Tributes continue to pour in following the tragic death of Gabriel Holt, the Wigan ruby talent who passed away suddenly this week, aged just 21.
Born and raised in the town of Atherton, Gabriel Holt played for Wigan St Patricks RUFC and previously represented the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), being described as an “exceptional talent” and having “brightened up the room”.
The Greater Manchester local qualified for the Wales Students team through family heritage and won three caps for the squad in 2023, as well as being named in this year’s squad for the upcoming Four Nations tournament. The budding Wigan rugby star’s cause of death is yet to be confirmed.
People from all over the rugby league community have been paying their respects to the promising youngster, with the likes of his father and St Patricks leading the emotional tributes:
RIP Gabriel Holt
We're shocked and saddened to learn of the sudden death of current Wales Students international player, Gabriel Holt, aged just 21.
People from all over British rugby are honouring Gabriel Holt.
‘Gabe’s’ father Chris Holt wrote in a heartbreaking social media post following the outpouring of condolences online: “These comments. They bring a tear to my eye. Gabe was a bit of a journeyman, starting at Atherton Dragons when he was five years old…
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“After Dragons folded he did a stint at Leigh East & Folly Lane before finally finding his forever home at Pat’s. He was ever so proud to play for a club with such a reputation and team spirit – ‘kick one of us, kick all of us!’ – and every Monday was simply the start of the countdown to game day, thankfully then in warmer (ish!) conditions for us mardy parents.
“Even after leaving for UCLAN where he loved playing, the academic season allowed him to return to Pat’s and play when he could, in his last match scoring a try to level the scores against the difficult Leigh Miners before Pat’s prevailed by two points. He was champing at the bit to return once he got over his knee injury, especially after being chosen to represent Wales for the second year of asking…
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“Sadly it wasn’t to be. We are forever indebted to Wigan St Patricks who showed him what ‘team’ meant. Everyone has their role. Everyone has each other’s back. Everyone is included. No questions asked. The best game in the world. And he loved every second of it, dislocated limbs included.”
Multiple players and trainers from his past and present have waxed lyrical about his presence both on and off the pitch even at such a young age, with his head coach at Wales Students, Craig Fisher, writing: “No words will ever be able to articulate what an exceptional human being you were.
“You were a leader, a team-mate, a champion but most of all a friend to everyone you met. I feel privileged to have known you and to have coached you. I know how proud you were to wear the red of Wales and were itching to tear into the 2024 Four Nations.
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“As heart-wrenching as it will be that you won’t be with us in person to go to war with us, we will take comfort in knowing that our Angel Gabriel will be with us every step of the way. Godspeed, young man. Forever your coach.”
A fundraiser has now been set up by a family friend of the Holts, Dan Harris, which has already managed to raise over nearly £6,000 in donations to put towards Gabriel’s funeral costs, with Harris urging people to “dig deep” and “find that bit of spare cash, put in what you can afford and help to make this difficult time that little bit easier” for his loved ones.
As written in the description of the GoFundMe page, the Holts have described the rallying from the rugby community and those kind enough to contribute as “amazing”, insisting they have been “blown away by the love and respect shown for Gabriel.”
Harris himself said: “I’ve known the Holt family for over 11 years, me, Chris and [Gabe’s mum] Michelle became fast friends and I’ve seen the kids grow up and mature. [I] watched Gabriel go from an awkward little boy to a fit, healthy and strong man pursuing his dreams of playing rugby for top teams…
“To hear of his passing in such a sudden way is heart-wrenching. Words can’t describe the heartache we all feel, the pain and suffering that the family are going through.” He also went on to cite dad Chris’ always offering his help to the local community down the years, “be that fixing a washing machine, picking up your broken down car to fix or running you somewhere for an errand”, often without payment.
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He signed off by saying, “Well now’s our time so that the family doesn’t struggle.” You can donate to Gabriel Holt’s fundraiser HERE.
Featured Images — GoFundMe/Wigan St. Patricks ARLFC (via Facebook)
Sport
Pep Guardiola delivers gutting news as Man City are hit with Erling Haaland injury blow
Danny Jones
Pep Guardiola has passed on some gutting fitness news for Manchester City fans as star striker Erling Haaland is confirmed to be injured for several weeks and could even miss the rest of the Premier League season.
The title might be out of reach this year, and the Champions League knockout against Real Madrid was definitely hard for Blues to take, but with Man City into the semi-finals of the FA Cup, there’s still a very strong chance they could end 2024/25 with a piece of silverware.
However, they’ll have to make it through another two massive rounds at Wembley and seemingly the remainder of the season without Haaland and his goals, as the Catalan coach revealed that the club expects him to be out injured for “six to seven weeks.”
Not exactly how City fans would have wanted to see the rest of an already frustrating season play out.
🗣️ "We don't have another player with his skills."
Relaying diagnosis from the medical team, Pep said the hope is that the big Norwegian number nine could be back for the very tail end of the campaign, but at the very least, he “will be ready for the [FIFA Club] World Cup.”
He went on to add that “these kinds of things happen” and that he feels “sorry” for all of the other injuries that have befell his squad up till now, adding that they can only hope for a speedy recovery and for him to return as soon as possible.
The 24-year-old hasn’t had too many big injury problems in his career thus far, although his longest spell on the sidelines did come at the end of 2023 when a stress fracture kept him out until the new year.
This time around, Haaland suffered an injury to his ankle during the City’s FA Cup win over Bournemouth on Sunday following a challenge from defensive midfielder Lewis Cook.
He was forced in the second half and was seen leaving the Vitality Stadium on crutches after the game.
Erling Haaland seen leaving Bournemouth in a protective boot and crutches. 🤕
Having led the golden boot race for a good chunk of the season – as he’s become accustomed too since he arrived in England – City‘s sub-optimal season has seen him slink into second behind high-flying Mo Salah on 27, but he still has a couple dozen goals and a trio of assists to show for it.
Speaking of Salah, the soon-to-leave ‘Egyptian King’ has been the talisman for Liverpool this season, and his contributions could see them lift the trophy in Arne Slot’s first season as early as 13 April, depending on how fellow title rivals Arsenal fare in their next two matches.
As for how City round out their domestic campaign, reclaiming the FA Cup after last year’s derby disappointment looks like the main goal.
You can watch Pep Guardiola’s press conference ahead of the game against Leicester City at 19:45pm tomorrow (Wednesday, 2 April) in full HERE.
Masters Football isn’t just back – it’s coming to Manchester
Danny Jones
The much-loved Masters Football format made its glorious comeback in 2022, and since then, it’s been steadily rebuilding an audience of passionate fans, plenty of whom you’ll find here in the sporting city of Manchester – so it’s a good job the national tournament is heading our way.
That’s right, the official English Masters Football competition is coming to 0161 later this year and will be bringing a host of legendary North West talent from years gone by to take part.
Although the full squads and their team captains have yet to be announced, former professionals from Manchester United, Man City, Liverpool, Everton, and more will be lacing back up their boots.
Manchester Masters Football 2025 lands at the equally iconic AO Arena this September.
Credit: Publicity Pictures (supplied)
For anyone unfamiliar with Masters Football, which developed a die-hard following when it first ran between 2000 and 2011, is shorter, indoor-only six-a-side footy tournament similar to futsal.
Each team will feature eight retired players, and the games unfold in a round-robin format, with each match consisting of two eight-minute halves, meaning that both sides have a little over a quarter of an hour to score enough to make it past the other.
In addition to the quicker matches, they will battle it out on a 60m x 30m pitch – the same size of an international ice hockey rink – and whoever makes it through with the highest points will battle it out in a grand final to claim the Manchester Masters title.
As you can see, players set to star this year include ex-United and City defenders Wes Brown and Joleon Lescott, as well as Liverpool and Everton strikers Djibril Cisse and Yakubu Ayegbeni.
You can see some of the best moments from the year it officially returned to the UK down below:
The Manchester edition of the 2025 English Masters Football Tournament Series arrives at the AO Arena on Friday, 5 September.
Doors will open to the venue from 6pm, with the first match kicking off at 7pm, so you better have drinks and snacks in time for bums to hit seats.
As for tickets, there’ll be two chances at early access, first for Three+ mobile members at 10am on Wednesday, 2 April and then via the venue’s presale window at the same time the following day. General admission tickets will be made available, also from 10am, the following Saturday, 5 April.
Danny Jones -
10th April 2024 
