Maurice Field (born

Greenisland Greenisland is a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It lies 7 miles north-east of Belfast and 3 miles south-west of Carrickfergus. The town is on the coast of Belfast Lough and is named after a tiny islet to the west, ''the Green Island' ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

, 24 February 1964)Karl Johnston, "Maurice's Field of Dreams", ''Irish Press'', 11 February 1994 is a former

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

rugby union international player who played as a centre for North of Ireland,

Malone Malone is an Irish surname. From the Irish "''Mael Eóin''", the name means a servant or a disciple of Saint John. People * Gilla Críst Ua Máel Eóin (died 1127), historian and Abbot of Clonmacnoise, Ó Maoil Eoin * Adrian Malone (1937–2 ...

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. He was educated at

Belfast High School Belfast High School (BHS) is a co-educational voluntary grammar school in Jordanstown, Newtownabbey, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It was established in 1854 and is within the North Eastern Region of the Education Authority. In May 2007, it ...

, and started his club rugby career at North of Ireland. He played for Ulster under-20 in 1983, and Ulster under-23 in 1984. He moved clubs to Malone in 1988, and was first selected for the senior Ulster team in September 1989, becoming a regular for the provincial side. He was one of the first players to sign a full-time contract with Ulster when the game went professional. He was part of the Ulster squad that won the

1998–99 Heineken Cup The 1998–99 Heineken Cup was the fourth edition of the Heineken Cup. Competing teams from France, Ireland, Italy, Wales, and Scotland, were divided into four pools of four, in which teams played home and away matches against each other. Cardiff a ...

, although he was unavailable for the final. He was selected in the provisional Ireland squad for the

1991 Rugby World Cup The 1991 Rugby World Cup was the second edition of the Rugby World Cup, and was jointly hosted by England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France: at the time, the five European countries who participated in the Five Nations Championship. This was ...

, but did not make his international debut until 1994, against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, at the age of 30.Hugh Farrelly
"'You put on jersey against England and forget wounds' -- Maurice Field"
''Irish Independent'', 15 March 2021 He played for Ireland from 1994 to 1997, winning 17 caps. He was a member of the Ireland squad at the

1995 Rugby World Cup The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country. The World Cup was the first major sporting event to take place in Sou ...

where he played in two matches. During the amateur era, he worked as a firefighter for the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service. The day before his Ireland debut in 1994, he had attended a fatal car bombing.Michael Sadlier
"Maurice Field recalls win over England on Ireland debut just days after being called out to car bomb: ‘Rugby was an out from the stresses of the Troubles’"
''Sunday Life'', 8 March 2022 In 2004 he was appointed Elite Player Development Manager for the Ulster academy.Gavin Mairs, "Sweet 16 move into Ulster academy", ''Belfast Telegraph'', 12 August 2004 He has worked as a commentator for the BBC and RTÉ. As of March 2022, he lectures in sports management at

Ulster University sco, Ulstèr Universitie , image = Ulster University coat of arms.png , caption = , motto_lang = , mottoeng = , latin_name = Universitas Ulidiae , established = 1865 – Magee College 1953 - Magee Un ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Field, Maurice 1964 births Living people Irish rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players Ulster Rugby players Rugby union centres Ulster Rugby non-playing staff