DEATH is inevitable and as people continue on through the road called life, it is the ones who pass on that sometimes leave a lasting impact on those who have to face the world without them.

National rugby legend Aleposo Waqailiti touched the lives of so many when he was alive, passing on a memory of a person who was truly committed to both his work and family.

While his glory days on the rugby field described him as man who was ruthless, his family portrays a different side to the person generally referred to as Poso.

His older sisters Luisa Nale Waqailiti and Maria Cokanalagi Waqailiti spoke in detail of Poso or Pou as he was affectionately referred to in the family.

“He and his wife had an apartment close to my daughter and I in Santa Rosa in the US, we had all decided to travel down to spend Christmas and New Years with our families and also for the wedding of my youngest daughter. They had just returned to the US and after a few days we were informed that he had been sick and a couple of days after that his wife had informed us that he had passed away.

“We are still in shock, we couldn’t understand how it was possible when just a week or so before he had been with us and looked so well. He had even been advising his nephews and nieces on the importance of staying healthy. At this stage they are still trying to determine the cause of death and it almost seems as if it was yesterday we were with him and we are still coming to terms with the fact that he is now gone,” Luisa said.

Reminiscing on the way they were raised, Maria said Poso had been obedient as a child and the teachings that their parents instilled in them were the very things that served as the foundation of his family in the years to come.

“We were very close growing up and would always stick out for each other because we were the youngest. Our parents had taught us to centre our lives in the Lord and would always instil strong discipline in the home.

“They only needed to speak once to have things done around the house and these were the principles that he kept with him until he passed away. I would marvel at his obedience. Even though he was the youngest and the pet he would never take that for granted and always ensured that because we were older, our advice and decisions mattered. It hurts that he has left us in more ways than I can describe because he was this gentle loving soul that I had never seen angry and was always the one that was smiling. What hurts more is that he is the youngest and the first one to pass on from us siblings and he has taken a part of us with him,” she said.

His rugby career spanned almost two decades with him serving as part of the group that spearheaded the Marist 7s in 1976 along with George Reid and Pio Bosco Tikoisuva when the grand prize was six cartons of Fiji Bitter.

He had attended Cathedral Secondary School from forms three and four and later joined Marist Brothers High School in 1975 where he played for the St. John Marist Club.

The 1980s served as the peak period for the late gentle giant as referred to by his former schoolmate Percy Kean.

He first donned the national jumper for the Fiji 15s team in 1981. In 1982 -1985 he had also been part of the team that took a ten-match tour to Great Britain and Canada.

Many would remember him as the winning captain to the 1984 Hong Kong 7s where Fiji thrashed New Zealand 26-0 in the Cup final.

Poso was also responsible for identifying some of the nation’s greatest rugby players. In 1989 he had served as the coach of the 7s team and although losing to New Zealand in the semi-finals that year a star had been identified to later become a phenomenon as this was the year Waisale Servi first graced the international rugby scene with the tournament a first in a series of Hong Kong 7s for the wizard.

Kean described Poso as a brother’s keeper, always looking out for the welfare of his team and was a born leader.

“He was a big boy among the senior boys and he was like a mentor at school. He was a very quiet person. He is a gentle giant we can say that. Over here we say you are your brother’s keeper, he was a classic example of that.

“Everything started at club level for him he played for both the national team in 15s and 7s. In 1984 when they won against New Zealand, there were three boys from this club; Paula Nawalu was another one along with Peni Rauluni.

“He became a very good national representative, always led by example and was a staunch Catholic. We were very close, he was closer than my shirt, and he looked after the boys well. Back at that time there used to be school brawls we used to call Mandingo,” he said.

While his children may not be particularly familiar with his rugby career, Luisa (his older sister’s namesake) and Leone said he was the perfect role model.

“As a father, all I can say for both of us he was our role model. He had never raised his voice on us if we did something wrong he would calmly sit us down and tell us what we did wrong and that was his job as a father to straighten it out and show us the right path .

“He always emphasised on three things, first was always God, he wouldn’t miss a Sunday. Even if he had come home late from family meetings, he would still wake up early to attend mass.

“Second was the importance of family and togetherness. He was always trying to bring us together as a family and that too with our extended family. Thirdly was that in whatever work we did, whether it be in sports or cleaning up that give it our best,” Luisa said.

The same sentiments were expressed by his son.

“He was always simple in whatever he did and he showed a great deal of family spirit.

“In whatever he did, he would offer up a prayer to God first before carrying it out.

“He was a person that was proud of his belongings, family and friends,” Leone said.

Poso hailed from Daku in Tailevu and is the youngest of four siblings. Called to rest on January 20, he was four months away from celebrating his 60th birthday. He is survived by his wife, two children and three grandchildren.