Richard Mark Harding (born 29 August 1953) is a former rugby union international who played for

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 on his last

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captained them. He also played club rugby for his home city of

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

and was part of

Bristol RFC Bristol Bears (officially Bristol Rugby Club or Bristol Rugby) are a professional rugby union club based in Bristol, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded as Bristol Football Club in 18 ...

's cup winning side of 1983. After his sporting career he has concentrated on his profession as an estate agent and chartered surveyor.

Early life

Richard Harding was born in

. He attended

Millfield School Millfield is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) located in Street, Somerset, England. It was founded in 1935. Millfield is a registered charity and is the largest co-educational boarding scho ...

from 1968 to 1971, where he became head of house at Shapwick Manor; his nickname there was "Gilbert". He went on to study Land Economy at

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

, graduating with a BA in the subject in 1975.

Rugby career

Richard Harding played rugby union at school and whilst at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

earned a

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. He went on to play for

and was a stalwart of the team during the 1980s where he was also known by the nickname ''"Corky"''. He was particularly known for his extremely long pass which was used to great effect by Bristol. Harding would pass from a scrum straight to the full back which was intended to leave the opposing fullback flat-footed, allowing a two on one with the opposing wing. Whilst at Bristol he was part of the side who won the

1982–83 John Player Cup The 1982–83 John Player Cup was the 12th edition of England's premier rugby union club competition at the time. Bristol won the competition defeating Leicester in the final. The event was sponsored by John Player cigarettes and the final was hel ...

Final at

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

Harding's first cap for England came on Saturday, 5 January 1985 when England played Romania at Twickenham. The match was won by England 22–15. After that match, the position of scrum-half was contested by Harding, Richard Hill and

Nigel Melville Nigel David Melville (born 6 January 1961) is a former England national rugby union team scrum half and captain and currently serves as Director of Professional Rugby for Rugby Football Union. Melville became the youngest player to captain E ...

. Harding gained two more caps in 1985 against France and Scotland at Twickenham both in the Five Nations. In the France game Harding is remembered for his tackle on

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when he knocked the ball out of his hands over the try line. In 1986 he was not capped but returned to the team in 1987 when he was picked to replace the dropped Richard Hill following disciplinary action against the latter following the 1984 England-Wales match in Cardiff on 7 March. Harding played in the final Five Nations match against Scotland and found himself as first choice for the first

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

in 1987. He played three of England's four games, (being rested against the USA) but was replaced in the 1988 Five Nations by Melville. He came on as a substitute in the Ireland game, and was picked for the end of season game against Ireland, which was played to celebrate the centenary of Dublin. The 1988 tour of Australia and Fiji saw two scrum-halves included, and Harding was one of them. Harding played in both Australian tests which both ended in defeat. The final test of the tour was to be the first ever test against Fiji.Steve Lewis, ''One Among Equals'', page 81, (London:Vertical Editions), 2008 Harding was honoured by being selected as the captain, and England were victorious, 25–10. Harding was the fourth player from Bristol RFC to have been made captain of England. However he soon found himself relegated to third choice scrum-half, behind Hill (making a comeback to the side) and Dewi Morris, who made his debut in the home match against Australia in 1988, and Harding could not force his way back into the England reckoning again.

England Games

1985 Friendly v Romania (Twickenham) 1985 Five Nations Championship v France (Twickenham) v Scotland (Twickenham) 1987 Five Nations Championship v Scotland (Twickenham) 1987 World Cup v Australia (Sydney) v Japan (Sydney) v Wales (Brisbane) 1988 Five Nations Championship v Ireland (R) (Twickenham) 1988 Millennium Match v Ireland (Dublin) 1988 Tour Australia & Fiji v Australia (Brisbane) v Australia (Sydney) v Fiji (c) (Suva)

Outside Rugby

Harding's background in Land Economy led him to become a Chartered Surveyor and he opened up Richard Harding Estate Agents. This firm operates from a high-profile office in Clifton, Bristol and specialises in the sale of residential property. It was at one point sold to Humberts for a maximum total consideration of £2,543,000 of which £1.43million was paid in cash and £600,000 in Humberts shares with the balance representing deferred consideration and acquisition costs. However, was bought back by Harding in 2008 just nine months after selling it for £1.06 million, of which £60,000 pounds was paid in cash and the balance representing the cancellation of the outstanding deferred amount of £1.0 million.''Rugby star is back in business'', Bristol Evening Post, 10/06/2008

Personal life

Richard Harding has a wife, Angela, who partners him in his business and together they have two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harding, Richard 1953 births Living people English rugby union players England international rugby union players Rugby union scrum-halves Bristol Bears players Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge People educated at Millfield Rugby union players from Bristol Gloucestershire County RFU players