Paul Prescott (born 1 January 1986) is a former

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 ...

international

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer. He played for the

Wigan Warriors The Wigan Warriors are a professional rugby league club in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the Super League. Formed in 1872 as Wigan Football Club, Wigan was a founding member of the Rugby Football League, Northern Rugby ...

in the

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

. He won the 2010 Grand Final, the 2011 Challenge Cup and 2011 and 2012 League Leaders' Shields. He retired from the game on 4 July 2013 due to a recurring back injury.

Background

Prescott was born in

Stratford upon Avon Stratford-upon-Avon (), commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-wes ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

, England.

Playing career

2000s

Prescott played in the Wigan academy setup in 2003 and 2004. His amateur club had been

Ince Rose Bridge Ince Rose Bridge are an amateur rugby league football club based in Ince-in-Makerfield, Greater Manchester. The club's first team plays in the National Conference League The National Conference League (known as the Kingstone Press National ...

. He was called into the first team squad in July 2004 after an injury crisis left Wigan with no fit senior prop forwards. This was Prescott’s début from the bench against

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the town centre the River Calder joins the ...

. Prescott was given a 2-year full-time contract with Wigan in August 2004. He went on to make 3 appearances in 2004. Prescott was selected for the

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

squad in the 2004 Academy Origin Series and was also selected for the England Academy U-18s tour to Australia but later had to withdraw. Chairman Maurice Lindsay commented: "

Bryn Hargreaves Bryn Hargreaves (born 14 November 1985) is an English former professional rugby league footballer. In January 2022, Hargreaves went missing in Cheat Lake, West Virginia, where he was last residing. Career Wigan Warriors Hargreaves played in ...

, and Paul Prescott have signed for a further two years, and as they are two of the best front row prospects in the country it gives us added satisfaction that they have all come through our Junior Development Scheme." Prescott suffered a serious knee injury in June 2005 which kept him out of action for a year, he received treatment from specialist doctors at the National Centre for Sports Injury Surgery in

Oswestry Oswestry ( ; ) is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483 and A495 roads. The town was the administrative headquarters of the Borough of ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

. He made his return in 2006 but after just four matches he was injured again in a Challenge Cup match with

Wakefield Trinity Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, that plays in the Super League. One of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, between 1999 and 2016 the c ...

when a collision with one of his team mates, Bryan Fletcher, caused a

detached retina Retinal detachment is a disorder of the eye in which the retina peels away from its underlying layer of support tissue. Initial detachment may be localized, but without rapid treatment the entire retina may detach, leading to vision loss and blin ...

. However he did make his comeback later that year. Prescott was loaned out to National League One side Leigh at the end of 2006 to allow Wigan to free up salary cap money and complete the signing of

Bradford Bulls The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is predom ...

prop

Stuart Fielden Stuart Fielden (born 14 September 1979) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. He was formerly an assistant coach for the Huddersfield Giants in the Super League, and now is a Persona ...

. He finished his loan in September 2006 and return to Wigan. In 2007 Prescott managed to establish himself in the Wigan side making 21 appearances scoring 1 try. Prescott played for the

Ireland national rugby league team The Ireland men's national rugby league team, known as the Wolfhounds, is organised by Rugby League Ireland and represents Ireland in international rugby league. The representative team is composed largely of players of Irish descent who compete ...

in 2007, helping them qualify for the

2008 Rugby League World Cup The 2008 Rugby League World Cup was the thirteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup since its inauguration in 1954, and the first since the 2000 tournament. The tournament was held in Australia from 26 October, culminating in the final b ...

2010s

In 2010 Prescott helped Wigan Warriors win the

League Leaders' Shield The League Leaders' Shield is a shield awarded to the team finishing the season top of Super League in the sport of rugby league football. Currently, and for most of Super League's history, the championship is decided on the basis of a play-off se ...

. He played in the

2010 Super League Grand Final The 2010 Super League Grand Final was the 13th official Grand Final and conclusive and championship-deciding game of Super League XV. Held on Saturday 2 October 2010, at Manchester's Old Trafford stadium, the match was contested by English club ...

victory over St. Helens at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...

. He played in the 2011 Challenge Cup Final victory over the

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club was formed in 1870 as Leeds St John's and play in the Super League, the top tier of English rugby league. They have played home matches at Headi ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

Retirement

Prescott was forced to announce early retirement from rugby league on 4 July 2013 due to a recurring back problem.

Football

In 2013, Prescott joined the Premier League as Performance Systems Project Manager.

References

External links

*(archived by web.archive.org
Official Paul Prescott Profile
*
Paul Prescott Wigan Career Page
on the Wigan RL Fansite''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Prescott, Paul 1986 births Living people English people of Irish descent English rugby league players Ireland national rugby league team players Leigh Leopards players Rugby league players from Warwickshire Rugby league props Wigan Warriors players