Paddy McAllister (born 20 July 1989) is an Irish rugby union player and coach who played professionally as a prop for Ulster, Aurillac, Gloucester and Connacht.
| Birth name | Patrick Robert McAllister | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 20 July 1989 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Lisburn, Northern Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 124 kg (19 st 7 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | The Royal School, Armagh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Born in Lisburn, Northern Ireland,[1] McAllister grew up in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where his father was a Christian missionary and aid worker for Tearfund.[2][3] He returned to Northern Ireland at the age of 14, and attended The Royal School, Armagh, where he started playing rugby.[4] He represented Ireland at schools, under-19 and under-20 level,[5] appearing at the 2009 under-20 World Championship,[4] and played club rugby for Ballynahinch.[5]
He joined the Ulster Rugby academy for the 2008–09 season.[6] He signed a development contract ahead of the 2010–11 season, and made his debut for the senior team against Ospreys in September 2010[5] He made 15 appearances, including eight starts, in the Pro12 that season, as well as four appearances off the bench in the Heineken Cup. The following season he made 16 appearances, including eight starts, in the Pro12, and five appearances, including one start, in the Heieneken Cup.[7] He was named in the Ireland squad for the 2012 Six Nations Championship, but was unable to play because of a minor knee injury.[8]
In August 2012 he sustained a serious knee injury while training in France,[9] and two months later his close friend and teammate Nevin Spence died, leading to a period of depression.[8] In the summer of 2014 he moved to Aurillac in the French second division, then coached by former Ulster player Jeremy Davidson.[10] The following season he was signed by another former Ulster player, David Humphreys, to play for Gloucester in the English Premiership.[11] After four season with Gloucester, he returned to Ireland with Connacht.[12]
In August 2020, his wife Deborah suffered a stroke while pregnant with their third child. She made a full recovery and the child was born healthy, but McAllister decided that "family had to come first",[13] and announced his retirement at the end of the 2020-21 season.[14] After retiring as a professional player, he took a job as head of commercial and income revenue for All-Ireland League club Belfast Harlequins, while also playing and coaching for the club.[13] Paddy moved to Banbridge RFC in 2023 to take up the role as assistant coach.
References edit
- ^ "McAllister Set To Make Competitive Debut For Connacht", Irish Rugby, 27 September 2019
- ^ "Paddy Mcallister's Open Story About his Wife, Life in the Congo and Nevin Spence", OTB Sports, undated
- ^ "CAR violence 'hampering aid' says Tearfund's David McAllister", BBC, 10 January 2014
- ^ a b Sean McMahon, "'I Was Just Looking For An Escape In Life…To Sleep Even'", Pundit Arena, 17 November 2019
- ^ a b c "Tuohy, Spence & McAllister Agree New Contracts", Ulster Rugby, 10 January 2011
- ^ "Phoenix Ulster Rugby Academy", Ulster Rugby, archived 3 February 2009
- ^ Playing statistics at ItsRugby.co.uk
- ^ a b Ruaidri O'Connor, "‘I don’t have bitterness now. There’s more to life than rugby’", Irish Independent, 23 October 2021
- ^ Niall Crozier, "Crocked Paddy McAllister out for season", Belfast Telegraph, 14 August 2012
- ^ Deborah Armstrong, "Fivemiletown to France", Tyrone Herald, 2 June 2014
- ^ "Former Ulsterman Paddy McAllister signs for Gloucester". Belfast Telegraph. 29 January 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ^ "Connacht announce signing of prop Paddy McAllister ahead of 2019/20 Season". Connacht Rugby. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
- ^ a b Michael Sadlier, "Paddy McAllister on why ‘happiness had to come first’ after wife’s stroke scare as ex-Ulster Rugby star rejected chance to extend career", Belfast Telegraph, 21 October 2021
- ^ Gerry Thornley, "Connacht announce departure of a further six senior players", Irish Times, 8 June 2021
- ^ "Five Top Players on God's Rugby Squad". eden.co.uk. Retrieved 16 March 2014.