Blaize Talagi refused to go to hospital.

The young playmaker did not know it at the time, but the pain he was playing through during an underage City-Country match was the result of a collapsed lung. Eventually he conceded, unable to return for the second half of the game at Jubilee Stadium.

The initial diagnosis was a stitch, so even when he got home and the pain had become intolerable, no thought was given to seeking medical attention.

It’s a story that has been told before, but not from the perspective of his parents. Blaize has been blasé when speaking publicly about the episode, yet it’s a tale that could have had a very different ending had it not been for the intervention of mum Rebecca.

“When it happened, he just tried to play through it,” Talagi’s father, Byron, said.

“He wal

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