- Incredible story has now been revealed
New Zealand rugby league great Tawera Nikau has lifted the lid on his life’s biggest challenges, and the crazy story of how his leg almost being put on a barbecue.
Nikau played 378 club games of elite-level footy, before having his leg amputated due to a motorcycle accident in 2003.
The 59-year-old has endured a lot of adversity in his life, losing his wife Letitia to suicide two years before the crash.
Despite his struggles, he remains upbeat, and has opened up about what happened in the aftermath of having his leg removed.
‘I came and told the doctor I was gonna have my leg cut off, he came and gave me this green form,’ Nikau told Fox Sports.
‘I said what’s that for, doc? He said look out the window… and look at those big incinerators… (that’s where it will go because) we incinerate the leg.
Tawera Nikau (pictured) has stunned footy fans by revealing what he did with his leg after it was amputated
Nikau (pictured) carved out a reputation as one of the sport’s toughest players as he starred in more than 100 NRL games
Nikau responded with a tongue-in-cheek comment.
‘And I said (to the doc), haven’t you heard of cultural sensitivity?’ Nikau said.
‘I’m Maori. That leg belongs to me. I’m gonna take it home when I go. (The doc) said whoa, no-one has ever asked to do that before.’
After some more back and forth with medical staff, Nikau ended up taking his amputated leg back home.
At first he wanted to display it in the bar in his house.
However, he decided to put the amputated limb in his freezer instead when he realised the sight of the limb might be a bit too gory for his guests.
‘About two weeks later (after I put the leg in the freezer), we had a barbecue at my house,’ Nikau continued.
‘True story, true story. My mate Shane the butcher comes over. I said can you go around the shed and grab the leg of pork off the top shelf.’
The 59-year-old (pictured) lost his leg in 2003 as the result of a horror motorcycle accident
Nikau (pictured) is one of New Zealand’s greatest ever players
‘He goes in the shed, unwraps it, opens it up, and he throws the leg in the air, it was my leg,’ Nikau added.
The 59-year-old scored 12 tries in 114 games for the Cronulla Sharks and Melbourne Storm in his NRL career from 1995 to 1999.
His final season in the game saw him taste premiership success with the Storm as he played an important part in the club’s first grand final win.
Nikau developed a reputation as one of the game’s biggest hitters and most aggressive forwards as he also starred for New Zealand 19 times in addition to winning representative honours with Waikato, Auckland and New Zealand Māori.
