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.”
There was prolonged applause from La Rochelle supporters as the Lions players entered the field, and also after the minute’s silence that was observed before kick-off.
Both sides wore black armbands and several players shed tears during the period of silence, while Andrews’ number five jersey was laid out on the turf in front of the Lions’ team.
Three South African players in La Rochelle’s squad – Dillyn Leyds, David Kriel and Salmaan Moerat – then presented a commemorative jersey to their opponents.