Three months after this photo was taken, Dad, 78, had a cardiac arrest out of the blue in our farmyard. Mum saw him collapse, called 999, and the operator talked her through CPR to keep him alive in the 20 minutes it took the ambulance to arrive. He was rushed to hospital in Carlisle, where his heart was restarted with a defibrillator. Because Dad was so fit, he stabilised. But the damage to his oxygen-starved brain was too much and he never regained consciousness. Just over a week later we had to make the terrible decision to turn off the machines.

Dads death changed me in many ways. Obviously, I miss him tremendously its heartbreaking to go back to the local churchyard and see his grave. There is a huge hole in our family: my mother is still struggling to deal with his loss, as are my kids.

My attitude to life has changed 100 per cent since my father died. I was always a bit carpe diem and felt life was for living, but Im even more so now. Losing him has made me think how short our lives are and how we must make the most of them. I know that I have to savour every moment and to create more memories.

As a rugby player as well as a coach, Id had years of experience with sports medicine and physios, but never this kind of life-and-death illness. Now I am very engaged. Shortly after Dad died, I picked up a book called Critical: Science and Stories from the Brink of Human Life by Dr Matthew Morgan, an intensive-care consultant. There were chapters on the heart and brain that gave me some understanding of what had happened to my father. I emailed Matt to thank him for his book, and explain to him how it is from the other side of the process, as a relative, waiting in intensive care, listening to different consultants.

Dad had already suffered a heart attack (followed by a bypass) back in 2007, which I believe was related to the stress he went through during the foot-and-mouth disease crisis six years earlier. I wasnt aware this increased his risk of a cardiac arrest. If wed have known that, we would have made sure he had more ECGs, maybe even had a defibrillator on the farm. Fewer than 10 per cent of cardiac arrest patients survive, but if their hearts are swiftly restarted, the odds increase dramatically.

My father has left big shoes to fill. His passing has made me realise the importance of family. And if increased awareness of heart health leads to one more life saved, then thats a legacy of which Dad would be very proud.

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Former England rugby coach Stuart Lancaster: 'Losing Dad has made me realise the importance of family' - The Telegraph