La Rochelle players and fans honour Hyron Andrews’ memory with compassion and class

As Lions players arrived at Stade Marcel-Deflandre on Saturday for their Champions Cup match against French heavyweights Stade Rochelais (La Rochelle) in sunny southwestern France, they were greeted by a tunnel of local fans applauding them as they walked from the bus into the stadium.

This was not the usual welcome for a visiting team. But these were extraordinary circumstances.

Lions lock Hyron Andrews (31) had died the previous day from a suspected heart attack while showering at the team’s hotel on the Île de Ré, an island connected via a bridge to the city.

After consultation between the players and management, the Lions decided to honour the fixture, even though they would have been within their rights to call it off.

It was a collective decision, not taken lightly, which divided opinion. But it was their decision, which can only be respected.

Lions head coach Ivan “Cash” van Rooyen said the team wanted to go ahead with the match to “celebrate Hyron, to show respect to his wife, Maiglin, and his kids”.

“He was an unbelievable player, a world-class dad, a world-class husband and us arriving for the game shows how much he means to us and shows how much it means to everyone,” said Van Rooyen.

“La Rochelle, the people at the hotel, the police, everyone has been unbelievable, we’ve received thousands and thousands of messages from people all over the world.” 

Tributes

After arrival, the Lions placed Andrews’ No 5 jersey in their change-room and every player touched it on their way out to play.

Andrews’ replacement, Ruan Delport, wore the No 24 jersey for the match, with Andrews’ No 5 shirt later displayed on the side of the field.

Before the match, the La Rochelle crowd observed an impeccable minute – and it was the full minute – of silence to honour the fallen player and his teammates who had bravely decided to carry on.

During the moving tribute, Delport and long-time friend Etienne Oosthuizen, who played with Andrews at the Sharks in Durban for many seasons, were in tears. So were a few others.

A massive image of Andrews was displayed on the giant screen.

Following the minute of reflection, La Rochelle’s three South African players – Dillyn Leyds, Salmaan Moerat and David Kriel – presented non-playing squad captain Francke Horn with a replica La Rochelle jersey, signed by the French team.

Hopefully, it is meant to be given to Andrews’ widow, Maiglin, and their two sons, Hendrix and Emerson.

The crowd continued to show their class when, in the fifth minute, they rose and applauded for 60 seconds – as a mark of respect for the departed Lions No 5.

Under the terrible circumstances, the Lions performed well above what anyone could have hoped, ultimately losing 31-14. Not that the result mattered to anyone, including the La Rochelle players, all wearing black armbands, for whom the contest must have been surreal as well.

After the match, La Rochelle fans remained in the stadium, rising to their feet to give the tourists a standing ovation as the South Africans did a lap of honour to show their thanks.

Surreal circumstances

Andrews died exactly 10 years to the day, 16 October, that Munster coach Anthony “Axel” Foley died in Paris shortly before a Champions Cup game against Racing 92 in 2016.

Racing’s defence coach in 2016 was Irishman Ronan O’Gara, who happens to be La Rochelle’s current head coach.

Having experienced such a tragedy before, O’Gara spent much of Friday afternoon at the Lions’ hotel after the news had reached the La Rochelle squad during their captain’s run.

O’Gara played against current Lions assistant coaches Jaque Fourie and Morné Steyn when the British & Irish Lions toured South Africa in 2009. It was O’Gara’s dangerous tackle on Fourie du Preez that led to Steyn’s last-minute, series-winning kick.

“Every day Axel comes into my head, so it’s not a 10-year anniversary. I just thought it was beyond bizarre that something like that would happen on October 16,” said O’Gara.

“I was thinking about my wife last night. I was in Paris for the Bataclan [theatre attacks in 2015], I was in Christchurch for the mosque attack [in 2019], I was working with Racing against Munster when poor old Axel [died] and then I was working for La Rochelle when you have a South African [die] in the Île de Ré. It shows the fragility of everything.

“Maybe it’s a good coaching lesson for me that I shouldn’t take things as seriously as I do.

“Our thoughts are with Hyron’s family,” he added. “It’s another example of the fragility of life. I spent the afternoon with the Lions yesterday. It should have brought back bad memories because I was with Morné Steyn and Jaque Fourie; I launched both of their careers in 2009.

“Twenty years later, it’s rugby; we were able to laugh about it. We had a couple of beers together, we spoke about things like that. I’m not surprised by the Lions; it’s the South African mentality, very proud, they are great men.”

La Rochelle backs coach Rémi Talès told match broadcaster beIN Sports that some players from the French side went to offer their support to Lions players at the team hotel on Friday.

It was agreed that the game would go ahead following discussions between the two sides, Talès added.

La Rochelle prosecutor Arnaud Laraize told the Associated Press on Friday that Andrews was found in a shower cubicle, which was locked from the inside, on Friday morning.

Andrews had shown no signs of health problems in the preceding days, according to his entourage. An investigation into the cause of death has been opened. DM