Rugby player collapses and dies

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A 31-year-old rugby player has died after he collapsed on the pitch at the weekend.

Graham Ryans, a father of two, from Bangor was training at his local club on Saturday when he became ill.

Friends tried to resuscitate him after he collapsed at lunchtime at the club's Ballymacormick Road grounds in Bangor.

It's thought that Mr Ryans may have suffered a heart attack. He was taken to the Ulster Hospital in Dundonald but died.

A post mortem is to be carried out later.

Trevor Lloyd, honorary secretary of Bangor Rugby club, said Mr Ryans' death was a shock, not only for Bangor, but for the wider rugby community.

"He was a very dedicated, very popular and very experienced player who played his rugby with a lot of spirit and a lot of fun," he said.

In March, 16-year-old schoolboy Oisin McGuinness collapsed while he was playing soccer in Newry and later died.

Royal School Armagh rugby captain John McCall was just 18 years old when he died from heart failure on the pitch in South Africa five years ago.

And in March 2004, Tyrone GAA star Cormac McAnallen died suddenly after suffering a rare viral infection of the heart.

Sourced BBCi: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/8100141.stm