WARRINGTON Wolves star Toa Kohe-Love has returned to his native country following the news that his father has died in a freak boating accident.

The devastated 21-year old, a popular, hard-running centre for Warrington Wolves, flew home to Wellington, New Zealand, to be with his close-knit family.

In his player profile, Toa cited his proud parents as his biggest influences. His father Huka was only 45 years old when the tragedy struck.

Toa will spend at least a fortnight in his home town with his English mother, his older brother, Ron and younger sister, Catherine.

Wolves coach Darryl Van de Velde said: "Toa is obviously very upset - it's come as a terrible shock, and I expect it will have an impact on him for a while. He's constantly in touch with his dad, and he sends tapes of his games home all the time."

Fate dealt another blow to the team with the news that the father of club stalwart Chris Rudd had suffered a double heart attack. The player was visiting his father in a hospital in Middlesborough earlier this week.

The double tragedy came during a run of bad luck for the team, which has eight players on chronic injury list.

Added Mr Van de Velde: "The injuries are just part of the game, but these are tragic incidents. We're just hoping these things don't come in threes."

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