Rugby player found dead at Lions team hotel before Champions Cup game against La Rochelle

A member of the Lions squad has been found dead in the team’s hotel before the South African side’s Champions Cup game against La Rochelle. The player is understood to have been found unconscious in the shower having reportedly suffered a cardiac arrest.

The so far unnamed player could not be revived by emergency services after the alarm was raised at the Atalante-Relais Thalasso hotel on the Île de Ré. Lions players and staff have been informed and are said to be receiving support.