Former Scotland international rugby star Grieg Oliver has died in a horrific paragliding accident in South Africa, where he was watching his son compete in the Under 20 World Cup, reports said.
The incident took place in Cape Town, with the Munster coach in the country to watch his son compete in Rugby World Cup. Oliver was a passenger in a tandem flight when two paragliders are understood to have crashed into each other, according to mirror.co.uk.
The pilot of one of the was able to deploy a parachute and fall safely into the sea, but Oliver landed on nearby rocks. Rescue swimmers from the National Sea Rescue Institute attempted to save the former rugby star alongside paramedics but were unable to revive him with Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
The pilot and passenger of the other tandem landed safely, while Oliver's pilot was treated for minor injuries.
A scrum-half during his playing career Oliver made his debut for the Scotland national team during the 1987 World Cup. He was called up again four years later for the tournament, where he made his final international appearance.
After retiring, he held a number of coaching roles, including with Garryowen, Munster 'A' and in the Irish age-category set-up. Most recently, he worked as an Elite Performance Officer for Munster, with the club's chief executive paying tribute to him.
The IRFU led the tributes to Oliver, who had been working as a coach for Irish side Munster.“On behalf of World Rugby and the global rugby family, I would like to extend my deepest sympathies to the Oliver family, the Ireland U20 squad and the Irish rugby community at this difficult time," World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont said. "On behalf of the Irish rugby community, I would like to extend my sincere condolences to the Oliver family at this extremely sad time," BBC quoted IRFU chief executive Kevin Potts as saying.
