Richard Agar (born 20 January 1972) is an English professional rugby league coach who is the former head coach of the Leeds Rhinos in the Super League and a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s.
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| Full name | Richard Paul Agar[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 20 January 1972 Pontefract, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As of 10 June 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Father | Allan Agar | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
He played at club level for the Dewsbury (Rams) (two spells), Featherstone Rovers (two spells), the Widnes Vikings and the Rochdale Hornets, and has coached at representative level for France, and at club level for the York City Knights, Hull F.C. (two spells, initially as Assistant Coach), the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats, and Warrington Wolves (First Team Coach c. 2014…2015).[2][3][4]
Background
editRichard Agar's birth was registered in Pontefract district, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. He is the son of the rugby league footballer and coach; Allan Agar.[3]
Playing career
editAgar played for Featherstone Rovers, Dewsbury Rams and Widnes Vikings, where he played 16 games in 2001 and won a Northern Ford Premiership Grand Final winners medal, but he turned down the opportunity to play for Widnes Vikings in 2002's Super League VII.
Agar made his début for Featherstone Rovers on Sunday 16 June 2002, and he played his last match for Featherstone Rovers during the 2003 season.
Coaching career
editHe spent four years as assistant coach at Hull F.C. under John Kear and Peter Sharp. In 2008 Hull F.C. appointed Richard Agar as their Head Coach following the departure of Sharp.[5]
In September 2011 it was announced that Agar had signed a three-year deal with Wakefield Trinity Wildcats, and would become their head coach following the end of the 2011 season.[6]
In February 2013, it was announced that Agar would coach France for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup.[7] Agar coached France to the World Cup Quarter-Final
On 2 June 2014, Agar quit his job with Wakefield Trinity Wildcats with immediate effect and was replaced by his assistant James Webster.[8][9]
On 10 June 2014, it was confirmed Agar would become first team coach of Warrington Wolves for the 2015 Super League season working alongside Tony Smith.[10]
On 29 August 2016, Agar resigned as head coach of the French national team. It is believed he left because new Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII president Marc Palanques wanted a Frenchman to coach the national team.[11]
On 17 October 2020, he coached Leeds in the 2020 Challenge Cup Final victory over Salford at Wembley Stadium.[12] In the 2021 Super League season, he guided Leeds to a fifth-placed finish on the table as the club qualified for the playoffs.[13]
On 21 March 2022, Agar announced he would step down as Leeds head coach with immediate effect.[14]
On 3 August 2022, Agar was announced as assistant coach for the New Zealand Warriors on a two-year deal commencing in 2023. He will join new Warriors head coach Andrew Webster, his fellow Toa Samoa assistant coach and younger brother his former assistant James.[15]
References
edit- ^ Companies House
- ^ a b "Statistics at loverugbyleague.com". loverugbyleague.com. 31 December 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
- ^ a b c "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
- ^ a b "Coach Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
- ^ "Coaches and Captains". hullfc.com. 31 December 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
- ^ "Wakefield Wildcats appoint Hull FC's Richard Agar". BBC Sport. BBC. 9 September 2011. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
- ^ "France appoint Wakefield boss Richard Agar as new head coach". Sky Sports. 18 February 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
- ^ "Agar replaced by Webster". Superleague.co.uk. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
- ^ "Super League: Richard Agar steps down as Wakefield coach". Sky Sports. 2 June 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
- ^ "Warrington Wolves: Richard Agar to join Tony Smith's staff". BBC Sport. BBC. 10 June 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
- ^ "Agar departs France job". LOVERUGBYLEAGUE. Archived from the original on 15 September 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
- ^ "Leeds beat Salford 17-16 after Luke Gale lands late winning drop-goal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
- ^ "Barrie McDermott's 2021 Betfred Super League season review". www.skysports.com. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
- ^ "Richard Agar: Leeds Rhinos head coach steps down from role". BBC Sport. 21 March 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
- ^ "Experienced Agar signed as assistant coach from 2023". Retrieved 13 October 2022.