Baia Mare, in the far north of Romania, is a long way from anywhere. Redolent of many concrete-clad former Eastern Bloc cities, its notorious claim to fame comes from being the site of Europe’s worst ecological disaster since Chernobyl when 100 tons of cyanide-laced sludge was released from a gold processing plant into the River Sasar 17 years ago.

It is an especially long way away from the South Pacific, but this is where Sione Vaiomounga, a flanker who played for Tonga in the 2011 World Cup, has been trapped for the past three years. Vaiomounga is among hundreds of rugby players who leave their homeland every year in search of a professional contract with the potential to change their lives. Some succeed in their ambition, earning long-term financial security for their families. Many others earn just enough to get by. Yet for an unfortunate few chasing that dream leads to a nightmare from which they cannot escape. This is Vaiomounga’s story.

Vaiomounga had never heard of Romania before he signed his first professional contract with Baia Mare in 2014. He hoped it would be a stepping stone to bigger things. His first season was going well. Then the night before a semi-final match, blood started pouring out of his nose. It wouldn’t stop. After the game, his coach took him to hospital. He would remain there for the next three months.