THE widow of tragic Keighley Cougars star Danny Jones will sing Abide With Me in front of tens of thousands of rugby league fans at the kick-off of the Challenge Cup Final at Wembley later this month.

Lizzie Jones, a professional singer, will use the occasion to thank Rugby League clubs and fans for their heartfelt support since her husband’s death in May.

The 29-year-old Welsh international stand off half died from undiagnosed hereditary heart disease after collapsing during a match against London Skolars, leaving Lizzie and their twins Bobby and Phoebe, who are now eight-months-old.

Since his death, Rugby League fans, players, administrators and the wider public have donated more than £230,000 to a trust fund set up by the RFL Benevolent Fund to secure the futures of his children.

Donations are still flooding in to justgiving.com/dannyjones29

Mrs Jones's performance ahead of the final between Hull Kingston Rovers and Leeds Rhinos on August 29 will follow in the footsteps of her husband who represented Wales at the national stadium in a Four Nations fixture in 2011.

Mrs Jones said: “It’s fantastic for me, I’m so excited and happy to be able to do something for Danny and to say thank you to the Rugby League community and to everybody who has helped and supported me since Danny died.

“I can’t thank people enough for what they’ve done. They’ve made the most horrific point in my life a little bit more bearable. The kindness has been overwhelming."

Mrs Jones, who is combining her role as a mum with coaching young singers and teaching audition techniques, has previously sung professionally at theatres across the country, including the West End.

She said: “It is going to be emotional, but I’m a professional and can deal with it and I’m doing it for Danny.

"That'll get me through it. I’ve been a singer since I was 12 in amateur productions and I did it in university – I did a masters in London and have performed all over. I know what I’m doing – I’ll be fine.”

After her husband's death, the Rugby Football League has imposed mandatory heart screening for players at Championship and League One clubs.

Mrs Jones said: "I spoke to a nurse this week who said a young man came into the hospital where she works complaining of chest pains.

"He's young, he’s a cyclist and is very fit but had seen what happened to Danny and how it all came out of nowhere.

"That prompted him to go to hospital that day where an ECG revealed he did have a problem with his heart, which the doctors are now treating.

"That decision saved his life, Danny saved his life, he’s already saving people and that's an important legacy."