Cardiff rugby player relives moment he 'died' on pitch before team physio saved his life

• ITV Wales Sports Reporter Matt Southcombe speaks to rugby player Steffan Howells who died for 17 minutes before the team physio stepped in and saved his life

A 27-year-old rugby player has spoken about the moment he died on the pitch whilst playing for his local rugby team.

After suffering a cardiac arrest, Steffan Howells was dead for 17 minutes before the team physio stepped in to save his life.

Despite being applauded for his actions, Dr Dave Pemberton said it was a "horrible situation."

On that Saturday, Steffan Howells had been going about his day as normal - heading out for his morning coffee before lacing up his boots for Clwb Rygbi Cymru Caerdydd.

But the day would soon take a sinister twist.

“I don't have much memory at all of the day," Steffan said.

“It was just a normal rugby day. I went to get my morning coffee - a bit of a ritual - before the game and warmed up as normal.

“And then about fifteen minutes into the game, the incident happened and the next thing I know, I woke up in hospital a few days after the game.”

Steffan suffered a cardiac arrest and his heart stopped beating for a total of 17 minutes.

But the actions of team physio Dr Pemberton, a highly-regarded surgeon, saved his life.

Dr Pemberton used a defibrillator that he carries as part of his kit in his attempts to resuscitate his player.

The doctor said: “It's horrible. As a doctor, I'm used to being in situations where you're really uncomfortable.

“You go into a sort of professional mode, training mode, but when you know the person, he's only 27 and he's fit and well and you really weren't expecting this.

“I'm there for the broken legs and occasional broken nose and put some stitches in. I'm trained in it.

“I teach other people it but I've never had to use it [the defibrillator] outside the hospital.”

Finally, after seven shocks and two injections, Steffan’s heartbeat returned. But he wasn’t out of the woods.

Friends and family then faced three days of waiting for him to wake up.

Dr Pemberton added: “Later on, once the other professionals came and took Steff away, that’s when you start to reflect.

“And you start thinking: ‘Why didn’t I do this? Why didn’t I do that? How much oxygen did I get to him? What’s his outcome going to be? Is he going to survive? If he survives, is he going to be normal?

“All of this was going through my head afterwards.

“That was quite a hard period, and my colleagues and my family will tell you that was a difficult, stressful period for me.

“And then the message came through from his family that they'd woken him and he'd recognised family. And that was a hallelujah moment.”

Steffan has a congenital heart condition, for which he has had surgery in the past.

But he was never told not to play rugby and has always been very fit and active.

His playing days are behind him now but the swift actions of Dr Pemberton mean his quality of life is almost unaffected.

A device in his chest staves off the risk of sudden cardiac arrests in the future.

When asked what he owed Dr Pemberton, Steffan said: “Oh, a couple of pints, definitely, to start off with. He's held me to that!

“But the gratitude me, my partner and my family have towards him just knows no bounds. He's one in a million.”

On that October afternoon, Steffan’s life hung in the balance.

But the heroic actions of Dr Pemberton meant the most precarious of situations had the happiest of outcomes.

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