FORMER Leeds forward Sam Backo has suffered a heart attack, aged 62.
Backo is currently in a Cairns hospital in a serious condition, The Mole at the Wide World of Sports has revealed.
“His wife called me and said he is in a bad way,” Backo’s former Queensland State of Origin teammate Colin Scott told Wide World of Sports.
“He is a tough man and always had a big heart so hopefully he can get through it – but it is a real shock.”
As well as being a tough competitor for the likes of Canberra and Brisbane, Backo was also a key part of the Queensland and Australia representative sides.
In 1988, the uncompromising forward set the record of being the first Australian forward to score tries in all three Tests of an Ashes series – a record that still stands today.
