- Date of Birth:
- 17 August 1981 (27)
- Sport:
- Hockey
- Home Town:
- Somerset
- Current Address:
- Windsor
- Club:
- Reading Hockey Club
Sponsors:
Great Britain, England and World All Star Hockey Player.
As England and Great Britain’s full back and short corner specialist, Richard has scored an impressive 46 goals in 75 games. He was the tournament top scorer at the World Cup Qualifier with 10 goals and played every minute of the 2006 World Cup where the team finished 5th. The 2006 season culminated with Richard being named as one of the top 18 players in the world when selected in the ‘World Hockey All Star Team’ following the World Cup.
Richard has been playing hockey since he could walk and started at the local club his father coached at, Taunton Vale HC. He played in the 1st IX at Millfield School from the age of 15yrs. On leaving school Richard joined Canterbury hockey club where he played for three years before joining Reading Hockey Club the year they won the European cup. Richard has played in the England U18 and U21 sides winning his first Senior cap in 2003 in a match against Belgium.
In March this year the GB men’s team had one more chance at qualifying for the Beijing Olympics in a competition in Mexico where their biggest challengers were India. Their emphatic 2-0 win against India in the final means that the GB team will travel to Beijing in August while India will stay home for the first time since 1928.
Since leaving University Richard has been juggling a full-time job as well as club and country training commitments. It is only this year that he is taking time off from his job as a Senior Account Manager in a Marketing company in order to focus on his tournament preparation for the up-coming Olympic Games.
Richard plays along side his brother in both club and National sides. With Simon in attack and Richard’s dominance in defence the pair will be a force to be reckoned with in Beijing 2008 and ultimately the London 2012 Olympics.
Achievements:
2008 1st – Olympic Qualifiers, Santiago
2007 4th – Champions Challenge, Belgium (England’s top scorer)
2006 5th – World Cup, Monchengladbach (England’s top scorer)
2006 3rd – World Cup Qualifiers, China
2006 4th – Commonwealth Games, Melbourne (England’s top scorer)
Domestic:
2007 Premiership Winner (Reading HC)
2006 EH Cup Winner
2005 Premiership Winner (Reading HC)
2005 Silver – European Club Cup (Reading HC)
2004 Premiership Winner (Reading HC)
2003 European club cup winner
2003 Premier League Winner (Reading HC)
2003 EH Cup Winner
2002 Premiership Winner (Canterbury HC)
2002 EH Cup Winner
