His body was discovered at a coastal area near Dinard, Brittany, on Tuesday, with the Royal Navy confirming his death in a short statement: “We can confirm the death of Royal Navy sailor, Able Seaman Steffan Rees of Aberystwyth. Our thoughts and sympathy are with his family and friends. We continue to assist the French authorities with their investigations and therefore are unable to comment further.”
Local prosecutor Fabrice Tremel told Agence France Presse the player’s body was discovered on a stretch of coast in Dinard shortly after he had been reported missing. Tremel added that two team coaches had confirmed the identity of the player.
The Royal Navy said it was working with the French authorities as part of the investigation into what happened. Rees was in France playing for the UK Armed Services XV as part of a 12-nation tournament being played in Brittany up to 10 September.
A statement from the organisers released on Thursday said: “The organisers of the 2023 international defence rugby competition, the Western Defence and Security Zone, the Centre National des Sports de la Defense and the Brittany Regional Rugby League, join with the UK Armed Forces in mourning the death of a member of their team during the competition earlier this week.
“The entire rugby and military sports community has come together to offers its more fraternal support to the family of the British serviceman, his lived ones and his team-mates.
“The British team has decided to continue the competition in tribute to their comrade. We would like to express our sympathy and solidarity to his team-mates and wish them every success.”
Aberystwyth were due to kick-off their season in Admiral Division 1 West with a home clash against Kidwelly. This has now been postponed as a mark of respect, with the club posting the following message on social media:
“It is a very sad week in our club as we inform members of the death of our player Steffan Rees. Steff passed away in France earlier this week where he was representing the combined UK Armed Services in the Armed Forces Rugby World Cup, a tremendous achievement by Steff, and one that our club is very proud of. Accordingly, all senior rugby games have been cancelled this weekend as we send our deepest sympathy to Steff’s family and close friends. All our thoughts are with you all at this very sad time.”
The UK side reached the knock-out stage of the tournament thanks to wins over Tonga (43-13), Georgia (24-21) and Spain (128-3). It has been confirmed the UKAF’s scheduled semi-final fixture against Fiji in on Sunday will go ahead as planned.
The Welsh Rugby Union would like to add its condolences to the family and friends of Able Seaman Steffan Rees.
