Warrington Wolves’ Peter Mata’utia gives harrowing account on broken larynx, son’s tumour and suicide attempt

If there has ever been a rugby league player that has gone through what Peter Mata’utia has gone through then they are one unlucky person.

The current Warrington Wolves star has seemingly gone through enough adversity to last a lifetime, but the centre still has an incredible outlook on life.

In what is dubbed the ‘Tackling the Tough Stuff’ round in Super League this weekend, Mata’utia did an incredibly honest interview about his past on BBC 5 Live – and the hardships began as a teenager.

“I broke my larynx and should have died which explains my husky voice,” Mata’utia explained.

“I used to have a Justin Bieber voice so now I’ve got a deep voice.”

After a tough childhood having to help his mother feed the large family, Mata’utia travelled to the UK to join Leigh Centurions, but that was the beginning of another hardship.

“It just keeps coming with life itself, so I came to England and we found out that my son had a tumour the size of a football in his stomach.

“We just keep getting faced with challenges but once you start understanding life is tough and has a funny way of testing how bad you want what you say you want, then you can take life on a lot easier.”

Perhaps Mata’utia’s great outlook on life stems from a horrendous time in his life as a teenager when he tried to commit suicide, only for the attempt to fail, luckily.

“2008 I tried to commit suicide – I was 18 and in a good part of my life,” Mata’utia continued.

“I was training full-time and had a lot of money and I never really once thought about it but on that day it hit me.

“My wife now and my little brothers at the time found me hanging in the closet.

“It was tough for them at the time but I don’t regret anything in my life and I appreciate everything today and that’s because of what I’ve been through.”