Convicted rapist Jarryd Hayne at the centre of life-threatening prison emergency

A prison footy match involving convicted rapist and former NRL star Jarryd Hayne ended in horror when a player collapsed and stopped breathing on the pitch.

Hayne, 35, was one of a group of 20 inmates at Geoffrey Pearce Correctional Centre, in Sydney’s northwestern suburbs, playing football on a sunny afternoon in late May when an inmate suddenly collapsed after suffering a heart attack.

Dramatic footage of the emergency, first obtained by the Daily telegramshows Hayne and other inmates coming to the man’s aid.

Prison staff sprint across the field to place the stricken man in the recovery position, while an ambulance arrives at the oval about half an hour later.

Hayne can be seen holding up a towel to shield the man from the sun as prison guards attempt to resuscitate him.

The prisoner suffered a heart attack but was saved thanks to the quick thinking of the first on scene who performed CPR until paramedics were able to rush him to Nepean Hospital in western Sydney.

Acting Governor Renee Craft said, “The prisoner seemed to be regaining consciousness. They tried to cool his body temperature and started CPR when he stopped breathing.”

“They immediately used their first aid training to help save this man’s life – their quick, calm thinking kept this incident from ending in tragedy.”

Jarryd Hayne (seen in court in April with wife Amellia Bonnici) was convicted of rape after a third trial this year

Prison guard Peter Terry, who performed CPR, said it was a “real team effort.”

“The prisoners said he had just passed out. He tried to get up at one point, but then collapsed again,” he said.

“He was breathing at the time, one of the officers checked his pulse and talked to him, and then all of a sudden he checked out again and there was no pulse, so we rolled him over and I started CPR.”

The prisoner was put into an induced coma in hospital and returned to prison two weeks later, where he approached Officer Terry to thank him.

“He’s fine, I caught up with him a few weeks ago when he came back from the hospital, he’s in a wheelchair at the moment,” he said.

“He had a few displaced ribs, but that’s minor compared to what he was going through and what could have happened. He was in a good mood.

“It was a surreally unusual feeling to go through that, but more surreally he came to thank me.”

Hayne shares a cell with disgraced former NRL star Manase Fainu, who was convicted of stabbing a youth leader during a violent brawl outside a Mormon church dance in 2019.

It is unclear if Fainu played in the footy match.

Hayne has had a turbulent time in custody.

He was allegedly scammed in 2021 for $780,000 in Bitcon by one of his fellow inmates while in Cooma Correctional Center.

Hayne’s conviction leaves him financially ruined and forced to dispose of much of his real estate portfolio, which was once worth more than $5 million.

Hayne went on trial for a third time in May this year after a woman claimed he assaulted her on the night of the 2018 NRL Grand Final at her home just outside Newcastle.

Prior to the strike, Hayne was earning more than $1 million a year from both the Gold Coast Titans and Parramatta Eels, making him the highest-paid player in the league.

However, has not played since September 1, 2018.