High school rugby player dies after head injury

OTTAWA, May 13 (UPI) -- An Ottawa high school rugby player who sustained a head injury in a game last week has died, her school district announced Monday.

Rowan Stringer, 17, captain of her rugby team at John McRae Secondary School, died Sunday, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported Monday.

Doctors believe she sustained a smaller head injury earlier in the week that may have contributed to the severity of a second head injury, her father, Gordon Stringer, said.

A statement by the Ottawa-Carleton School District, reporting her death, said the rugby match did not continue after Stringer was injured, and grief counselors would be available at her school.