Experts told an inquest earlier this week, the 20-year-old died of exertional heat stroke after a pre-season training session overseen by Mr Hasler in November 2020.

"Keith was a beautiful boy, he was much loved, very highly regarded, and very highly respected," Mr Hasler told the inquest.

"I'm so, so sorry, I share your heartbreak, I really do."

The inquest heard Mr Titmuss scored lowest in the team on a pre-season fitness test.

Other players testifying earlier this week have told the inquest it was a "hard" session and ranked it nine out of 10 in terms of intensity.

Mr Hasler was asked if he felt that, given the state of Mr Titmuss's fitness, the session would have been demanding.

"Parts of it would have been challenging … but there were also planned stoppages to give players the opportunity to recover and to rehydrate before we move to the next phase," he said.