Paul Lennart James Simonsson (born 16 February 1967) is a New Zealand former rugby union and rugby league player. A wing, Simonsson represented Waikato and Wellington in rugby union at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks, on their 1987 tour of Japan. He played two matches for the All Blacks, scoring seven tries, but did not play any test matches.[1]

Paul Simonsson
Birth namePaul Lennart James Simonsson
Date of birth (1967-02-16) 16 February 1967 (age 57)
Place of birthTauranga, New Zealand
Height1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight86 kg (190 lb)
SchoolTauranga Boys' College
Rugby league career
Position(s) Wing
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1991–92 North Sydney 3 (0)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Wing
Provincial / State sides
Years Team Apps (Points)
1986, 1988–89 Waikato 29 ()
1987 Wellington 4 ()
1996 New South Wales ()
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1987 New Zealand 0 (0)
1988–89 New Zealand Māori
National sevens team
Years Team Comps
1996 Australia 1

Simonsson switched codes to rugby league in 1990, but his career was curtailed by injury.[1] He played only three NSWRL matches, two from the bench, for North Sydney Bears in 1991 and 1992.[2] He subsequently returned to rugby union in 1995, and played for New South Wales and the Australian Sevens team in 1996 before injury forced his retirement.[1]

Simonsson worked as a police detective in New South Wales, having first joined the New Zealand Police in 1987. He was later a tax investigator for the Australian Taxation Office and worked at the Australian Department of Climate Change. He is currently the head of intelligence at the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority.[3][4]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Knight, Lindsay. "Paul SImonsson". New Zealand Rugby Museum. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  2. ^ "Paul Simonsson". Rugby League Project. 10 May 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  3. ^ "Sydney presenters" (PDF). Australian Rugby. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  4. ^ Le Grand, Chip (7 August 2013). "ASADA's hint that Bombers are safe". The Australian. Retrieved 30 June 2014.