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

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player for

Newport RFC Newport Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Casnewydd) is a Welsh rugby union club based in the city of Newport, South Wales. They presently play in the Welsh Premier Division. Until 2021 Newport RFC were based at Rodney Parade situated on t ...

and the

Newport Gwent Dragons Dragons RFC ( cy, Dreigiau) are one of the four professional rugby union regional teams in Wales. They are owned by the Welsh Rugby Union and play their home games at Rodney Parade, Newport and at other grounds around the region. They play in ...

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 (; cy, Llanelwy "church on the Elwy") is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and community (Wales), community on the River Elwy in Denbighshire, Wales. In the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census it had a population of 3,355 ...

Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...

, Leach began his career with Colwyn Bay RFC and joined

Orrell RUFC Orrell Rugby Union Football Club is a rugby union club from Orrell in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club was founded in 1927, holding a place in the top-tier of rugby union from 1986 to 1997. History Orrell Rugb ...

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 and ...

and had trials with

English Premiership The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

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, Englan ...

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 an independent 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-S ...

senior school in

Colwyn Bay Colwyn Bay ( cy, Bae Colwyn) is a town, community and seaside resort in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales overlooking the Irish Sea. It lies within the historic county of Denbighshire. Eight neighbouring communities are incorpo ...

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

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

, 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 England and Wales Cricket Board, ECB ECB Premier Leagu ...

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

Glamorgan County Cricket Club Glamorgan County Cricket Club ( cy, Criced Morgannwg) is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Glamorgan ( cy, Morgannwg). Founded in 1888, ...

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

Monmouth School Monmouth School for Boys is a public school (independent day and boarding school) for boys in Monmouth, Wales. The school was founded in 1614 with a bequest from William Jones, a successful merchant and trader. The School is run as a trust, t ...

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 (previously the Minor Counties Cricket 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 cou ...

match against

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

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

in a three-day game against the

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

at the

SWALEC Stadium The Cardiff Wales Stadium, which is part of Sophia Gardens Cardiff ( ; cy, Gerddi Soffia Caerdydd), 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 lis ...

. 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

, 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

side

Worcester Warriors Worcester Warriors Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union club, based in Worcester, England, that is currently in Administration (law), administration and which has been suspended and will be relegated from Premiership Rugby, the top ...

, followed by two weeks with the

at a training camp in

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location in ...

. 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 ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Bedwas) is a rugby union club located in the 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 ...

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''), , also called 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 across the wings. It is brown o ...

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 People 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 People educated at Rydal Penrhos