Can you imagine your seven-year-old being taunted and called a freak for his size?
What if he was told that he was no longer allowed to play his favourite sport because – through no fault of his own – he might hurt the other children?
Seven-year-old Samoan Rugby League player Vaka Tuitupou stands head and shoulders above his teammates – literally. None of the other kids reach beyond his armpits.
Weighing in at 100 kilograms, the Sydney school boy has been told he is too big to play on his local under eights rugby team.
Listen: On the latest episode of This Glorious Mess, Holly Wainwright and Andrew Daddo discuss whether Vaka should be allowed to play with his peers.
Vaka’s story went viral recently when his father shared a video of his son’s talents. In the short clip, Vaka is seen tearing through the other players, who try to tackle him but are casually brushed aside. Even five opponents hanging off his limbs can’t stop him from dominating.
The video was shared throughout the country, with commenters criticising him for being too big to play with his peers. They said the boy was a danger to his opponents and it wouldn’t be fair to play.
But since then, his coach has responded, calling the seven-year-old ‘a gentle giant.’ He said Vaka is only allowed to play five half games a year to make it fair on the other kids.
Then, on August 3rd, it was reported Vaka had been removed from the team indefinitely.
Top Comments
I was fully grown (1.71m tall) by 12. I towered over other girls in my class for several years. I remember being devastated that other mothers complained about me playing netball with their daughters!!!!! I'm 37 and I still remember being embarrassed and ashamed, yep I also gave up team sports.
That would absolutely suck. I'm sorry you felt that way. Reminds me of when I swam competitively but I was also a much larger than everyone. I was constantly bullied by other team members and parents about my size. I unfortunately gave that up too.
Having a 13 year old son who plays league each week, I do think Vaka should play up a year, with team members more his own size. In my son's competition there are many kids that a nearly twice the size of other kids in the team and it really is akin to running into a brick wall. By playing up with kids his own size, he won't be stifling his talents, he will be learning a better set of skills as he will need to approach the game differently. At present, the other team are just like flies in the way. I certainly don't believe he should be excluded from the game altogether, but really, these are young kids, and at 7 or 8, won't reach physical maturity for quite some time. All the best to him in his chosen sport!