Maurice Field (born Greenisland,

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

, 24 February 1964)Karl Johnston, "Maurice's Field of Dreams", ''Irish Press'', 11 February 1994 is a former Irish rugby union international player who played as a centre for North of Ireland, Malone,

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. He was educated at Belfast High School, and started his club rugby career at North of Ireland. He played for Ulster under-20 in 1983, and Ulster under-23 in 1984. He moved clubs to Malone in 1988, and was first selected for the senior Ulster team in September 1989, becoming a regular for the provincial side. He was one of the first players to sign a full-time contract with Ulster when the game went professional. He was part of the Ulster squad that won the 1998–99 Heineken Cup, although he was unavailable for the final. He was selected in the provisional Ireland squad for the

1991 Rugby World Cup The 1991 Rugby World Cup () was the second edition of the Rugby World Cup, and was jointly hosted by England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France: at the time, the five European countries who participated in the Six Nations Championship, Five Na ...

, but did not make his international debut until 1994, against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, at the age of 30.Hugh Farrelly
"'You put on jersey against England and forget wounds' -- Maurice Field"
''Irish Independent'', 15 March 2021 He played for Ireland from 1994 to 1997, winning 17 caps. He was a member of the Ireland squad at the

1995 Rugby World Cup The 1995 Rugby World Cup (), was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country. The World Cup was the first major sporting event to take place in ...

where he played in two matches. During the amateur era, he worked as a firefighter for the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service. The day before his Ireland debut in 1994, he had attended a fatal car bombing.Michael Sadlier
"Maurice Field recalls win over England on Ireland debut just days after being called out to car bomb: ‘Rugby was an out from the stresses of the Troubles’"
''Sunday Life'', 8 March 2022 In 2004 he was appointed Elite Player Development Manager for the Ulster academy.Gavin Mairs, "Sweet 16 move into Ulster academy", ''Belfast Telegraph'', 12 August 2004 He has worked as a commentator for the BBC and RTÉ. As of March 2022, he lectures in sports management at

Ulster University Ulster University (; Ulster Scots: or ), legally the University of Ulster, is a multi-campus public research university located in Northern Ireland. It is often referred to informally and unofficially as Ulster, or by the abbreviation UU. It i ...

References

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Field, Maurice 1964 births Living people Irish rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players Ulster Rugby players Rugby union centres Ulster Rugby non-playing staff 1995 Rugby World Cup players People educated at Belfast High School