Paul Bishop (born 5 July 1967) is an English former professional

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 who played for

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

Cronulla Sharks The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugby league ...

, St Helens,

Gold Coast Seagulls The Gold Coast Chargers were a professional rugby league club which played in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership from 1988 to 1994, the Australian Rugby League premiership from 1995 to 1997, and the National Rugby League premiership ...

and Halifax.

Early life

Born in England, Bishop moved to Australia at an early age when his father,

Tommy Bishop Tommy Bishop (born 15 October 1940) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s and 1970s, and coached in the 1970s and 1980s. He played for Blackpool Borough, Barrow and St Helens in the English Champion ...

, signed for

in 1969. When his father returned to England in the early 1980s, Bishop played junior rugby league for

Thatto Heath Thatta ( sd, ٺٽو; ) is a city in the Pakistani province of Sindh. Thatta was the medieval capital of Sindh, and served as the seat of power for three successive dynasties. Thatta's historic significance has yielded several monuments in and ...

. On his 17th birthday, he was signed by

Playing career

Warrington

Bishop made his debut for Warrington in October 1984, scoring a try and kicking seven goals in a 42–30 win against

Workington Town Workington Town R.L.F.C. is a semi-professional rugby league club playing in Workington in west Cumbria. Their stadium is Derwent Park, which they share with Workington Comets, a speedway team. They became Rugby League Champions in 1951 and ...

. On 11 May 1986, in the semi-final of the 1985–86 Rugby League Premiership, Bishop scored a record-equalling five drop goals in a 23–10 win against

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

. A week later in the final, he scored a try and five conversions in a 38–10 win against Halifax. He also played in the 1986–87 Rugby League Premiership final the following year, but were this time defeated by

. He then spent parts of the next two seasons in Australia, making 13 first grade appearances for

in the

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

and

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

NSWRL seasons. Bishop played at scrum-half for Warrington in the

1990 Challenge Cup Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since the ...

final, but the team were defeated 14–36 by Wigan. He made his final appearance for the club in October 1990.

St Helens

Bishop joined St Helens in 1990. He played in the Challenge Cup for the second consecutive year in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

, but was once again a losing finalist against Wigan. In the following season, Bishop played in the 1991–92 Lancashire Cup final, scoring a try and two goals in a 24–14 win against

Rochdale Hornets The Rochdale Hornets are a professional rugby league club from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England, competing in the Championship, the second tier of European rugby league. The Rochdale Hornets are one of the original twenty-two rugby clubs ...

Halifax

In 1992, Bishop was signed by Halifax. Bishop left the club in 1994 and returned to Australia.

References

External links

Statistics
at wolvesplayers.thisiswarrington.co.uk
Paul Bishop
at Saints Heritage Society {{DEFAULTSORT:Bishop, Paul 1967 births Living people English rugby league players Rugby league halfbacks Warrington Wolves players Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks players St Helens R.F.C. players Gold Coast Chargers players Halifax R.L.F.C. players