Young Otago sportsman dies after crash

Andrew Grubb was a gifted sportsman. Photo / Facebook

A talented young Cromwell sportsman who died yesterday was a "top bloke" who excelled at every sport he tried and always had a smile on his face, friends and workmates said.

Andrew Grubb (20) died in Dunedin Hospital yesterday morning as a result of injuries received when he fell off a quad bike in Cromwell early on Sunday, a police spokeswoman said.

Police were grateful for the help they had received from the public, she said.

The cause of the accident was still being investigated.

Mr Grubb was a member of the Otago Country rugby team and was also in the North Otago cricket team.

He played first-five for the Cromwell Premier team for the past two seasons and scored the winning try in the team's historic 21-18 win over Maniototo to clinch the Central Otago premier rugby championship last month - the first time Cromwell has won the championship in 35 years.

"He played a pivotal role in our team and was a top bloke; just a real nice young fella," Cromwell rugby president Jason Clark said.

"He was mature for his age, very personable and was one out of the box.

"He had so much talent at any sport he tried."

Otago Rugby Football Union general manager Richard Kinley said the wider Otago rugby community was shocked and devastated by the death.

The Grubb family had a long-standing connection with Otago rugby "and our hearts go out to them at this absolutely tragic time", Mr Kinley said.

Mr Grubb played a pivotal role in Otago Country's game against Southland Country last weekend and was in the team to play in Canterbury this weekend.

When he was seriously ill in hospital earlier this week, his team-mates discussed at training whether to cancel this weekend's match but decided to carry on.

"The news about his death has been devastating for them and they'll certainly have Andrew on their minds," Mr Kinley said.

The team would wear black armbands at their match today and observe a minute's silence before the game.

Mr Grubb made his senior representative cricket debut in November 2013, and played nine games for North Otago.

He was the regular wicketkeeper in the North Otago team that won the Hawke Cup for just the second time in February.

On its Facebook page yesterday, Otago Cricket said Mr Grubb represented North Otago as a junior player and in recent times "was a key member in the Hawke Cup team's success".

He was respected as a hard-working young man both on and off the pitch, the post said.

He was part-way through a turf-management course and had worked as a labourer at Mayfair Pools and Spas in Cromwell for the past six months.

His foreman, Brandon Fiebig said he was a good all-round employee, who always had a smile on his face.

"His ability to do any job was second to none and he was just a real good guy." Mr Fiebig said.