Richie was a tenacious and feisty scrum half who made up for his lack of physical presence with a pass that was equally as sharp as his sarcasm, wit and sense of humour. Never one to back down from a verbal confrontation, he always ensured that his ‘big lads’ were bigger (and harder) than their ‘big lads’ before engaging with the opposing pack. He epitomised the traditional expectations of a number nine, constantly annoyed by the quality of ball from his forwards and the inability of his backs to catch and pass but he matched a will to win with supreme fitness that would see him playing well into his 40’s.

Richie came to the club as a fifteen-year-old in the early 1980’s, following his big brother Peter down to Crowtrees, and quickly became part of the strong social scene that epitomised our club at the time. Christened ‘The Bairn’ for his boyish good looks and his diminutive stature, his popularity with his less aesthetically pleasing team mates was mainly due to the swarms of the opposite sex that would follow where ever he went….

He made his first team debut at the age of 19 and made a number of appearances for the ones before heading off to Loughborough University but Richie was equally happy (if a scrum half is ever happy!!) playing for any one of Blaydon’s five senior teams at the time. Just pulling on a red shirt and being part of the club was what counted to him and many others of his generation.

When work commitments for Ford Motors in Dagenham, Essex in the early 1990’s meant that he was based in the capital for a period of time he followed a well-trodden path for Blaydon exiles and joined Blackheath RFC where he played an exceptionally high standard of rugby alongside one or two fellow Geordies. The friends he made in almost 5 seasons at Blackheath was never more evident than in his annual trip to The Smoke for his old boys Christmas lunch reunion.

One of Richie’s proudest moments in the game was as part of the coaching team that guided Blaydon u17’s to National Cup success in 2014, a team in which his son Dan played at number 8 alongside a number of lads who went on to play first team rugby at Blaydon.

The loss of Richie will be felt by many in the local community of Whickham where he grew up and then lived most of his adult life. He fought his illness with the same doggedness and tenacity that he showed on the rugby pitch and that he took into his work life with Ford Motors and then with Nissan. He will be missed by so many friends, colleagues and teammates.

Our thoughts are with his proud son Dan, his dear brothers Michael, Peter and David and his much-loved sisters in law and nieces and nephews, all of whom will miss him dearly.

Heaven RFC has got itself a canny little 9….