Turn up at Castle Park in Doncaster this week and, bang on cue, a pony and trap is being driven in stately fashion down the nearby main road. There is, some might argue, a similarly retro feel about the Knights’ latest choice of director of rugby. It is now 40 years since Dean Richards barged his way into the public consciousness with two tries on his Test debut against Ireland at Twickenham but, at 63, he is still very much up for a challenge.
As with vinyl records and fine wine, old-school rugby nous never goes entirely out of vogue. That, at least, is the rationale behind Richards’ return to the upper rungs of the English club ladder, commencing with a 740-mile round trip to Cornish Pirates on the opening weekend of the 2026-27 Champ season. After an illustrious 22-year association with Leicester, the Bloodgate era at Harlequins, a decade at Newcastle Falcons and briefer spells at Grenoble and, most recently, Wymondham in Norfolk, his latest rugby reincarnation in South Yorkshire certainly lends extra intrigue to this year’s Champ as the league seeks to frame itself as an attractive standalone alternative to the Prem after years of slashed Rugby Football Union funding.
Because Richards has seen it all in his time and has plenty of interesting views on the English game. For starters, he thinks the RFU has been guilty of underestimating the Champ’s potential value as a breeding ground for aspiring players, coaches and referees alike. In his opinion, the standard is improving and a glance at his Knights squad underlines the increasing depth in the second tier since the Prem was reduced to 10 teams.
Semesa Rokoduguni, Telusa Veainu and Logovi’i Mulipola are all former standout Prem performers while Newcastle’s erstwhile head coach Alan Dickens is now on the coaching staff and the legendary Sir Ian McGeechan, now 79, is also on board as a consultant. The caveat is that Doncaster’s playing budget is believed to have shrunk by around 45% compared with last season, when they finished eighth. Richards, however, has long argued that rugby success “is not all about money”, having secured second-tier titles with Quins and Newcastle.
During both those campaigns his players were actively encouraged to buy their opposite numbers a post-match drink. This time he is thinking about organising a post-match eating contest, involving the club’s renowned “cow pie”, after the Knights’ opening home game against Hartpury on 27 September. You ask a lot of the boys and it was probably one of the most enjoyable seasons they had.
Preparation wasn’t key to everything. It was about having a bit of unity and fun. And it still is.” Richards, warming to his theme, also believes English rugby in general would benefit from lightening up a bit.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
