Paul Thorburn
Encyclopedia
Paul Thorburn is a former Neath RFC
and international Wales
rugby union player who played at full back. He also captained Wales. He was a prolific long distance goal kicker, who holds the record for the longest successful kick in a test match
(although not the longest in Rugby Union as a whole). He gained the record during the 1986 Five Nations Championship
at the Cardiff Arms Park with a kick measuring exactly 70 yards 8 and a half inches (64.2m) against Scotland. A record that is still today thought never likely to be surpassed on the international rugby stage. He was also in the Wales squad for the 1987 Rugby World Cup
, during which he scored a conversion that won Wales third place in the competition.
He retired from playing in 1991. He was tournament director for the World Cup in 1999 and also a former special projects manager for the Welsh Rugby Union.
In 2006 he joined Ospreys after leaving the Welsh Rugby Union, however he left the club in June 2010 to pursue other business interests.
Neath RFC
Neath Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club which plays in the Welsh Premier Division. The club's home ground is The Gnoll, Neath. The first team is known as the Welsh All Blacks because of the team colours: black with only a white cross pattée as an emblem...
and international Wales
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
rugby union player who played at full back. He also captained Wales. He was a prolific long distance goal kicker, who holds the record for the longest successful kick in a test match
Test match (rugby union)
Test match in rugby union is a match recognised as being a full international match by at least one of the participating teams' governing bodies. It is an unofficial but widely used term in the sport....
(although not the longest in Rugby Union as a whole). He gained the record during the 1986 Five Nations Championship
1986 Five Nations Championship
The 1986 Five Nations Championship was the fifty-seventh series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the ninety-second series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship...
at the Cardiff Arms Park with a kick measuring exactly 70 yards 8 and a half inches (64.2m) against Scotland. A record that is still today thought never likely to be surpassed on the international rugby stage. He was also in the Wales squad for the 1987 Rugby World Cup
1987 Rugby World Cup
The 1987 Rugby World Cup was the first Rugby World Cup. New Zealand and Australia agreed to co-host the first ever tournament with New Zealand hosting seventeen pool stage matches, two quarter-finals and the final with Australia being the junior partner hosting seven pool matches, two...
, during which he scored a conversion that won Wales third place in the competition.
He retired from playing in 1991. He was tournament director for the World Cup in 1999 and also a former special projects manager for the Welsh Rugby Union.
In 2006 he joined Ospreys after leaving the Welsh Rugby Union, however he left the club in June 2010 to pursue other business interests.