The New Zealander’s rise in rugby is all the more remarkable given he was deaf up until several years ago when a cochlear implant restored his hearing. He had some hearing thanks to hearing aids but his condition got worse. The five-foot-nine 251-pounder had the cochlear implant surgery three years ago after losing his hearing completely. They pushed me to get the cochlear implant. But his career appeared over when doctors told him he would have to give up the sport if he had the cochlear implant.

Source: National Post March 14, 2019 18:00 UTC