Rugby: Grieving Brumbies under no pressure to play

Brumbies forward Shawn Mackay died in a Durban hospital yesterday. Photo / Getty Images

CANBERRA - Brumbies players struggling with teammate Shawn Mackay's death won't be asked to play the next Super 14 match on Saturday if they don't feel up to it, says coach Andy Friend.

The Brumbies squad arrived home from their three-match tour of South Africa on Monday to news of the tragic death of rising player Mackay in a Durban hospital a week after he was hit by a car.

Friend said the club was still coming to terms with the tragedy and there would be no pressure on players to take the field against the Stormers at Canberra Stadium on Saturday if they didn't feel ready.

"We'll certainly respect every player's view on that, for all of us this is an absolute tragedy," Friend told reporters on Tuesday.

"We've got a lot of young players who've never dealt with anything like this in the past.

"So if players aren't up for playing we're certainly not going to make them play."

Friend said a voluntary prayer group would be held for players at midday (local time) today and the squad would have a catch up later in the afternoon.

- AAP