Paul Lennart James Simonsson (born 16 February 1967) is a New Zealand former

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 ...

and

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 ...

player. A

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

, Simonsson represented

Waikato Waikato () is a Regions of New Zealand, local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton City ...

and

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

in rugby union at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the

All Blacks 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 ...

, on their 1987 tour of Japan. He played two matches for the All Blacks, scoring seven tries, but did not play any test matches. Simonsson switched codes to rugby league in 1990, but his career was curtailed by injury. He played only three

NSWRL The New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was ...

matches, two from the bench, for

North Sydney Bears The North Sydney Bears is an Australian rugby league football club based in North Sydney, New South Wales. The club competes in the New South Wales Cup, having exited the National Rugby League following the 1999 NRL season after 90 years in the ...

in 1991 and 1992. He subsequently returned to rugby union in 1995, and played for

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and the Australian Sevens team in 1996 before injury forced his retirement. 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 The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is an Australian statutory agency and the principal revenue collection body for the Australian Government. The ATO has responsibility for administering the Australian federal taxation system, superannuati ...

and worked at the Australian

Department of Climate Change The Department of Climate Change was an Australian Government department that existed between 2007 and 2010. Operational activities The functions of the department were broadly classified into the following matters: *Development and co-ordinat ...

. He is currently the head of intelligence at the

Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) was a government statutory authority tasked to protect Australia's sporting integrity through the elimination of doping. The authority was part of the Department of Health's portfolio and was ...

References

1967 births Living people Australian police officers Male rugby sevens players New Zealand emigrants to Australia New Zealand international rugby union players New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand rugby union players North Sydney Bears players People educated at Tauranga Boys' College Rugby league players from Tauranga Rugby league wingers Rugby union players from Tauranga Rugby union wings Waikato rugby union players Wellington rugby union players Māori All Blacks players {{NewZealand-rugbyunion-bio-1960s-stub