Blues and Maori All Blacks utility forward Cameron Suafoa has announced his retirement from the game due to a terminal cancer diagnosis.
The Auckland-based franchise confirmed the heartbreaking news via a video on their website and official social media channels.
Suafoa was initially diagnosed in November 2023 with high-grade sarcoma, which is a form of cancer in his connective tissue.
That resulted in the 27-year-old receiving six weeks of radiation treatment after he underwent surgery to have a malignant tumour removed from his back.
Returned to action in 2024
He’d since made a recovery, returning to action with the New Zealand National Provincial Championship (NPC) outfit North Harbour in 2024, before also representing the Blues the following year.
However, his world came crashing down again when he received a second cancer diagnosis at the end of the Blues’ 2025 Super Rugby Pacific campaign.
“I’ve decided to finish playing rugby officially, decided to retire, the unfortunate news that my cancer had spread and it was terminal now,” Suafoa revealed.
“I will be going through a different type of battle soon so I start having chemo in the coming days.”
Suafoa, who is adept at lock or in the back-row, started his NPC career with Auckland in 2019 before he moved to Tasman the next year, eventually joining North Harbour in 2022.
Maori All Blacks debut in 2022
He also represented the Maori All Blacks three times after making his debut against Ireland in Hamilton in 2022.
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Suafoa admitted that it was a difficult decision to call time on his rugby career.
“It was everything,” he said.
“It was definitely the best job in the world. There is nowhere else you can sit with your work colleagues, have a yarn, and go out with everyone working towards a same goal.
“There’s not too many workplaces that feel like it’s a family …. and definitely will miss it.”