A Fijian rugby player has died in his sleep aged just 32 midway through a tournament.

Prop Iosefo Bele Tabalala failed to wake up at his team’s hotel room, the Fijian Rugby Union (FRU) said on Saturday.

“His room mate and medical team in camp tried all efforts to revive him,” the FRU said in a statement.

Tabalala, a 32-year-old member of the Brothers Rugby Club in Brisbane, had been playing for the Fiji Warriors in the World Rugby Pacific Challenge.

“While this untimely passing has shocked the Fiji camp the Telecom Fiji Warriors are more than determined to push through to Round 4 on Monday in the memory and honour of Iosefo,” said the FRU.

Iosefo was from Yaudigi village, Togoru, Macuata, and started his rugby career with University of the South Pacific team in 2005 before he joined Naitasiri from 2009 to 2010.

He was described as a “quietly spoken” player with “a very humble attitude”.

The FRU offered “deepest condolences” to the Tabalala family.

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