Je suis Richards

A New Zealander who topped the French Scrabble world without actually being able to speak the language got a standing ovation after his win - but needed a translator to thank the audience. Nigel Richards, originally from Christchurch but now living in Malaysia, defeated a rival from French-speaking Gabon at the final in Louvain, Belgium, on Monday. He took out his competition, Schelick Ilagou Rekawe, winning two of three matches: 370-427, 484-376, 565-434. Scrabble blogger Dzibz said on an online post, that Mr Richards may have even won his first game, if only time had not gone against him and run out. The New Zealander received a standing ovation after his win - but needed a translator to thank his audience. He is said to be participating in more Scrabble competitions this week. On Wednesday he is to play a version of the game called Duplicate, where all players start with the same letters and play against a computer - eliminating any chance of luck. His newly-acquired French fans will be watching to see just how he can surprise them next. Dzibz says while Mr Richards was an outsider to the French scrabble world he didn't believe the Kiwi was done. I don't either.