Overview
- Uini Atonio suffered a cardiac arrest this week, is in intensive care, and has been forced to end his professional career.
- Head coach Ronan O’Gara visited him in hospital and wrote that seeing the prop connected to machines was an image he will not forget.
- O’Gara said additional medical interventions are planned next week and cautioned that the situation is not yet resolved.
- Captain Grégory Alldritt said the team spoke to Atonio by phone and found his smile reassuring as La Rochelle prepares to face Lyon.
- Atonio felt unwell before the Clermont match after a bruising run that included Leinster and Harlequins, according to O’Gara’s account.