Former New Zealand centre Sonny Bill Williams said in a video published on Friday his heart "was about to pop" before undergoing life-saving surgery.

Williams had discovered earlier in the year he had an undetected heart defect from birth as he underwent a neck operation.

The 41-year-old won the Rugby World Cup in 2011 and 2015 as well Australia's National Rugby League in the 13-man code in 2004 before retiring five years ago.

On top of a trophy-ladden rugby career Williams was also a professional boxer, winning nine out of 11 bouts.

"The doctors both said it was a miracle," Williams said on YouTube.

"My heart was about to pop, the doctors said.

"If I hadn't gone in and got it checked, they wouldn't know, it would have been a case of a perfectly healthy person dropping dead."

One of Williams's surgeons said the Ross procedure to replace a valve took more than four hours.

"You'd been playing with a handicap which you hadn't realised at the time," Michael O'Keefe said.

"The fact you did so just goes to show how fit you were to be able to compensate for it," he added.

Last week, former South Africa under-20s lock Hyron Andrews was found dead aged 31 in the hotel of his team, the Lions, after a tear in his aorta artery which carries blood to and from the heart.

SuperSport is deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Lions lock Hyron Andrews while in France ahead of the EPCR Champions Cup clash against La Rochelle.

The 31-year-old Paarl-born lock made his name at The Sharks, having played his youth rugby for the Blue Bulls. He ventured abroad, where he played for the Sale Sharks in England, before joining the Lions. Andrews was a Junior Springbok international, featuring in the 2015 World Rugby Under-20 Championships.

SuperSport would like to convey its sincere condolences to Hyron’s wife, Maiglin, their young sons, and the entire Andrews family and friends during this trying time.

Our condolences also go to the Lions family, especially the players, coaches and management staff, who shared special moments on the field with him, SA Rugby and the entire rugby community.

The Rugby community has been shocked with the news that 10bet Lions lock Hyron Andrews has unexpectedly died at the age of 31 in La Rochelle, France, on Friday.

Andrews, who joined the Lions from Sale Sharks at the beginning of the current season, was due to play for the side on Saturday in their Investec Champions Cup opener against La Rochelle.

Andrews was found unresponsive in a shower in his hotel in the town, reports in the French media have said.

The Lions Rugby Company released a statement afterwards saying their were “deeply saddened by the news.”

“The Lions Rugby Company is deeply saddened by the passing of player Hyron Andrews while on tour with the 10bet Lions ahead of their Investec Champions Cup and Vodacom United Rugby Championship fixtures,” the statement read.

“This devastating news has sent shockwaves through the international rugby community. The former Sharks and Sale Sharks lock forward was a valued member of the Lions family, and his loss will be felt profoundly by his teammates, coaches, supporters and all who had the privilege of knowing him.

“Our deepest and most heartfelt condolences go to Hyron’s wife, Maiglin, their young sons, and the entire Andrews family. We hold them in our thoughts during this time of unimaginable grief and ask that their privacy be respected as they mourn.

Rudolf Straeuli, Chief Executive Officer, Lions Rugby Company paid tribute to Andrews.

“We are heartbroken by the passing of Hyron. He was not only a gifted rugby player, but also a cherished member of our Lions family having recently joined us this season. On behalf of our Chairman, Altmann Allers, the board and everyone at the Lions, I extend our deepest sympathies to Maiglin, their young sons Hendrix and Emerson and the entire Andrews family. We stand with them in their sorrow and will remember Hyron with great affection and respect.”

The Lions Rugby Company will communicate further details regarding an appropriate tribute in due course.

A DEVASTATING LOSS

The Lions have said that despite the tragedy, they will fulfill their match obligation against La Rochelle.

“In honour of Hyron, the 10bet Lions will fulfill their opening match of the Investec Champions Cup against La Rochelle tomorrow evening (18:30) South African time. May Hyron rest in peace.”

SA Rugby on Friday sent its condolences to the family of the Lions lock

Andrews, who was born in Paarl and attended Hoërskool Garsfontein in Pretoria, also represented the Junior Springboks in 2015.

“This is terrible and distressing news; our hearts go out to Hyron’s family and the whole Lions rugby community,” said Mark Alexander, president of the South African Rugby Union.

“There are no words to adequately convey our shock and the depth of sympathy we feel for his wife Maighlin, and for his extended family, friends, teammates and loved ones during this time of immense sorrow.

“Hyron was a respected member of the rugby community whose contribution to the game and impact on those around him will be remembered with great fondness.

“His untimely passing is a devastating loss, and we share in the grief of all who knew and loved him.

“The thoughts and prayers of the entire South African rugby family are with Maighlin and all those mourning his loss. May they find strength, comfort and peace in the memories they shared with him and in the support of those around them.”

A MOMENT OF SILENCE

The EPCR - the governing body of the Champions’ Cup - said a moment’s silence would be held at all games this weekend for Andrews.

“It is with deep sadness that EPCR has learned of the tragic passing of 10bet Lions player Hyron Andrews while on tour ahead of their Investec Champions Cup and URC fixtures,” the statement read.

EPCR Chairman Dominic McKay said: “The thoughts of everyone at EPCR and the wider international rugby community are with Hyron’s wife Maiglin, his young sons, wider family, friends, teammates, the 10bet Lions and all those who knew and loved him at this incredibly difficult time.”

“The 10bet Lions squad and management are currently in France ahead of their Round 1 Investec Champions Cup match against Stade Rochelais, and the squad, as a group, have chosen to play tomorrow as planned in honour of their teammate.

“In memory of Hyron, a moment’s silence will be held ahead of every Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup match this weekend.”

The Springbok Women delivered a solid 20-0 win over Spain in Seville on Sunday and for Franzel September and the rest of the coaching staff, it was a constructive day at the office in their final WXV Global Series tour match.

September, who shares the head coaching responsibilities with Laurian Johannes-Haupt, said it was a productive day in many aspects of their play and although they didn’t use all their opportunities, they were pleased with the overall outcomes from the match.

“We are very proud of the ladies, who stuck to their guns today in very hot conditions,” said September after the test at the Estadio Olímpico de la Cartuja in Seville.

“To come to Spain and score 20 points without conceding any points is a good day. We have trained in hot conditions all week, but today was tough and having two water breaks is proof of that. Playing at 12h00 with the sun right above your head was not easy.

“We did leave some tries out there, but to finish the tour with such a commanding win was great for us. We can now look back on the gains from the tour and once we come back to South Africa, start the focus on the two matches against Ireland in Cape Town later this month.”

September said the injuries to the front row, with Babalwa Latsha injuring her ankle and Nombuyekezo Mdliki leaving the field on a stretcher a bit later, were disruptive, but the fact that they still had set piece dominance speaks volumes of the combined effort by the pack.

“We also had some niggles in the backline, but despite that the team pulled together and a coach cannot ask for more than that,” he said.

“They really made us proud. We will have the medical reports from those niggles later this afternoon and take it from there.

“We made some mistakes, but we did play the full 80 minutes and that was great. We were playing for everyone back home as well, which added to our feelings of content after the match.”

September said the coaching staff were particularly happy with the way they managed to kill the flow of the Spanish team: “We wanted to disrupt their attack to make sure they can’t get going and the fact that they could not score tells you how successful that was.

“We managed to kill their attack at source. The other highlight for us was our discipline – we neither conceded any cards nor executed high tackles. One of our aims is to be the best disciplined side at the next World Cup and we set a good standard towards that today.”

The Bok Women will arrive back in South Africa on Tuesday.

In the same week that it was confirmed that the 2025 World Rugby Junior Player of the year Haashim Pead will be returning to the Cape, the DHL Stormers have confirmed a six month loan deal for experienced Seattle Seawolves scrumhalf Andre Warner.

The former Lions scrumhalf has been training with the Stormers squad in the pre-season due to the hole that was opened up by the injury to Imad Khan that will keep him out until March and the retirement of Dewaldt Duvenage, who has joined the Stormers’ coaching staff.

Warner, now 32, played for the Stormers in a pre-season friendly against the Vodacom Bulls in Paarl and impressed enough for Stormers director of rugby John Dobson to ask about him continuing on a temporary basis.

Thus a six month loan deal that will run until February, just before Khan is due to return to the field, was concluded, something that was facilitated by the twinning partnership between the Stormers and Seawolves, who came to Cape Town last season to play a friendly against the Stormers XXIII and participated in joint training sessions with the Cape club.

Warner, who was at school at the institution that produced South Africa’s most capped test player, Eben Etzebeth, brings significant experience, having played for two South African clubs and French team Stade Francais before heading to America earlier this year.

Dobson said the deal that has been struck shows the value of the partnership with the Seattle team.

“It is fantastic to have this kind of relationship with the Seawolves, and I know they gained a lot from their visit here, beyond just the 80 minutes at DHL Stadium,” said Dobson.

“It was really valuable for us to have them here, both to prepare the DHL Stormers XXIII ahead of the SA Rugby Under-23 Cup and to strengthen the connection between the two clubs. I’d like to thank their head coach Allen Clarke and everyone involved there for being open to this deal to have a player like Andre join us for the next six months.”

Dobson said that Warner will add immense value, with the 26/27 season kicking off this week.

“Andre has been really impressive since joining up with us in pre-season. He has been a consistent performer for many years, and you can see why in the professionalism he brings. We have had some injuries at scrumhalf, so to be able to bring a player like Andre in is hugely helpful.

“He showed his worth in our pre-season match in Paarl and will also be able to help develop some of the exciting young players in our system as well.”

Clarke said that everyone at the Seawolves will follow Warner’s progress at the Stormers with interest.

“We’re genuinely excited for Andre. He’s been a huge part of the Seawolves and is someone who means a great deal to our club, both as a player and as a person,” said Clarke.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for him and another positive step in our partnership with the DHL Stormers. It gives Andre the chance to keep playing at a high level during our off-season, challenge himself in a great rugby environment, and continue to grow his game.”

The addition of Warner, coupled with that of Pead earlier in the week, swells the number of players in the Stormers’ URC squad from 56 to 58 ahead of Friday night’s kick off against Connacht in Galway.

The large squad that was announced by the DHL Stormers for the forthcoming Vodacom United Rugby Championship provides a good reflection of both the firepower the club will have to draw on in their 2026/2027 campaign as well as the depth John Dobson has built up.

The Stormers director of rugby announced a 56-man squad, with the one area where there has been an outflow of players, being the only concern as we head towards the competition kick-off next weekend, when the Stormers will be in Galway to face Connacht in a tough opening game.

The former club captain Salmaan Moerat has left the club, to be replaced as permanent leader by Ruhan Nel, while Ruben van Heerden was another experienced lock who went out through the exit door. Van Heerden has gone to Montpellier while Moerat’s destination is La Rochelle.

Ben-Jason Dixon, named as one of the Stormers loose-forwards, has the ability to play lock, but otherwise Dobson will be relying on a quick learning curve for Riley Norton, the SA under-20 captain who starred for the Springboks in their game against the Barbarians in Gqeberha in March, while Conor Evans has been threatening to break through without quite sealing it for a few seasons now.

Ruan Ackermann can also play lock at a push, and with JD Schickerling back from injury, the Stormers do have strong first choice locks. It is just if there are injuries that there may be problems.

But the concerns over lock aside, and noting that scrumhalf Imad Khan is only due to return to the playing field in April because of the injury sustained against the All Blacks, it is a strong squad - and Dobson was even moved enough by what he saw on paper to suggest it was the strongest he has ever assembled at the start of the season as a Stormers coach. He did though have a caveat to that statement.

“It is a curious one. It is definitely the best squad in terms of quality of players but maybe not in terms of the spread of the squad, meaning per position,” said Dobson.

“Losing two Bok locks is a challenge for us and it is obvious we need a healthy lock roster if we are going to succeed. We were speaking to Thomas Lavanini (Argentina international) but that fell through and we didn’t just want to get a journeyman to come in to fill that hole.

“So we are a bit vulnerable there, but we can be helped by training up Ben-Jason in that position. We’ve seen him play lock at the Boks and Hacjivah (Dayimani) did well for us at No 7 against the All Blacks.
The Stormers also have Bok captain Siya Kolisi back on their books for the first time since 2020 and he could also be used at blindside flank

“We see Siya as someone who can play anywhere in the back row - 6, 7 or 8,”said Dobson.

“The way he has grown physically we can definitely use him at No 7 or No 8, as we have three players on our books at the moment who have all filled the No 6 role for the Boks this year - Paul de Villiers, Siya and Deon Fourie.”

Talking of Fourie, the man who will be 40 next time he plays for the Stormers has performed the role of reserve hooker for the last three Bok test matches, but is listed as a loose-forward in the Stormers group. The Stormers have some good depth at hooker now that Vernon Paulo has a strong Currie Cup campaign behind him.

The Bok front row roster has a lot of depth to it, with Bok Ntuthuko Mchunu and Scotland capped Oli Kebble together with future Bok Vernon Matongo as the complement of loosehead props, while there are three Bok tightheads in the group in the form of Zachary Porthen, Wilco Louw (who has returned from the Bulls) and Neethling Fouche. Then there’s Sazi Sandi, who is highly rated by his peers, and two recent national age-group players in Oli Reid and Hermann Lubbe.

Apart from Louw and Kolisi, the Stormers have been boosted by another returning star in the form of Cheslin Kolbe, but he has been ruled out of all games until the end of October because of the broken jaw suffered in the third Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry test against the All Blacks.

DHL Stormers 26/27 squad (DHL Stormers caps in brackets)


* denotes under-21 players

Props


Neethling Fouché (114), Oli Kebble (57), Sazi Sandi (52), Wilco Louw (52), Vernon Matongo (22), Ntuthuko Mchunu (19), Zachary Porthen (15), Hencus van Wyk (2), Herman Lubbe* (1), Olly Reid* (1)

Hookers


André-Hugo Venter (89), JJ Kotzé (58), Lukhanyo Vokozela (4), Vernon Paulo (0), Luca Bakkes (0)

Locks


JD Schickerling (74), Adré Smith (69), Connor Evans (40), Gary Porter (19), Riley Norton* (0)

Loose Forwards


Deon Fourie (141), Siya Kolisi (118), Marcel Theunissen (95), Evan Roos (87), Ben-Jason Dixon (86), Hacjivah Dayimani (64), Paul de Villiers (36), Keke Morabe (19), Louw Nel (13), Ruan Ackermann (10), Wandile Mlaba* (2), Divan Fuller* (0)

Scrumhalves


Stefan Ungerer (47), Imad Khan (18), Cobus Reinach (9), Ezekiel Ngobeni (0), Jayden Brits* (0)

Flyhalves


Jean-Luc du Plessis (61), Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (53), Jurie Matthee (29), Yaqeen Ahmed* (1), Kyle Smith* (0)

Centres


Ruhan Nel (90), Wandisile Simelane (41), Jonathan Roche (16), Markus Muller* (1), Josh Boulle (0)

Wings


Leolin Zas (99), Seabelo Senatla (74) Cheslin Kolbe (49), JC Mars* (3), Mfundo Ndhlovu (1), Joel Leotlela (0), Gino Cupido* (0)

Fullbacks


Damian Willemse (118), Warrick Gelant (77)