Mose Masoe was injured playing in a pre-season friendly for Hull Kingston Rovers against Wakefield Trinity on January 12, 2020.
A seemingly innocuous tackle turned out to be the cause of a career-ending spinal injury that changed his and his family’s life forever.
Mose was diagnosed as a tetraplegic, which means the partial or total loss of use of all four limbs and torso. It is one of the worst forms of paralysis.
The Samoan forward can walk a few unaided steps, but any brief activity leaves him exhausted. He still has no sensation or dexterity in his hands. He can no longer feel the cold nor can he feel heat.
Within hours of his injury, Mose was visited by RL Benevolent Fund General Manager Steve Ball, who spelled out the support available from the charity.
That support included flying family members over from Australia, meeting the cost of travel and accommodation for immediate family while Mose was being treated in the spinal injuries unit at Pinderfield Hospital in Wakefield and co-ordinating a massive fund-raising effort.
In the 12 months following Mose’s injury, the RL Benevolent Fund helped raised over £170,000 for Mose and his family, and continues to provide support alongside the Mose Masoe Foundation, which was established in late-winter 2021.
“I’d like to say thanks to the RFL Benevolent Fund, they’ve helped me out massively and have got me to where I am today,” said Mose.
