Paul Ackford (born 26 February 1958) is a former
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
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 it ...
international who played
lock forward. He was formerly an inspector in the
Metropolitan Police, and is now a
columnist for
The Telegraph
''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include:
Australia
* ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
.
Early life
Ackford was born in
Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
,
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
.
Education
He was educated at
Plymouth College
Plymouth College is a co-educational independent school in Plymouth, Devon.
History
The school was established in 1877. In 1896 Plymouth College bought Mannamead School (founded in 1854), and was temporarily known as Plymouth and Mannamead ...
, the
University of Kent
, motto_lang =
, mottoeng = Literal translation: 'Whom to serve is to reign'(Book of Common Prayer translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' ...
(BA) and
Cambridge University
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...
(MA), he played lock for
England B aged 21 and represented
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
in the 1979
Varsity Match
A varsity match is a fixture (especially of a sporting event or team) between two university teams, particularly Oxford and Cambridge. The Scottish Varsity rugby match between the University of St Andrews and the University of Edinburgh at Murrayf ...
, but did not make an impact until joining
Harlequins and the
Police
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...
in 1983.
Career
After impressing for the London Division against the touring
Wallabies, he made his England debut on 5 November 1988 against Australia, aged 30.
Partnering police constable
Wade Dooley
Wade Dooley (born 2 October 1957) is a former England rugby union international who played lock forward. He played for his country 55 times and was known as the "Blackpool Tower", as a result of being 6 feet 8 inches tall and a police officer ...
, Ackford became an important part of the new side captained by
Will Carling
William David Charles Carling (born 12 December 1965) is an English former rugby union player. He was England's youngest captain, aged 22, and won 72 caps from 1988 to 1996, captaining England 59 times. Under his captaincy, England won Five ...
. He went on the
1989 British Lions tour to Australia
In 1989, the British Lions toured Australia for the first time since 1971. Unlike previous tours to Australia, the Lions did not play any matches in New Zealand, this being the first Australia-only tour since 1899. The side was captained by Fi ...
, where he played in all three tests.
In 1990 he was knocked unconscious when blindsided by the young Argentine front row forward
Federico Mendez, which saw Mendez sent off. Mendez later claimed it was a case of mistaken identity, and that he had meant to hit
Jeff Probyn
Jeff Probyn (born 27 April 1956 in Bethnal Green, London) is an English former Rugby Union player.
The Old Albanian, Streatham and Wasps prop was selected in England's squad for the 1987 Rugby World Cup, but Probyn did not make his internat ...
, because he had "stamped on my goolies".
Ackford was part of the England side which won the Five Nations Grand Slam in 1991. He retired from international rugby after the
1991 World Cup, won by Australia, becoming a journalist and writing for the ''
Sunday Telegraph''.
References
External links
Planet-rugby stats and bioSporting heroes 1sporting heroes 2Telegraph.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ackford, Paul
1958 births
Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge
Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players
The Daily Telegraph people
England international rugby union players
English rugby union players
Harlequin F.C. players
Living people
Metropolitan Police officers
People educated at Plymouth College
Rosslyn Park F.C. players
Rugby union locks
Alumni of the University of Kent
British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England