Wallabies war hero with heart of a lion provides fitting cup link

ON Wednesday I went with my wife to see War Horse, a harrowing theatrical piece about the ''shit'' (the word used by one of the actors) and the glory of World War I. A theme of the piece was expressed with the singing of a hymn-like anthem asking the audience to ''only remember what we have done''. This came to my mind the next day, Anzac Day, when I thought about Tom Richards. The three Tests in June and July between the Wallabies and the British and Irish Lions will be contested for the Tom Richards Cup.

Richards has been immortalised by Greg Growden in his brilliant biography, Gold, Mud and Guts: the incredible Tom Richards: footballer, war hero, Olympian. In June, to coincide with the start of the Lions tour, Growden will publish Wallaby Warrior, an edition of the war diaries of Richards. The picture that emerges is of a passionate rugby man; brave, restless, often critical of his superiors and fellow soldiers, but always loyal to the cause, whether on the battlefield or the field of play.

Richards was a big, hard-running, smart loose forward; an X-factor player. As a youngster he ran miles to build up speed and stamina. He diligently worked out, often with diagrams to help his thinking, the best running lines to destroy a defence. He scored a try for the Wallabies in 1908 when they won the Olympic gold medal for rugby (Australia's first team gold) at the London Games. The Times made this observation about his play: ''If ever the Earth had to select a rugby football team against Mars, Tom Richards would be the first player selected.'' Reading about his play, I see him as a sort of Mark Loane destroyer on the field. Like Loane, Richards was a rugby nomad. He played throughout Australia. He represented Transvaal.

Later he played for the Wallabies, in 1908 in Britain and in 1912 in the US. He represented Gloucestershire and won a French club championship playing for Toulouse. In South Africa in 1910, he played two Tests for the British Lions, including a historic victory over the Springboks at Port Elizabeth. That's the link with the Wallabies-Lions trophy.

Richards was one of the first Anzacs at Gallipoli on April 25, 1915. He was one of the last to leave on December 11. He won a Military Cross for ''conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty'', when a group he led as a lieutenant was part of the attack that broke the Hindenburg Line at Bullecourt on the Western Front. He came back to Australia in 1919 a shattered man. He wrote for the Herald and enjoyed the Wallabies 6-5 win over the 1930 British Lions. He died in 1935 of tuberculosis.

Richards was one of 5000 Australian rugby players - about 98 per cent of the playing numbers outside school - who volunteered for active service between 1914 and 1918.

Part of the explanation for this rush to arms by rugby players, in my opinion, is that rugby was the British empire's war game. The metaphors of rugby (the bombs, torpedo kicks, bullet passes, snipes, attacks down the flanks) are war metaphors. The values of the game are those of mateship, courage and resilience.

Lest we forget.

Email - spirozavos@the roar.com.au