French Rugby Tragedy: Parents to Honor Missing Teen with Memorial at Deadly South African Beach

Medhi Narjissi was swept away by the strong currents at Diaz Beach, near the Cape of Good Hope, in South Africa on August 7, 2024, while his teammates and he were in a recovery session. Since then, the young Stade Toulousain player has not given any sign of life and his body has never been found. A year after the events, Jalil and Valérie Narjissi, the player’s parents, went to pay their respects on Dias Beach, at the Cape of Good Hope, where Medhi disappeared. Together, they decided to go back there this Thursday, August 7, 2025, to lay a stele in memory of their son overlooking the beach, as reported by Le Parisien.

In August 2024, Medhi’s parents had held the French Rugby Federation (FFR) responsible for what happened. "There were a total of twelve supervisors, eight of whom were on the beach. The manager, when he arrived, would have taken off his t-shirt to join them. No one said stop, why the manager, even if he was unaware, seeing the children in the water, did not order them to get out of the water?" he fumed. Medhi’s mother said: "We entrusted our 17-year-old child to an institution, the elite. His jersey, my son, he kissed it, so proud he was of it. If they want to do something extraordinary, let them do it, but not with our children."

She was surprised that the staff present had not realized that they were supervising children. "These are players who are experiencing something crazy, in the elite. Who’s going to say no to going in the water if they’re asked? Not our son. He wanted to be the best. As a result, he listened to an adult who led to his death," she reasoned. Her husband had also wanted to pay tribute to the bravery of Oscar, his son’s teammate and best friend. "All the children were looking in the distance at two silhouettes struggling. It was only Oscar, his teammate and best friend, who tried to pull him out of the water. It took him more than 20 minutes," Jalil choked up. "He’s our hero even though he didn’t bring him back, he’s the only one who tried to save him," Valérie added.