Michael Paterson (born 9 May 1985) is a

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player for the

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", ...

in the Aviva Premiership. Previously he played for the

Cardiff Blues Cardiff Rugby ( cy, Rygbi Caerdydd) are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby competitions. Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms ...

in the

Pro12 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

league. He plays as a

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

blindside flanker Flanker is a position in the sport of rugby union. Each team of 15 players includes two flankers, who play in the forwards, and are generally classified as either blindside or openside flankers, numbers 6 and 7 respectively. The name comes fr ...

. Paterson has represented the New Zealand under 21s but is yet to gain a cap for the

All Black The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

s. Before moving to Cardiff, Paterson was considered by many to be a strong contender to join the

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

squad. Patterson joined Northampton Saints for the 2015/16 season where he has been a key player for the first team and made few appearances for the Saints' second team, Northampton Wanderers. The lock has since racked up 36 appearances in a Saints shirt and most recently helped the Wanderers secure the Aviva 'A' League title, as the side beat Gloucester United at Franklin's Gardens and lifted the trophy.

International career

Having completed three years residency at the beginning of the 2012–13

season, Paterson became eligible to play for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. Eligible to play for England, through an English grandfather, Paterson was selected for the England squad to face the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less c ...

in the summer of 2014.

References

External links

Crusaders profileCardiff Blues Squad Profile
1985 births Living people Hurricanes (rugby union) players New Zealand rugby union players Cardiff Rugby players Rugby union locks Crusaders (rugby union) players Canterbury rugby union players Sale Sharks players Northampton Saints players Rugby union players from Christchurch New Zealand people of English descent New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Wales {{NewZealand-rugbyunion-bio-1980s-stub