| Born | 3 December 1964 Timaru, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 67 kg (148 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Anna Mary Richards MNZM (born 3 December 1964) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. She represented New Zealand and won four Rugby World Cups — 1998, 2002, 2006, and 2010. [1] [2] [3]
After being dropped from the Canterbury netball team an invitation from her family law lecturer, Laurie O’Reilly, who was married to then Canterbury netball coach, Kay O’Reilly, to come watch a game kickstarted her rugby career. She eventually played for the University of Canterbury side and toured America and Europe. [4]
Richards debuted for the Black Ferns on 26 August 1990. [3] Her test debut at the 1991 Rugby World Cup came against Canada on 6 April at Glamorgan.
In 1992, when the Black Ferns was formally recognised. She was a member of the squad that defeated Auckland 36–0 at Eden Park. [5] She scored a try in the game. [5] [6]
She played 54 matches for the Black Ferns of which 49 were full internationals, she has won four Women’s Rugby World Cups before she retired in 2010. [7] [4]
She was a member of the first official New Zealand women's sevens team, who took part in the 2000 Hong Kong Sevens. [8] [9] She captained the side again at the 2001 tournament. [10]
Richards was appointed as head coach of the Hong Kong women's sevens team in 2013. [11] [3] She completed her coaching role at the end of 2017. [12] [13]
As at January 2023 she is the women's player development manager at Auckland Rugby. [14]
Richards has a law degree and a BA. [3] She played representative tennis and netball. In the 2005 Queen's Birthday Honours, She was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to women's rugby. [15]
Richards was inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame on 17 November 2014. [7] [16]
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