There are very few people within the Manitoba Rugby community over the last 40 plus years that do not personally know, or know of, Rick Romsa. Rick’s involvement, contributions and accomplishments include many under the Induction Categories of Player, Official and Builder. From his early playing days in the mid-1970s at St. John's High School, Rick was to continue his playing career as one of the primary leaders involved in the Saracen RFC dynasties of the Seventies and Eighties and was a perennial selection for various Manitoba Provincial representative teams during that period as a Prop Forward. Rick was the youngest player ever named to the U20 Canadian Team in 1976, and later captained the Manitoba U20 teams for the next three years. He was the Captain of the first Manitoba High School Rugby team to travel and compete in England when he toured therein 1977 with St. John’s High School. That St. John’s team left England with a winning record. On North American soil, the St. John’s team’s that Rick played for never lost a match during his three years there. As a Saracen, the team’s he played on, played in 13 Men’s Premier Division championship games between 1979 and 1994, with 11 victories.
In addition to his playing career accomplishments, Rick served to coach at many levels over the year’s from 1980 and forward, including high school, colts, and club rugby. Rick also coached at several levels for the provincial team programs from 1992 and on, including the Senior Buffalo and Manitoba entries in the Rugby Canada Super League. His coaching involvement continues to this day guiding the Manitoba Sr. Men's (Wolf Pack) provincial team program.
Throughout it all, Rick has been, and continues to be, a stalwart supporter of the sport as an administrator in several capacities, a volunteer on several initiatives and a patron for numerous causes that serve to foster the growth and development of rugby in the Province of Manitoba. He has served for years on the Board of the Saracens Rugby Football Club including stints as President, Vice President, and Treasurer, and is a Life Member of the Saracens RFC. Rick also served the boards of the Manitoba Rugby Union, and Maple Grove Rugby Park. Rick is a selfless advocate for the sport of rugby in Manitoba and few in the history of Manitoba Rugby could match the breadth of his involvement and significant contributions to every aspect of the sport. Rick is a founding member of the Friends of Manitoba Rugby non-profit organization, the purpose of which is to support and sustain the infrastructure and development of rugby in the province, and to provide funding for youth who are unable to afford to play sports. He is also a founding member of the Manitoba Rugby Hall of Fame which seeks to preserve the accomplishments of Manitoba Rugby’s best and brightest, the ranks of whom Rick now officially joins.
Rick was nominated to the Manitoba Rugby Hall of Fame nearly at its inception, and has finally been inducted under the category of Builder now that he has stepped down from his official duties with the Hall of Fame committee.