37 Facts About Pat Richards

Pat Richards was born on 27 February 1982 and is a former professional rugby league footballer.

Pat Richards attended St Therese Primary School and Westfields Sports High School.

Pat Richards played junior rugby league for the Cabramatta club.

Pat Richards was an accomplished cricketer before deciding to take up rugby league on a full time basis.

Pat Richards scored a club record 20 tries during the season, since surpassed by Taniela Tuiaki.

Pat Richards' try from a Benji Marshall flick pass was a highlight of the Wests Tigers' win.

Pat Richards signed a two-year contract with Wigan for the 2006 and 2007 seasons in June 2005.

Pat Richards is over 6 feet tall, fields high balls very well and has a special and powerful kicking game.

Pat Richards started his Wigan career playing in the centre rather than his usually position of wing.

Pat Richards scored 12 tries and kicked 12 goals in 25 appearances during the 2006 season but there was some criticism of Wigan coach Ian Millward for playing him out of position as it was clear that Richards was not suited to playing at centre.

Mid-way through the season, Pat Richards was moved to full back after Michael Withers' retirement.

In 2008, Pat Richards was the Wigan Player of the Season scoring 19 tries and getting a total of 375 points in one season meaning he was the top points scorer in Super League that year as he was the previous year.

Pat Richards signed a new 3-year deal with Wigan mid-2008 stating he and his family were settled at the club and loved the town.

Pat Richards made himself available for Ireland's 2008 Rugby League World Cup campaign.

Pat Richards continued to be a stand out performer for Wigan in 2009 and was again selected to play for Ireland in the 2009 European Cup.

Pat Richards often had to occupy the full back position in the absence of the injured Cameron Phelps and Amos Roberts before Sam Tomkins' move to full back allowed Richards to reclaim his favoured wing position.

Pat Richards was the first Australian player to score 1,000 points or more for the Wigan club.

On 3 September 2010, in a game against Bradford Bulls Pat Richards equalled the record for the most points in a regular Super League season.

Pat Richards won the Man-of-Steel award on Monday, 27 September 2010, beating Adrian Morley, and teammate Sam Tomkins to the accolade.

Pat Richards was the joint Albert Goldthorpe Medal winner with teammate Sam Tomkins as the Super League player of the 2010 season.

The total of 462 points that Pat Richards scored over the entire 2010 season set a new club record at Wigan.

Pat Richards played in the 2010 Super League Grand Final victory over St Helens at Old Trafford.

Pat Richards was selected for the Exiles squad for the inaugural International Origin Match against England at Headingley on 10 June 2011.

Pat Richards played on the wing in the 2011 Challenge Cup Final victory over the Leeds Rhinos at Wembley Stadium, kicking 4 goals from 5 attempts in his side's win.

Pat Richards was 32 by the time the season started.

Pat Richards said, ""I loved my time over there but it got to a stage where if I didn't come back I probably never would come back.

Pat Richards played in the 2013 Challenge Cup Final victory over Hull FC at Wembley Stadium.

Pat Richards played in the 2013 Super League Grand Final victory over the Warrington Wolves at Old Trafford.

Pat Richards ended his time at Wigan as their third all-time points scorer, third all time goal scorer, top Super League try scorer, second top Super League point and goal scorer behind Andy Farrell, as well as two Grand Final wins, two Challenge Cup wins, and a League Leaders Shield to his name as well as the aforementioned Man of Steel win in 2010.

Early in the season, Pat Richards was the competition's leading point-scorer, and was considered a possibility for State of Origin by New South Wales coach Laurie Daley.

Pat Richards finished the year as the club's leading try-scorer and point-scorer.

In round 5 of the 2015 season, Pat Richards scored a try and set up two others in his 100th NRL game.

Pat Richards flew down the sideline, tiptoeing to stay in the field of play by just millimetres.

In Round 22 of the 2015 NRL season, Pat Richards became the first Australian player in the modern era to kick 1000 goals.

Pat Richards finished the regular season as the competition's third highest scorer of points and tries, and fourth best in line breaks.

Pat Richards joined Catalans Dragons for the 2016 Super League season, appearing 21 times and scoring 188 points for the club before announcing his retirement from the sport at the end of the 2016 season.

Pat Richards featured for Ireland in the 2008 and 2013 World Cups and in the 2009 European Cup.