After NRL legend Joe Galuvao lost his mother when he was seven years old, he was raised “mostly by his sisters” and his father.
Galuvao is a two-time premiership winner who represented New Zealand and Samoa throughout his illustrious 16-season rugby league career but said he’d had to do a lot of internal work since childhood.
As Pacific people, he emphasised the importance of talking openly with your parents, something not always easy for “islander kids”.
“I’ve had to do the work within myself,” he said. “It’s definitely helped me to be a better person first and foremost and be a better husband and better father.
“It’s not that my dad was absent, but my dad had to provide for six kids. I barely saw my dad growing up.
“Moving from house to house; it was such a confusing time. I just didn’t have any grounding. I believe, which is why I give so much credit to my sisters, they were there.
“When you’re older and you’re able to reflect back, you realise, ‘My dad was just trying to survive himself, he just lost his wife, the man was trying to provide for his family’.
“I can’t even imagine what it was like to be that.”
Tony Puletua and Joe Galuvao in 2003.
(Image: NRL Photos)
Galuvao said he had since been about to talk about it with his father as an adult.
“I ended up thanking my dad,” he said.
“Over the years I’ve been able to speak about how I felt and my dad was really understanding of it.
“Being able to talk to your Islander parents, it’s a hard thing, but you’ll be surprised if you just be open to it.”
‘They were like four mums to me’
As the second youngest of six children, Galuvao credited his four older sisters for providing care and stability in the years that followed their mother’s death.
“Imagine being the only boy in your family growing up in that household, it was definitely interesting,” he said.
“My four older sisters — they were like four mums for me … For me and my younger sister, they were a rock for us.
“I credit a lot of my success, I credit a lot of my life now to having that stability.
“I can’t imagine what it would have been like for them, navigating their own emotions … For me, I just saw strength, I saw the love that they showed and the protection that they have for me and my younger sister.
“It’s a tribute to them and the strength that they showed, and continue to show.”
Joe Galuvao pictured with David Lakisa presenting to the NRL on Pacific Island culture and inclusion.(Supplied)
Posted 1h ago1 hours agoFri 3 Jan 2025 at 3:09am, updated 1h ago1 hours agoFri 3 Jan 2025 at 3:20am
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source linkThe post Rugby league legend Joe Galuvao says his siblings ‘were like a rock’ for him after the death of their mother first appeared on Rugby 247.
Author : rugby-247
Publish date : 2025-01-03 04:35:05
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.