Rugby Boots

Rugby has left Matangi Te Wake partly paralysed, but the courageous Far North teenager is eager to get back into the game.

Matangi, 15, emerged from a coma barely able to move after surgery to treat a serious head injury he sustained when making a tackle.

Rugby head and spinal injuries have over the years left some players permanently physically or mentally impaired.

But the Panguru lad is so far making steady progress toward recovery and is indicating he wants to get his rugby boots back on and again fly on the wing.

His father, Henry Te Wake, sounded buoyant describing his son's condition.

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Earliest sporting memory: My dad buying me my first pair of rugby boots when I was about five. I started playing barefoot. It was the highlight of my short life because there was nothing like cold feet when you were playing rugby in the morning. The boots had a garish orange stripe, which I thought was cool at the time.