Kenneth "Ken" Henry Llewellyn Richards (29 January 1934 – 8 January 1972) 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 1960s. 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

Bedwas RFC Bedwas RFC () is a rugby union club located in the Wales, Welsh village of Bedwas. Bedwas has two senior teams, their 1st XV competing in the Welsh Championship and their development side, the Bedwas Barbarians. The club is a member of the Welsh R ...

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

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 ...

, 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

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

. Noted for his drop-goals, Ken Richards would often take penalties and conversions using the

drop goal A drop goal, field goal, or dropped goal is a method of scoring points in rugby union and rugby league and also, rarely, in American football and Canadian football. A drop goal is scored by drop kicking the ball (dropping the ball and then kick ...

method rather than placing the ball, during September 1961 he scored a drop goal penalty against

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

from 55

yard The yard (symbol: yd) is an English units, English unit of length in both the British imperial units, imperial and US United States customary units, customary systems of measurement equalling 3 foot (unit), feet or 36 inches. Sinc ...

s (50

metre The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...

s).

Background

Ken Richards born 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, he was a pupil at Bridgend Grammar School, and he died in

, Wales.

International honours

Ken Richards won

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 ...

s for

(RU) while at Bridgend RFC in 1960 against South Africa, and in 1961 against England, Scotland, Ireland, and France.

References

External links

Search for "Richards" at rugbyleagueproject.org

Statistics at wru.wales (RU)

Statistics at bedwasrfc.co.uk

Search for "Kenneth Richards" at britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk

Search for "Ken Richards" at britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk

The greatest ever Bridgend XV

Image "Wales 1961 - Wales 6 England 3 - Cardiff Arms Park - 21st January 1961" at rugbyrelics.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Kenneth 1934 births 1972 deaths 20th-century Welsh sportsmen Bedwas RFC players Bridgend RFC players Cardiff RFC players Footballers who switched code People educated at Ysgol Brynteg Rugby league players from Bridgend Rugby union fly-halves Rugby union players from Bridgend Salford Red Devils players Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players