James Richard "Richie" Blackmore (born 2 July 1969) is a

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 ...

coach, and former professional footballer who represented

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. His position of preference was as a .

Early years

An Otahuhu junior, Blackmore also played

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 ...

until he was 21. He was regarded as a promising loose forward.Coffey and Wood ''The Kiwis: 100 Years of International Rugby League''

Castleford

Blackmore joined

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the town centre the River Calder joins the ...

at the start of the 1991-92 season and quickly established himself in the team. He played 111 senior games for the club, leaving at the end of the 19941995 season. It was in Castleford that Blackmore had an off field incident with

Tawera Nikau Tawera Nuieia Nikau (born 1 January 1967) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. A New Zealand international representative forward, he played club football at a number of different club ...

that resulted in Nikau refusing to play for the

New Zealand national rugby league team The New Zealand national rugby league team (Māori: Tīma rīki motu Aotearoa) has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of ...

if Blackmore was in the same team. Richie Blackmore played left- and scored a

try Try or TRY may refer to: Music Albums * ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio * ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs * "Try" (Blue Rodeo song) (1987) * "Try" (Colbie Caillat song) (2014) * "Try" (Nelly Furtado song) (2004) * " Try (Ju ...

's 1228 defeat by

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

in the

1992 Challenge Cup Year 199 (Roman numerals, CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been ...

Final during the 1991–92 season at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on Saturday 2 May 1992, in front of a crowd of 77,386. Richie Blackmore played right- in

Castleford Tigers The Castleford Tigers are a professional rugby league club in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England, that compete in the Super League, the top-level professional rugby league club competition in the Northern Hemisphere. The club have competed i ...

' 332 victory over

in the 1993–94 Regal Trophy Final during the 1993–94 season at

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingle ...

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 ...

on Saturday 22 January 1994.

Auckland Warriors

Blackmore joined the new

Auckland Warriors The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...

side in 1995, however he missed the opening rounds due to the overlap with the British season. As a result, he found it hard to secure a place in the starting line up and played only ten first grade games in 1995. Blackmore played another seventeen games for the Auckland Warriors in 1996 before deciding to return to England.

Leeds Rhinos

Blackmore joined the

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club was formed in 1870 as Leeds St John's and play in the Super League, the top tier of English rugby league. They have played home matches at Headi ...

in 1997, joining the

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

competition. He played for Leeds Rhinos at , scoring their sole try in the 1998 Super League Grand Final loss to

Wigan Warriors The Wigan Warriors are a professional rugby league club in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the Super League. Formed in 1872 as Wigan Football Club, Wigan was a founding member of the Rugby Football League, Northern Rugby ...

. He went on to play 45 first grade games for the club. In mid-1999 Blackmore suffered a serious leg injury that kept him out for most of the season. In 2000, while recovering from injury, Blackmore played rugby union for the

Leeds Tykes Leeds Tykes (formerly Leeds RUFC, Leeds Carnegie and Yorkshire Carnegie) is an English rugby union club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the National League 1. The club was founded as Headingley FC, but renamed in 1991 when it j ...

against Sale in Round Four of the

Tetley's Bitter Cup The Anglo-Welsh Cup (), was a cross-border rugby union knock-out cup competition that featured the 12 Premiership Rugby clubs and the four Welsh regions. It was a created as a replacement for the RFU Knockout Cup, which featured only English clubs ...

.Leeds find that two into one does go
''The Independent'', 2 January 2000

Return & Retirement

At the end of the 2000 season Blackmore signed a one-year deal with the renamed

New Zealand Warriors The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...

who were looking for an experience back to help shape their youthful squad. Blackmore played eight

first grade First grade (also called Grade One, called ''Year 2'' in England or Primary 2 in Scotland) is the first grade in elementary school and the first school year after kindergarten. Children are usually 6–7 years old in this grade. Examples by r ...

games for the club, before retiring at the end of the season. He continued to play in the

Auckland Rugby League The Auckland Rugby League (ARL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is responsible for rugby league in the region, including both club and school rugby league. It began in 1910 when the fi ...

competition, moving into the second row. In 2005 he was the

player-coach A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

of the

Manurewa Marlins The Manurewa Marlins are a rugby league club based in Manurewa, New Zealand. In 2018 the Marlins will compete in Auckland Rugby League's Sharman Cup competition. Between 2000 and 2003 they competed in the national Bartercard Cup competition. N ...

when they won the Fox Memorial. He retired properly at the end of that season, taking up the head coach position at Otahuhu in 2006.

International career

Richie Blackmore was a

international, making his début for the Kiwis in 1991. Blackmore represented the Kiwis in both the

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

and 2000 Rugby League World Cups.

Coaching

After retiring from playing Blackmore remained involved with the Warriors, and was often seen running out water to the team during matches. In 2006 Blackmore accepted a role as head coach of the

Otahuhu Leopards The Otahuhu Leopards are a rugby league club based in Otahuhu, Auckland. Founded in 1911 Auckland Rugby League season, 1911, the club has produced 49 New Zealand national rugby league team players. The club competes in the Fox Memorial competit ...

in the

competition. He held this position until the end of 2010, leading the team to a Fox Memorial grand final victory over the

Mt Albert Lions The Mount Albert Lions are a rugby league club based in Mount Albert, New Zealand. The Lions home ground is at Fowlds Park. Their patron is the former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark. In 2008 and 2009 the Lions won the Fox Memorial. ...

. In 2008 Blackmore joined the New Zealand Māori team as assistant coach. He was co-coach in 2010 along with

Mark Horo Mark Gregory Horo (born 27 March 1963) is a New Zealand rugby league coach and former footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. A New Zealand national rugby league team, New Zealand international representative, he played club football in N ...

. In 2011 Blackmore was appointed as head coach of the

Auckland Vulcans The Auckland Vulcans were an Auckland based rugby league club that participated in the New South Wales Cup. They were administered by the Rugby League Development Foundation. The team was selected from the Auckland Rugby League's Fox Memorial C ...

in the

NSW Cup The NSW Cup, currently known as the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. The competition has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserv ...

, and coached the team to the Grand Final. In 2012 he was to be appointed coach of the

Leigh Centurions The Leigh Leopards are a professional rugby league club based in Leigh, Greater Manchester, England, who compete in the Betfred Super League. The club was founded in 1878, and is one of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern R ...

, however visa concerns meant he was instead appointed as the club's Business Development Manager, starting his position in April 2012. In 2014 he coached the

Papakura Sea Eagles The Papakura Sea Eagles are an Auckland rugby league club based in Papakura. The Sea Eagles currently compete in the Fox Memorial competition run by the Auckland Rugby League. History The Papakura Rugby League Club formed in 1931. On March 26 th ...

in the

competition.Team Lists Round 13 - July 5
''aucklandleague.co.nz'' He coached

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

in 2015.

References

External links

The Teams: New Zealand
*(archived by web.archive.org
Castleford RLFC A to Z Player List (All Time)
*(archived by web.archive.org
Statistics at thecastlefordtigers.co.uk ℅ web.archive.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackmore, Richie 1969 births Living people Auckland rugby league team coaches Auckland rugby league team players Castleford Tigers players Leeds Rhinos players Leeds Tykes players Leigh Centurions coaches Manurewa Marlins coaches Manurewa Marlins players New Zealand Māori rugby league players New Zealand Māori rugby league team coaches New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England New Zealand rugby league coaches New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand Warriors players Otahuhu Leopards coaches Otahuhu Leopards players Papakura Sea Eagles coaches Rugby league centres