Tributes paid to Hyron Andrews ahead of Champions Cup

Lions and Sale Sharks were among the clubs that paid tribute to Hyron Andrews at their matches on Saturday, following the South African's death at the age of 31. Former Sale lock Andrews died in the Lions' team hotel on Friday, just one day before their Champions Cup pool game against La Rochelle in France. The Lions, confirming they would fulfill the fixture in Andrews' honor, lost to La Rochelle with a score of 31-14.

Before the match, Lions head coach Ivan van Rooyen explained the decision to play: "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. We’ve had hundreds and thousands of messages from all over the world. It’s not about winning or losing today. It’s not about rugby. We want to show the respect to Hyron, who was an unbelievable guy, an unbelievable player, a world-class dad and a world-class husband. Us arriving for the game shows how much he means to us and how much it means to everyone."

As the Lions players entered the field, La Rochelle supporters offered prolonged applause, which continued after the minute of silence observed before kick-off. Both sides wore black armbands, and several players shed tears during the silence while Andrews' number five jersey was laid out on the turf in front of the Lions’ team. Furthermore, three South African players from La Rochelle’s squad—Dillyn Leyds, David Kriel, and Salmaan Moerat—presented a commemorative jersey to their opponents.

Pre-match tributes took place at all of this weekend's Champions Cup and Challenge Cup fixtures, including at Sale, where Andrews spent just over two years before leaving at the end of last season to return to South Africa. Following Sale's 47-27 loss to Glasgow Warriors, Sale director of rugby Alex Sanderson spoke to BBC Radio 5 Live, saying, "I am really impressed with how the lads have come together, looked after each other and gotten tighter in the trauma of it. It is a good indication of the strength of the squad and the depth of the culture, how much they want to get around each other and get through it together. Hyron represents a large portion of the squad, in that he came here underrated and got opportunities to show what he is capable of. He forwarded his career, made Manchester his second home, settled with his wife, and had another child. He left with a lot of good mates and people who consider him one of their best mates. His impact and what he gave off the field was far more than what he gave on it. It is still really raw to process. His two boys are too young to really fathom what is going on, but I know the lads close to Hyron have been speaking to his boys already this morning. We will help their family get through it."