Perpignan
Which team did the player Richard Parks belong to in Jan 2006?
Richard Parks Richard David Parks ( born 14 August 1977 ) is a former Wales international rugby union player turned extreme endurance athlete and television presenter . In rugby he represented Newport RFC , Pontypridd RFC , Celtic Warriors , Leeds Tykes , Perpignan and Newport Gwent Dragons over a professional career which spanned 13 years . In May 2009 he was forced to retire from rugby due to a shoulder injury . Early years . Parks was born on 14 August 1977 in Pontypridd to a Jamaican mother , Lee , and a Welsh father , Derek Parks . Richard grew up in Newport , Wales and attended Rougemont School , Newport and Monmouth School . Richard first started playing Rugby at the age of 11 at Rougemont School and progressed quickly through the school ranks playing at flanker throughout . He was selected for Welsh Schools at under 18 level and then had a brief spell with Newport youth before spending a year in South Africa in 1996 at Michaelhouse , a boarding school for senior boys in Durban . Richard competed for the first team at Michaelhouse whilst he studied A-level chemistry in order to gain entry to Cardiff University to study Dentistry . Whilst in South Africa , Richard was invited to join the Natal Under 19s academy but this would have involved committing to attend university in South Africa . Richard always had the desire to play for Wales , therefore he chose to return home to take a contract up with Newport Rugby Football Club , and sign his first professional contract as a rugby player . Newport RFC . In his first year at Newport RFC ( 1996–97 ) he was selected to play for the Welsh sevens team in Tokyo , Japan and in his second year at the age of 20 years , Richard was called up to train with the Welsh senior team . At the end of this season ( 1997–98 ) Richard was voted most promising player of the year by his club winning the Arthur Boucher Award . Parks 3rd season with Newport RFC saw him struck down with injury . He missed most of the season after suffering a stress fracture of his spine . Breaking his back resulted in Richard missing the opportunity to gain Welsh honours at an under 21 level . After taking longer to recover than anticipated Richard was released from his contract at Newport RFC after 62 appearances and finished the season playing University Rugby for Cardiff Meds . Pontypridd and playing for Wales . Parks was subsequently signed by Pontypridd RFC for the following season , and in 2001 Parks represented the Welsh Sevens in the 2001 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Argentina . Pontypridd won the Principality Cup in 2002 and reached the Parker Pen Shield final losing 22 – 25 to Sale Sharks . Many of the Pontypridd squad , including Parks , were called up to represent Wales on a tour to South Africa . It was here on tour versus South Africa in Free State Stadium , Bloemfontein that 24-year-old Parks earned his first full international cap on 8 June 2002 , in a 34–19 defeat , from the bench . He became the 1001st player to represent Wales . During the next season Richard was selected for the autumn international series where he gained his second cap against Fiji . A final season at Pontypridd continued and Parks remained in the Welsh squad . He was named in the 6 Nations squad but did not feature on a match day . During the summer of 2003 , he was selected in the preliminary World Cup squad and played warm-up games against Scotland and Ireland . However , Parks missed out on final section to the World Cup in Australia . Celtic Warriors . Following the Introduction of regional rugby union teams in Wales in 2003 , Parks was signed to the newly formed Celtic Warriors . He played the whole of that new look 2003–04 season out of position at number 8 due to injuries in the squad , finishing with 19 appearances . Following the demise of the region after only one season , Parks joined the then Welsh head coach Phil Davies at Leeds Tykes . Leeds and Perpignan . After a difficult start to the 2004–05 season through injury , Parks become an influential member of the Leeds squad and was at times named as vice captain . At the beginning of 2005 following injuries to key players , Leeds were bottom of the Zurich Premiership and some way adrift of their rivals . Despite the threat of relegation they made it to their first ever Powergen Cup final in 2005 , defeating Bath 20–12 at Twickenham to claim their first ever trophy . Following the cup win they went on to win five straight games and avoided relegation finishing the season in eighth position . The following season saw the Tykes lose their first eight games in three different competitions , and were relegated at the end of the season . Parks subsequently signed for USA Perpignan for the 2006–07 season . However , due to a failure to gain sufficient game time , Parks returned to Wales for the 2007–08 season with the Newport Gwent Dragons . Newport Gwent Dragons . Parks tore his knee ligaments in the Boxing Day derby against Cardiff Blues , marking the start of a long line of injuries , which ultimately led to his retirement from rugby . Early in his second season with the Dragons , Parks injured his shoulder in a tackle . Unaware of the severity of the injury , Richard continued to play and then had an operation over Christmas to repair his shoulder . He returned to action at the beginning of the year but his shoulder problem reoccurred . It was at this point , in May 2009 and after of trying many different courses of treatment to repair his shoulder , Richard was advised the damage to his shoulder was irreversible and following the second operation on his shoulder that year , he was advised he should not play rugby anymore . He had made 30 appearances for the Dragons . Richard retired from rugby on 26 May 2009 aged 31 . 737 Challenge and Other Expeditions . Following his retirement from rugby , Parks embarked on a challenge to climb the highest mountain on each of the worlds 7 continents and complete the Three Poles Challenge within 7 months . On 12 December 2010 , Parks left Cardiff on the centenary of the departure of the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition , led by Robert Falcon Scott , from that city . Parks was joined on parts of his 737 Challenge by Olympic rower Steve Williams and Marie Curie nurse Janet Suart . He completed each leg of the 737 Challenge on the following dates : - Leg 1 : The South Pole – 27 December 2010 , 6.10 am GMT - Leg 2 : Mount Vinson – 8 January 2011 - Leg 3 : Aconcagua – 5 February 2011 , 5.54 pm GMT - Leg 4 : Kilimanjaro – 27 February 2011 , 4.57 am GMT - Leg 5 : Carstensz Pyramid – 15 March 2011 , 11.28 pm GMT - Leg 6 : The North Pole – 11 April 2011 , 2.20 pm BST - Leg 7 : Everest – 25 May 2011 , 2.57 am BST - Leg 8 : Denali – 30 June 2011 , 8.08 am BST - Leg 9 : Elbrus – 12 July 2011 , 8.53 am BST On 12 July 2011 he completed his challenge , finishing more than two weeks ahead of his self-imposed 7-month deadline . He completed his 737 Challenge in a record setting 06 Months , 11 Days , 07 Hours and 53 Minutes and set a new benchmark in the climbing of the 7 summits . His 737 Challenge raised hundreds of thousands of pounds in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care whilst creating an advertising value worth £3 million to the cancer charity . In December 2012 , he attempted to ski solo and unsupported to the South Pole from Hercules Inlet on the Antarctic coast . During his trek he received an extra food resupply , and in January he had to abandon the attempt as he could not reach the South Pole in time for the last plane back to South America . He subsequently returned to Antarctica at the end of 2013 , and on 4 January 2014 he completed an unsupported and unassisted journey to the South Pole , covering 1,150 km ( 715 miles ) in 29 days , 19 hours and 24 minutes , the fastest solo for a Briton . TV Documentaries . Parks 737 Challenge was filmed for a BBC Cymru Wales documentary ; Richard Parks – Conquering the World and was transmitted in 3 parts from Tuesday 26 July 2011 . It has since been distributed across the globe . Filmed by Sports Media Services , the documentary shows the emotional and inspirational journey which saw Richard Parks conquer 7 Summits , 3 Poles in 7 Months . A version has subsequently been released on iTunes . In 2014 , Richards first network television series was broadcast on Channel 5 . Filmed by Zig Zag Productions , it follows a year of preparation and the subsequent completion of endurance races , as well as his solo , unsupported ski to the South Pole . 2016 marked the production and release of a documentary series and a standalone documentary with Parks , both produced by One Tribe TV . A 3-part BBC One Wales and BBC Two series , Extreme Wales with Richard Parks , was released in September . Richard Parks on Everest , a 60-minute documentary for BBC One Wales following his progress earlier in the year on Project Everest Cynllun , was broadcast in October . Honours & Awards . - Powergen Cup/Anglo-Welsh Cup titles : 1 ( 2005 ) - 2012 – Won Just Giving Celebrity Fundraiser of the year . - 2012 – Awarded the Rugby Writers Club Special Award which was previously awarded to the likes of Phil Vickery , Sir Clive Woodward and Sir Ian McGeechan . - 2012 – Awarded The Chancellors Medal by the University of Glamorgan . - 2012 – Awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the University of Wales . - 2012 – Selected to carry the Olympic Torch . - 2012 – Named in the Business Insiders top 100 most influential people in Wales - 2012 – Invited to meet the Queen at Buckingham Palace . - 2012 – Alongside 737 Challenge design partner Limegreentangerine , won a national CIM Marketing Excellence Award , winning SME of the year at the 2012 CIM Marketing Excellence Awards . - 2013 – Awarded an Honorary fellowship by Cardiff University . External links . - Richard Parks - 737 Challenge - Newport Gwent Dragons profile - Pontypridd RFC profile - Wales profile