Champions Cup: Evening full of emotion in La Rochelle following the death of Hyron Andrews

When words fail to comfort, actions are there to take over. Shocked by the tragic death of Johannesburg Lions player Hyron Andrews on Friday, the public and players of La Rochelle did things well to show their solidarity with the South African franchise, which had decided to play this Champions Cup match despite everything.

La Rochelle supporters warmly applauded the opposing delegation upon its arrival at the Marcel-Deflandre stadium. The minute of silence before kick-off was magnificent, too. “The Stade Rochelais supporters showed their class. It made me proud to be the manager of this team,” said Ronan O’Gara afterwards.

The Irishman, who spent a large part of Friday afternoon alongside the South African staff, appreciated the attitude of his players. “I was impressed,” he continued. They shared the pain, they spent time with the Lions to show that they are not alone and I find that important. It shows the men or boys that the club is capable of training and that’s super important for life after rugby. »

The match, since there was one, was won by La Rochelle (31-14). But that’s obviously not what we’ll remember from this day. “We want to say congratulations to the Lions players who showed mental strength because playing this match is respect for them, because in their place, I don’t know if we would have been able to play. They showed resilience and they paid a magnificent tribute to their player,” admitted captain Grégory Alldritt at a press conference.

“It’s true that it was special. Even if we don't know the player personally, it touches us closely and we can't help but think about his teammates, but especially for his family back in South Africa. We are also saddened,” added the international third row.

Valentin Bouju, named man of the match at 18, found the guard of honor at the end and seeing some of the Lions crying “touching. There were some who also had a smile but inside, I think they were in trouble.” A “slightly weird” evening, concludes Ronan O’Gara, but ultimately worthy of these very sad circumstances.