Sad News- Wanderers lose another club legend
It is with great sadness that we must once again announce the loss of a true Wanderer. John Richards passed away in his sleep on Monday.
John was well known to many of us as John “Rocko” Richards. By profession he was a PE teacher serving for so many years in Llanrumney High School. His reputation as a teacher preceded him. When you arrived in Llanrumney as an eleven year old he was initially feared but the reality was that once you were established as a pupil, if you behaved you received the very best that teaching could provide. The countless hours of his time given up before school hours, after school hours and on weekends to mentor and coach his students cannot be calculated. Many of us owe our development not only as rugby players but as adults as well. We are indebted to him.
Raised in Crwbin John played rugby for Pontyberem before joining Cardiff Training College. As a rugby player he was an outside half for the Wanderers and Cardiff but it was post playing as a coach that he excelled. His contribution to school teams and especially Cardiff Schools representative sides was huge. He was acknowledged for his efforts with life membership from Cardiff Schools RU in 2004. At the Wanderers he was part of the coaching team in the 1980s. This was arguably the Wanderers most successful period with winning sides at 1stXV, 2ndXV and 3rd XV levels. The club being awarded a fixture versus the touring USA team marked the peek of this period. John went on to coach Wales at U20 level before returning for a brief spell as Wanderer’s head coach in the early 1990s before hanging up his coaching boots. As a Vice President of the Club John was a regular at games and he never failed to be on hand to lend the wisdom of his years.
John never forgot his pupils and he would always have a tale on hand to tell of a time from our school days (often reminding you of something you’d conveniently forgotten+!) Many of us who had the pleasure of John’s guidance look back fondly on his time and he will be sadly missed.
He leaves his wife Mal, children Gareth and Beth and his eight grandchildren and two great grandchildren, who all adored their tad-cu.
Rest in peace Rocko