Sydney – Former Australian rugby union coach Bob Dwyer is recovering in the hospital after suffering a heart attack.
The Australian Rugby Union said in a statement Thursday that the 72-year-old Dwyer experienced chest pains at his farm south of Sydney on Wednesday and was taken to a local hospital where he suffered a cardiac arrest. He was later rushed to a western Sydney hospital where he underwent surgery.
“I was in the emergency ward at Bowral Hospital when I had the arrest,” Dwyer said. “I was on a monitor, and with a specialist, and they revived me straight away.
“I feel surprisingly well now. But I also know had I not been in such good hands when the arrest occurred that I wouldn't be here talking about it.”
Dwyer coached Australia to the Rugby World Cup title in 1991
when the Wallabies beat England in the Twickenham final.
He later coached in England and Super rugby's New South Wales Waratahs and was inducted into the International Rugby Board hall of fame in 2011. – Sapa-AP