Lions and Sale Sharks were among the clubs to pay tribute to Hyron Andrews at their matches on Saturday, following the South African lock's death aged 31. Former Sale lock Andrews died at the Lions' team hotel on Friday, a day before their Champions Cup pool game against La Rochelle in France. The Lions, who said they would fulfil the fixture in Andrews' honour, lost 31-14.
Asked before the match why the Lions had chosen to play, head coach Ivan van Rooyen said: "It's been a tough 24 hours and we've decided to celebrate Hyron, show respect to his wife and his children, and celebrate life. It gets taken away so quickly." He added: "It's not about winning or losing today. It's not about rugby."
There was prolonged applause from La Rochelle supporters as the Lions players entered the field, and also after the minute's silence observed before kick-off. Both sides wore black armbands and several players shed tears during the period of silence, while Andrews' number five jersey was laid out on the turf in front of the Lions' team. Three South African players in La Rochelle's squad - Dillyn Leyds, David Kriel and Salmaan Moerat - then presented a commemorative jersey to their opponents.
There were pre-match tributes before all of this weekend's Champions Cup and Challenge Cup fixtures, including at Andrews' former club Sale. Speaking after their 47-27 loss to Glasgow Warriors, Sale director of rugby Alex Sanderson told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I am really impressed with how the lads have come together, looked after each other and got tighter in the trauma of it."
Source: BBC Sport · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing