Paul Ackford

Last updated

Paul Ackford
Date of birth (1958-02-26) 26 February 1958 (age 66)
Place of birth Hanover, West Germany
Height1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)
Weight112 kg (247 lb)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Lock
International career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1988-1991 England 25 (4)

Paul Ackford (born 26 February 1958) is a former English rugby union international who played lock forward. He was formerly an inspector in the Metropolitan Police, and is now a columnist for The Telegraph . [1]

Contents

Early life

Ackford was born in Hanover, West Germany.

Education

He was educated at Plymouth College, the University of Kent (BA) and Cambridge University (MA). He played lock for England B aged 21 and represented Cambridge in the 1979 Varsity Match, but did not make an impact until joining Harlequins and the Police in 1983.

Career

After impressing for the London Division against the touring Wallabies, he made his England debut on 5 November 1988 against Australia, aged 30.

Partnering police constable Wade Dooley, Ackford became an important part of the new side captained by Will Carling. He went on the 1989 British Lions tour to Australia, where he played in all three tests.

In 1990 he was knocked unconscious when blindsided by the young Argentine front row forward Federico Mendez, which saw Mendez sent off. Mendez later claimed it was a case of mistaken identity, and that he had meant to hit Jeff Probyn, because he had "stamped on my goolies". [2] Ackford was part of the England side that won the Five Nations Grand Slam in 1991. He retired from international rugby after the 1991 World Cup, won by Australia, becoming a journalist and writing for the Sunday Telegraph .

Related Research Articles

Richard Andrew Robinson OBE is an English rugby union coach and retired player. He was the director of rugby at Bristol until November 2016. He is the former head coach of Scotland and England. From September 2019 to December 2022, he was the head coach of the Romanian national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Johnson (rugby union)</span> British Lions & England international rugby union player & coach

Martin Osborne Johnson CBE is an English retired rugby union player who represented and captained England and Leicester in a career spanning 16 seasons. He captained England to victory in the 2003 Rugby World Cup, and is regarded as one of the greatest locks ever to have played, and one of England's greatest ever players.

William David Charles Carling is an English former rugby union player. He was England's youngest captain, aged 22, and won 72 caps from 1988 to 1996, captaining England 59 times. Under his captaincy, England won Five Nations Grand Slam in 1991, 1992 and 1995, and reached the 1991 World Cup final.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Corry (rugby union)</span> British Lions & England international rugby union player

Martin Edward Corry MBE is a retired English rugby union player who represented and captained England and Leicester Tigers in a career spanning 14 seasons. Corry played 64 times for England between 1997 and 2007, played 7 tests for the British & Irish Lions on tours in 2001 & 2005, and played 290 times for Leicester between 1997 and 2009. Earlier in his career he played top division rugby for Newcastle Gosforth and Bristol. A versatile player his principal positions were number eight and blindside flanker, he also played lock more as his career progressed.

Stuart Richard Abbott MBE is a South African born rugby union footballer who played centre for London Wasps and England.

Federico Mendez, also known as Freddie Mendez is an Argentine rugby union footballer. Méndez played professional rugby in South Africa, England and France. He also played for Mendoza Rugby Club in Argentina and won 74 caps for the Argentina national rugby union team, including appearances at four Rugby World Cups, in 1991, 1995 and 2003. Mendez was considered the best hooker at the 1995 World Cup and had the unique ability to play hooker, loosehead or tighthead.

Wade Dooley is a former England rugby union international who played lock forward. He played for his country 55 times and was known as the "Blackpool Tower", as a result of being 6 feet 8 inches tall and a police officer with Lancashire Constabulary in Blackpool.

Brian Christopher Moore is an English former rugby union footballer. He played as a hooker, and is a rugby presenter and pundit for BBC Sport, Talksport and Love Sport Radio. He qualified as a Rugby Football Union referee in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Varsity Match</span> Annual rugby union fixture

The Varsity Match is an annual rugby union fixture played between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge in England. The event began in 1872 with the first men's match, with interruptions only for the two World Wars and the COVID-19 pandemic. From 1921 to 2023 the game was played at Twickenham Stadium, London and usually took place in early December. The game is now played in March and will take place at StoneX Stadium in 2024.

Michael Clive Teague is a former England and British Lions rugby union footballer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brad Fittler</span> Australia international rugby league player and coach

Bradley Scott Fittler, also known by the nickname of "Freddy", is an Australian rugby league commentator, television presenter, and former player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Vautin</span> Australia rugby league footballer and pundit (born 1959)

Paul Vautin, nicknamed Fatty, is an Australian football commentator and former professional rugby league footballer, captain and coach. He has provided commentary for the Nine Network's coverage of rugby league since joining the network in 1992 and also hosted The Footy Show from its beginnings in 1994 opposite co-host Peter Sterling, until 2017. An Australian Kangaroos test and Queensland State of Origin representative lock or second-row forward, Vautin played club football in Brisbane with Wests, before moving to Sydney in 1979 to play with Manly-Warringah, whom he would captain to the 1987 NSWRL premiership. He also played for Sydney's Eastern Suburbs, and in England for St Helens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bradley Clyde</span> Australia international rugby league footballer

Bradley Clyde is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s who, at the peak of his playing career was widely acknowledged as the best lock in the game. He represented both New South Wales, and played for the Australian national side, and played his club football in Australia for the Canberra Raiders and Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, and in England for Leeds Rhinos.

Jeff Probyn is an English former Rugby Union player.

Joseph Paul Lydon is an English former professional rugby league footballer and rugby union coach. He played during the 1980s and 1990s as a fullback, wing, centre, or stand-off for Widnes, Wigan and Eastern Suburbs. He also represented Lancashire, and won 30 caps for Great Britain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cliff Lyons</span> Australian international rugby league footballer

Cliff Lyons is an indigenous Australian former international rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. A Clive Churchill Medallist and two-time Dally M Medallist, he made 309 first-grade appearances with the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, winning grand finals with them in 1987 and 1996. Lyons also represented New South Wales and Australia, being part of the successful 1990 Kangaroo Tour of Great Britain and France.

Les Boyd is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He played representative football for the Australian national side in international matches as well as the New South Wales side in the State of Origin. Boyd played club football in both Australia and England and his usual position was in the second-row.

Dean Richards is a rugby union coach and former player for Leicester Tigers, England and British & Irish Lions. He was most recently the Director of Rugby at Newcastle Falcons, a position he held for ten years between 2012 and 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Bayfield</span> GB Lions & England rugby union player

Martin Christopher Bayfield is an English actor, broadcaster, and former rugby union player who played lock forward for Northampton Saints, Bedford Blues and England, gaining 31 England and 3 Lions caps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Bedell-Sivright</span> Scottish rugby union player (1880–1915)

David Revell "Darkie" Bedell-Sivright was a Scottish international rugby union forward who captained both Scotland and the British Isles. Born in Edinburgh, and educated at Fettes College where he learned to play rugby, he studied at Cambridge University and earned four Blues playing for them in the Varsity Match. He was first selected for Scotland in 1900 in a match against Wales. After playing in all of Scotland's Home Nations Championship matches in 1901, 1902 and 1903, Bedell-Sivright toured with the British Isles side – now known as the British & Irish Lions – that toured South Africa in 1903. After playing the first 12 matches of the tour, he was injured and so did not play in any of the Test matches against South Africa.

References

  1. "Paul Ackford - Sunday Telegraph's Rugby Union Columnist". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 14 September 2008. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  2. Glover, Tim (9 October 2008). "Ruck stars: Hitting it off in the world of rugby". The Independent . Archived from the original on 22 November 2008. Retrieved 18 May 2010.