Country rugby players save opposition coach’s life moments before kickoff
Two rugby players from Charles Sturt University rugby club in Bathurst saved the life of an opposition coach on Saturday after he had a heart attack just moments before a first grade match in Central West NSW.
First grade flyhalf Jack Keppel and colt Andrew Fraser are midway through a three year paramedics degree at the Bathurst university and ran to the aid of Orange City coach Steve Hamson moments before the first grade fixture was scheduled to start.
Fraser had played earlier in a match referred by Hamson and called to Keppel during his warm up for assistance when he noticed Hamson fall to the ground.
The pair then commenced CPR and with the assistance of a registered nurse and other bystanders, kept Hamson alive for 15 minutes until an ambulance arrived.
According to those at the ground, Hamson’s chances of survival would have been slim if Keppel and Fraser did not intervene.
Hamson was transported to Orange Hospital and is understood to be in a stable condition.