Peter "Junior" Paramore (born 18 November 1968) is a Samoan former professional

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

international, who also spent time playing professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

. Paramore was born in

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

, and raised in New Zealand, playing his rugby in that country until 1995. In 1996, he left for the UK to take up a professional rugby league contract with

Castleford Tigers The Castleford Tigers are a professional rugby league club in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England. They play their home games at Wheldon Road (currently known as the Mend-A-Hose Jungle for sponsorship reasons) and compete in the Super League, t ...

. However, after one season, he moved to

Bedford Blues Bedford Blues are a semi-professional rugby union club in the town of Bedford, England, currently playing in the RFU Championship. History Foundation and 19th century Bedford RUFC was founded in 1886 after an amalgamation between Bedford Rove ...

professional rugby union side, helping them achieve promotion to the premiership in 1998. In 1999 he moved to

Gloucester Rugby Gloucester Rugby are a professional rugby union club based in the West Country city of Gloucester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was formed in 1873 and since 1891 has played its home matches ...

, joining his cousin Terry Fanolua. He remained there for five years, winning the 2002 Zurich Championship Final (the year before winning the play-offs constituted winning the English title) in which Gloucester defeated

Bristol Rugby Bristol Bears (officially Bristol Rugby Club or Bristol Rugby) are a professional rugby union club based in Bristol, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded as Bristol Football Club in 18 ...

, and the

Powergen Cup The RFU Knockout Cup was an English rugby union competition open to any member of the Rugby Football Union. First contested in 1971, it was the premier competition in English club rugby before the establishment of the English league structure in 1 ...

in 2003, before leaving to rejoin Bedford as a coach in 2004. During his career, Paramore won 29 caps for the

Samoa national rugby union team The Samoa national rugby union team represents Samoa in men's international rugby union competitions. They are governed by Samoa Rugby Union and also known as "Manu Samoa", which is thought to derive from the name of a Samoan warrior. They perf ...

, taking part in three World Cup campaigns. He is now the principal of his own rugby academy. He is now a coach at Totton College Rugby academy alongside

Budge Pountney Anthony Charles 'Budge' Pountney (born 13 November 1973) is a rugby union coach and retired player. A flanker, he played in the Northampton Saints side that won the 1999–2000 Heineken Cup. Pountney was born in Southampton in England, but ha ...

. He also coaches rugby at Canford School, in Dorset, England. In 2018 he left Dorset to come to Bristol Bears rugby team. He is the current kit manager for the Bristol Bears.

References

External links

Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paramore, Junior 1968 births Living people 1991 Rugby World Cup players 1995 Rugby World Cup players 1999 Rugby World Cup players Bedford Blues players Castleford Tigers players Counties Manukau rugby union players Gloucester Rugby players New Zealand expatriate rugby league players in Australia New Zealand expatriate rugby league players in England New Zealand expatriate rugby union players Rugby league players from Apia Rugby league second-rows Rugby union flankers Rugby union number eights Rugby union players from Apia Samoa international rugby sevens players Samoa international rugby union players Samoan emigrants to New Zealand Samoan expatriate rugby league players in Australia Samoan expatriate rugby league players in England Samoan expatriate rugby league players Samoan expatriate rugby union players in England Samoan rugby league players Samoan rugby union players