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
Two Greater Manchester-based Paralympians pick up MBEs following Paris 2024 heroics
Danny Jones
A pair of Paralympians born just down the road and honed two discipline-leading national performance centres here in Manchester have officially been awarded MBEs.
The Northerners doing the country proud – sounds about right.
First off, if the name Poppy Maskill doesn’t ring a bell, the promising Paralympic was Team GB’s best-performing para-athlete at Paris 2024 this past summer, contributing a total of five medals towards the nation’s joint-third-highest tally.
After her heroics at the Games, the teenager who turns 20 this weekend (Saturday, 29 March) was the recipient of an early and very prestigious birthday present, becoming one of the youngest individuals to be made a Member of the Order of the British Empire in history.
She was named on the New Year’s Honours list back in December but finally collected her latest medal in person this week following a ceremony at Windsor Castle, being honoured by King Charles III personally.
Hailing from Middlewich just less than an hour away from our city centre, Maskill might be a Cheshire girl by birth, but this young sporting gem is being polished right here at the state-of-the-art Manchester Aquatics Centre (MAC).
The youngster became the first Paralympian to pick up gold back in August after not only winning the 100m butterfly but smashing the world record in the process, too.
Competing in the S14 class – a category for athletes with intellectual impairments – she finished the heat with in just 1:03, surpassing the previous best by more than half a minute. But her impressive performance didn’t stop there.
MAC regular Maskill went on to win two more golds in the S14 100m backstroke and 4 x100m S14 freestyle relay, as well as a pair of silver medals in the 200m freestyle and 200m individual medley S14. Just incredible.
Poppy Maskill wasn’t the only Greater Manchester-based para-athlete who was recognised this month, though, as Stockport‘s very own two-time Paralympic champion Sophie Unwin was also presented with the accolade for her services to sport.
Named a member of the Order along with her co-pilot Jenny Holl, Unwin’s Paris 2024 medal haul included a double of golds in the women’s B 3000m individual pursuit and the road race tandem B, not to mention a silver in the road time trial and a bronze in the 1000m time trial at Paris 2024.
Following in the footsteps of fellow MBE and Stopfordian cycling legend, Dame Sarah Storey, who won her 19th gold medal to become Britain’s greatest Paralympian of all time – having made the most of MAC and the National Cycling Centre over in East Manchester during her career – the borough did us proud.
30-year-old Unwin has kicked on just as strong in the new year as well, notching a narrow victory to set an unofficial (unfortunately) world record of 4:36.737 in the women’s tandem at the 2025 Lloyds National Track Championships here in Manchester.
Former Manchester City player Joey Barton found guilty of assaulting his wife
Danny Jones
Ex-footballer Joey Barton has officially been found guilty of assaulting his wife following his two-day trial in the capital this week.
Barton, who played for Manchester City, Newcastle United, Queens Park Rangers and a number of other clubs, was convicted at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, 25 March, following an incident back in June 2021.
The former midfielder left his wife, 37-year-old Georgia Barton (McNeil), with a bleeding nose and a bruise on her forehead following a drunken row at their home in London.
Barton is said to have grabbed and pushed her to the floor before kicking her in the head. Married in 2019, the two have four children and are thought to still be together.
The 42-year-old was still employed in professional football as the manager of Bristol Rovers at the time, but he was ultimately sacked in October 2023.
His wife called 999 at the time, telling police that he had hit her, but later retracted her statement.
Born in Huyton, Merseyside, the chief magistrate Paul Goldspring recognised that the one-time England has a history of violence.
He was given a 12-week suspended prison sentence, meaning he won’t serve time unless he commits another offence and has been ordered to pay £2,138.
Since dropping out of mainstream football, in particular, Barton has come under heavy criticism for allegations of racism, sexism and controversial right-wing politics; he even started an ‘anti-woke’ podcast called Common Sense with Joey Barton.
Back in June of last year, he was ordered to pay £35,000 in damages to settle a libel claim with presenter Jeremy Vine after a series of inflammatory comments made online.
The Radio 2 presenter sued Mr Barton earlier this year, after the former footballer wrote a series of posts suggesting Mr Vine had a sexual interest in children.
He also accused of threatening fellow former pro, Eni Aluko, after a torrent of abuse regarding her punditry online – the ex-England international even went so far as to say she no longer felt safe staying in the country.
Danny Jones -
10th April 2024 
