Rugby drowning: parents speak of heartbreak at South Africa tragedy

They said he had got up especially early that morning to make porridge for them before heading to training.

“He never used to do that but he was so happy and cheerful that day,” his mother, Cynthia, said.

“My husband was always saying that he was too small to play rugby when all of the others were much bigger but he said he couldn’t ever leave it because it was his future and one day he would get us a big house and a good car.”

Avuyile’s father Elliot said he knew something was wrong the moment a group of cars pulled up outside their simple tin-roofed house at Sunday lunchtime.

“They asked me if this was where Avuyile lived but I just looked up and had no words,” he said. “They were talking, trying to calm me down, telling me everything they were doing, that they were going to find him.”

But by Tuesday afternoon, despite an extensive search by helicopter, rescue boats using sonar devices, police divers and dogs, there was no sign of the five men.

“I don’t know why it is taking so long,” Mrs Tshabalala said. “I am trying not to cry because I hope that he is still alive but my heart is sore.” At a community meeting, the families of those missing were told to expect the worst.

“You must accept that they are no longer alive,” Police Captain Anton Groenewald told them. “It can be weeks before the bodies wash up, and it is possible that they may never emerge.

“I’m sorry to say this, but it is also possible that sharks and other sea creatures have mutilated the bodies, and you must be prepared for this.”

Survivors of the tragedy are now being offered counselling. One of those pulled from the sea was Zolani Mcopele, 29.

“After training we wanted to get the sand off our bodies, so we got in the water because the weather was lovely,” he told local paper, the Port Elizabeth Herald.

“Moments later I noticed that my feet could not feel the sand, and we were all screaming by this time.

“It took about 45 minutes to get help. By that time two of my team-mates were already dead and their bodies were floating next to me.

“The cries for help and the visuals of my drowning team-mates will stick with me for life. I cannot sleep at night. I will miss them.”

The team’s coach Sonwabo Madlakane said the 30-strong squad was “passionate” about the sport and would try to continue despite the “massive blow” they had been struck.

“It’s something we have to live with,” he said. “The plan is to get them focused back on training, not forgetting what has happened but doing something constructive to help them heal.”

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