Hyron Andrews, the former Sale second row who was found dead at his new team's hotel base before a Champions Cup match in France on Saturday, died of natural causes, an autopsy has found.
The 31-year-old, who joined the Johannesburg-based Lions this summer, suffered a tear in the aorta, the artery that carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body. The rupture caused blood to fill the muscle sac surrounding his heart. Andrews was found unconscious in a shower cubicle. Investigators had initially considered a fall, a heart attack or an aneurysm, where a bulging blood vessel breaks, and the autopsy confirmed the aneurysm. A tear in the aorta is rare and dangerous and can be caused by undetected high blood pressure or a birth defect.
His body has yet to be returned to his native South Africa. His wife Maighlin, with whom he had two young sons, asked for "respect, privacy and patience during this difficult time as the repatriation process begins," according to a statement from the Lions.
His team-mates played their Champions Cup game against La Rochelle on Saturday in his honour. The visitors were applauded into the Stade Marcel-Deflandre by home fans, while several Lions players were in tears during a minute's silence before kick-off. Sale, where Andrews spent two and a half seasons, also paid tribute, with director of rugby Alex Sanderson saying the team "to a man, loved playing with Hyron and being around him."
Source: BBC Sport · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing