Tributes to Andrews before Champions Cup matches

Lions and Sale Sharks are among the clubs to pay tribute to Hyron Andrews at their matches on Saturday, following the South African's death aged 31. Several Lions players were visibly emotional during a minute's silence in memory of their late team-mate Hyron Andrews Lions and Sale Sharks were among the clubs to pay tribute to Hyron Andrews at their matches on Saturday, following the South African's death aged 31. Former Sale lock Andrews died at the Lions' team hotel on Friday, a day before their Champions Cup pool game against La Rochelle in France. The Lions, who said they would fulfil the fixture in Andrews' honour, lost 31-14. Asked before the match why the Lions had chosen to play, head coach Ivan van Rooyen said: "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."