daniel chigunwe
In a tragic turn of events, Ashwill Sauls, a rugby player from Robertson Rangers, passed away in hospital after a fatal tackle in their match in Montagu on Saturday afternoon.
Rangers, a Robertson-based rugby club, travelled to their neighbouring town Montagu for a friendly match, but the short 25,4 kilometre journey ended in tragedy for all parties involved.
The 24-year-old Sauls, who has been playing for Rangers for the past five years, was so badly injured in their clash against Montagu RFC, that he suffered multiple broken ribs. He was rushed to the nearest hospital, but was declared dead upon arrival.
Boland Rugby community in mourning
Boland Rugby Union president Bennie van Root has since confirmed that they are ready to give the family and club any support in whatever way, shape or form going forward.
“It’s a sad day for the deceased’s family, as well as for the region’s wider rugby community,” Van Roos said.
The Sauls family has declined to comment, and the Boland rugby union has asked the media and the rugby community to respect their wish for privacy as they deal with the loss of the promising player.
Additionally, the rugby union has also asked everyone to refrain from posting, sharing and resharing insensitive comments regarding the tragic incident on social media platforms.
Sauls was a renowned content creator on TikTok, the video sharing social media app where his account had almost 17,000 followers and close to 238,000 likes. — Rugbyaddict
Bongani Ndlovu