A devoted husband and father collapsed and died while playing in a rugby match.

Mark Fisher, 34, a father of two young daughters, was playing for Stoneygate Rugby Football Club, in Scraptoft, when he collapsed shortly before full time.

He had been playing as a prop in the club's first team and had got down to form a ruck.

He collapsed as he was trying to get up again.

He was taken to Leicester Royal Infirmary where he was pronounced dead.

A post-mortem has been unable to discover what caused his death.

Today, his widow, Judith, 34, of Ullswater Road, Melton, said he had seemed in perfect health and had no family history of ill health.

The couple had celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary just two weeks before Mark's death on September 20, getting together with family members and celebrating with their children Charlotte, four, and 18-month-old Amelia.

Judith said: "Mark had been playing rugby for about 11 years. He loved it, although his daughters were his real priority.

"We've told Charlotte everything and tried to be honest with her, and she's taken it very hard.

"Not knowing how it happened makes it harder for us."

Judith, a community nurse, and Mark, who worked in recruitment, met at the University of Leicester. After university, they married and lived in Glenfield before moving to Melton, where Judith's parents live, three years ago.

Judith was in Melton when she received a call from one of Mark's teammates who told her he had been taken to hospital. By the time Judith arrived, Mark had died.

She said: "There was a fair in Melton that day so we weren't at the match. In a way, I'm glad we didn't have to be there to see it.

"By the time I got to the Royal he had passed away."

She said: "We had our 10th anniversary on September 5 and the following weekend we celebrated and watched the wedding video with the family.

"It's just wonderful we had that special weekend together before this happened."

Steve Mounfield, president of Stoneygate Rugby Football Club, said: "It's been an enormous shock. We're just stunned.

"Mark was a good bloke. A genuine guy, respected by everyone. We were fond of him."

Mark's funeral was at St Mary's Church, in Melton, on Wednesday. An inquest will be held at a later date.