A young Northland rugby player who died after hitting his head in a tackle suffered a similar head injury four months previously, a coroner has found.
Jordan Kemp, 17, died in Auckland Hospital on July 6, 2014, as a result of a significant head injury while playing rugby the previous day, Coroner Brandt Shortland has ruled.
Shortland found Kemp suffered a blunt-force head trauma, which caused an acute chronic subdural haematoma.
Kemp was playing for Otamatea Hawks reserves against Marist Old Boys at Kensington Park on July 5, 2014. He was described as "playing out of his skin" and abut 20 minutes into the second half he was seen attempting a tackle with his head in the wrong position. This resulted in his head being in front of the running player.
He made the tackle and as the play continued he initially remained on the ground then as he tried to stand up staggered a few metres before falling over. He was treated at the ground before being taken to Whangarei Hospital unconscious, where he was placed on a ventilator then transferred to Auckland Hospital.