Rugby player dies after match brawl
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Your support makes all the difference.A CLUB RUGBY forward who collapsed on the pitch after an altercation with another player died yesterday.
A post-mortem examination today will determine whether Seamus Lavelle, 30, of Edgware, north-west London, died from a pre-existing condition or solely from injuries sustained on the pitch. He was apparently fit and healthy.
Mr Lavelle collapsed minutes from the end of a game on Saturday, playing at No 8 for Hendon, north London, against Centaur, another north London club.
A 23-year-old Centaur player was questioned by police after the match and released without charge on police bail. He is due to report to West Hendon police station in two weeks.
Dudley Wood, Secretary of the Rugby Union, said: 'This will shock and distress all people connected with rugby. I have heard of three deaths during rugby in the seven years I have been Secretary, but nothing like this. All the other deaths were to players who had a history of heart trouble. This is bound to raise questions about violence in the game.' But he pointed out that 300,000 people play rugby regularly in England.
Reports have alleged that a punch was thrown during the altercation, and police are questioning players, officials and spectators.
At the Royal London Hospital, Whitechapel, where Mr Lavelle died, Robert Ham, a brain surgeon, said the injury, which produced severe swelling of the brain, was of 'unusual severity' for one caused by a single punch. Such swelling could be as dangerous as a fractured skull or a blood clot on the brain.
Mr Lavelle, a carpenter who was married and had no children, joined Hendon Rugby Club as a teenager.
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