Tributes have continued to pour in from the rugby community following the death of Barrow Raiders Ladies' assistant coach Alex Broadhead.
Barrow Raiders announced his unexpected death on social media and Barrow Island ARLFC was quick to pay their own tribute to a man with a strong connection with the club.
READ MORE: Club announce 'with great sadness' the passing of popular assistant coach
"I can't put into words about the passing of Alex who will leave a very big hole in all our lives," said a club spokesman.
"He was involved with Barrow Island from the early age of about 10 or 11 and played through all age groups up to and including open age.
"He has been involved in coaching at a lot of different age groups as well.
"The last few of years he was involved with the ladies team that moved on to play in Super League at Barrow where he was assistant coach.
"Our thoughts go out to all his family and we are here for you all.
"Tomorrow our first team is at home and we will hold a minute's silence before the game to remember all our thoughts that we have of Alex from all the years we have been involved with him.
"RIP Alex."
Barrow Raiders Head Coach Paul Crarey said in an interview on Saturday: "We were all devastated to hear the news that Alex Broadhead sadly passed away yesterday.
"Our sympathy and condolences go to his family.
"He'll be sadly missed, he was a great, great bloke, one of the friendliest blokes you'll ever meet."
Barrow Raiders announced that they would play their Ladies fixture against Leigh Miners Welfare on Sunday in his memory, a match that saw the Ladies comfortably triumph 40-6.
Ladies' Head Coach Amanda Wilkinson spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria after the game about the emotion of the occasion.
"I'm really proud, it's been really quite an emotional week," she said.
"From getting off the training park on Tuesday with Alex there, and planning the team, to today, facing it without him.
"It's been such an emotional ride, the girls are a real credit to this club.
"For me, just to walk out there today and play is a biggie, but they played with such passion and such warmth and I think sometimes we've lacked that a little bit this season, and definitely Alex was with them today and they showed him that they can do it, and I'm just really really proud."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel