TRIBUTES have been pouring in for a popular Evesham Rugby Club player who died in a tragic accident.

Matt Brace, aged 25, from Wards Close in Evesham, was enjoying a night out with friends after a rugby club dinner when he fell trying to jump down into a tree, fracturing his skull.

He was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham but never regained consciousness.

His father Stuart said: “I phoned Matt at about 11.15pm that night to ask him how the dinner was going.

“He said ‘Everything’s great’. Then at about 3.40am we got a call to go to the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch.” Matt’s mum Anne said they were given hope when doctors rushed him to the Queen Elizabeth, but he died at about 2.30pm last Wednesday.

She said: “We can’t fault the wonderful care Matt received from everyone from the police to the surgeons and hospital staff.”

Stuart, a retired prison chaplain, said: “I was told when you preach it you have to believe it – and I have to. He’s gone to a better life.”

Matt was an only child, who packed a great deal into his short life. He was a Scout in the 2nd Bengeworth troop, a former member of the Phoenix theatre group and EODS.

He attended Bengeworth, Simon de Montfort and Evesham High schools, then gained a degree in business studies at Cardiff University.

He then trained as a teacher and worked at Chenderit School in Banbury.

Headteacher Graham Tyrer said: “He was one of the most highly regarded teachers in this school.”

He said that Matt’s pupils, especially his tutor group 10MMB, were finding it hard to come to terms with his death. His mum, a teacher at Honeybourne First School, said: “Matt was always such good fun. He touched so many lives in a very short time.

“We want to thank everybody for their love and prayers.”

An inquest was opened and adjourned on Tuesday.

The coroner said Matt had climbed onto Evesham Rugby clubhouse roof and tried to jump into a tree when he fell.

Matt’s funeral is on Saturday, May 21, at St Peter’s Church in Bengeworth at 11am.