Durban – A young man who had potential to be a great rugby player – that’s how 16-year-old pupil Awande Mkhize was described on Thursday in dozens of messages on social media.
The schoolboy, who was in Grade 11, collapsed during rugby practice at Alexandra High School on Wednesday afternoon and later died at a Pietermaritzburg hospital.
ER24 spokesperson Annine Dormehl said that paramedics found the boy on the field.
CPR had been performed and the boy was placed on a ventilator before being taken to Medi-clinic Pietermaritzburg.
Doctors continued trying to resuscitate the teenager at the hospital, but unfortunately nothing could be done for him, said Dormehl.
On Thursday, in a Facebook message on its page, Haythorne Secondary School conveyed its condolences to the Mkhize family.
The school said Awande had been a popular pupil and the school was “saddened and shocked by his death”.
Pietermaritzburg Collegians Rugby Club, which also shared a condolence message on its Facebook page, said Awande had played for the club’s under-15 team last year.
In another message, a coach who had worked with Awande said the pupil had the potential to become a good rugby player.
“He was always the first to be at practice and really practised full out. He was always so pleasant, you had to take a liking to him because of his good nature.”
Education Department spokesperson Kwazi Mthethwa said MEC Mthandeni Dlungwane was saddened by Awande’s death.
“We are sending our condolences to the family, the fellow learners and the school."
“The Department of Education is liaising with the Department of Social development to offer counselling to learners,” Mthethwa said.