Former LSRFC captain and lock forward Will Warden has been chosen to lead Richmond RFC as they begin their SSE National One League campaign, scoring the season's opening try but losing their first match 29-14 to a strong London Scottish side.
The 24-year old from Clevedon, Gloustershire has been selected to captain the London-based side after being at the club, less than a year after moving from Loughborough Students. This follows incredible progress on his part, only picking up a rugby ball aged 16, previously playing football goalkeeper at Marling Grammar School!
The news comes just eighteen months after being chosen to captain England Students in their fixture against France Students, alongside fellow LSRFC players Mike Macfarlane, Camilo Parilli-Ocampo, Ed Styles, Alex Waddingham and Russel Weir, coming out 25-23 winners in the match, ironically, at Richmond.
Various honours include three caps for England Students, Gloucestershire U20s and being selected for the Barbarians in the side who took victory over Loughborough Students 7-40 on Holywell Park back in May. Warden gives a lot of thanks for his rugby successes to All-Black Israel Dagg and Highlander Clint Newland, whom he played alongside during a gap year to New Zealand.
Warden's efforts over his four years at Loughborough have been rewarded, both in an MSc in Sport Management and the chance to captain his side in the SSE National One league! Richmond Director of Rugby stated: "Will has credentials as both a player and a leader and I look forward to working with him." He goes on to state that "Replacing Tom George he has a seriously hard act to follow." Warden proved his worth to his new DoR, scoring the opening try of the 2012-2013 season against London Scottish after less than ten minutes!
