Ernest Gwyn Richards (22 December 1905 – 17 December 1985) was a Welsh

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

and professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who played in the 1920s and 1930s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, and at club level for Bryncethin RFC,

Bridgend RFC Bridgend Ravens () (formerly Bridgend RFC) are a semi-professional rugby union club based in Bridgend, South Wales. They currently play in Super Rygbi Cymru and are a feeder club to the Ospreys (rugby union), Ospreys regional team. Origin B ...

Cardiff RFC Cardiff Rugby Football Club () is a rugby union club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876Parry-Jones (1989), pg 59 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, shortly after which relocating to Ca ...

and

Torquay Athletic RFC Torquay Athletic RFC is an England, English rugby union team formed in 1876 ( see the link below for irrefutable evidence of this) is based in Torquay, Devon. The club operates 3 senior men's teams as well as youth and mini teams, with the men's ...

, as a

fly-half In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16� ...

, and club level rugby league (RL) for

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

,Robert Gate (1986). "Gone North - Volume 1". R. E. Gate. and

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staffor ...

, as a .

Background

Gwyn Richards was born in Bryncethin, Wales, and he died aged 79 in

Bridgend Bridgend (; or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in the Bridgend County Borough of Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge over the River Og ...

, Wales.

Playing career

International honours

Gwyn Richards won a

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

for

(RU) while at Cardiff RFC in 1927 against Scotland.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Gwyn Richards played and scored a try in

's 21–17 victory over

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

in the 1933 Challenge Cup Final during the 1932–33 season at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on Saturday 6 May 1933. and played in the 8–11 defeat by

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield district, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the t ...

in the 1935 Challenge Cup Final during the 1934–35 season at

on Saturday 4 May 1935, in front of a crowd of 39,000.

References

External links

Search for "Richards" at rugbyleagueproject.org

-> {{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Ernest 1905 births 1985 deaths 20th-century Welsh sportsmen Bridgend RFC players Bryncethin RFC players Cardiff RFC players Footballers who switched code Huddersfield Giants players Hull Kingston Rovers players Leigh Leopards players Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league players from Bridgend County Borough Rugby union fly-halves Rugby union players from Bridgend County Borough Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players