Richard Moriarty (born 1 May 1957 at Gorseinon near Swansea) is a Welsh former rugby union player. He played 23 matches for Wales, either as a second row or back row forward, scoring two tries, and captained Wales eight times. During his time as Welsh captain, he lost only once, in the semi-finals of the inaugural Rugby World Cup against the eventual winners, New Zealand. Wales beat Australia to claim third place, still the best performance by Wales in a Rugby World Cup. He has been quoted as saying that captaining the Welsh side at the first world cup was the "icing on the cake" of his career. He has been heavily involved with Swansea RFC throughout his career. As a player, he holds the club's all-time record for appearances, 472 in a career spanning over 20 years from 1976–77 to 1997–98 in which he also scored 32 tries. He was club captain for three consecutive seasons 1986–87, 1988–88 and 1988–89. More recently he was the team manager and, since December 2006, he has been on the board of directors. Personal Richard Moriarty is the elder brother of fellow Swansea and Wales rugby union and rugby league player Paul Moriarty. Richard's nephew Ross Moriarty is also a professional rugby union player. References External links Biography on www.thisissouthwales.co.uk website Welsh Rugby Union webpage - Rugby World cup 1987 BBC Sport - Rugby World cup 1987 Swansea RFC biography 1957 births Living people Rugby union players from Morriston Rugby union players from Gorseinon Swansea RFC players Wales international rugby union players Wales rugby union captains Welsh people of Irish descent Welsh rugby union players