BREAKING NEWS: Lions rugby player found dead in hotel shower
· Citizen
A Lions player was pronounced dead on Friday morning after being found unresponsive in a hotel shower ahead of the team’s first-ever Champions Cup clash on Saturday, according to online reports coming out of France on Friday afternoon.
The player was in cardiac arrest when emergency services arrived at the hotel in Sainte-Marie-de-Ré, on the French island of Île de Ré, where the team was training for the next day’s Champions Cup opener against La Rochelle.
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Paramedics, who were called around 10.20am, attempted to resuscitate him but were unsuccessful.
The hotel told a French publication “that a psychological support unit has been set up within the establishment, both for employees and for the Lions team”.
The Lions and La Rochelle were due to meet at the Stade Marcel-Deflandre in France at 6.30pm on Saturday.
If the game goes ahead, it will be the first time the Lions play the French side and compete in the higher-tier Champions Cup, after qualifying by reaching the URC play-offs last season.
The Johannesburg union confirmed “with deep sadness” that they had received “distressing news from France” in a message to the media on WhatsApp early Friday afternoon.
The Lions said they were preparing a statement.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.