Ben Ryan confirms he isn't dead

Olympic gold-winning rugby sevens coach Ben Ryan has taken to Twitter after a ‘fake news story’ broke that reported that he has apparently died.

The article revealed that the 47-year-old had been run over by a Honda Civic in Toronto, and died in hospital, although Ryan has said that he isn’t even in the city.

This is the second occasion that the rugby guru has been reportedly killed, with the first one related to a ‘drug trafficking arrest’.

This is what Ryan had to say in his apparent death in a car crash:

Second time I’ve died via a fake news story. At least it isn’t the drug trafficking arrest the last one talked about. I’m nowhere Toronto though hear it’s a great spot, as long as you aren’t around the out of control Honda Civics. #veilomani https://t.co/4Aj0n3dRC9

— Ben Ryan (@benjaminryan) June 5, 2019

This is not the first time that a rugby star has seemingly been the victim of an errant Honda Civic in the city of Toronto, as only two weeks ago former Saracens loose forward Jacques Burger apparently met the same fate as Ryan.

The Namibian also took to Twitter after this latest fake news story about Ryan to say that the ‘Honda Civic is on a killing spree’.

https://twitter.com/Nabasboer/status/1132695491613986816?s=20

That Honda Civic is on a killing spree @benjaminryan

— Jacques Burger (@Nabasboer) June 6, 2019

The site is perhaps taking advantage of Ryan’s name being in the news at the moment, as his book Sevens Heaven was recently named the Sports Book of the Year and the Heineken Rugby Book of the Year at the inaugural Telegraph Sports Book Awards.

Ryan’s book details the trials and tribulations surrounding leading Fiji to gold at the 2016 Olympics. A fake death is probably good publicity for his book.

Ryan is also promoting RugbyX – a new indoor version of rugby union. The O2 in London will host the debut event on October 29 when England, Ireland, France, Argentina and the USA compete in men’s and women’s competitions, with tickets going on sale last Friday.

Smaller indoor pitches, teams consisting of five players and simplified rules are all designed to produce a faster game that will broaden rugby’s appeal to families and sponsors.