Richard 'Richie' Eyres (born 7 December 1964) is an English-born 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 ...

and

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 ...

footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played international rugby league for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

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 ...

, and at club level for Blackbrook ARLFC, St Helens, Widnes St. Maries ARLFC,

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census had a population of 61,464. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on t ...

(two spells),

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

Warrington Wolves The Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England, that competes in the Super League. They play rugby at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2004. Founded as Warrington Z ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

, as a , or , and club level rugby union for

Neath Neath (; cy, Castell-nedd) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a po ...

and

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

Background

Richie Eyres was born in St Helens,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, England, he has

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

ancestor An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from whom ...

s, and eligible to play for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in 202 ...

due to the

grandparent rule The grandfather rule, in sports which usually only permit participants to play for the team of their country of birth, is an exception which gives participants the option to play for the country of any of their ancestors up to the grandparents. ...

Playing career

International honours

Richie Eyres won a

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

for

while at Widnes in 1992 against Wales, won

s for

while at Leeds in 1995 against England, France, and in the

1995 Rugby League World Cup The 1995 Rugby League World Cup was held during October in the United Kingdom. It was the eleventh staging of the Rugby League World Cup and was marketed as the Halifax Centenary World Cup, reflecting the tournament's sponsorship and the fact ...

, against France, Western Samoa, and England, and while at Swinton in 1998 against England, and in 1999 against Ireland, and Scotland, and won

s for

while at Widnes in 1989 against France ( interchange/ substitute), in 1991 against France (twice, once as a substitute), in 1992 in the

1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup The 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup (sometimes shortened to 1992 Rugby League World Cup) was the tenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup, and continued to use the three-year format, stretching across the years 1989 to 1992. As with the ...

against France ( interchange/ substitute), and Australia ( interchange/ substitute), in 1993 against France (2 matches), and while at Leeds in 1993 against New Zealand ( interchange/ substitute) (2 matches). Eyres is unusual in having initially represented England and then gone onto represent Wales. Eyres played and scored a try in Widnes' 30–18 victory over

Canberra Raiders The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby ...

in the

1989 World Club Challenge The 1989 World Club Challenge (also known as the Foster's World Club Challenge due to sponsorship by brewers, Foster's) was the third ever and first official World Club Challenge match. 1989's NSWRL season premiers, the Canberra Raiders travelle ...

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...

, Manchester on Wednesday 4 October 1989.

Family

Eyres is the brother of the rugby league , and of the 1980s and 1990s for

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 ...

and

; Andy Eyres.

References

External links

Neath to complete the signing of Richie EyresStatistics at rugby.widnes.tvPastPlayers – E at neathrugby.co.ukStatistics at neathrugby.co.ukStatistics at wolvesplayers.thisiswarrington.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eyres, Richard 1966 births Living people Coventry R.F.C. players England national rugby league team players English rugby league players English rugby union players Footballers who switched code Great Britain national rugby league team players Leeds Rhinos players Neath RFC players Rochdale Hornets players Rugby league locks Rugby league players from St Helens, Merseyside Rugby league second-rows Rugby union players from St Helens, Merseyside Sheffield Eagles (1984) players Swinton Lions players Wales national rugby league team players Warrington Wolves players Widnes Vikings players