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Funeral for 'rugby death' marine
Craig Hodgkinson funeral
Navy chaplain The Rev Tim Wilkinson led the funeral
The funeral of a Royal Marine who died after collapsing while playing in a rugby match has taken place.

Craig Hodgkinson, from Strathblane in Stirlingshire, collapsed after about 19 minutes of a game in Plymouth, Devon, on 7 November.

The 27-year-old joined the Royal Marines in 2004 and played rugby for them at international level, as well as for the Glasgow Hawks.

His funeral was held at St John's Renfield Parish Church in Glasgow.

An inquest into his death will be held at a later date.

Marine Hodgkinson fell to the ground during the annual fixture match between the Royal Navy and Cornwall County.

The fly half was treated at the scene before being taken to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, where he later died.

Marine Hodgkinson was a keen rugby player who played throughout his school career, including games for the Scotland Under 18s XV.

Craig Hodgkinson
Craig Hodgkinson was described as larger than life by colleagues

He was member of the Hawks team that toured South Africa in 2003 and were unbeaten in their three matches.

After joining the Marines he won a top recruit award at training and joined 4 Assault Squadron Royal Marines onboard HMS Bulwark in 2005.

HMS Bulwark chaplain The Rev Tim Wilkinson led the funeral procession into church.

Commander Andy Aspden, executive officer of HMS Bulwark, described Marine Hodgkinson as a "larger than life character" who had the potential to go far.

"He was intelligent, mature, highly professional and an extremely fit individual who was passionate about life and sports," he said.

This article was posted on 17-Nov-2006, 18:11 by Hugh Barrow.