A funeral service will be held in Sydney on Wednesday for Sonia Farah, the mother of Wests Tigers rugby league star, Robbie.

Sonia Farah died on Sunday after battling pancreatic cancer.

The extent of her illness became apparent to the public last Wednesday when she did not attend the second State of Origin match where Robbie played a leading hand in the NSW win.

Robbie Farah did not find out until after the match that his mother was in hospital and not in the stands watching, and the Blues hooker subsequently withdrew from the Tigers’ NRL match against Sydney Roosters on Sunday following her passing.

The Tigers released a statement on Monday night from the Farahs, saying the family had been overwhelmed with messages of sympathy and condolences and were also moved by the minute silence observed by the crowd at Leichhardt Oval on Sunday.

The funeral will be held on Wednesday at 10.30am (AEST) in Sydney’s inner west at St Josephs Maronite Catholic Church, Croydon.

In lieu of flowers, the family has asked for donations in Sonia’s memory to be made to The Concord Cancer Centre.