Nick Tooth dead: Rugby player dies following tackle

Australian player suffered head injuries during match

Nick Tooth (Quirindi Lions Facebook)

A rugby player has died from a head injury sustained in a tackle during an Australian club match in New South Wales.

Nick Tooth was visiting his home town in the New England region of the state for the weekend and accepted an offer to turn out for the Quirindi Lions on Saturday.

The 25-year-old struck his head on the shoulder of an opponent in a tackle and after treatment on the pitch was airlifted to hospital in Newcastle, where he died on Sunday.

"Nick went in to tackle an opponent and his head clashed with the shoulder and he went down," club president Charles Murray told ABC radio.

"There was no foul play, nothing untoward about it at all, sadly it was just a very tragic accident."

He added: "He was a lovely kid."

Head injuries are a major concern in rugby union and governing body World Rugby has engaged in a major educational campaign about the dangers of concussions over the last year.

Addition reporting by Reuters