The Eden community has rallied round the family of Ryan Johnson, who died suddenly aged 34 while training at Penrith Rugby Club.
Club coach Scott Rattray set up an online fund in memory of Ryan, of Penrith, who died on Thursday.
With a target of £2,000, Scott said: “Whilst pursuing his passion for rugby, Ryan was suddenly taken ill on the training pitch. Despite the best efforts of his teammates and paramedics, we couldn’t bring him back, and he sadly passed away. Ryan was 34 years of age and leaves a wife and young family behind.
“Ryan was a huge man with a huge personality, a modest and quiet lad, he always had a smile on his face. He will be missed massively by his pals at Penrith RFC.
“We have set up this page to see if we can raise funds from his friends and the wider rugby family, to help towards his funeral costs. It would be great if we could take that financial burden away from the family at this difficult time.”
More than 1,100 people have donated and a total of £45,131 has been raised.
Tributes have been pouring in for Ryan, who was also an on-call firefighter.
