English rugby's longest-serving ‘one club man’ prepares to bow out

Record-breaker Matt Riley will play his 457th and final game for Sedgley Park against Darlington Mowden Park on Saturday, bringing the curtain down on his 19-season career.

The hard-running centre retires holding the record for most appearances for a single club in either England or France in the pro era, having broken Rich Baxter’s milestone of 423 appearances for Exeter back in November 2023.

Riley’s association with Sedgley Park began when he was loaned to the club from Sale Sharks as a youngster, having failed to break through into the Premiership club’s first team.

The loan move soon became permanent, and since making his debut in a narrow home defeat to Bedford in December 2006, Widnes-born Riley has become a legend of the Greater Manchester club and the Championship/National Leagues in general.

Riley has stuck with Sedgley through thick and thin, from the good times of playing the likes of Northampton and Harlequins in the Championship, to the not-so-good times of being relegated to Two North. Playing alongside his brother Andy for the majority of those games has also helped to strengthen the bond with the club.

“I could have probably left plenty of times earlier on and won titles with other clubs, but, in all honesty, it wouldn’t have meant anything to me in the nicest possible way,” he admitted.

Reflecting on his achievement, the 38-year-old added: “At times it seems to have gone so fast but on the other hand it also feels like a lifetime ago that I made my debut (in the old Championship).

“When you start off as a young lad, you think that teammates in their 30s are dead old, and now I am one of them, and the young lads probably think the same thing about me.

“The thought of retiring has been going back and forth in my head for months and months, trying to figure out when the right time was.

“To be honest, I could have probably struggled on through the pain for another year or two, but I just thought, ‘I am still pretty healthy, there are some young lads in the squad, and it’s probably the right time to finish. I didn’t want to drag it out, and I have achieved everything I’ve wanted to.

“To play as long as I have has taken a lot of commitment and resilience but also a lot of sacrifices. Not just from me, but especially from my Mum and Dad and my wife, Niki.

“Without their support, there’s not a chance I’d be anywhere close to 457 games.

“I am still going to help out Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday, so that’ll make the transition easier. I am confident I have made the right decision.”

Riley’s son, Jackson, however, wasn’t so sure. “He said, ‘Bloody hell, Dad, you could have done 500!”