A TALENTED teenage rugby player has died in a motorcycle crash, leaving his club shocked and saddened.

Players and staff at Gosford All Blacks RFC in Kidlington were yesterday mourning the death of 19-year-old Stephen Edwards.

The Bermuda-born teenager won the club’s Young Player of the Year award for 2013/14 and was nicknamed “The Prince”.

Mr Edwards died on New Year’s Eve after being involved in a motorcycle accident in Devonshire in his home country.

He came to Oxfordshire in September 2013 after winning a grant to study abroad from the Bermuda Education Network.

Chairman of the Gosford All Blacks David Hipkiss said: “He was an outstanding young man, he graced our club on and off the field.”

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Friend and team-mate Luke Newton, 19, said: “He got nicknamed The Prince because he was a class act, always impeccably dressed and so graceful.”

The former Bermuda Under-18s Seven captain enrolled at Bellerbys College, in Mill Street, Oxford, for a foundation year studying law.

Law programme director Tanya Prescott described him as a “lovely, lovely person”.

Having previously played for the Bermudan Teachers Rugby Club, Mr Edwards got in touch with Gosford All Blacks youth league co-ordinator Mark Gardner.

Mr Gardner, 54, of Kennington, said: “When he first came to train all he had was a tracksuit. No rugby boots, no gear, nothing.

“The lads sorted him out with some gear and the rest is history.”

Head coach Matt Watts, 44, said: “He rocked up to the club, it was freezing and he turned up in his summer clothes, he wasn’t expecting it to be that cold. He was very slight, about 6ft 1in, so I was worried about him getting tackled.

“He used to get knocked down by players twice his size but he’d brush it off and still have that big smile.”

After training with the 2nd XV, Mr Edwards was promoted to the 1st XV and played an integral role in Gosford’s 2013/14 campaign, when the team won the County Shield and National Area Vase.

Mr Edwards was described as a humble and quiet man by team- mates and coaches.

Mr Watts added: “I remember one week he came up to me and said he couldn’t play the next game.

“When I asked why he told me he was going to Vegas.

“I thought he was going on holiday or something, but in fact he was going to play for his national team in a tournament. Other people would’ve been shouting about it on Twitter and the like, but Stephen only wanted a few people to know because he wasn’t one to brag.”

After graduating from Bellerbys College in June 2014, Mr Edwards gained a scholarship from law firm Conyers Dill & Pearman, which has an office in Bermuda, to continue his studies at the University of Sussex.

Director of the Bemuda office David Cooke said: “He was an exceptionally pleasant young man and was a genuinely good person.

“He had an amazing future ahead of him.”

While in Bermuda for Christmas, Mr Edwards was involved in a motorcycle accident on Tuesday and after being taken to an intensive care unit, he died on New Year’s Eve at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

Mr Watt’s son and 1st XV player Will Watts, 21, found out about Mr Edwards’ death while celebrating the new year.

He said: “I was out but came straight home after hearing the news. Dad and I sat there all night absolutely shocked.”

Mr Watts said: “We’re all signing a book of condolence. Some of the messages are truly heartbreaking, especially from the young lads.

“It was hard to see so many grown men cry.

“We’re signing a club shirt to send that to his family in Bermuda with a floral tribute, and framing a picture of him for the changing room.

“That way he’ll always be with us.

On returning from Bermuda, Mr Edwards planned to join the Gosford All Blacks in their first league match on 2015 at home against Slough next Saturday.

Mr Watts said: “Sadly he won’t be able to do that. We’re going to bring photos of him for the dressing room and hold a minute’s silence for The Prince.”

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