Patrick (or Pat) Rich is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who represented the

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

( Heritage No. 1095) in the

Northern Ford Premiership The Rugby Football League Championship Second Division was founded in 1902 and was the second tier of professional rugby league in the UK until 2003. During the 1990s a third division was established and there is automatic promotion between ...

(later National League One in the National Leagues).

Playing career

Started his career as an amateur playing for Durham Tigers RLFC in the North-East of England, outside of the sport's traditional heartland. He played stand off for the club who had some success as a junior side in the early 90s dominating the other junior teams in the North East and also having successful forays against

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

teams. He began his senior professional career as loose forward at

Keighley Cougars The Keighley Cougars are a professional rugby league club from Keighley in West Yorkshire, England who compete in League 1, the third tier of English rugby league. Keighley's home ground, Cougar Park has a capacity of 7,800. History Early y ...

, Pat subsequently moved to Oldham where his biggest impact came during the 2001 season and, in particular, his contribution with the boot which helped his side to the Northern Ford Premiership semi-final win 39–32 over

Rochdale Hornets The Rochdale Hornets are a professional rugby league club from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England, competing in the Championship, the second tier of European rugby league. The Rochdale Hornets are one of the original twenty-two rugby clubs ...

when he kicked nine out of nine

goal A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ai ...

attempts. In the Grand Final he was unable to secure the points needed with Neil Kelly's

Widnes Vikings The Widnes Vikings are an English rugby league club in Widnes, Cheshire, which competes in the Betfred Championship. The club plays home matches at the Halton Stadium. Founded as Widnes Football Club, they are one of the original twenty-two rug ...

running out victors 24–12. During his first spell at Oldham, Pat was the club's most consistent goal kicker since the 1960s. At various times he held a number of club records including, goals in a season (146, 2000 to 2001) goals in a career (303, 1999 to 2004) and points in a career (682, 1999 to 2004).Oldham Rugby League Heritage Trust - Club Honours & Records
/ref> After a short period at Oldham, Pat left the North Western club to pursue a career in the

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

. Although he returned for brief spells with

Sheffield Eagles The Sheffield Eagles are a professional rugby league club that play in the Championship (rugby league), Betfred Championship. The club play their home games at the Olympic Legacy Park (OLP) on the former site of Don Valley Stadium, their forme ...

London Skolars The London Skolars are a professional rugby league club based at the New River Stadium, Wood Green, Haringey in north London. They were founded in 1995 and have been professional since 2003, operating in the Betfred League 1. They also run an ...

, and finally Oldham for some 14 games in 2004, he no longer plays competitive

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

. Rich's seven-year-long record for points scored for Roughyeds in a single season (320) was eventually beaten by

Mick Nanyn Mick Nanyn (born 3 June 1982) is a former Scotland national rugby league team, Scotland international rugby league footballer. He played as a and was a specialist Goal (sport)#Rugby football, goal-kicker. He set point scoring records at severa ...

(362) in 2008. In 79 appearances (2 as substitute) he scored 682 points (303 goals and 19 tries).

References

External links

Oldham R.L.F.C. Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rich, Patrick Living people English rugby league players Keighley Cougars players London Skolars players Oldham R.L.F.C. players Place of birth missing (living people) Rugby league centres Rugby league wingers Sheffield Eagles players Year of birth missing (living people)