Willie Los'e dies
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'Devastating loss': Former rugby and sports radio star dies, aged 55
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Los'e represented Tonga at the Rugby World Cup and later became a sports broadcaster.
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Sudden medical event in SA, and passed away.
Deepest condolences to his family, that's really sad.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/300682270/sky-sport-rugby-commentator-willie-lose-dies-aged-55
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Not only remembered for Rugby. Spent a bit of time in the late 80s in the hospo industry in central Auckland (especially De Bretts) where he is well remembered.
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I've had a few brief chats to Willie and Ken Laban over the years when they were commentating 1st XV games. The off-camera banter between those two was hilarious. RIP.
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Me ōku whakaaro ki te whānau o Willie Lose i tēnei wa pouri .
Totally shocked , I worked with Willie during his time at Coca-Cola during the mid nineties, got to know Willie very well and we have kept in touch during his time as a commentator.
55 is far too young , hard to believe that one of his last calls was Saturdays Northland v Auckland game ..
Totally gutted . -
In his role as a commentator it feels like the viewers got to know him personally.
This hits really hard.
He seemed like such a nice guy and a wonderful servant for rugby.
His poor friends and family.
RIP Willie.
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RIP. Certainly a loss to NZ rugby.
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Far too young and terribly sad news.
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@Steven-Harris condolences bro. And condolences to all his whanau and friends.
He was the voice of 7s for me and his enthusiasm for it was pretty infectious for the viewer.
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Well that's a shock and very sad news. Way too young.
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Geez, only 55 years old. Way too young. Really sad to hear.
My condolences @Steven-Harris and others on the Fern who knew him. -
wow, very sad, weird given I just listened to him in Bop versus the colour stealers on the weekend. Thoughts to his family friends and the massive rugby community he had an impact on
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@Steven-Harris said in Willie Los'e dies:
Me ōku whakaaro ki te whānau o Willie Lose i tēnei wa pouri .
Totally shocked , I worked with Willie during his time at Coca-Cola during the mid nineties, got to know Willie very well and we have kept in touch during his time as a commentator.
55 is far too young , hard to believe that one of his last calls was Saturdays Northland v Auckland game ..
Totally gutted .Really sorry to read that news. Always loved his enthusiasm. Thoughts with his family and mates such as yourself from here in Europe.
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@Billy-Tell said in Willie Los'e dies:
@Steven-Harris said in Willie Los'e dies:
Me ōku whakaaro ki te whānau o Willie Lose i tēnei wa pouri .
Totally shocked , I worked with Willie during his time at Coca-Cola during the mid nineties, got to know Willie very well and we have kept in touch during his time as a commentator.
55 is far too young , hard to believe that one of his last calls was Saturdays Northland v Auckland game ..
Totally gutted .Really sorry to read that news. Always loved his enthusiasm. Thoughts with his family and mates such as yourself from here in Europe.
Absolutely, always really cheerful and looked like he loved what he did.
I remember reading in one of those coffee table All Black books ( by Frank Bunce I think ) that he deliberately wore t shirts too small to show off his guns and that he was the only guy in the world who used hair product on a number zero. Quite a character by the sounds of things !
RIP.
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Really didn’t like him when he was on talkback when he was mentored by and modelled himself as a brown Deaker, but met him at a Kahungunu awards night and he was a top bloke in person.
55 is way too young.
Moe mai ra
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@Bovidae said in Willie Los'e dies:
I've had a few brief chats to Willie and Ken Laban over the years when they were commentating 1st XV games. The off-camera banter between those two was hilarious. RIP.
Was he as enthusiastic and upbeat away from the mic? Would have made quite the pair with gruff Ken.
Really sad news, sucks to hear.
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@bayimports RIP Willie🙏
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Terrible news to start the day with. I'm guessing it'll be another Heart Attack given the sudden-ness of it all. Been far too many of these sorts of news lately.
Got pigeon holed a bit as a 7's commentator, which may well have been his passion, but I really enjoyed his 15's commentary as well. Seemed much more focused on calling the game as opposed to talking about referees, anecdotes etc.
All the best to his friends & family.
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Shit that's terrible. Far too young. Whatever you thought of his commentary you always knew he loved the game. Rest easy mate
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Oh man, RIP Willie. An absolute character of NZ rugby and a really good dude. Gone far too young.
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@Bones said in Willie Los'e dies:
@Bovidae said in Willie Los'e dies:
I've had a few brief chats to Willie and Ken Laban over the years when they were commentating 1st XV games. The off-camera banter between those two was hilarious. RIP.
Was he as enthusiastic and upbeat away from the mic? Would have made quite the pair with gruff Ken.
Laban was usually the one making the jokes.
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Kinda feel stink as the last post I made on him was less than complimentary about his talk back ability.
But I stand by that.
He was good as a play by play commentator though.
And it's far too young.
Condolences to all who knew him.
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Really sad to see. He and Pat Lam ran a number of sessions with Auck U21’s back in early 90’s. Always learnt a lot about backrow play from Willie and he was always willing to help.
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Ah man, crappy news. RIP.
He will be missed.
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what did he die from?
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Very sad. And the worst news I've heard today.
RIP
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@Frye said in Willie Los'e dies:
Very sad. And the worst news I've heard today.
RIP
Not a fan of the Queen Frye ?
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It’s not been great 24 hours with not just Willie’s passing but also the passing of former Ponsonby, Auckland & NZ Māori prop Leon Toki who played against the touring British and Irish Lions in 1977 at Eden Park in arguably the best game of the tour when the Māori led 19-6 at halftime only for the Lions to storm back and win 22-19 ..
I was only 15 at the time , never been so gutted ..Leons sister married my first cousin ,so I was lucky enough to chat to Leon over the years .
Leon’s brother Ness also played in the same match , 2 brothers from the Ponsonby clubAs someone who has been on blood thinners for the last 4 years ,supporting the Taniwha does that to you , just want to say even though this may not be the correct forum , make sure you all have regular checks , things like this come out of left field .
Thanks again for the messages really appreciate it
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