Oldham RLFC has paid tribute to a former coach and "one of the nicest men ever to work in rugby league".

The club shared in a statement on Sunday (September 17) that former A team coach John Prince had died.

The statement read: "It is with the deepest regret that we pass on the information that we have been informed of the death of one of the nicest men ever to work in rugby league — John Prince, a man who was rich in his knowledge of both the amateur and professional game, especially in his native west Lancashire.

"Everybody who was anybody in rugby league 30 years or more ago knew John, from Waterhead to Wigan, Saddleworth to Salford, Higginshaw to Huyton.

"He was our ‘A’ team coach for a while, possessing a special interest in first the scouting and then the development of young players whom he would often refer to as 'my lads'."

Get the latest news delivered straight to your inbox by signing up to The Oldham Times’ morning and evening newsletters as well as our breaking news alerts 

John Chadwick, a former club secretary and club chairman and current now vice-president of the Roughyeds, said: "I remember John well — a smashing bloke, one of the best. We took him on as a man with a great knowledge of young players in the amateur game.

"He coached the ‘A’ team and brought on a lot of our youngsters, especially the Cumbrian boys, Howard Hill and Chris McKinney when they first moved down here as kids."

Former Oldham RLFC coach Tony Barrow said: "He was a lovely fella. All the lads who came under his wing, be it at Oldham, Swinton or elsewhere thought the world of him."

The Roughyeds said in the statement that the club was informed of John's death by former scrum-half-turned-prop, Micki Edwards.

The club offered its condolences to John's family and friends and thanked him for the memories.