Dean Richards (England)

Inducted: England v Italy (9/3/03)

Dean Richards - England

Dean Richards’ reluctance to seek the limelight can reach almost pathological levels. He is the archetypal team man and throughout an international career that embraced 48 caps for England and half a dozen appearances for the British and Irish Lions has shrugged off praise and honours consistently. It is not false modesty or feigned humility, it is simply that fame on a personal level is just not his scene.

But his achievements on the rugby fields of the world make him well qualified to take his place on Twickenham’s Wall of Fame, which commemorates the game’s finest and most distinguished players from all countries and all eras and gives them a permanent place in the history of Rugby Union, lest they be forgotten.

But with his mop of fair hair, jersey more often than not hanging outside his shorts and most famously of all, his socks rolled down to his ankles, it is unlikely that few will ever forget Richards, least of all the Italians who contested the 1991 World Cup.

It was his only brush with Italy and it was a feisty match at Twickenham and a game he does not recall with fondness. Nevertheless time has softened him enough for him to allow that, after what he felt was a cynical approach more than a decade ago that the Sixth Nation has come a long way in the intervening years.

“They have improved hugely since that 1991 World Cup match,” says the Leicester legend and the world’s most capped No8, consigning the memories to his mental waste paper basket.

Oddly a rubbish bin features in one of his lasting memories of Twickenham. If, in years to come, there is puzzlement in the sporting memorabilia market over the rarity of 1996 Pilkington Cup runners-up tankards and questions get no answers, investigators need look no further than Richards for an explanation.

Tigers had just lost out by a point after referee Steve Lander awarded a last minute penalty try against them and Neil Back had just shoved the match official in the back.

Richards entered the dressing room clutching his runners-up memento, a glass tankard. He spotted a large rubbish bin and lobbed the tankard in the direction of the receptacle. The intention was for it symbolically to drop into the bin, testimony to what Richards thought of the match, the referee and the day.

Unfortunately it hit the side of the bin, dropped to the floor where, in front of the rest of the Leicester team, it shattered into hundreds of pieces.

“All the other players thought I had deliberately thrown it at the wall and most of them followed suit before I could stop them. I doubt there are more than one or two of those tankards around now.”

He does have far more pleasant memories of Twickenham – old Twickenham, “There was an intimacy to the old stadium, with spectators just half a dozen feet from the touchline. I don’t think any other international stadium had that intimacy” – as well.

“I remember the Grand Slams we clinched there in 1991 and 1992. In fact that first Slam against France we won after having gone behind and they scored that fantastic try counter attacking from behind their own line.” Now Richards induction onto the  Wall of Fame – “It is a great honour for me but there are many others who deserve it more than me.” – will jog a few more memories of this icon of late 20th Century English rugby.

Article by Dai Llewellyn

Image © Museum of Rugby, Twickenham.

The Wall of Fame consists of a series of plaques on the walls of Twickenham Stadium. It acts to honour legends of the world game while celebrating 100 years of rugby at Twickenham.  One essential criterion for induction is that each person must have made some sort of impact at the home of rugby. At each test at the stadium two players are inducted onto the wall. The first induction was at the Australia game in 2000, and the inductions will continue until 2010 when 100 players will have been commended.