Sam Backo, former Australian rugby player, died at 64 after battling a bacterial infection.
Sam Backo - a larger-than-life front-rower who represented Queensland and Australia in the 1980s - has died.
Backo, 64, had been in intensive care at Cairns Hospital after being diagnosed with melioidosis - a bacterial infection - in April.
Recent media reports stated Backo may have contracted the soil-borne tropical disease while swimming in Freshwater Creek at Goomboora Park in Cairns.
Backo had been transferred to a Brisbane hospital but returned to Cairns where he passed on Sunday afternoon surrounded by family and friends.
Nicknamed Slammin' Sam, Backo played 114 games for Canberra between 1983 and 1988 before playing a further 20 games for Brisbane in 1989 and 1990.