Name Richard Mathers
Position Full Back
Date of Birth 10/24/1983
Place of Birth Leeds
Previous Club Milford ARLFC
Weight 84Kg
Height 5'11
Honours England Academy Squad Number 1
Debut v St Helens 30/8/02
Richard Mathers made his debut at the end of the 2002 season after returning from a loan spell at Warrington Wolves earlier in the season.
He made an impressive debut against St Helens when first choice winger Karl Pratt was injured. He followed this up a fortnight later scoring his first try at Headingley against London and made two subsequent appearances including the crucial Play off game against Hull.
During his time at the club he has featured in three consecutive Academy Grand Final wins, eventually earning himself a place in the Rhinos first team squad at the start of 2003 and made a reputation for himself with some outstanding performances in 2003, including a man of the match performance in front of the Sky TV cameras. He only managed one try though but it could not have been more crucial as the Rhinos came back from 20-0 down against St Helens with 15 minutes to go, Mathers try eventually gave the Rhinos the lead in the closing stages. Richard's form last season was such that the Rhinos allowed Great Britain star Gary Connolly to return to Wigan. In 2004 he was named Yorkshire Evening Post Shooting Star winner after, after only missing four games all season. Richard scored 6 tries last season, including one in the Grand Final Eliminator against Wigan, which helped secure his and the Rhinos place in the Super League Grand Final. Richard was one of the top performers for the Rhinos last year, and is a strong runner when coming into contact, which was proved with his 78 tackle busts for the Rhinos last year. He is renowned for his incredible enthusiasm for the game and Leeds Rhinos, having supported the club since he was a boy. Richard played in the Grand Final in 2004, was try scorer in the Carnegie World Club Challenge against Canterbury at his beloved Elland Road and also started in this season?s Powergen Challenge Cup Final. He has only missed one game so far this season, the defeat at Wigan in September, scoring 17 tries in 34 games, his best ever season. In total he has made 79 appearances for Leeds including 2 as a substitute scoring 25 tries.
Rugby Career :
Richard signed for the Rhinos from local amateur club Milford ARLFC after representing Leeds & Hunslet Schools and England Schoolboys. In 2002, former Leeds Academy Coach David Plange took him on loan to Warrington Wolves where he made eight Super League appearances.
At the end of that period he returned to the Rhinos.
In 2001 he toured New Zealand and Australia with the England Academy team, beating the Junior Kiwis 2-0 and narrowly losing the first Test to the Junior Kangaroos before losing the series the following week.
However, Mathers was one of the survivors of that side which historically beat the Junior Kangaroos in 2002, beating them 2-0, and especially for Mathers when they clinched the first ever series win over Australia at his home ground of Headingley. At the end of the 2004 season Richard suffered a wrist injury, which meant he missed out on joining the England A team for the European Nations Championship.
Personal Details :
Richard's favourite TV programme is MTV Cribs, his dream car would be a BMW X5, his childhood hero is Australian Test captain Darren Lockyer, his favourite film is Shawshank Redemption and his best mate in the game is Danny McGuire. Whilst on loan at Warrington he shared a house with the Wolves Graham Appo and Nathan Wood, his sporting hero is Michael Jordan and he thinks his future career could be as a chef.