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Tom Richards (rugby)
Encyclopedia
Thomas James "Rusty" Richards MC
(29 April 1882 – 25 September 1935) was an Australia
n military officer and national representative rugby union
player, who was born at Vegetable Creek, Emmaville
in New South Wales
. Richards was the only player to ever play for both Australia and the British Lions, thus, the Tom Richards Trophy
is named in his honor. He is an inductee to the Australian Rugby Union
Hall of Fame.
father emigrated to Australia during the Gold Rush from Cornwall
in the United Kingdom
. Nicknamed Rusty, he grew up in the gold mining town of Charters Towers in Northern Queensland. His interest in the rugby game developed when a New South Wales touring side visited his town. He started training and playing rugby, and went on to represent Queensland
. His family moved to South Africa
in 1905.
competition. he subsequently travelled to England
where he continued playing rugby in the county championships. He soon returned to Australia and was selected for the Wallabies
' 1908 tour of the United Kingdom.
He played in both Test matches of the tour and was Australia's first try-scorer in the Test against Wales
. The touring party took part in the 1908 Summer Olympics
that were being held in London
. The team won gold with Richards again scoring a try, over a Cornish side representing Great Britain. Richards thus became an Olympic Gold medallist.
He returned to South Africa after his touring duties. During a visit from the British Lions
, Richards earned a cap as a replacement. He qualified through his time played for Bristol in England. He returned to Australia and was selected to tour to the United States
and Canada
with Australia in 1912. He played at break-away in the sole Test of that tour - the November 1912 clash against the United States at Berkeley - and scored a try in that match. Soon after, he signed with Toulouse
as a player and manager.
on 26 August 1914 and in October sailed for Egypt on the Transport Euripides with the 1st Field Ambulance. Landing at Gallipoli on the morning of 25 April 1915
, he served as a stretcher-bearer, and was mentioned in divisional orders in July for 'acts of gallantry'.
He returned to Egypt in January 1916 and in March left for the Western Front
. On 25 November Corporal Richards was commissioned Second Lieutenant
and on 2 December transferred to the 1st Infantry Battalion. In May 1917 at the Battle of Arras
near Bullecourt
he led a nineteen-man bombing party. He was promoted Lieutenant
in June and awarded the Military Cross
in August. He was evacuated to England twice in 1917 and again in May 1918, with his back and shoulders damaged by a bomb blast. Having spent some four months in South Africa en route, in February 1919 he returned to Sydney where his AIF appointment was terminated on 3 November,
In April 1935 he moved to Brisbane, Queensland, where his family reunited. In September, Richards died of tuberculosis - caused by the gassing he received while fighting on the Western Front. On 25 September that year at the Repatriation Hospital, Rosemount, he was cremated with Baptist forms. His wife and their son and daughter survived him.
Hall of Fame. Upon his induction Australian Rugby Union
President Paul McLean commented: "late Tom Richards was an extraordinary character whom The Times
described in 1908 as the first man to be picked for Earth if we were ever to play Mars!"
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
(29 April 1882 – 25 September 1935) was an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n military officer and national representative rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
player, who was born at Vegetable Creek, Emmaville
Emmaville, New South Wales
Emmaville is a village on the Northern Tablelands in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. It is in the Glen Innes Severn Council district.Emmaville is at an elevation of 890 metres AHD...
in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. Richards was the only player to ever play for both Australia and the British Lions, thus, the Tom Richards Trophy
Tom Richards Trophy
The Tom Richards Trophy is an international rugby union trophy awarded to the winner of British and Irish Lions vs. Australia test series. It was commissioned for the 2001 British Lions tour to Australia and the inaugural winner was Australia, who won the series 2-1. This was the first time that...
is named in his honor. He is an inductee to the Australian Rugby Union
Australian Rugby Union
The Australian Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Australia. It was founded in 1949 and is a member of the International Rugby Board the sport's governing body. It consists of eight member unions, representing each state and territory...
Hall of Fame.
Early years
Richard's CornishCornish people
The Cornish are a people associated with Cornwall, a county and Duchy in the south-west of the United Kingdom that is seen in some respects as distinct from England, having more in common with the other Celtic parts of the United Kingdom such as Wales, as well as with other Celtic nations in Europe...
father emigrated to Australia during the Gold Rush from Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Nicknamed Rusty, he grew up in the gold mining town of Charters Towers in Northern Queensland. His interest in the rugby game developed when a New South Wales touring side visited his town. He started training and playing rugby, and went on to represent Queensland
Queensland Reds
The Queensland Reds represent Queensland in the sport of rugby union in the Southern Hemisphere Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996 they were a representative team selected on merit from the rugby union club competitions in Queensland...
. His family moved to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
in 1905.
Rugby wanderer
He continued playing rugby in South Africa, playing a small number of games for the Transvaal Rugby Union in the domestic Currie CupCurrie Cup
The Currie Cup tournament is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring , featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces...
competition. he subsequently travelled to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
where he continued playing rugby in the county championships. He soon returned to Australia and was selected for the Wallabies
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
' 1908 tour of the United Kingdom.
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
. The touring party took part in the 1908 Summer Olympics
1908 Summer Olympics
The 1908 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the IV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in 1908 in London, England, United Kingdom. These games were originally scheduled to be held in Rome. At the time they were the fifth modern Olympic games...
that were being held in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The team won gold with Richards again scoring a try, over a Cornish side representing Great Britain. Richards thus became an Olympic Gold medallist.
He returned to South Africa after his touring duties. During a visit from the British Lions
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
, Richards earned a cap as a replacement. He qualified through his time played for Bristol in England. He returned to Australia and was selected to tour to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
with Australia in 1912. He played at break-away in the sole Test of that tour - the November 1912 clash against the United States at Berkeley - and scored a try in that match. Soon after, he signed with Toulouse
Stade Toulousain
Stade Toulousain, also referred to as Toulouse, is a French rugby union club from Toulouse in Midi-Pyrénées. Toulouse is one of the finest rugby clubs in Europe, having won the Heineken Cup four times – in 1996, 2003, 2005 and 2010. They were also runners-up in 2004 and 2008 against London Wasps...
as a player and manager.
War service and later life
Richards enlisted in the AIFAustralian Imperial Force
The Australian Imperial Force was the name given to all-volunteer Australian Army forces dispatched to fight overseas during World War I and World War II.* First Australian Imperial Force * Second Australian Imperial Force...
on 26 August 1914 and in October sailed for Egypt on the Transport Euripides with the 1st Field Ambulance. Landing at Gallipoli on the morning of 25 April 1915
ANZAC Day
Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought at Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all...
, he served as a stretcher-bearer, and was mentioned in divisional orders in July for 'acts of gallantry'.
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
. On 25 November Corporal Richards was commissioned Second Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
and on 2 December transferred to the 1st Infantry Battalion. In May 1917 at the Battle of Arras
Battle of Arras (1917)
The Battle of Arras was a British offensive during the First World War. From 9 April to 16 May 1917, British, Canadian, New Zealand, Newfoundland, and Australian troops attacked German trenches near the French city of Arras on the Western Front....
near Bullecourt
Bullecourt
Bullecourt is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region in France.-Geography:Bullecourt lies on the Upper Cretaceous plain of Artois between Arras and Bapaume and east of the A1 motorway. This shows Bullecourt just north of centre. Quéant is the larger of the two...
he led a nineteen-man bombing party. He was promoted Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in June and awarded the Military Cross
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
in August. He was evacuated to England twice in 1917 and again in May 1918, with his back and shoulders damaged by a bomb blast. Having spent some four months in South Africa en route, in February 1919 he returned to Sydney where his AIF appointment was terminated on 3 November,
In April 1935 he moved to Brisbane, Queensland, where his family reunited. In September, Richards died of tuberculosis - caused by the gassing he received while fighting on the Western Front. On 25 September that year at the Repatriation Hospital, Rosemount, he was cremated with Baptist forms. His wife and their son and daughter survived him.
Legacy & accolades
The Tom Richards Cup is the trophy that is played for between Britain and Australia. In 2005 he was honoured as one of the inaugural five inductees into the Australian Rugby UnionAustralian Rugby Union
The Australian Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Australia. It was founded in 1949 and is a member of the International Rugby Board the sport's governing body. It consists of eight member unions, representing each state and territory...
Hall of Fame. Upon his induction Australian Rugby Union
Australian Rugby Union
The Australian Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Australia. It was founded in 1949 and is a member of the International Rugby Board the sport's governing body. It consists of eight member unions, representing each state and territory...
President Paul McLean commented: "late Tom Richards was an extraordinary character whom The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
described in 1908 as the first man to be picked for Earth if we were ever to play Mars!"