Dean Richards Takes Over as Doncaster Knights Rugby Director
At 63, Richards begins his Championship role with a 740-mile trip to Cornish Pirates, backing the league's push to stand apart from the Premiership.
Dean Richards has taken over as director of rugby at Doncaster Knights, and his first fixture in the role sends him on a 740-mile round trip to Cornish Pirates for the opening weekend of the 2026-27 Championship season.
Richards is 63. It is 40 years since he scored two tries on his Test debut against Ireland at Twickenham, and, the Bloodgate era at Harlequins, a decade at Newcastle Falcons, and spells at Grenoble and at Wymondham in Norfolk. Doncaster is his latest posting, and he sees no reason to stop.
"If it's ingrained in you and you love the sport, then there's no reason why you shouldn't continue in some capacity," Richards said.
His move arrives as the Championship tries to establish itself as a standalone competition worth watching in its own right, after years of reduced funding from the Rugby Football Union. Richards argues the RFU has undervalued the league's role in developing players, coaches and referees, and points to the growing depth of his own Knights squad as evidence the standard is rising now that the Premiership has shrunk.
Saturday's opponents, Cornish Pirates, were founded in 1945 and play at the 4,000-capacity Mennaye Field. They sit second in the Championship, with 33 points from nine matches, and represent an early test of how far Richards' methods can travel from Castle Park to Cornwall and back in a single weekend.
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