Parents break silence on disappearance of Medhi Narjissi – report

Jalil Narjissi, the former Agen hooker, and his wife Valerie have broken their silence on the tragic disappearance of their son Medhi on tour with the France U18s in South Africa. The French team were in the southern hemisphere for the annual six-team International Series when the 17-year-old Toulouse fly-half was swept away by a wave and the current off the Cape of Good Hope on August 7.

It had been decided that the squad should do a recovery session in the water at Dias beach but a disaster materialised when Narjissi got into difficulties. It was then 11 days ago, on August 16, when the FFR temporarily suspended all its U18 staff due to its ongoing investigation into the tragedy.

Having returned from a visit to South Africa, the Narjissi family spoke for the first time on Tuesday about the loss of their son and their anger was immense. While Jalil Narjissi admitted it wasn’t unusual for French teams to visit the Cape of Good Hope, he explained that recovery swims had never taken place at Dias beach.

In an extensive question and answer transcript published on rugbyrama.fr, Narjissi said: “What I know, after a long week of conducting our own investigation, is that the French teams go to the Cape of Good Hope every year, for a day of discovery, with a visit to the port. But they have never done this recovery swim at this place.

“You are on one of the most dangerous beaches in South Africa; we have met a few surfers who themselves told us that the site is very dangerous, with huge waves, rip currents that sweep you away and carry you away. The sand creates holes under your feet. You don’t have to be a pro coach to understand that it’s dangerous. Any person, any parent… It’s unimaginable.”

Narjissi, who went on you detail the involvements of the French staff on the beach and their unsatisfactory reaction to the emergency that unfolded, heralded the actions of the one teammate who tried to rescue Medhi.

“Oscar, he is a hero to me. He had the balls to go. Even if he could not do anything, he is my hero. And no adult moved? Another child almost died… Oscar took more than 20 minutes to get back to the shore when he is two metres tall and a good swimmer. And no adult did anything. They left them in the water.

“It's not an accident, it was caused. A bus accident, a plane crash, or if Medhi gets hurt and becomes paraplegic, we are all sorry, dejected. But not this, not something like that. They played with the lives of our children. It was ours who disappeared. Medhi was our son, but they also played with the lives of other children.”