Richard Sharp (rugby union)
| Born | Richard Adrian William Sharp 9 September 1938 Bangalore, Kingdom of Mysore, India | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Died | 3 November 2025 (aged 87) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Blundell's School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | Balliol College, University of Oxford | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Richard Adrian William Sharp OBE (9 September 1938 – 3 November 2025) was an English rugby union player. Born in India during the British Raj, his family moved to Cornwall, England, where he was educated at Montpelier School, Paignton and Blundell's School in the neighbouring county of Devon[1] and at Balliol College, Oxford. He was a player at Redruth R.F.C., Wasps FC, Bristol FC[2] and for England (14 caps) as fly-half and captain. He played for England while at Oxford[3] and led England to the Five Nations title in 1963.[4] He played cricket for Cornwall in the Minor Counties Championship between 1957 and 1970.[5]
He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1986 New Year Honours, for services to Sport, particularly in the South West.[6]
Bernard Cornwell named the fictional character Richard Sharpe after him.[7][8]
Sharp died from complications of Parkinson's disease on 3 November 2025, at the age of 87.[9][10]
References
[edit]- ^ "Notable Old Blundellians". Blundells.org. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
- ^ "London Wasps Hall of Fame". Wasps.co.uk. Archived from the original on 19 December 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
- ^ Balliol Old members Archived 12 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ RFU Wall of Fame Archived 21 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Player profile: Richard Sharp". CricketArchive. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
- ^ UK list: "No. 50361". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1985. p. 11.
- ^ "The Story of Sharpe". Uktv.co.uk. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
- ^ "A word from Bernard Cornwell". Southessex.co.uk. 29 September 2002. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
- ^ Tributes paid to former Cornwall and England rugby star Cornish Times
- ^ "Richard Sharp obituary: England captain in rugby's amateur age". The Times. 14 November 2025. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
External links
[edit]
- Oxford Alumni
- The Book of English International Rugby 1871–1982
- Hammers of the Scots, The Daily Telegraph, 1 February 2007
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- 1938 births
- 2025 deaths
- Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford
- Bristol Bears players
- British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England
- Cornwall RFU players
- Cornwall cricketers
- England international rugby union players
- English cricketers
- English rugby union players
- Officers of the Order of the British Empire
- Oxford University RFC players
- People educated at Blundell's School
- Rugby union players from Redruth
- Sportspeople from Cornwall
- Wasps RFC players
- Rugby union fly-halves
- 20th-century English sportsmen
- Cornwall stubs
- English rugby union biography stubs