South African was found ​unconscious in team hotel on Friday ahead of Champions Cup opener

Lions lock Hyron Andrews died due to an aortic dissection, a tear in the body’s main artery, the club have confirmed.

Andrews died at the team hotel last Friday, a day before the ​Lions were due to play La Rochelle in the Champions Cup at Stade Marcel Deflandre. The game went ahead on Saturday evening in honour of the 31-year-old.

French media reported that Andrews was found ​unconscious in a shower cubicle at a hotel on the Île de Ré, ⁠where the team had been staying.

“Lions Rugby Company, on behalf of ‌the ‌Andrews ​family, confirms that, following an autopsy report, Hyron’s death was found to be caused by an aortic ⁠dissection. This dissection most likely ​occurred on an aortic aneurysm,” the club said ​in a statement.

“The French authorities, who conducted the autopsy and in whose care Hyron’s body currently remains, described the cause of death as ‘a tear in the aorta (due to natural causes), which led to a significant accumulation of blood within the sac surrounding the heart’.

“The Andrews family asks for respect, ‌privacy and patience during ⁠this difficult time as the repatriation process begins,” the statement added.

Andrews played for South Africa’s under-20 side and had a spell with ‌the Sale Sharks.

“A timeline for the return of Hyron’s body to South Africa ​has not yet been determined,” the Lions added. “Further ​information will be communicated when it becomes available and under the guidance of the family.”