Inside the Lions’ emotional 48 hours after Hyron Andrews’ death

INTERVIEW: Lions coach Julian Redelinghuys has opened up about the emotional days following the death of lock Hyron Andrews in France, revealing how the team came together to grieve, support one another and ultimately decide to honour their teammate by playing against La Rochelle.

Andrews, 31, died suddenly in France on the eve of the Lions’ Investec Champions Cup clash against La Rochelle, leaving the squad facing an unimaginable situation just a day before the match.

Redelinghuys said the players immediately rallied around one another as they tried to process the tragedy and determine the best way to honour Andrews and his family.

“We all came together as a team,” Redelinghuys explained.

“We came together and supported each other. And of course, that’s something that no one wants. No one wants to go through that kind of thing.”

The Lions spent much of Friday supporting one another while also facing difficult decisions about whether to fulfil the fixture.

With their captain’s run cancelled, the players were given time together as discussions continued about the way forward. The options were limited: postpone the match by one day or play as scheduled, with forfeiting the fixture the alternative if it could not proceed.

The decision was put to a vote among the players, who had to consider how best to honour Andrews and his family.

“Then when the decision was made that we are going to honour [Andrews] and his family by playing, the decision was made,” Redelinghuys said.

The squad spent the remainder of Friday together before following their usual matchday routine on Saturday, although the coach acknowledged that nothing about the circumstances was normal.

Despite the heartbreak, Redelinghuys was immensely proud of how his players handled the situation and their performance against a formidable La Rochelle side.

“I have to say I’m very proud of the players and how they handled the process. I’m very, very proud of the way they handled the day,” he said.

“It was very authentic, very real, from our hearts. And the fact that the guys could play on the day and, in our opinion, still put on a very good performance against a very good team, we were very proud of ourselves after everything that happened.”

The Lions lost the match 14-31, but Redelinghuys stressed that the result was secondary to the effort and unity shown by his players.

“We’re not going to talk about the results on the day. We’re going to talk about how hard we played, and I think we made Hyron proud.”

Lions retire No 5 jersey for Hyron Andrews after tragic death

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Lions find strength in rugby community

Redelinghuys also praised the response from the wider rugby community, particularly the support shown by La Rochelle and their supporters.

The Lions received a standing ovation from the crowd, while members of the French club spent time with the South African players in the aftermath of the tragedy.

For Redelinghuys, the experience was a powerful reminder of the bonds that exist within rugby beyond the competition on the field.

“The rugby community, as a whole, stood together,” he said.

“It’s good to see how everyone could stand together and support each other. Rugby stays rugby. It has to be a war between the four white lines, but outside the four white lines, it’s actually a gentleman’s game. People surround each other a lot.

“From the moment we arrived at the stadium until that fifth minute where they clapped hands for a minute long, even afterwards, us in the changing room with them, that whole process was a really unbelievable experience,” Redelinghuys said.

“It’s just to experience how the rugby community can stand together. And that is why I think all of us love this game. It’s more than just the sport itself.”

No manual for dealing with grief

The Lions have since travelled to Scotland, where they are preparing for their next United Rugby Championship fixture against Edinburgh.

Redelinghuys acknowledged that the emotional impact of Andrews’ death would not simply disappear once the team returned to training. He stressed that every player would process the loss differently and that the coaching staff needed to respect those individual journeys.

“Everyone grieves differently, and that’s what I think we have to be really respectful of,” he said.

The coach said the priority from the outset had been to act in a way that respected Andrews’ family, including his widow and two sons.

He also credited the support provided by his wife, a grief councillor and pastor, who was travelling in France with her family and was able to be with the squad in La Rochelle, as well as the Lions’ in-house psychologist.

Being together as a touring squad had helped the players support one another, although Redelinghuys admitted there was no straightforward way to navigate such an extraordinary situation.

“There’s no manual for this. We don’t know how the players are going to respond,” he said.

“We can only trust and we can only do what we can to give the guys as much as we can, support the guys as much as we can, to try to enable us in what we think will be the best for the weekend, because we’ve never gone through anything like this.”

The Lions have tried to balance giving their players space to grieve with the need to prepare for Edinburgh, who have made a strong start to the season.

Redelinghuys said the short turnaround had limited their preparation time, with the focus on providing the players with the support they needed while gradually returning to rugby routines.

“Now, to shift from the emotional side and focus on the rugby process is something that’s not easy, but we’re trying the best we can,” he said.

Meanwhile, Lions media liaison Nyaniso Sam confirmed that Andrews’ family would guide the release of information regarding his body following the autopsy in France. Lions CEO Rudolf Straeuli has visited Andrews’ widow and two children in South Africa.