 |
A beloved young rugby union player has died after scoring a try in a match, his club has announced.
Jack Jeffery, 27, was playing for Evesham RFC's first team at Berkswell and Balsall on Saturday when he suffered a serious injury from an opponent's challenge while scoring.
He was taken to University Hospital Coventry but died later in the day.
Club chair David Summerfield told Yahoo News UK on Sunday that the club's sadness was "immeasurable".
Paying tribute to Mr Jeffery's loyalty to the club, Mr Summerfield said: "Jack was a totally committed club man. You could have offered him all the money under the sun and he wouldn't have gone anywhere else.
"He was just great."
He said, tongue-in-cheek, that Mr Jeffery was too good even for the All Blacks with his "phenomenal record" for the club.
Mr Summerfield added of his pace on the pitch: "The guy had serious wheels. If he got beyond an opponent, they would struggle to catch him."
Various tributes have been paid following the club's announcement, including from the Rugby Football Union and Wasps’ Elliott Stooke and Freddie Burns of Leicester.
Mr Summerfield added: "We've been overwhelmed by the support from the rugby world - all over the world.
"The players have been deeply affected. They're young people. We're hoping all this love and affection that's come out will actually help those players be able to talk about it, and come to terms with the tragedy."
Mr Jeffery lived in London but would consistently return to the Worcestershire club for training and fixtures.
Evesham said in a statement that he was "always at the heart of club activities".
"Our club and community have lost such a bright light," the statement read.
Meanwhile, the club closed its doors on Sunday as a mark of respect, and also asked its followers to take a moment of silence for Mr Jeffery and his family.
It comes just days after a former rugby player who was paralysed from the neck down during training in 2005 said more needs to be done to make grassroots games safer - though the full details of Saturday's incident aren't yet known.
Matt Hampson was recognised with an OBE on Wednesday after founding a charity which supports young people who have been seriously injured while playing sport.
Asked whether safety in sport has improved since his injury, he told PA: “In rugby, definitely. I’d say the protocols are better and I think the scrummage rules have improved in rugby and the game as a whole is a lot safer.
“But on the grassroots level, I’d say the knowledge of what scrums are doing and what the tackle laws are need to improve.
“Also, the refereeing of the game and the coaching of the game need work.
“We should introduce protocols that are in place in the professional game, like having ambulances on site and people with knowledge about what to do in the case of a spinal injury.”
No comments:
Post a Comment