Australian rugby league player dies after being tackled

His wife says his sudden death has 'left a huge hole' in her heart

Country Rugby League sent their sincere condolences to the family and friends of Mr Cook (Grant Cook / Facebook)

A 28-year-old amateur rugby player has died in hospital after being tackled during a rugby game in Australia.

Officials sought to resuscitate Grant Cook after he was critically injured and collapsed just before half time on Sunday in Murwillumbah in New South Wales.

The father-of-two, who had been playing for Murwillumbah Mustangs against the Casino Cougars in the A-grade preliminary final, was flown to Gold Coast University Hospital but died from injuries overnight.

According to the Gold Coast Bulletin, Mr Cook, who played rugby league all his life, received a head injury and went into cardiac arrest as a result of the tackle.

The paper said New South Wales police were now investigating the incident and reviewing footage from the Rugby match.

His wife Colleen Cook paid tribute to her late husband in a Facebook post, saying his shock death has “left a huge hole” in her heart.

“My beautiful husband Grant is now an angel watching over us,” she wrote. “Life can be so cruel. He has left a huge hole in my heart and I know all family, especially his parents, are hurting trying to understand this tragedy.”

“You died doing something you loved so passionately, and I guess that's how I have to look at it. You finally got to wear that number 6 jersey before the season was out too.”

Country Rugby League sent their sincere condolences to the family and friends of Mr Cook in a statement and said they would be offering counselling to the family and both teams who participated in the Northern Rivers Regional Rugby League match.