Anna Richards
New Zealand international rugby union player
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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]
| 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 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby career
XVs
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]
Sevens
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]
Coaching career
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]
Personal life
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]
Hall of Fame
Richards was inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame on 17 November 2014.[7][16]