France rugby star, 17, lost at sea during recovery session as dad says ‘they played with the lives of our children’
THE DISAPPEARANCE of a French rugby star during a recovery session was partly caused by poor organisation, an investigation found.
Medhi Narjissi, 17, was swept away while taking part in the session in the sea off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa.
AFPMedhi Narjissi was lost at sea during a ‘poorly controlled’ recovery session[/caption]
The session had been organised by the France under-18s management staff.
He had been playing in a five-team tournament involving South Africa, England, Ireland and Georgia prior to the incident.
An investigation by the French rugby federation has now found Narjissi’s disappearance was partly caused by poor organisation.
The report says warning signs on the beach were either ignored or missed and supervision of the session was “poorly controlled”.
A statement from the FFR said: “The decision to organise a recovery session in the water on Dias Beach was taken without considering the dangerousness of the site, in particular rip currents, waves and rocks.”
FFR chiefs are now exploring the possibility of taking action against officials in charge of the under-18 team at the time.
All staff present and some of the players were interviewed as part of the investigation.
Narjissi, who had recently signed for Top 14 champions Toulouse, is the son of former Morocco captain Jalil Narjissi.
AFPAn investigation has found warning signs at the beach were either ignored or missed[/caption]
His dad has criticised the staff who organised the session, explaining: “It’s not an accident, it was caused.
“A bus accident, a plane crash, or if Medhi gets hurt and becomes paraplegic, we are all sorry, dejected. But not this, not something like that.
“They played with the lives of our children.”
A minute’s silence for Narjissi was observed by club’s before the opening round of Top 14 fixtures last weekend.
