Former NRLW and Test rugby league player Kath Wharton died from sudden cardiac arrest while taking a nap in an Auckland McDonald’s carpark after a long-haul flight, a New Zealand coroner has revealed.

Wharton (nee Keremete), 41, was a mother of four who had just returned from a rugby tournament in Japan. On November 21 last year, she was found unresponsive in her vehicle by her husband. Resuscitation efforts failed and she was pronounced dead at the scene by ambulance staff.

A post-mortem found cardiac arrest to be the cause of death, Associate Coroner Hannah Cheeseman said late last week. No inquiry was ordered into Wharton’s death as there were no suspicious circumstances and it fell under natural causes.

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Wharton had Covid-19 at the time and along with the effects of a long flight and jet lag, the virus was deemed a possible contributing factor by the Cardiac Inherited Disease Group. The post-mortem was conducted by Dr Kilak Kesha, who said that Covid could potentially “unmask” an existing cardiac problem.

The details surrounding Wharton’s passing are heartbreaking, with the footballer having been alone in the carpark due to a good samaritan act.

Having been in Japan with her husband and daughter, Wharton travelled home on a different flight from them and her team. A teammate’s child lost her passport, so Wharton travelled with the child.

It was a direct flight, so it landed in Auckland before the other plane. Wharton went to the family vehicle then messaged her husband, Andrew, at 12.10pm, saying she had parked at the McDonalds, and would have a sleep then pick him up when his flight landed.

“When [Wharton] did not arrive to pick him up, or respond to messages and calls, her husband made his way to the McDonald’s. There, [Wharton] was located, unresponsive, in her vehicle,” the associate coroner’s findings said, with Wharton declared dead at 2.43pm.

“Words cannot express the grief we feel at the loss of my darling Kath. She touched so many lives and worked tirelessly for our people, for our tamariki,” Andrew said after his wife’s death.

Wharton played 14 rugby league Tests for the Kiwi Ferns, having debuted at the 2008 World Cup, won by New Zealand over Australia in the final.

She had a six-year break from the sport after the 2013 World Cup but then made a comeback at age 35 with the Warriors in the second season of NRLW, making three appearances in what was then a short competition.

She remained heavily involved in rugby league, where she was a beloved figure, and also worked for health and wellbeing advocacy group Healthy Families NZ.