Former Australia rugby international Nick Cummins has been hailed as a hero after saving the life of a three-year-old girl who began choking on a lolly at a playground in Melbourne. The incident occurred on October 4 at the Lower Eltham Playground, where the girl, Maddy, was celebrating her third birthday.
Cummins, 38, known as the 'Honey Badger' for his fearless playing style, rushed to assist when he saw the child in distress. According to the girl's family, he held her upside down and delivered several strong thumps to her back, successfully dislodging the lolly from her trachea.
The family initially did not know the identity of their rescuer, but Maddy's grandmother, Robyn, posted a thank-you message on a local Facebook group. A witness later identified Cummins as the man who intervened, writing: 'I'm not sure if he would want to be named or not, but since he so readily jumped in to help... the man who saved her was Nick 'Honey Badger' Cummins.'
Cummins, who earned 15 caps for the Wallabies and played for Western Force, retired from rugby in 2016 and has since become a television personality. This is not his first act of heroism; in 2021, he went viral for rescuing a sheep trapped in a barbed wire fence.
The grandmother expressed her gratitude, saying: 'God bless you, whoever you are, and we will all be forever grateful to you - each year we will remember you.'
