Players / My World

Richard Wigglesworth

/ Sale and England

Born in Blackpool, Richard was part of the U21 golden group that completed England’s first ever Grand Slam in 2004. ‘Wiggy’ is also an accomplished fly-half and has even occasionally appeared on the wing, but he’s no Superman, unlike his favourite fictional character.

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Winning my first cap was my perfect happiness. When I was 17, I got called into the England U18 squad for the first time, so from then it really kicked in that playing rugby was what I wanted to do for a career, and luckily it has gone quite well so far.

 

I’ll swap places with Jason Robinson. I’m a fellow northerner, so I like my rugby league too, but he never stopped winning throughout the whole of his career, so if I could be anyone from the history of rugby, it would be him. 

 

There’s nothing better than winning.  I live for the big games and winning the Guinness Premiership Final, especially beating Leicester Tigers, stands alongside my England caps, but winning those big games after a hard slog and a gruelling pre-season makes it all worthwhile. It’s the best part of rugby.

 

It’s more of a routine than obsessive superstition. I’ll listen to a bit of music to control any last minute nerves and most importantly keep myself out of trouble but with the socks and boots it was just something I started.

 

I’ll look stupid changing my socks and boots on the pitch. I have my left sock, right sock, left boot, right boot combination, so if that goes wrong at any point, I’ll restart the whole thing. I have to get it right before I leave the changing rooms. I forgot to do it once and I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

 

My most embarrassing moment came when I was playing on the wing. Sale were playing at Saracens, decimated with injuries, and the ball was kicked over my head and as I tried to dive on it, I succeeded in knocking it over the try line, and they nipped in to dot it down.