Thomas James "Rusty" Richards, MC (29 April 1882 – 25 September 1935) was an Australian military officer and national representative

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player, who was born at Vegetable Creek, Emmaville in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. Richards is the only Australian-born player to ever represent both Australia and the British Lions and as such the

Tom Richards Trophy The Tom Richards Cup, also known as the Tom Richards Trophy, is an international rugby union trophy awarded to the winner of British & Irish Lions vs. Australian national rugby union team, Australia Test match (rugby union), test series. It was c ...

is named in his honor. He is an inductee to the

Australian Rugby Union Rugby Australia Ltd, previously named Australian Rugby Union Limited and Australian Rugby Football Union Limited, is an Australian company operating the premier rugby union competition in Australia and teams. It has its origins in 1949. It is a ...

Hall of Fame.

Early years

Richard's Cornish father emigrated to Australia during the Gold Rush from

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Nicknamed ''Rusty'', he grew up in the gold mining town of

Charters Towers Charters Towers is a rural town in the Charters Towers Region, Queensland, Australia. It is by road south-west from Townsville on the Flinders Highway. During the last quarter of the 19th century, the town boomed as the rich gold deposits und ...

in Northern Queensland. His interest in the rugby game developed when a New South Wales touring side visited his town. He started training and playing rugby and went on to represent

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. His family moved to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

in 1905.

Rugby wanderer

He continued playing rugby in South Africa, playing a small number of games for the

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name ''Transvaal''. * South African Republic (1856–1902; ...

in the domestic

Currie Cup The Currie Cup () is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier domestic competition, four South African franc ...

competition. That year the

South Africa national rugby union team The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabhokobhoko) is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...

was preparing for its first overseas tour to Great Britain, and the Currie Cup was used as a trial to select the touring squad. Richards was initially considered as a squad member but a complicated qualifying rule prevented his inclusion. He subsequently travelled to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

where he continued playing rugby in the county championships spending a season representing

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

. Richards also played at county level while in Britain and was chosen to play for Gloucester in their encounter with the South Africa team he was excluded from touring with. He soon returned to Australia and became the lynch-pin of the Queensland pack, which led to him being selected for the '

Wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and som ...

' in the 1908 tour of the United Kingdom. He played in both Test matches of the tour and was Australia's first try-scorer in the Test against

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

. The touring party took part in the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were originally schedu ...

that were being held in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. The team won gold, with Richards again scoring a try, over a Cornish side representing Great Britain. Richards thus became an Olympic Gold medallist. He returned to South Africa after his touring duties. In 1910, the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

team were touring South Africa and in July of that year, played Transvaal. The tourist had picked up a number of injuries and Richards was drafted in to face his old team as he qualified to play through his membership with Bristol. He ended up representing Britain on twelve occasions, including two Tests against South Africa. He scored once for Britain, a try in the second encounter with Transvaal. He returned to Australia in 1911 and was selected to tour to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

with Australia in 1912.Australian Rugby Team (Touring America), 1912, ''The Daily Telegraph'', (Wednesday, 18 September 1912), p. 15.
/ref> He played at break-away in the sole Test of that tour - the November 1912 clash against the United States at Berkeley - and scored a try in that match. In 1913 his wanderlust returned, and he spent the year travelling around Europe, playing rugby in England, France, Italy and Switzerland. While in France he signed with

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

as a player and manager.

War service and later life

Richards enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) on 26 August 1914 and in October sailed for Egypt on the Transport ''Euripides'' with the 1st Field Ambulance. He was part of the landing at

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

on the morning of 25 April 1915 and served as a stretcher-bearer. In July 1915, he was mentioned in divisional orders for "acts of gallantry" in May and June 1915. With the conclusion of the Gallipoli Campaign in December 1915, he returned to Egypt and then in March 1916 left for the Western Front, when he was also appointed lance corporal. On 25 November 1916 he was commissioned second lieutenant and, in December, transferred to the 1st Infantry Battalion. In May 1917, during the Battle of Arras near

Bullecourt Bullecourt () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department department in the Hauts-de-France region region of northern France. Geography Bullecourt is situated on the Upper Cretaceous plain of Artois between Arras and Bapaume, east of the A1 ...

, he led a nineteen-man bombing party. He was promoted

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in June 1917 and awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

in August for "conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty". In May 1917, he was accidentally injured in a bomb blast at the 1st ANZAC Training School. He was evacuated to England twice in 1917 and again in May 1918, with damage to his back and shoulders from a bomb blast. He left England in August 1918 and, after four months in South Africa en route, arrived in Sydney in February 1919 where his AIF appointment was terminated on 3 November.

Legacy and accolades

The Tom Richards Cup is the trophy that is played for between the

British & Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...

and Australia. In 2005 he was honoured as one of the inaugural five inductees into the

Hall of Fame. Upon his induction

President Paul McLean commented: ''"late Tom Richards was an extraordinary character whom ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' described in 1908 as the first man to be picked for Earth if we were ever to play Mars!"''

References

External links