Rex Richards (rugby union)

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Rex Richards
Birth nameRex Clive Richards
Date of birth(1934-02-04)4 February 1934
Place of birth Newport, Wales
Date of death6 March 1989(1989-03-06) (aged 55)
Place of death Miami, United States
SchoolStow Hill Secondary Modern
Rugby union career
Position(s) Prop
Amateur team(s)
YearsTeamApps(Points)
Cross Keys RFC ()
– Monmouthshire ()
International career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1956 Wales 1 (0)

Rex Clive Richards (4 February 1934 – 6 March 1989) [1] was a Welsh international rugby union player. He gained his only cap against France at Cardiff on 24 March 1956, Wales winning 5–3. [2] He played for Cross Keys RFC until 1955 before heading to Hollywood to try to make his fortune as an actor.

He had a number of roles, including the King of Wongo in Wild Women of Wongo in 1958. In 2008, the film was given a special screening in Cross Keys, where Richards had spent his playing career; it was the first time the film had been shown in the town. [3]

Richards narrowly missed out on at least one role that would have made him internationally famous. He auditioned to play Tarzan and out of 1,000 people he got down to the final two, just missing out to Gordon Scott. [4]

His nephew Julian Richards is a film director.

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References

  1. ↑ Rex Richards player profile Scrum.com
  2. ↑ Fields of Praise, The Official History of the Welsh Rugby Union 1881-1981, David Smith, Gareth Williams (1980) pp474 ISBN   0-7083-0766-3
  3. ↑ The rugby star and the Wild Women of Wongo Campaignseries.co.uk 28 January 2008
  4. ↑ The incredible story of Wales' Tarzan Walesonline.co.uk 9 August 2009


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