"It's humbling," he says of the OAM he has received for his services to rugby union in this year's Australia Day Honours List.

The 67-year-old got involved in local rugby union after moving to Orange in 1994, and over the years served in a range of positions, including as president of the Orange City Rugby Union Club and president of Central Western Rugby Union.

A lawyer by profession, he also spent two years as a member of the Central West Rugby Union appeals panel.

Mr Rickards, who grew up in rugby league heartland in western Sydney, says he started playing union as a way of staying connected with some school friends.

"When I left school and started university a group of us were good mates and we thought - 'we're all going to go in our different directions in life, gee it'd be good not to float apart.'

"We had a teacher who was a rugby union player and he said : 'why don't you play rugby?'"

After getting over their initial skepticism, they learned to play, formed a team, and ended up playing in the sub-districts competition in Sydney.

When Mr Rickards moved west to Orange, it didn't take long for him to be drawn into the local union community.

"In a country town if you've got an interest in something you meet other people and they ask whether you'd like to help out, the right thing to do is say 'yeah of course.'"

He says of all the positions he has served in, Central West Rugby Union president was one of the best.

"It really opened the door to meeting a lot of good people. The Central West region in rugby is a huge area and I got to go and visit places and grounds you might not usually stop at and meet people I'd otherwise never meet.

"Like any sport, you realise how many really good people just get out and do all sorts of good things and put in their time for all the right reasons."

It's been a while since he's pulled on the union boots, but Mr Rickard says he's 'dabbled' over the years, playing the odd game with the Orange Emulators (over 35s), or 'the old blokes rugby' as he calls it.

He says what he loves most about rugby union is that it reinforces the notion of "being honest to yourself and putting in an honest effort."

It's also all about the team work: "Looking beside you... at other people and what you can achieve as a group."

"They're valuable things not just to learn but to practice in all sorts of things - family...work.

"Team sport is a wonderful thing that way. You can learn to enjoy victories and defeats and work together, and that's good."