Former Wallaby star and Manly local Richard Tombs has been wheelchair-bound since a catastrophic injury in 2018. Five years on, he is pushing his limits and inspiring others in his wake.
Don’t let his ever-present smile fool you.
Richard Tombs admits what you see on the outside is not always an accurate barometer to what he’s feeling on the inside.
“I have my ups and downs, and things are usually more up than down, but the little downers do creep in,” he tells Peninsula Living.
“Generally, that’s to do with my physical condition going down. So I know I’ve got to turn my physical side of things around, and get a bit a bit more active when I’m down.”
Richard’s story is well known.
The father-of-three, who represented Australia and New South Wales in rugby union, was playing goalie in a park football match on the Northern Beaches in 2018, when he collided with an oncoming player.
The accident left Richard with spinal cord damage and a vastly different life to the one he had mapped out.
The way he looks at it, it’s life with a wheelchair – not life in a wheelchair.
That’s why Manly-based Richard is forever testing himself, keeping his mental and physical health in check at the same time.
In April, he competed in the Balmoral Swim, his first attempt at a water-based disability event.
“The Balmoral Swim was fantastic. Swimming is very good for my physical and mental well-being. Just jumping in the ocean and feeling the current was very satisfying,” Richard says.
“It was only meant to be 250 metres, but I reckon I swam about 500 metres because I got very lost.
“I think I missed the black line at the swimming pool to guide me, but the extra distance won’t hurt.”
The 55-year-old is now aiming to push himself even further, eyeing the 1.5km Manly to Shelly Beach stretch, despite its crowded flight path of early morning swimmers and creatures below.
His biggest challenge, though, was in May when he was off on a European holiday with his sister, where he not only planned to visit the sites, but also walk them.
“It’s a three-week, four-country, holiday and I don’t want to be in my chair all the time,” Richard reveals.
“I’m fortunate that I can do short walks and I’ve got to do more of that to ensure things don’t start going a bit south.
“I can go anything from 50 metres to 250 metres, depending on the day, before things to start to seize up a bit.”
Richard calls such challenges ‘short- term objectives,’ goals he sets himself for daily motivation and inspiration.
Rugby remains one of his great passions – he was attending a Northern Suburbs old boys’ day shortly after our interview – and another reason to get going each morning.
Richard heads up the Hearts in Rugby Union program, a charity assisting players who suffer life-changing injuries.
“It’s going well. I get a lot of satisfaction from it,” he says.
“We’re just spreading the word and getting it known that we do have a charity that looks after our players on a long-term basis, not just short term.”
Reflecting on his own injury and experiences, Richard is passionate about ensuring injured players stay front of mind.
“I’m coming up five years (since the accident) and I think come 10 years it could be a pretty lonely track,” he concedes.
“I don’t say this with any bitterness, but 10 years in you can be forgotten by a lot of people because their lives have gone on.
“I think Hearts in Rugby can help fill that void.”
By Adam Lucius