Newcastle Falcons legend Inga Tuigamala passes away aged 52
Rugby NewsThursday, 24 February 2022 at 11:24
The rugby world has been paying tribute too Va'aiga Tuigamala after it was confirmed the powerhouse winger has passed away aged 52.
The dual-code Samoa international became a fan’s favourite on the terraces at the Falcons when he joined from Wigan in 1997.
Tuigamala had enjoyed five seasons with the Cherry and Whites, scoring 254 points in 102 appearances.
When rugby union became openly professional in 1995, Tuigamala was one of a number of former rugby union players who returned from rugby league. He played for London Wasps, winning the English Premiership, and later joined Newcastle Falcons in a world record £1m deal.
He scored a hat-trick on his third appearance for Newcastle against Moseley at Kingston Park and was an important part of the 1998 Championship-winning side, making 16 appearances that season. He then delayed an arm operation to put in a Man of the Match performance in the 2001 Cup Final.
Upon signing for the Falcons, teammate Doddie Weir called Tuigamala "simply the best rugby player in the world"
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The top 5 most expensive rugby transfers of all time
You can see the full list of the world's most expensive rugby union transfer fees below.
5. Cameron Redpath (Bath RFC) - £150,000
The centre, who has been called up for the Six Nations by Scotland, was in his second year of a five-year contract at Sale Sharks but had struggled for game time in 2020. It was revealed that Bath have paid a six-figure transfer fee to release Redpath from his contract after unsuccessful negotiations with the player to keep him at the club.
3=. George Ford (Leicester Tigers) - £500,000
The Times claim that Leicester shelled out half a million pounds to make sure he rejoined the club from Bath in 2017, a record transfer fee for a player moving between English clubs.
3=. Sam Burgess (Bath RFC) - £500,000
There were no details in the Bath statement of the financial deal that was made to bring Burgess back to England, but the Rabbitohs reportedly were offered a £500,000 transfer fee by the Aviva Premiership side to release the player from his contract.
CONTINUES ON PAGE FOUR
2. Va'aiga Tuigamala (Newcastle Falcons) - £1m
In 1997, the ambitious Falcons signed the powerhouse from Wigan in a deal worth £1m ahead of the first professional Premiership season. Long story short, alongside the likes of Pat Lam and Jonny Wilkinson, Tuigamala starred as Newcastle won the title.
CONTINUES ON PAGE FIVE
1. Louis Picamoles (Montpellier) - £1.2m
The France number 8 left Northampton to join Montpellier after just one season at Franklin’s Gardens for a record transfer fee worth at least £1.3m, the Guardian reported in 2017. The 31-year-old was under increasing pressure to return to the Top 14 with the French federation (FFR) seeking to tie its leading internationals down to central contracts.
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- Jordie Barrett over Damian de Allende is far from being correct. The hype around Dupont is also overreaching, he's probably 4th in the world and has been since the 2023 WC. He also avoids certain matchups which is strange. The rest of the list is pretty good apart from minor subjective biases.JasonMarlow16-09-2026
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