Patrick James Handley Leach (born 18 July 1985) is a

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 ...

player for

Newport RFC Newport Rugby Football Club () is a Welsh rugby union club based in the city of Newport, Wales. They presently play in the Super Rygbi Cymru. Until 2021 Newport RFC were based at Rodney Parade situated on the east bank of the River Usk. Ever ...

and the Newport Gwent Dragons regional team. He usually plays at

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

, but he has also played at

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

. Born in

St Asaph St Asaph (; "church on the Elwy") is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and community (Wales), community on the River Elwy in Denbighshire, Wales. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census the community had a population ...

Flintshire Flintshire () is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, the Dee Estuary to the north-east, the English county of Cheshire to the east, Wrexham County Borough to the south, and Denbighshire to the west. ...

, Leach began his career with Colwyn Bay RFC and joined Orrell RUFC after leaving school. He also played for

Manchester Rugby Club Manchester Rugby Club, founded in 1860 as Manchester Football Club, is one of the oldest rugby union clubs in the world. Home matches are played at Grove Park in Cheadle Hulme, Stockport. The club has a Senior Men's section (1st XV, 2nd XV an ...

and had trials with English Premiership side

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

before joining Newport RFC in 2009. He received his first call-up to the Dragons side in May 2010.

Early life and cricket career

Leach was born in

to Mike – a former Wales B rugby international – and Sally Leach. He attended

Rydal Penrhos Rydal Penrhos School is a private day school in Colwyn Bay, North Wales. It is the only Methodist school in the independent sector in Wales. It is located on multiple sites around the town with a site in the neighbouring village of Rhos-on-Sea ...

senior school in

Colwyn Bay Colwyn Bay () is a town, Community (Wales), community and seaside resort in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales overlooking the Irish Sea. It lies within the historic counties of Wales, historic county boundaries of Denbighshire (h ...

, where his father was employed as a rugby coach. While at Rydal, Leach mostly played

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

, and in 2000, at the age of 14, he began playing in the

Liverpool and District Cricket Competition The Love Lane Liverpool and District Cricket Competition is regarded as the top level of competition for recreational club cricket in the Liverpool area and since 2000 has been a designated ECB Premier League. The Competition operates a three d ...

for Colwyn Bay, for whom he played until 2009. He briefly went on trial with

Glamorgan County Cricket Club Glamorgan County Cricket Club () is one of eighteen first-class cricket, first-class county cricket, county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Gla ...

in the summer of 2002, playing for their Under-17s team in matches against

Monmouth School Monmouth School was a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school, boarding and day school, day school) for boys in Monmouth, Wales. The school was founded in 1614 with a beques ...

and Wiltshire Under-17s. Three years later, he was selected to play for the Wales Minor Counties in a

Minor Counties Championship The NCCA 3 Day Championship or National County Championship is a season-long competition in England and Wales that is contested by the members of the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), the so-called national counties (previously ca ...

match against

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

in Colwyn Bay. He bowled 11 overs in the first innings, taking no wickets for 63 runs, but did not bowl in the second innings and did not bat in either innings. In 2008, Leach was selected to play 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 ...

in a three-day game against the

Marylebone Cricket Club The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's, Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London, England. The club was the governing body of cricket from 1788 to 1989 and retain ...

at the

SWALEC Stadium The Cardiff Wales Stadium, which is part of Sophia Gardens Cardiff ( ; ), is a cricket stadium in Cardiff, Wales. It is located in Sophia Gardens on the River Taff. It is home to Glamorgan County Cricket Club and is listed as an international ...

. He opened the bowling for Wales, taking two wickets for 29 runs in 12 overs, before scoring 40 runs off 74 balls. In the second innings, he took one more wicket for 25 runs off 11 overs and added 35 runs off 54 ball. The match finished as a draw, with Wales falling 77 runs short of a result with three wickets remaining.

Rugby career

Leach also played

while at Rydal, both for the school and for Colwyn Bay RFC. On leaving school, Leach joined Orrell RUFC, but later returned to Colwyn Bay. He spent two years back with Colwyn Bay before joining

, making it into the first XV. This led to appearances for Cheshire and for the England Counties team's tour of Japan and South Korea in 2009. The same year, Leach had a two-week trial with English Premiership side

Worcester Warriors Worcester Warriors are a professional rugby union club based in Worcester, England. They most recently played in Premiership Rugby, the top division of English rugby union, before being suspended by the Rugby Football Union, RFU in September 2 ...

, followed by two weeks with the Newport Gwent Dragons at a training camp in

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...

. Leach was offered a contract with the Dragons in August 2009, but an ankle injury early in the season meant that he missed much of the 2009–10 campaign. He made his comeback for

in a game against

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 ...

in January 2010, and went on to make 15 more appearances before the end of the season, leading to his Dragons debut against the

Ospreys The osprey (; ''Pandion haliaetus''), historically known as sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and a wingspan of . It is ...

on 7 May 2010; he was replaced by Tom Riley after 66 minutes.

References

External links

Newport Gwent Dragons profileNewport RFC profile
at CricketArchive.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Leach, Pat 1985 births Living people Sportspeople from St Asaph Sportspeople from Colwyn Bay Rugby union players from Conwy County Borough Rugby union players from Denbighshire Welsh rugby union players Rugby union centres Welsh cricketers Wales National County cricketers Newport RFC players Dragons RFC players 21st-century Welsh sportsmen People educated at Rydal Penrhos