Australians mourn tragic death of young player

Wallaby James O'Connor has paid tribute to his former school mate Halley Appleby, who died yesterday as a result of injuries sustained in a club match in Australia at the weekend.

Forward Appleby lost consciousness when he suffered brain and spinal injuries in a tackle in Saturday's match between the University of Queensland and GPS in Brisbane.

His family turned off the 21-year-old's life support yesterday after he had been declared brain dead, local media reported.

"It's devastating, to say the least," O'Connor told reporters at Australia's training camp.

"I grew up with Halley and lived three doors down from him in the dorms at Nudgee College. It's a massive shock.

"He was a really bubbly guy, always the life of the party. He was always the one up to mischief in the dorms. Everyone loved being around him. Halley loved his rugby, he was all about it. My thoughts go out to his family."

Wallabies lock James Horwill, a member of Appleby's University of Queensland club, also extended his condolences over what he described as a "freak accident".

"You can get hit by a car crossing the road," said the Queensland Reds skipper. "You don't think about it when you are playing rugby but obviously there's a risk involved."