Wymondham were founded in 1972 and current Northampton and England back Tommy Freeman played for them at junior level before moving on to Leicester’s academy and then to Saints in 2019.
They are currently fourth in Regional 2 Anglia, the sixth tier of English rugby, under head coach Aaron Beaumont.
“I’ve got connections here. I’ve been to Wymondham before, I’ve got good friends and when I saw the advert and made a couple of calls, they couldn’t speak highly enough of the club,” said Richards.
“The scepticism is pushed to one side as soon as you start speaking to people. And then you come down and visit, you have a look round – I’ve been here loads of times before and I love the area so it almost became a no-brainer in some respects.”
With Tom Armes set to step down, the club last month advertised the director of rugby role, which involves overseeing the entire rugby strategy and playing budget, supporting the coaching staff and driving their programme in local secondary schools.
A club statement said the appointment of Richards “marks a major milestone” in their development.
“The growth of Wymondham Rugby Club in recent years has been remarkable since we moved to our purpose-built site six years ago,” said chairman Paul Wootton.
“The huge interest received for this role — including from across the UK and overseas — shows how far our club has come.
“Bringing Dean on board is a hugely exciting moment for us. His experience and knowledge of the game is unrivalled as we continue to build a club that offers ambitious rugby for minis, youth, women and men alike.”
