Joseph Ritchie (left) walks about of hospital, seven months after a spine injury playing rugby. Photo / 7News / SuppliedA Kiwi rugby player living in Perth has miraculously walked out of hospital, seven months after he fractured his spine in a rugby game and was feared to never walk again. Joseph “Peanut” Ritchie broke his C4 and C3 vertebrae and suffered severe trauma to his spinal cord when a scrum collapsed in the first half of a match between Nedlands Rugby’s third grade team and Joondalup Brothers on June 21. Ritchie, who relocated to Western Australia in 2009, was rushed to Royal Perth Hospital, where he had emergency surgery and was told there was a chance he may never walk again. What made the occasion more special was that Ritchie got to walk out the doors alongside Lachie Glasfurd, who was recovering in the same rehab unit after he also suffered a spinal fracture in a separate incident.

Source: New Zealand Herald January 31, 2026 20:58 UTC