maui, the Cook Islands coach, told Total Rugby. “I think what he has in him is something to spark these guys which are normal. I’m happy to have him really. I’ve used him as an example to the rest of the guys.”
Taratoa Metuariki, who was a member of the Cook Islands squad that made their debut at the IRB Under 19 World Championship in Belfast last year, is just one player who has been impressed by the commitment of his fellow forward in training.
“He really tries hard, he wants to learn. It makes it easier for us to help him,” explained Metuariki, who scored a try in the Cook Islands 10-10 draw with Chinese Taipei – the closest they came to a victory on their debut in Northern Ireland.
Initial frustration turns to respect
“The guys who can hear, they are the ones standing around not doing much, he’s always in there trying to do things. It really motivates me to just keep going and keep pushing him and pushing the other boys.”
Maara is just one of the boys, his disability forgotten and overcome with the use of some simple signals such as a throwing motion for a lineout, linking fingers to represent a scrum and a kicking motion or pointing finger for a drop goal attempt.
However it wasn’t always the case as initially players didn’t know Maara was deaf.
“As we went through training, I kept screaming out at him but he was listening,” admitted Antony Mataroa, one of the senior members in the Cook Islands Under 20 squad. “At first I just wanted to punch him because he wasn’t listening.
“I had no idea he was deaf, then about half way through training, his elder brother who is on tour with us, told me that he was deaf. I started saying I’m sorry, I take it all back.”
Life changing experience
Nineteen-year-old Metua, who played in the second row in Belfast and will be hoping to also play in the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy, acts as his younger brother’s guardian and mentor in the squad.
“When I look at him he’s all good now. Not before, he felt bad before I got him in this team. I push him to train hard, tell him what to do, where to run and what to do after running and all those things,” explained Metua.
“He’s not the only deaf person in the world because I’ve got another younger brother, younger than him who’s deaf too. So I always tell them they are not alone in the world.”
Maara was quick to congratulate his team-mates after their 29-7 defeat of Papua New Guinea confirmed their place in the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy in Chile, where they face the hosts, Romania and Namibia in Pool A from 15-27 April.
Listen to the feature about Maara Tuare on this week's Total Rugby Radio show - available from 18:00 UK time on Thursday 7 February.
