Tributes pour in for former Province rugby star Nick Koster

Tributes have poured in for former Western Province, Bath and Bristol star flanker Nick Koster who died on Wednesday.

The cause of Koster’s death is not known.

Koster made 32 appearances for Western Province and was capped 26 times by the Stormers in Super Rugby, before joining English club Bath in 2012.

After signing a loan deal with Bristol the following year, he went on to play for them 62 times, helping them earn promotion to the Premiership in 2016.

Koster earned star acclaim as part of the Bishops first XV in 2006 and 2007, representing Western Province at Craven Week in both years and earning SA Schools selection in that period.

He made his Currie Cup debut as a 19-year-old playing eighthman in 2008 and was called up for the Barbarians to face Australia at Wembley later that year.

Former Bath head coaches Gary Gold and Andy Robinson paid tribute to him.

“Absolutely devastated to hear the news of Nick’s passing. One of the best schoolboy rugby players to have ever played the game and an outstanding person and friend,” Gold said on Twitter.

Robinson tweeted: “He was a wonderful human being who had a huge impact on me and my family's lives with his kindness, generosity, great sense of humour and rugby ability.”

Bristol wrote on their website: “In 2017, Koster was shortlisted for community player of the season for his incredible work with the club’s Community Foundation, giving up hours of his own time to a number of programmes and initiatives with young people in the city.”

In 2014 Koster became an ambassador for Project Zulu, a UK based charity running educational development projects in the Madadeni township in KwaZulu-Natal. In 2015 and 2016 the project organised choir tours to the UK, with Koster arranging for them to perform on the pitch at halftime during Bristol games. He and his wife, Jeannie, also hosted young people from Madadeni during those tours.

After leaving Bristol Koster studied at Cambridge University and also joined their amateur rugby team, where he was a popular figure.