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Dai
Richards - Dai started collecting rugby memorabilia in the late
1960s. The acquisition of a 1965 Wales v England programme started the
ball rolling in what has become a lifelong obsession with the history of
the rugby union game and it's artefacts. The collection has grown steadily
over the last 35+
years and is now considered one of
the finest in the world. The collection has been featured by the BBC, S4C,
Times and Western Mail amongst others. Rugby Relics was founded in 1991
and has since provided an unrivalled service to collectors, historians and
the media. In 2002 The World Rugby Museum was launched as the World's
first on-line museum dedicated to Rugby Football and it's wonderful
history. To view some of the items in Dai's collection
visit the World Rugby Museum.
Dai's sporting career has been an interesting one. As far as rugby is concerned he played occasionally in school and after leaving school he took up refereeing, passing the WRU referees exams in 1978. At one match a team was short and when a committeeman offered to referee the game, the young 'whippersnapper' played. Dai found the game to his liking and embarked on a playing career. This didn't last long, he ended up dislocating his shoulder, in this his second and last season of youth rugby, Dai played one season of senior rugby for Baglan RFC and was selected to represent the Aberavon & District team. A recurrence of the dislocation meant the end of his rugby career. Not being one to put his feet up, Dai started playing soccer, continued with squash and then took up running as the jogging boom was in full swing. An instant love affair with endurance sports began as Dai found his stamina and speed stood him in good stead as he toed the start lines of South Wales. In 1985 he won the county 5000 metre track championships and competed in his first triathlon. He has continued competing in single and multi-sport events since then during which time he has represented Wales at senior level in 6 different sports (cyclo-cross, triathlon, mountain running, mountain biking, duathlon, and marathon kayaking). The pinnacle of his sporting career was when he was crowned World Champion in the veteran category in the sport of Quadrathlon in the year 2000. For more information and to see a full run down of his sporting career visit Dai's page CLICK HERE |
| Dai Richards |
